Goodwood has made a point of using the front of Lord March's impressive country pile as a location for dramatic displays since the earliest days of the Festival of Speed. The first one was simply the amazing supersonic Land Speed Record car, Thrust SSC, parked on a plinth, but since then the front of house sculpture has become increasingly complex and dramatic and has long been the work of renowned artist Gerry Judah.
This year, the sculpture is saluting the 120-year-long dominance of motorsport by Mercedes-Benz, and the enormous split arch, which seems almost to clear the entire house itself, carries two Mercedes F1 racing cars - a replica of Rudolf Caracciola's 1934 W25 racer, which won the first time it ever competed, and the current 2104 F1W04 of Lewis Hamilton - a car that has utterly dominated this year's F1 season.
Architecture fans among you may be interested to know that the span is some 26 metres high and covers a full 45 metres as it swoops up and towards the roof of Goodwood House.
In unveiling the sculpture, Lord March explained: "This year's Central Feature is the most architecturally and artistically challenging sculpture that we've ever had at Goodwood and it's a testament to the out-of-the-box thinking of Gerry Judah, which is very much aligned with our philosophy of constant innovation around the Festival of Speed. The result is a truly spectacular sight for all our Festival of Speed visitors to see."
Gerry Judah added: "It is a tremendous opportunity to be asked by Mercedes-Benz to create a sculpture to celebrate their 120 years of motor racing. For this we have pushed the limits of what is possible with size and complexity in engineering, with a 160 tonne steel arch connecting two of their great historic cars over the top of Goodwood House. The sculpture also celebrates the dynamic between Mercedes-Benz and the Festival of Speed, which for me is a pleasure and a privilege to be involved with."
Anything else?
The unveiling was accompanied by spectacular fireworks and a pack of Mercedes-Benz road and race cars making a dramatic and unique run up the Goodwood Hill in darkness.