Goodwood Festival of Speed 2018: round-up

After four days of intense action, the Goodwood Festival of Speed has reached its conclusion for another year. Hundreds of cars - and the odd bike, too - descended on the Duke of Richmond’s grounds in West Sussex, with many drivers eyeing up the main attraction: Goodwood’s famous, 1.16-mile hillclimb course.

As ever, visitors were greeted by an impressive Central Feature (above), this year commemorating Porsche’s 70th anniversary with a structure in front of Goodwood House standing 52 metres tall.

• Background: Goodwood Festival of Speed

The event also passed a milestone of its own, marking 25 years of the Festival of Speed after the first one-day meet back in 1993. Fittingly records tumbled on the hillclimb, with the Volkswagen I.D. R winning the main shootout on the final day with a time of 43.86, a record for an electric car.

In a sign of the times, second place also went to an electric car, with the NextEV NIO EP9 setting a time of 44.32, while Joerg Weidinger’s V8-powered BMW E36 M3 claimed third.

And in the Supercar Shootout the day before, the BAC Mono took the spoils ahead of the Ford GT and Aston Martin Vulcan AMR.

Elsewhere, big manufacturers are out in force showcasing their latest models. Maserati revealed its latest Levante GTS - despite the fact it's unlikely to be sold in the UK - while Nissan and Italdesign pulled the covers off their GT-R50 prototype. And at the stranger end of the spectrum, Aston Martin arrived with a one-off Cygnet... boasting 430bhp.

Meanwhile, Auto Express became the first publication in the world to drive the new McLaren 600LT, and we were also first to get a passenger ride in the forthcoming Mercedes-AMG GT 4-Door Coupe. We also learned that Lexus is considering electrified versions of its hot F cars  and that Lamborghini is planning a new generation of hybrids.

There’s so much to catch up on from motoring’s biggest garden party: so here’s a round-up of everything that took place at the 2018 Goodwood Festival of Speed…

Goodwood Festival of Speed 2018: gallery

Check out our gallery here and relive all of the action from FOS 2018!

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Goodwood Festival of Speed 2018: A-Z of new cars

Lots of new cars made their debuts at the 2018 Goodwood Festival of Speed, with manufacturers taking the opportunity to show off their latest creations to the thousands visitors. Here’s an A-Z guide of the new cars that appeared at Goodwood...

Alfa Romeo

Two new special edition Alfas came to Goodwood with Nurburgring pedigree. The Stelvio Quadrifoglio and Giulia Quadrifoglio NRING editions will be limited to 108 units each, both gaining unique matt grey paint, carbon ceramic brakes, and Sparco racing seats. Each car includes a unique numbered badge on the carbon fibre dashboard insert, plus a certificate of authenticity from FCA.

Aston Martin

Aston Martin took no fewer than eight cars to this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed, three of which are making their dynamic debuts: the new DBS Superleggera, plus the V12 Vantage V600 and Rapide AMR. Meanwhile all three versions of the DB11 were on Aston’s stand, together with the Vantage GTE (fresh from completing the 24 Hours of Le Mans) and the Vulcan AMR Pro, which finished in the Supercar Shootout hillclimb.

Bentley

Fresh from setting a record for production SUVs at Pikes Peak, the modified Bentley Bentayga W12 headlined the premium brand’s line-up at the Festival of Speed this year. Making its UK dynamic debut on Goodwood’s shorter (but no less famous) hillclimb, it was joined by the new Continental GT and the Continental GT3 racer. 

Brabham

Newly reborn Brabham attended this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed with its 700bhp BT62 track car. Ahead of making its dynamic debut, David Brabham, son of three-time F1 world champion Jack Brabham, said: “My father attended the Festival himself many times, and it’s great to continue the tradition of a Brabham driving a Brabham up the hill.”

As well as the hillclimb run, the BT62 debuted a special red and blue livery representing one of 35 Celebration series cars, inspired by the BT46B F1 car in which Niki Lauda won the Swedish Grand Prix in 1978.

BMW

BMW sent a strong contingent to the Festival of Speed this year, with the 8 Series Coupe taking the role of the headline act as it made its first public appearance in the UK. It was joined on the hill by the M8 GTE race car, as well as the i8 Roadster too.

Meanwhile the M8 Gran Coupe Concept - revealed earlier this year - made its UK debut, with the marque’s recent return to Le Mans celebrated with a trio of cars from its motorsport past taking on the hillclimb.

Ferrari

Twelve months on from Ferrari’s 70th birthday celebrations at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, the Italian marque returned with another exciting itinerary. The 488 Pista and 812 Superfast both made their UK dynamic debuts on the Goodwood hill, while the FXX, 599 XX and FXX K EVO were in attendance in the Supercar Paddock. Elsewhere, visitors have the chance to join Ferrari’s pit-stop crew, in a timed challenge to change the wheels on a Ferrari 488 GTE from Le Mans.

Ford

Earlier this year at the Detroit Motor Show, Ford unveiled its new Mustang Bullitt, inspired by the Mustang GT Fastback made famous by Steve McQueen in 1968 film Bullitt. And both the original car and the new model made their UK debuts at Goodwood, each taking to the hill during the festival. The Duke of Richmond said: “To have the original icon joined by its modern day successor exactly 50 years [after the film] is a fantastic way to mark our own special anniversary.”

Honda

Honda celebrated its motorsport heritage at the 2018 Goodwood Festival of Speed, sending a broad line-up of race cars and bikes to the event. The Honda F1 car from 1968 - the RA301 - took on the hillclimb at the hands of 2009 F1 champion Jenson Button, while the BTCC Civic Type R and NSX supercar also featured.

Jaguar

Jaguar also sent metal to Goodwood for its dynamic debut: the 542bhp F-Pace SVR featured on the hillclimb, while the XJ50 was on Jaguar’s stand to celebrate 50 years of the saloon. Also in attendance was the all-new electric I-Pace, the XE SV Project 8 and the Invictus GT4 Racing F-Type SVR, while visitors got to experience the thrills of drifting on the F-Type Drift Experience attraction.

Land Rover

Land Rover celebrated 70 years of its history in style at Goodwood with 70 models from all seven decades of its existence climbing up the hill together in unison. These will included the HUE166 - the first pre-production Land Rover prototype - plus Defenders, Range Rovers, Freelanders and more, right up to the modern day Velar. And if that wasn’t enough, the powerful Defender Works V8 ventured up the hill twice a day, while stunt driver Terry Grant set ‘fastest mile on two wheels’ by completing the entire hillclimb in a Range Rover Sport SVR with two wheels off the ground.

McLaren

At Goodwood, McLaren revealed the 600LT; a hardcore, track focused variant of the 570S. 592bhp, serious downforce and lots of weight saving feature on the car, but best of all, Auto Express was the first publication in the world to drive it...

Mercedes

The AMG GT 63 S 4-Door was on show at Goodwood, having been revealed at the Geneva Motor Show back in March. It boasts 630bhp, and Auto Express was lucky enough to receive the first passenger ride. Here are our first impressions... 

MINI

Not to be outdone by its British rivals, MINI sent two concept cars to the Goodwood Festival of Speed, both of which made their UK debuts. First revealed at last year’s Frankfurt Motor Show, the MINI Electric Concept gave visitors a taste of what to expect from the production model due in 2019, while the MINI John Cooper Works GP concept celebrated the brand’s achievements at the Monte Carlo Rally over half a century ago. Meanwhile, several models from MINI’s current line-up were on the MINI stand.

Noble

Also in attendance at this year's Festival of Speed were Noble. The British company brought along its first new metal in a long time, showing off its new M500. The new car is described as a "friendlier little brother" to the M600, though we've no doubt it's still quick.

Polestar

Another big dynamic debut was the first true showing of the Polestar 1. With Polestar spun off from Volvo as an electrified performance brand in its own right, the firm's first unique model is a 592bhp hybrid super coupe. Like the new Merc and McLaren, it went up the hill.

Rolls-Royce

The Festival of Speed offered punters a chance to see the all-new Cullinan. Not only did one example sit centre stage on the Rolls-Royce stand, but two pre-production models were adapted to work as recovery vehicles during the event - complete with towing equipment, light bars and all. In addition, special versions of the Phantom, Dawn, Ghost and Wraith all featured, while the Dawn Black Badge got to stretch its legs up the hill.

Tesla

Tesla brought a US-spec Model 3 to display at Goodwood, its first public appearance in Europe. Although it didn't set a time up the hill, fans and potential buyers were given the chance to inspect the car up close alongside its Model S and Model X siblings.

Toyota

Toyota brought the forthcoming A90 Supra to the Festival of Speed, where it made its official public debut. Just days earlier, it was spied on UK roads in right-hand drive form.

Goodwood Festival of Speed 2018: themes

The 2018 Festival of Speed celebrated several anniversaries. It marked 25 years since the first FoS - a modest single day meeting - and the Duke will selected 25 defining festival moments which showcased the event’s growth in popularity and scope over the last quarter of a decade.

This year also sees Porsche celebrate the 70th birthday of its first ever production car. The 356 used the same air-cooled, rear-wheel drive configuration that defined its iconic sports cars for decades, and naturally it feauted in the centrepiece of the spectacular sculpture that took pride of place on the lawn of Goodwood House this year. Beyond this, Porsche also delivered a “never-before-seen parade” of its cars, plus passenger rides in the latest Cayenne SUV.

Porsche has also secured the focal point of the whole event. Beyond the hillcilmb, the Central Feature is Goodwood’s most iconic and eye-catching attraction, and this year’s sculpture paid homage to 70 years of Porsche. Created by British artist and designer Gerry Judah – the man behind Goodwood’s sculptures for over two decades – this year’s Porsche tribute stood 52 metres tall and boasted some of the firm’s most iconic road and racing cars.

Meanwhile, clebrating its 60th birthday, the British Touring Car Championship was represented by many current drivers and cars competing in timed runs. Rob Austin, Tom Ingram, Adam Morgan, Matt Neal, and many more took part in a special BTCC shootout, although it was Andrew Jordan who prevailed in his BMW 125i M Sport. A series of Touring car legends were attendance, including the Alfa Romeo 155, the Mini Cooper S, Volvo 850 Estate and the 1958 Austin A105 which was steered by Jack Sears to the first ever British Touring Car title.

Bonhams also hosted its annual auction at Goodwood. This year, the Aston Martin DB5 that starred in the movie Goldeneye crossed the auction block, fetching over £10million.

Did you attend the 2018 Goodwood Festival of Speed? Let us what your highlights were in the comments...