The Goodwood Festival of Speed has done it again, turning the rolling grounds of an English country estate into the beating heart of the performance car world for one week each summer. Unlike a typical motor show, where cars sit under spotlights, Goodwood’s biggest stars roar up the estate’s 1.86km hillclimb, giving fans a rare chance to see, and hear, some of the most exciting new cars on the planet in full flight.
Among the hundreds of vehicles gathered at this year’s event, six machines emerged as the true highlights.
Red Bull RB17
Few debuts carried as much weight as the Red Bull RB17, finally making its dynamic run at Goodwood after years of anticipation. Designed by Adrian Newey, one of Formula One’s most celebrated engineers, the RB17 is a track only hypercar powered by a naturally aspirated 4.5 litre V10.
It takes everything Red Bull Racing has learned at the pinnacle of motorsport and distills it into an ultra exclusive machine built purely for private owners chasing the ultimate driving experience.
Toyota GR GT
After teasing the world with a camouflaged prototype last year, Toyota’s GR GT arrived at Goodwood in production ready form, running alongside its GT3 racing sibling.
Expected to pack a twin turbo V8 wrapped in a track honed chassis, the GR GT marks Toyota’s serious return to the high performance sports car space, with the Porsche 911 GT3 firmly in its sights.
Alpine A110 FUTURE
Alpine used Goodwood to give its clearest look yet at the electric successor to the A110.
Hidden beneath prototype bodywork is an advanced three motor drivetrain, with two motors driving the rear axle and a third powering the front, a configuration that hints at serious performance ambitions as Alpine charts its all electric future.
Audi Nuvolari
Audi’s striking Nuvolari concept continued its world tour at Goodwood, following earlier appearances in Monaco.
The low slung flagship previews the brand’s next design language while dropping strong hints of a spiritual successor to the R8, welcome news for anyone who feared Audi’s supercar chapter had ended for good.
Honda NSX tribute by Italdesign
Italian design house Italdesign brought one of the event’s rarest sights: a reimagined second generation Honda NSX, wrapped in a bespoke carbon fibre body with an upgraded chassis and a fully redesigned interior.
Only a handful will ever be built, making this tribute one of the most exclusive vehicles to grace the hillclimb.
Lexus LFA successor
Lexus used the festival to reveal an early prototype of its long rumoured LFA successor. Final specifications remain under wraps, but the concept is expected to run an all electric powertrain, serving as a development platform for Toyota’s next generation of high performance EV technology.
From Formula One derived engineering to electric supercars and reborn icons, this year’s Festival of Speed once again proved why Goodwood remains one of the world’s premier automotive events.
