February 20, 2013

A wheelie special Festival of Speed icon set to return to Goodwood

This summer's 20th anniversary Festival of Speed (July 12-14) will see a number of remarkable and memorable vehicles, drivers and riders returning to the world's most popular motor sport and car culture event, as Goodwood recreates a number of legendary
moments.

One of the most fondly-remembered Festival of Speed pairings is the astonishing Bob Riggle, popping lengthy wheelies up the Goodwood hillclimb in his amazing 'Hemi Under Glass' 1965 Plymouth Barracuda.

American drag racer Riggle first astonished the Festival of Speed crowds in 2001, when he stole the show, performing his outrageous wheelies on the 1.16-mile Hill. In response to popular demand, he returned to Goodwood in 2003, and came back for more in 2007.

Riggle's unique Barracuda has a snarling Chrysler 426 Hemi engine stuffed in where the rear seat used to be.  The black and gold-coloured Plymouth was affectionately given the nickname 'Hemi Under Glass' following various appearances across the United States in the late 1960s. The car would rock awestruck spectators back on their heels as the Barracuda's front wheels pitched high into the air and screamed down the drag strip with its nose pointing upward to the sky.

Riggle sold the Hemi Under Glass a few years ago, so his much-anticipated reunion with the car at Goodwood is set to be a real moment to savour, as he steers the car looking through the 'windscreen' on the car's floor.


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