The best looking tyre shop you'll ever see
Goodwood Revival has a knack of transporting us to times gone by. It’s why we love it so. The pangs of nostalgia don’t only stem from the cars and period dress at Goodwood. Oh no. We’ve gone even better with an entire high street dedicated to yesteryear, and in 2018, one of the biggest head turners is the Michelin Stand.
Firstly, calling it a stand does it a slight injustice. The eagle-eyed will instantly identify it as Michelin House, 81 Fulham Road, Chelsea, London, and this weekend the iconic building has been recreated especially for Revival.
Originally designed by one of Michelin’s employees François Espinasse and opened for business in 1911, the art nouveau building featured three large stained-glass windows, all based on Michelin advertisements of the time, depicting the iconic Michelin Man, ‘Bibendum’.
A long way from the tyre garages we pop into today, Michelin House was a resplendent destination for motorists of the time. Able to choose from a stock of 30,000 new shoes all housed within the basement on site, the chosen tyres were hoisted to fitting bays manned by Michelin mechanics. Motorists could wait for the dirty work to be done while perusing the Touring Office where maps, journals, and all sorts of handy stationary were on offer to plan the next European road trip. Sounds rather civilised and lovely, doesn’t it?
Thankfully today, albeit on a smaller scale, the Goodwood Revival Michelin stand can offer a similar sort of service for anyone in the market for some new rubber for their beloved classic, with tyres available to order. They’ve even got the stationary and maps available to purchase along with some very tempting Bibendum figurines and paperweights.
Oh, and one little tip. Anyone looking for a bargain set of tyres should pop down late Sunday afternoon. We spotted an entire rack at the back of the stand, and we reckon with a bit of gentle persuasion, the ladies and gents at Michelin might be open to offers come end of event. No promises, but if you don’t ask, you don’t get…
Photography by James Lynch
Revival
Revival 2018
2018
