Visitors enjoyed the glorious sunshine yeseterday as they stood trackside to get a glimpse of the motor racing action in the grounds of the estate near Chichester.

The event, which has been running for almost two decades, is expected to attract more than 150,000 petrolheads over the three days.

The theme for this year’s event is Viva Veloce! - The Passion for Speed, which celebrates Italy’s fascination with motor racing and its global influence on the sport.

For those that cannot make it, live video and radio is being streamed through the Festival of Speed website and Sky Sports are also broadcasting the event.

Goodwood is celebrating 60 years of the Formula One World Championship this year by gathering cars and drivers who have shaped the history of motorsport.

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He said: ‘I’ve been here every year since I joined Ferrari six years ago. Finally I think I have learned the way up the hill and was trying to put on a good show for the fans.’

F1 design guru Adrian Newey was also behind the wheel, piloting the Red Bull F1 car he helped to create.

He said: ‘Compared to designing this is very different. But it’s great to be a racing driver for the weekend.’

Tens of thousands of spectators lapped up the action on the first day of the festival near Chichester, including ex-athlete and Olympic silver medallist Roger Black from Portsmouth.

He said: ‘Walking around here, you can see how cars and motoring create such a lot of passion in people.’

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An investigation by Engineering and Technology (E&T) Magazine, published by influential UK-based engineering and electrical body the IET, has suggested that the current inefficiencies of batteries and the investment needed in infrastructure for EVs may mean that governments would do better to focus their efforts on high-efficiency diesel models and hybrids.

The report points to the range of today’s vehicles, some of which would be capable of over 600km at 70 mph (113 km/h) on a single tank of fuel, calculating that for an EV to offer comparable performance, the battery would weigh 1.5 tons and cost approximately £100,000 (€120,151).

According to the authors, the current performance limitations of batteries, along with the life expectancy of lithium-ion models and the infrastructure requirements for charging, means that finding a vehicle that “behaves in the same way as a petrol or a diesel is not viable for the foreseeable future.”

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Think Pin the Tail on the Donkey without the blindfold; the only downside being that the mule is constantly on the move, albeit at Eeyore speed.

I’ve twice spent the day working in a car factory, and it’s about as much fun as a verucca. On both occasions it struck me that there are only three truly taxing challenges to be overcome.

The first is mind-numbing boredom, the second is a very real, Radio 2-sponsored danger of developing RKMI (Repetitive Katie Melua Injury), and the third is running a thick millipede of black mastic round the edge of a windscreen before squelching the glass home.

Every one of my efforts to master this ostensibly simple task rapidly came to resemble a cross between a Jackson Pollock canvas and everything that could possibly go wrong with a liquorice fondue. So if you’re currently running around in a Nissan with a somewhat limit field of forward vision, I can only apologise.

Given that McLaren Automotive’s new, £40 million Production Centre will be belting out as many examples of its MP4-12C supercar each year as Toyota’s Burnaston plant builds in three days flat - about 1,300 - and the chances of me getting a job on the production line fall into the fat chance category, such quality control issues are unlikely to plague the impending gleam of the achingly pretty MP4-12C, appearing en masse in a Premier League club car park near you from the spring of 2011.

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The GQbyCITROËN concept, to be featured in the April issue of British GQ magazine, is a collaboration between the magazine, the carmaker and a tailor on London’s Savile Row.

The exterior of the vehicle was designed by Mark Lloyd, a Citroën designer who was behind the Citroën DS3. Lloyd was working to a brief provided by Dylan Jones, the editor of British GQ magazine.

“I wanted something practical, something cool, and something idiosyncratic - i.e. something surprising that didn’t just look like a concept car,” explained Dylan Jones. “The GQ car needed to have the ‘want’ factor, but it also needed to look, feel and ‘drive’ like the sort of car no sane man could choose to ignore.”

Interiors were provided by Patrick Grant, the Creative Director of prestigious Savile Row tailor E. Tautz, who styled a “military inspired interior” that was a “perfect counterpoint to the Gallic flair of the exterior.”

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It’s hoped this will help overcome the main obstacle in the way of hydrogen cars – the lack of a fuelling infrastructure – by creating a low-carbon fuel corridor along the South Wales section of the M4. There are also plans to extend the ‘corridor’ east as far as London.

‘Hydrogen presents exciting opportunities for low-carbon energy and I want South Wales to become a UK centre of excellence and expertise in hydrogen fuel technologies – both in development and manufacturing,’ said Peter Hain.

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There’s also Uli Bez, Aston Martin’ chief executive’s work on the abandoned front-engined 989 Porsche project and there’s the fact that the Rapide is the first Aston not to be built in England, in this case Austria…

Oh, to hell with context, let’s just drive…

With an afternoon and a full tank, I headed off round the original Audi Quattro launch route, running through Banbury, Ledbury and into Wales.

More than 30 years after the launch of the seminal Audi, it’s still a stern test of machine. The Rapide wolfed it up and after almost four hours I arrived back with a sore bottom but thrilled to the core.

In high-torque DB9 spec, the Ford-derived, six-litre V12 has a hair-raising soundtrack as well as the ability to pick you up and hurl you at the horizon like a cricket ball.

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Equipped with 18-inch alloy wheels, xenon headlamps, automatic wipers, leather seats (heated at the front), dual zone climate control, LED ambient interior lighting, front fog lights, front and rear parking sensors, stability control and six airbags, the new 300C SE is far from poorly equipped.

In fact, given this car technically competes in the same luxury car class as the Audi A6, BMW 5 Series and Mercedes-Benz E-Class (it’s actually based on an old E-Class platform), it looks like exceptional value.

SR adds satnav, SRT sporty looks

Above the SE now sits the SR trim level. SR adds auto-dimming rear view mirror, stereo upgrade, satellite navigation and Bluetooth, and it costs £24,995. Options are limited to a power sunroof (£750) and heated rear seats (£250).

SRT completes the regular model range, adding mostly visual enhancements, including 20-inch alloys, wheel arch extensions, mesh grille, leather and suede trimmed sports seats and carbon-fibre interior trimmings. SRT costs £27,995.

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