Goodwood Festival of Speed (Preview)

Tennis fans have Wimbledon, music lovers have Glastonbury, and petrolheads have Goodwood…

That’s how big of a deal the Goodwood Festival of Speed (FoS) is and it’s almost here. Between July 12-15th, the grounds of Goodwood House in West Sussex will erupt with the sound and stench of roaring exhausts – and it will be glorious.

Horsepower will be flung around as if it was confetti at a Royal wedding and the words ‘too fast’ simply don’t exist as racing drivers attempt to smash the 1.16-mile hillclimb’s 41.6 second record set by Nick Heidfeld’s McLaren MP4/13 Formula One car in 1999. Anyone with the slightest affinity for things with wheels has to visit Goodwood FoS at least once in their life, and if you’re heading there in 2018, this is what you can expect to see.

Land Rover

Land Rover turns 70 in 2018 so what better way to celebrate such a major landmark than a parade of exactly 70 Land Rovers?

‘Huey’ HUE166 – the first pre-production Land Rover prototype – will lead the procession, which will ascend the Goodwood Hill on the Thursday at 13.25 as part of the brand’s platinum jubilee celebrations.

A cast of iconic Land Rovers will make up the rest of the procession including Series Is, IIs and IIIs, the Defender, four generations of Range Rover and five generations of Discovery, as well as recent additions to the Land Rover roster like the Velar, Discovery Sport and Evoque.

The fastest-ever Defender Works V8 will be driven flat-out up the Goodwood Hill, while stunt driver Terry Grant will drive a Range Rover Sport SVR with the aim of securing the ‘Fastest Mile on Two Wheels’ title.

Bentley

Bentley’s Bentayga recently set a new record time for a production SUV on the 12.420-mile Pikes Peak hillclimb, completing the legendary course in 10min 49.902secs.

The very same 600bhp W12 SUV will go from one iconic hill to another with its debut at Goodwood. Bentley will also showcase its new Continental GT and Continental GT3 race car over the weekend.

Mini

A concept of what could evolve into the first ever all-electric production Mini will be joined by a concept of the next John Cooper Works GP on Mini’s Goodwood stand.

With a minimalist iconic design, the Mini Electric Concept offers a preview of the all-electric production vehicle due to be unveiled in 2019.

Meanwhile, the Mini John Cooper Works GP Concept is inspired by the legendary triumphs in the Monte Carlo Rally over 50 years ago.

Ford

Remember that special edition Mustang Bullitt created to celebrate the 50th anniversary since Steve McQueen’s iconic action film? Well, Brits will finally get chance to see the thing exploit its five-litre V8 in the flesh at Goodwood.

 

The car will be followed up the hill by one of the two original Mustangs from the actual movie: a lovingly restored 1968 GT Fastback.

“To have the original icon joined by its modern day successor exactly 50 years later is a fantastic way to mark our own special anniversary,” said The Duke of Richmond and Gordon, founder of Goodwood Festival of Speed.

BMW

Anyone impressed by the 8 Series Coupe recently will have chance to see the new sports car storm up the hill, alongside the performance version: the M8 GTE. BMW will use Goodwood FoS to unveil the concept M8 Gran Coupe too.

Honda

Honda’s Goodwood stands always deliver in the imagination department. After their life-size toy cars (if that makes sense) from a few years ago, they hope to give visitors an insight into what goes on in a real-life pit stop.

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Anyone who drops by can take part in a timed pit-stop challenge, taking off and putting on a wheel using a unique tool developed by the Honda team themselves. Jenson Button will be on stand on the Sunday, in between piloting the heritage 1968 Honda F1 car, the RA301, up the hill.

Are you heading down to Goodwood this year? What’s on your must-see list? Let us know down in the comments.