The XP at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, 2010

After its appearance at the 50th Anniversary rally in 2010 (and the article in Classic and Sportscar magazine which was photographed and written during that trip), the XP excited a lot of non-Marcos interested.

This resulted in one of the ultimate accolades for the Morris family and the XP - An invite to take part in the Goodwood Festival of Speed in 2010.

On thursday, the car is prepared for the next 3 days' activities

Proudly wearing its 2010 Fesitval of Speed plate

I was at the event on the Thursday, which was officially a "Moving Motor Show" day with only a few of the full FoS exhibits present and manufacturers running test drives and rides in current production models up the driveway of Goodwood House for the select few who were considered serious about buying a car.

The XP was in great company - A Ford GT40 and Ferrari Daytona flanking it - ISO closest to camera

Fortunately for me, one of the cars there bright and early was the XP.

Roof mounted rear view mirror

Engine looking pristine under perspex cover

I chatted with Ned, who explained that when the invite arrived he was reminded of the regret others had felt at not taking the invite up and so with help from his family and Marcos Heritage Spares he had the car shipped out of San Francisco and through the Panama Canal - A trip which took 30 days, all tracked on the internet using RFID technology.

Front suspension detail

Fuel filler is very 60s!

I also cleared up the mystery of the changing registration plate (it was MANTA when I drove it, but is now MANTIS X). It seems the registration lapses after a while and someone else snapped up MANTA. The new registrations have to be 7 characters long, so the very appropriate MANTIS X was selected - If only the DVLA was so flexible!

The car looked as good as it had Prescott and I discovered that all the original panels were retained, Ned showing me some of his repair work, but it looks so good I was sure some parts must've been remoulded before he put me right.

Interior detail

The XP attracts a lot of attention on Friday (including Marcos owner Gary Harman at the back of the car!) - Photo Courtesy Mark Blanchard

Sadly, I didn't get to see the XP on the hill, as I didn't have a ticket for the full event, but I did find some excellent photos of the car in action and according to the Goodwood FoS site the XP was "One of the undoubted show stoppers at this year’s Festival of Speed."

'Hill' action - Photo Courtesy Richard Betts

The XP in action at the Festival of Speed - Photo Courtesy of Goodwood

And Ned's posted an in car video of a run up the Goodwood Hill.

His brother, Chris, has created a Facebook page for the XP too, which feature many images and videos of the XP - Check it out here.