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What Is The Goodwood Festival Of Speed

With the gates opening to the 2018 Goodwood Festival Of Speed tomorrow, we thought we’d give you a taste of what the event holds before it closes its gates at the end of Sunday (12-15 July).

Coined as the greatest and largest automotive garden party in the world, the event holds something for everyone. Whether you love the sound of a roaring V8, demand the silent whir of an EV, or just want to sit and chat cars with a piece of cake and a cup of tea, this event is for you.

This year, the Sussex based Hill Climb course celebrates not only its own 25th anniversary, but the 70th anniversary of the German marque, Porsche. They’ll be bringing all of their latest and greatest creations as well as their legendary history to showoff alongside the 600 other cars and motorbikes from all eras and of all values. Any car of interest has a place at the show.

The main attraction however, of course has to be the 1.16 mile hill climb course that snakes around the grounds of the estate. This course has seen many cars from classic Formula cars to the latest hypercars of this era. But this year the course is set to home car with one rather important part missing: the driver.

Both Roborace and Siemens will be arriving with completely autonomous cars ready to take on the road – a first for Goodwood. But despite Goodwood pushing into the future, its heritage and traditions remain with the Red Arrows still performing their yearly air aerobics and a host of other activities being available for the family.

Of course, Porsche will be holding extensive tributes to their rich heritage in motorsport such as WEC, Formula 1 and rallying. There will be stands of their most iconic racing cars and road cars including the 911 2.7 RS and a host of 911 GT3 generations, as well as an all-Porsche run on the track.

The first few days of the event consist of practice on the course, but Sunday is when the big guns make their move and record their definitive times for the year. But before that, visitors are treated with a whole host of exciting displays from Formula Drift Champion runs and stunt displays, and let’s not forget the hordes of celebrities walking around if you’re into that.

Tickets are limited, but range from £37 on the Thursday to £69 on the Sunday. And f you want extra hospitality, get ready to part with some cash.

Alex Harrington

Alex started racing at a young age so certainly knows his way around a car and a track. He can just about put a sentence together too, which helps. He has a great interest in the latest models, but would throw all of his money at a rusty old French classic and a 300ZX. Contact: [email protected]

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