Goodwood Festival of Speed reveals 20th anniversary theme

Next year's Goodwood Festival of Speed will celebrate the best bits of the event's highly successful 20-year run.

The festival organisers have pledged to bring "the biggest, best, fastest, loudest and most outrageous vehicles of all time" back to West Sussex for the motoring extravaganza's 2013 edition.

Some of the highlights of bygone festivals will be recreated, whether that means rare cars returning to Goodwood House or famous car/driver pairings brought back together.

"I really can't believe that we've been staging the Festival of Speed for 20 years already; the time has simply flown by!" said festival founder Lord March.

He revealed that over 25,000 people turned up for the very first event in 1993, despite the fact that only 2,500 were expected.

"Today the festival attracts over 185,000 enthusiastic and knowledgeable spectators, which I just could not have imagined way back in 1993," Lord March added.

An eclectic range of vehicles are expected to complete the festival's famous 1.16-mile hill climb, including steam cars and Soapbox racers. Visitors will also be treated to the sight of iconic motorcycles and the Michelin Supercar Paddock's line-up of stunning performance vehicles from around the world.

This year's festival drew a record crowd and saw tickets sell out earlier than they ever had done before. More than 140 star racing drivers, motorcycle riders and celebrities took part in the event.

Goodwood fans have been invited to submit their personal highlights of the last 20 years and make suggestions for next year's festival on the official Facebook page. The organisers have also promised a number of "unexpected treats" to mark the 20th anniversary.

The 2013 Festival of Speed is due to take place from Thursday July 4th to Sunday July 7th.

If you need assistance insuring a sports, prestige or performance car, contact the expert team at Performance Direct. We insure hundreds of enthusiast drivers across the UK and can save you time and money.

Posted by Mark Thompson

Like What You’ve Read?

For more articles like this, receive our weekly e-newsletter, including partner deals and all things motoring, register your email below.

Please note: You cannot subscribe to Smart-Motoring unless you put a tick in the checkbox below to indicate have read and agreed to our privacy policy.