This past weekend marked a proud moment for the Autocraft team, as a fully restored ex-County Championship BMW E21—last raced 45 years ago—made its competitive return at the 82nd Goodwood Members’ Meeting.

Purchased just six months ago by Autocraft Director Darren Fielding, the iconic BMW was brought back to life through a collaborative restoration effort led by our in-house team. The vehicle’s bodywork was carefully restored at Autocraft, before being rebuilt to race-ready condition by motorsport specialists AMSpeed.

The goal from the start? To secure an invitation to race at Goodwood alongside some of the biggest names in historic motorsport—and that dream became a reality just weeks before the event.

With time ticking, the car was completed just in time for a single shakedown test before heading to the legendary Goodwood Motor Circuit. Despite the tight deadline and decades off the track, the E21 impressed from its very first lap.

In a fitting twist of history, Darren shared driving duties with Alex Brundle, son of Martin Brundle, who originally drove the car to championship success in the late 1970s. Alex qualified the car an impressive P6, while Darren tackled the opening stint of the race. After being pushed onto the grass on lap one and dropping to 16th, he fought back to 10th before handing over to Alex—who brought the car home in a brilliant 7th place out of 30.

“To be in the top ten on our first outing with this car—especially at Goodwood—was beyond what we could have hoped for,” Darren said. “We’re incredibly proud of the work that went into this build and thankful to everyone who made it happen.”

The Autocraft team is honoured to have played a part in reviving this special car and returning it to where it belongs—on the track.

We’re already looking forward to what’s next... and hopefully, another run at Goodwood in 2026.

 

Photo credit: @motorsportclassics.media