© Getty Images

UK Car Culture with Matt JonesEvery country’s car culture has its quirks and its loyal band of fanatical devotees, but nowhere does it quite like the UK, and nowhere embodies that spirit like the Goodwood Festival of Speed.

RedBullMountainBikeslopestylestarandcarcultureconvertMattJonesexplainswhy…

It’s not too much of an exaggeration to say that the UK is the original home of car culture. France, site of the first Grand Prix in 1906, can probably make a claim, so too can Italy, the home of Ferrari, Lamborghini and Maserati. Germany, thanks to the Nürburgring, or the US – a country built for the automobile – can also probably stick a hand up and bid for OG status when it comes to a fascination for automobiles.

But while they all have spectacular legacies and vibrant current cultures, the UK’s peculiar blend of homespun, shed-built motoring madness, and its penchant for adopting and absorbing aspects of car craziness from around the world almost certainly makes it the epicentre of whatever sparsely populated, but utterly dedicated, little niche it is that takes your fancy.

Got a thing for one of British Leyland’s brownest and most ill-considered family saloons? Allegro Club International will cater to your peculiar fetish. American muscle cars your thing? Try the Mopar Nationals at Santa Pod Raceway. Or what about US-style lowriders? check out Lay ‘n’ Play, a channel/brand/community devoted solely to ground-hugging builds. From supercar worshippers to JDM nuts, from welly and wax jacket Land Rover worshippers to drift queens, and from Formula One fanatics to auto testing Mini madmen and women, the UK has it all.

And for a great many of those, fanatic devotion comes together at what has arguably become one of the world’s biggest motoring events – the Goodwood Festival of Speed.

Doing Donuts At Goodwood© Getty Images

Founded by the now Duke of Richmond in 1993 as a means of bringing motor racing back to the Goodwood Circuit and the vast estate in which it sits, the festival has ballooned from an enthusiast’s day trip to become a four-day celebration of motorsport, supercars, classics, and next gen marvels.

Glorious Goodwood© Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool

Every year, more than 200,000 people cram into this beautiful corner of West Sussex to get up close and personal with some of the world’s most desirable cars and with some of racing’s most legendary names. It’s an intoxicating blend of speed, style, and exotic automobilia that continues to thrill enthusiasts and convert new fans every year – as Red Bull Mountain Bike star Matt Jones can attest.

Matt Jones© Dan Griffiths/Red Bull Content Pool

Matt Jones© Dave Mackison / Red Bull Content Pool

The British slopestyle rider burst onto the international scene in 2013 at the age of 18 and has since gone on to take plaudits and prizes at some of the world top mountain-biking events. But, despite growing up on two-wheels, a trip to the Festival of Speed put Matt on the road to some very exotic four-wheeled fun.

Back then, I couldn't afford a cool car, but I was definitely obsessed with them and Red Bull gave me access to the best and greatest cars, drivers, and experiences.Matt Jones

“My introduction to Red Bull actually happened at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, 11 years ago,” he says. “I was surprised with my Red Bull helmet right here. And with that relationship came a fascination for cars, because I was immersed in it. Back then, I couldn't afford a cool car, but I was definitely obsessed with them and Red Bull gave me access to the best and greatest cars, drivers, and experiences. That enjoyment fuels passion. Having those moments early on in my career – getting the best out of motorsport – just made me more and more interested. To be honest, bikes for me have just been a vehicle to cars. It's the thing I’m good at, but I’ve leveraged it to get closer to cars.”

Matt’s journey with Red Bull has taken him around the world to compete in the full roster of major MTB events, including Red Bull Joyride and the prestigious Crankworx World Tour, and at every stage point along the way, he’s channelled the reward back into his passion for cars.

“Every time I won a competition, I put that money toward cars – over and over again – and I’ve just kept overachieving really, with where I'd end up,” he says. “I've got a collection of mega cars. I can't believe it. I love naturally-aspirated engines, I love the noise – just the ferocious nature of cars. I'm not really into the new stuff. There's an era I love the most, which is big V12s, V8s – stuff like that. If I watch anything on YouTube, it’s cars more than bikes.”

The world of V8s and V12s is a long way from Jones’ first car however, and in true peculiarly UK style he still has fond memories of a rather unlovely first love.

“It was a Fiat Stilo! I had it for about three years,” he laughs. “The rear seats reclined, which was brilliant. I ran that thing into the ground. The windscreen wipers would stop working on the motorway, so I’d have to emergency eject onto the hard shoulder because I was blind if it was raining. I’m surprised I survived that thing.”

Matt moved on to BMWs and eventually to much higher-powered machinery.

“My dream car was always a Mercedes C63 AMG – the big 6.2-litre one. I bought one when I was 19! But honestly, anything with a big naturally aspirated lump in it – V8, V10, V12 – you’ve already got my interest. Now, I’m looking more into Italian stuff like Lambos. They’re just so iconic. I don’t even know who they were designed for, but that’s where my intrigue lies – in power and the exotic look and buzz around them.”

His fascination with Italian supercars is common to many, though his ownership of them does place him a fairly rarified corner of car culture, but Jones says that it’s the diversity of fanaticism that makes UK car culture different.

The car becomes the face of your behaviour rather than yourself, if you know what I mean.Matt Jones

“UK car culture is funny,” he says. “There’s a massive interest in drifting. I used to go to a lot of car meets growing up – some of them the kind you weren’t supposed to have, some organised. You’d get a bit of everything – people bending the rules, doing burnouts, making loads of noise and tyre smoke. For me, that was a great on-ramp into loving cars because I could see you could be a bit outlandish using a car and hide inside it. The car becomes the face of your behaviour rather than yourself, if you know what I mean.”

Matt also sees a parallel between the popularity of F1 and the perennial vibrancy of car culture in the UK.

“I think [the UK] being the home of Formula One helps – it definitely filters down. Especially to things like Goodwood. It’s a globally recognised event. We've got everything from supercars and Formula One all the way down to the grassroots of drifting. There’s something at Goodwood for everyone. Just seeing [team] bumper stickers, people with F1 driver numbers on the back of their car – that shows it’s here. When fans want to represent a team or a driver, that defines culture for me. So, it's 100% evident, and I think it's only growing.”