Staged every summer since 1993, the Goodwood Festival of Speed is the world’s largest automotive garden party. It's set against the spectacular backdrop of Goodwood House in West Sussex, and features over 600 cars and motorcycles, as well as legendary figures from motorsport.
This year, Goodwood celebrated its partnership with Aston Martin, featuring a spectacular central statue and a mouthwatering array of machinery spanning the entire history of the British brand.
Here are five highlights from this year's show:
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1. The new Land Rover Defender prototype opens the show
This year’s Festival of Speed was officially opened by the Duke of Richmond driving a prototype of the new Land Rover Defender up the iconic Hill.
The test vehicle, which is in the final stages of its global engineering development program, tackled the course each day, wearing a camouflage pattern to hide its shape.
The Duke of Richmond said, “Few vehicles in the world can claim to be an icon, but that’s the only way to describe the Land Rover Defender. It’s extremely close to my heart and a vehicle that I’ve had a close connection with over the decades, so to be able to open this year’s Festival of Speed by driving it up the Hill was a real privilege.”
2. Volkswagen ID. R sets new Goodwood Festival of Speed Hillclimb record
Every year drivers and manufacturers compete to be the fastest up the Hill.
In 1999, McLaren set the fastest time on the 1.16-mile Goodwood Hillclimb with its MP4/13 F1 car, driven by then-F1 driver Nick Heidfeld in a time of 00:41:60.
The record stood for 20 years, until the all-electric Volkswagen ID.R smashed it this year, setting a time of 41.18 seconds and averaging 101.4mph along the course.
The ID.R then broke its own record when it went out a second time, setting a time of 39.90.
The all-electric ID.R produces 500kW (670bhp) and 650Nm of torque, and weighs less than 1,100kg with the driver on board. The remarkable Volkswagen can accelerate from 0-62mph in 2.25 seconds, and tops out at 168mph.
It adds the Goodwood Hill Climb to its impressive list of records, setting the electric vehicle lap record around the famous Nürburgring Nordschleife, with a time of 06:05.33 minutes in June, and its Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in Colorado, USA, (07.57.15 minutes) set in June 2018.
3. All-new Extreme E electric race SUV launched
The world’s first fully electric racing SUV was launched at this year's Festival of Speed. The all-electric Odyssey 21 is set to compete in a new electric racing series, Extreme E, which will take place around some of the world’s most remote areas to highlight the impact of climate change, and promote the adoption of electric vehicles.
Built by Spark Racing Technology, the Odyssey 21 completed a demonstration run on the iconic Goodwood Hill Climb, giving spectators and race fans a first glimpse of the future of electric off-road racing.
Race locations for the series will range from the Arctic ice sheets to tropical rainforests – all areas affected by climate change.
The Odyssey 21 is powered by a 400kW (550bhp) electric motor. The 1,650 kilogram and 2,300mm-wide SUV will hit 62mph from standstill in 4.5-seconds, and is capable of climbing gradients of up to 130 percent.
Testing of the Odyssey 21 prototype will get underway in September, with delivery of 12 cars from Spark Racing Technology to follow in March 2020.
4. Samsung creates the World’s first remote-controlled 5G car
Samsung, with partners Designated Driver and Vodafone, unveiled the world’s first remote-controlled 5G car at Goodwood.
The car, a Lincoln MKZ, will be controlled by Drift Champion Vaughn Gittin Jr. from a different location on the estate. It was powered by a Designated Driver teleoperation system, the new Samsung Galaxy S10 5G, and a Samsung VR headset; all enabled via Vodafone’s superfast 5G network.
“This proof of concept is a great stepping stone towards remote presence use-case using 5G and the Goodwood FOS was the perfect testing ground.
"We are thrilled to lead future consumer experience in 5G by pushing the boundaries of our 5G product portfolio and technologies.” said Yoon Lee, Senior Vice President, Product Innovation and Content & Services, Samsung Electronics America.
5. De Tomaso P72 gets a world premiere
Legendary supercar brand, De Tomaso, has been revived with the global debut of its brand new P72 model on the opening day of the 2019 Goodwood Festival of Speed.
The car has been developed over the last five years thanks to a remarkable partnership between De Tomaso, AMG founder Hans Werner Aufrecht and designer Peter Brock, who not only drew up such classics as the Corvette Stingray and Shelby Daytona Cobra Coupe but also worked on the original De Tomaso P70.
De Tomaso has not yet revealed what will power the P72, but it has revealed that it has been built to FIA LMP2 race regulations, and that only 72 will be built, each costing around €750,000.
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