Four reasons to watch the Goodwood Festival of Speed

The Goodwood festival of speed held annually in Chichester, about 100km south-southwest of London has become the de facto haloed ground for all things motoring.

The event runs from July 13-16 and if have the cash to splash, then it’s one for the books, or you can stream it live on YouTube.

Be it F1 machinery, rally devices, motorcycles, or latest super cars, or you want to see young and old motorsport legends, Goodwood has it all by the bucketload. 

Manufacturer interest in the event has made it the place to launch or unveil new models, with visitors able to see, touch and hear as the machines take on the hill in competition or exhibition runs. 

These are four of the main highlights to tune in to this week:

Porsche’s 75th anniversary

Last year BMW used the Goodwood festival to celebrate 50 years of BMW M and it was quite a spectacle with new and old models showcased. This year Porsche turns 75 and it returns to the grandstand, and the main sculpture piece, to celebrate its glorious past. You can expect the Zuffenhausen brand to bring out its best weapons from the past, present and future.

Sunday shoot-out

Another headline attraction is the 1.8km stretch of tarmac where spectators line up and hospitality marquees are perched. Manufacturers and race teams use the road to show off new and old cars, but on Sunday the heat is turned up.

That’s when some of the greatest drivers show what the greatest cars can do. This year the target will be on British touring car driver Max Chilton, who set the fastest time of 39.08 seconds in 2022 behind the wheel of the McMurtry Spéirling electric hyper car.

Celebrity drivers and cars

Some of the world’s best drivers are usually in attendance. The year’s confirmations include Lando Norris, Sebastian Vettel driving some F1 cars he owns, Jenson Button, Mika Häkkinen and Emerson Fittipaldi. World Rally Championship legends Ott Tänak and Thierry Neuville will be tearing up the hill in their machines. 

The centenary of the Le Mans 24 Hours is celebrated with more than 30 cars from the past and present. They include the Audi R10 and R18 that dominated the 2000s, while the current Le Mans winning Ferrari 499P and the Garage 56 Camaro ZL1 NASCAR will also be there. MotoGP bikes also join the festivities this year.

New cars

In recent years original equipment manufacturers have chosen the Goodwood festival of speed is the place for public debuts of new cars. Last year BMW unveiled the new BMW M3 Touring. This year is another bumper year for debuts, and include: 

AIM EV Sport 01 — Shiro Nakamura is a Japanese designer formerly with Nissan. Notable projects under his direction are the R35 Nissan GT-R. He will be unveiling an independently produced AIM EV Sport 01 electric sports car.

Caterham Cars — The British manufacturer will debut two electric cars; the Caterham Seven the Caterham Project V. The former is classic and lightweight race-and-road tool styled from the 1960s, and could prove fast enough to challenge for honours. The latter is closed-wheel, closed-cockpit sports car.

McLaren — The British supercar specialist recently showed the new 750S, a replacement of the 720S that hits the 0-100km/h sprint in 2.8 seconds. The company has reserved the festival of speed to show its latest toy — the Solus GT. It debuted as a car in a Gran Turismo Sport video game and is now a real life hyper car that’s powered by a 5.2l V10 that produces 618kW at a screaming 10,000rpm.

McMurtry — Current record holders of the outright fastest time up the hill will return with the Spéirling Pure. This time the company isn’t looking to break records, but will showcase the customer version of the electric car capable of the 0-100km/h sprint in 1.4 seconds. 

Also expect dynamic debuts from the Ford Mustang Dark Horse; Automobili Pininfarina Battista Edizione Nino Farina; Mini Aceman; MG4 XPower; Hyundai N Vision 74; Aston Martin’s DB12; and the Ineos Grenadier Quartermaster.