9 Things You Must See At The Goodwood Festival Of Speed

As an American, something about watching a Chevrolet or even Toyota stock car with a deafening V8 attack this very British hill climb event is extremely satisfying. This year, there were plenty of stock cars from NASCAR’s Euro series, a European minor league for the Cup Series here in the U.S. And all of them made an impact among the many million-dollar classics and hypercars. But not all of them a good impact; the number 3 Chevy SS was the first car of the weekend to crash into the hay bails.

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Put in your earplugs for this one. Formula One cars like Aryton Senna's historic Marlboro McLaren, Sebastian Vettel's Red Bull Renault from 2013, and other iconic F1 cars took on the hill this year, as they do every year. The dozen or so F1 cars were among the loudest, most exciting vehicles to make the climb. In fact, a former F1 car still holds the all-time record for fastest time up the hill. Watching F1 cars outside of their normal environment is a must-see for fans.

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Venture off the beaten path, and hidden in the woods behind Lord March's house is a makeshift rally stage where some of the most iconic rally cars ever to hit the dirt come back out to play. This year, legends like the Lancia Stratos and Audi Quattro attacked the course, but newcomers like the Jaguar F-Type rally car and updated Subaru WRX STI (ripe with the new livery) also took on the stage. If you grow tired of the typical hill climb event (though, how could you?) we suggest next year spending more time on the rally course.

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Typically when you see the word "prototypes," that means a static vehicle on a show stand. But not at Goodwood. Lexus, Land Rover, Honda, and others put their latest prototypes to the test. The LC Convertible, new Defender, and adorable Honda E each took on the hill climb flat out. Watching these prototypes challenge Goodwood only has us that much more excited about their production-ready counterparts.

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As the Goodwood Festival of Speed grows, more manufacturers have seen value in debuting vehicles at the event. This year, there were multiple new-car debuts, including the Ford GT Mk II, Porsche 911 RSR, Audi R8 LMS GT2, De Tomaso P72, and others. But unlike traditional auto shows, all of the new cars shown tackle the hill climb multiple times, rather than just sitting there on a display stand.

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Classics are cool, but this year's Goodwood Festival of Speed had more supercars and hypercars than you can imagine. Many of the cars came from manufacturers we know already: Koenigsegg, Brabham, and Mclaren included. But some small outfits like Apollo and Dallara showed their supercars in motion for the first time. The supercar and hypercar segment has grown to be one of the largest – over the next few years, we expect even more.

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Stray from the hill climb some and venture into the paddock area. There, you'll see all the cars getting tweaks and tune-ups, or simply sitting idle waiting for their next bout. Few barriers keep you from getting close to some of the most iconic cars on the planet. And if you're lucky, you might be able to catch a speed car from the late teens turn over its engine. Just don't stand too close, the heat emanating from a fire-breathing exhaust might singe your eyebrows off.

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The electric Volkswagen I.D. R racer gets its own spot on our list. It’s the current poster car and a high-water mark for how brutal electrified performance can be. Assuming it returns for its third consecutive year in 2020, the prototype racer is a must-see. This year, it took on the Goodwood hill climb with Romain Dumas behind the wheel and broke the long-held Goodwood lap record – sort of. At 39.9 seconds, the I.D. R bested Nick Heidfeld’s McLaren F1 car by nearly two whole seconds… but it was in a practice session. 

When the official scoring period came around on the last day, it had just rained and the I.D. R ditched its slicks. While its timed 42.32-second run was still the fastest of the weekend, it wasn’t enough to break Hedfield’s long-standing official record of 41.6 seconds.

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