Sussex, UK: A spectacular 40-metre addition to
the Sussex skyline celebrates Mazda's racing heritage at this
year's Goodwood Festival of Speed.
Second in height only to the Chichester Cathedral spire, the
Goodwood Festival of Speed centrepiece features two racing cars
bursting out of the ground trailing spectacular twisted steel
shapes.
Inspired by Mazda's Kodo design philosophy of strength, beauty
and tension found in the instantaneous movement of living things
and the simplicity that reflects Japanese aesthetics, Gerry Judah's
clever interpretation of Kodo is a beautiful and simple form that
expresses tension, lightness and movement that belies the
complexity of the structure.
Stacked like matchsticks, 418 steel beams, each a different
length and angle, turn the sculpture from right to left
– hanging the cars over the spectators
below.
Featuring 120 tonnes of steel that, put end to end, would
stretch 1235 metres, the length of the Goodwood Hill Climb track,
this is the most complex centrepiece yet.
"Usually," commented Gerry Judah, "the one thing you never do
with steel is to twist it, so this year we had an impossible
challenge to find a way of corkscrewing the entire structure, and
we succeeded with an elegant and graceful system that shows of the
elegance and grace of the cars themselves."
"When we first started talking about the central feature at
Goodwood we wanted it to represent our brand through our design
philosophy of Kodo," said Ikuo Maeda, Mazda Executive Officer,
General Manager Design Division. "Gerry has faithfully
represented our brand in a striking and beautiful structure that is
clearly Kodo. There is a lightness and strength to the
structure, yet it gives the cars movement and energy, it is a
sculpture that we are very proud to represent Mazda."
The central feature celebrates Mazda's motorsport heritage, a
history that started in Europe in the late 1960's to prove and
promote its rotary engine in the tough environment of endurance
racing.
Since then Mazda rotary engine cars have won 100 IMSA races; a
class win in the Daytona 24 Hours; IMSA manufacturer and driver
titles; the Spa 24 Hours; five class victories at Le Mans; two
British Touring Car titles; and, most famously, Le Mans in 1991
with the 787B.
The two cars on top of the sculpture are the Le Mans winning
Mazda 787B which took overall victory in the famous 24 hour race in
1991 driven by British driver Johnny Herbert alongside Volker
Weidler and Bertrand Gachot. Mazda remains the only Japanese
manufacturer to have won Le Mans 24 Hours and the only rotary
engine to have won the famous French endurance race.
Next to the 787B is the Mazda LM55 Vision Gran Turismo
car. Created for Playstation's Gran Tursimo 6 racing
simulation game, the stunning Mazda LM55 Vision Gran Turismo makes
the leap from virtual concept car to physical concept with its
towering position on the 2015 Goodwood Festival of Speed Mazda
Central Feature.
Named after the number 55 Mazda 787B that took victory in the
1991 Le Mans 24 Hours, the LM55 is both a homage to the dramatic
proportions of the 787B and a vision of a futuristic sports
prototype drawn with inspiration from Mazda's KODO: Soul of Motion
design philosophy.
Sharing the dramatic proportions of a Le Mans racer, the LM55's
sleek nose, sculpted wings and low rear-end deliver a uniquely
dynamic shape that stays true to the KODO ethos of 'beautiful form
full of life'.
A stunning addition to the West Sussex skyline, the pairing of
787B and LM55 on the Mazda Central Feature perfectly encapsulates
the celebration of Mazda's 'Challenger Spirit' in the racing
legends of our illustrious sporting past, and the stylish and
spirited cars of Mazda's future.
Download the Goodwood Booket: http://we.tl/yuzs6Jdwrl
For further information, please contact:
Karla Leach
Senior Manager - Public Relations
T: (03) 8540 1931
F: (03) 8540 1960
M: 0448 346 213
E: kleach@mazda.com.au
Tony Mee
Public Relations Specialist
T: (03) 8540 1962
F: (03) 8540 1960
M: 0439 347 658
E: tmee@mazda.com.au