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Top 10 Spectacles from the Goodwood Festival of Speed
With so much innovation and awe on display at this year’s Festival of Speed, we’ve put together a list of our favourite moments and displays from the festival in case you missed them.
The BMW 50th anniversary moment
Probably the most impactful moment of the whole of Goodwood, the BMW M Moment in front of Goodwood House. Marking 50 years of the BMW M division and celebrating all the years of hard work and innovation, the M Moment was an opportunity for BMW to show offsome of the incredible BMW and BMW developed cars including the Z4 race car all the way through to BMW powered McLaren F1’s.
Perfectly timed with fireworks, a live orchestra and opera singer, the M Moment was something truly magical.
The first cars up the hill
Seeing the first few cars make their way up the hill was an incredible sight. It’s hard to put into words just how incredible it is, so we spoke to our Vehicle Photography Specialist and asked what his highlight was!
“My highlight of the day was standing at the first corner, sadly in the rain, watching the initial batch of cars accelerating off of the start line.
Of the initial batch of cars, the new BMW M3 Touring was a great sight to see. Watching the Red Bull BMW M4 drift team sliding up the hill in formation was fantastic.”
The McMurtry Spéirling
It wouldn’t be a very good list if we didn’t mention the car that broke both the official and unofficial hill climb times. Last year McMurty brought the Spéirling to Goodwood as a secret project and this year, it was back again with the intention of beating that record. The car managed an astonishing 39.08 seconds, beating the previous official (41.6 seconds) and unofficial (39.3 seconds) hill climb records.
Watching this car climb the hill was an incredible experience. Seeing the speeds achieved in the corners was something that is quite literally indescribable, so if you need to see it to believe it, check out the video from Goodwood FOS here.
Formula 1 Cars
It’s not often you see Formula 1 drivers let loose in their cars, but that’s exactly what we were treated to this year. Thanks to the masterful talent of George Russel, we got to see an updated W10 Mercedes car take to the hill and perform some lovely doughnuts in front of the Goodwood House.
After his mini Gymkhana display, George Russel stormed the hill letting the engine roar and made the flint wall come alive as he reached the top.
Jaguar F-Type drift experience
Jaguar certainly put on a display this year with an impressive stand which showcased the latest models in the flesh. But by far the most exhilarating thing on the stand had to be the Jaguar F-Type drifting experience found tucked away in the woods nearby.
We couldn’t help being taken in by the looks on festival goers faces as they were thrown around the tight, technical course in these V8 powered F-Types.
The Red Arrows
Once you hear the Red Arrow rumble, you know you are in for a treat! The team in red never fail to put on a show and Goodwood was no exception. Making multiple appearances over the festival so people had plenty of opportunities to see their incredible display.
The squadron used the entire festival site, flying over Goodwood House, the hill climb and venturing out and over the grounds where hungry festival goers relaxed with food.
The food!
This may be an odd one to include for such a car centric festival, but anyone that went to the festival knows exactly what we are talking about when we say the food was amazing. Not only was the food there great to taste, there was so much variety!
All around the festival food vendors were selling everything from fresh pizza, chicken in various forms, BBQ and most importantly, you could have an entire BUCKET of churros, which we, of course, had to sample to celebrate the start of the weekend!
The BMW stand entertainment
BMW had a huge presence at this year’s Festival of Speed, and as much as the BMW M Event was a huge deal, the BMW stand itself was also an incredible sight to see. Not only was the incredible M3 Touring and M4 CSL on display which were amazing to see in the flesh, but BMW had entertainment running throughout the day, which included the trio “Duke”.
The energy around the stand was electric, everyone who caught the performance walked away smiling and it certainly drew a huge crowd.
Gymkhana
Last but certainly not least, Gymkhana (Drifting). Everyone at the festival wants a show and that is certainly provided when these drivers climbed the hill. Notably the power brothers Elias and Johannes Hountondji in the BMW M4 GT4’s was a real sight to behold. Tyres screeching, plenty of smoke and a lot of noise accompanied these cars as they masterfully handled the hill in various drift cars.
Electric Avenue “The road to 2030”
The theme of Goodwood this year was “innovators and innovation”, and nothing screams innovation more than electric cars.
Electric Avenue featured thirty of the latest electric cars on show for all to see, ranging from superminis like the Citroen AMI all the way through to the Porsche Taycan.
You could also check out the Concept Paddock where some of the most prestigious manufactures showcase electric car concepts.
If you’re already planning your trip to Goodwood Festival of Speed 2023, you can check out our favourite scenic routes here.