- Global debut of NISSAN CONCEPT 2020 Vision Gran Turismo®
- Olympians Sir Chris Hoy and Jenny Jones and Paralympian Richard Whitehead MBE will greet fans on the stand over the weekend
- GT-R NISMO GT3 takes on Goodwood track
WEST SUSSEX, England – Fantasy will become reality this weekend when the NISSAN CONCEPT 2020 Vision Grand Turismo® makes its global debut as part of the brand's thrilling and action-packed Goodwood Festival of Speed program.
The covers come off the NISSAN CONCEPT 2020 Vision Gran Turismo® on June 26 on the Nissan stand, giving visitors the first chance to see the car up close.
As part of the festivities, Nissan's Chief Planning Officer Andy Palmer – along with the brand's Chief Creative Officer, Design and Brand Management, Shiro Nakamura – will also be at Goodwood over the course of the weekend to meet members of the media and public.
Conceived by the team from Nissan's European design studio in London for the latest installment of the legendary PlayStation driving franchise, Gran Turismo®, the concept points to how a Nissan supercar of the future could look.
Its much-anticipated first appearance will be one of the highlights of a scintillating 2014 festival presence that will showcase like never before the spirit of innovation and excitement embedded in Nissan's DNA.
Olympic hero Sir Chris Hoy, now a Nissan driver and brand ambassador, will appear on the Nissan stand three times – between 11:00-11:30 and 14:30-15:00 local time on Friday and 14:30-15:00 on Sunday – for a Q&A session with fans.
Fellow brand ambassadors Richard Whitehead MBE (a Gold Medalist at the London 2012 Paralympic Games) and Jenny Jones (a Bronze Medalist at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics) will be visiting the Nissan stand as well as part of the brand's inspirational #UniteAndExcite partnership with Team GB and ParalympicsGB on the Road to Rio.
Visitors will be able to experience motorsport thrills for themselves in high-tech Gran Turismo® 6 gaming pods. To complete the digital experience visitors can virtually design their own IDx concept with the Oculus Rift 3D virtual reality gaming headset that delivers mind-blowing realism.
There will be a strong Nissan presence on the Goodwood track too, with two versions of its all-conquering GT-R supercar – the GT-R NISMO and the record-breaking GT-R Time Attack – appearing on the famous circuit throughout the weekend. The GT-R NISMO GT3 will be driven by a rising star, GT Academy winner and current Le Mans JS P2 driver Jann Mardenborough.
For live updates follow Nissan on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NissanUK) or on Twitter (@NissanUK) throughout festival weekend.
Goodwood Festival of Speed
Held in the grounds of Goodwood House, an elegant and historic country residence nestling amid England’s picturesque South Downs, the Goodwood Festival provides the startling sight of racing cars charging through its bucolic grounds – the house’s driveway turned into a dramatic, challenging and rather beautiful hillclimb venue.
Racing cars and Goodwood have been synonymous for decades, the first motorsport event occurring in 1936 when the ninth Duke of Richmond organized a hill climb through the house’s grounds. World War II brought this pursuit to a close, but also saw the construction of a nearby airfield whose perimeter road would eventually be turned into the famous Goodwood circuit.
The first race was held in 1948 and the last in 1966. When Charles Gordon-Lennox, the current Earl of March and a major car enthusiast, was prevented from reviving races at the circuit, he decided to stage his own Festival of speed in the grounds of Goodwood House.
The first event attracted 30,000 visitors, and it now draws 180,000, many considering it the finest motoring event in Britain.
Besides the hill climb, there is also a concours d’elegance, a pavilion of concept cars, a technical exhibits of the future, an air display, events for younger visitors, and much more. A highlight of the event remains the paddock where fans can stand mere inches from some of the most famous racing cars in history and, better still, meet their drivers.
The 2014 Goodwood Festival of Speed takes place from June 26 to June 29.
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