A structure outside Goodwood House celebrating 50 years of Toyota motorsport history, at the 2007 Goodwood Festival of Speed. — Picture by or Alex JonesLONDON, June 10 — Technology and tradition are set to collide in spectacular style at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed, Britain’s premier automotive event since the demise of the British Motor Show.

Amid all the pomp of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations in London, the festival confirmed that it too would hold a celebration for Queen Elizabeth, joining with Cartier to display a collection of vehicles owned or used by the monarch.

The vehicles, never before seen in public, will include Her Majesty’s 1961 Rolls-Royce Phantom V, modified specifically to fit on the Royal Yacht Britannia, a 1929 Daimler Double Six 30hp Brougham and a 1920 carriage from the Royal train, organizers said.

It is a far cry from another new addition to the show, which comes courtesy of Red Bull — a computer gaming competition aiming to find the best virtual drivers of games such as Forza Motorsport 4 and Gran Turismo 5 in front of F1 World Champion Sebastian Vettel.

Such differences are perhaps unsurprising, given how large Goodwood has become in recent years — absorbing much of the interest in the British Motor Show meant the addition of a ‘Moving Motor Show’ with 20 manufacturers keen to show off their latest models to potential buyers.

Vehicles on show but not for sale will be displayed, as always, in the other paddocks, including a Formula 1 paddock, a supercar paddock and a rally car paddock,  along with a special section for two-wheeled machines.

The car of honour this year will be the Mercedes-Benz SL, also celebrating its 60th year and taking pride of place on the “Walk of Fame” red carpet, one of the centrepieces of the event.

Goodwood made its name on its famous hill-climb and there is evidently still plenty of appetite to attempt it with, 300 cars a day already lined up to attempt the narrow, steep 1.86 km run through the trees and past Goodwood House.

Along with plenty of cars, Goodwood seems almost unparalleled in its ability to attract famous faces, including Formula One drivers — look out for names such as Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton, Mark Webber, Nico Rosberg, Bruno Senna, Christian Horner and Adrian Newey on the hillclimb itself.

The festival begins June 28 and runs through July 1 at the Goodwood Estate in West Sussex, United Kingdom. — AFP/Relaxnews