Goodwood Festival of Speed: Where The Past Meets Performance

Every year, hundreds of thousands of motorsports enthusiasts descend on the grounds of Goodwood House in Sussex, England for the Goodwood Festival of Speed. Founded by Lord March in 1993, the Festival’s initial aim was to bring motorsports back to the grounds of Goodwood Estate, home to the Goodwood Circuit, a historic track in British racing. But, over the last thirty years, it’s not the Circuit that has become the place of pilgrimage for automotive fans – it’s the Hill, which sees machines ranging from Formula One cars and hypercars to road-going supercars and motorcycles race up it.

What has made Goodwood Festival of Speed special isn’t simply the throwback nature of the hill climb – a nearly two kilometre long track with an average gradient of 4.9% and nine turns, which the fastest cars cover in just under 40 seconds – but the fact that it requires drivers to push their machines to the limit, allowing fans to hear (and see) their full, unrestricted power. While the hill climb is what garners the most attention, Goodwood is also home to forest rallies and other races, becoming one of the most unique events on the automotive calendar. Many manufacturers use it as a platform to debut new vehicles and technologies, while also celebrating historic machinery and legendary drivers.

As such, Goodwood Festival of Speed has become the meeting point for performance and design, geared towards the future but paying homage to the past. There’s a celebratory mood, the kind that comes from old friends coming together again. Really, Goodwood feels less like an event and more like a giant garden party… with really fast and really loud cars.

The 2025 edition figures to be no different. With Formula One taking on Silverstone the week before, and the Championship celebrating its 75th anniversary, there’s a strong contingent of Formula One cars, constructors and drivers set to stop by Goodwood. Notably, team owner Gene Haas will take on the Hill in the 2023 Haas Racing Formula One car – as will the team’s current drivers.

There will also be a succession of historic Formula One cars, from early entries to recent champions, which will make their way up the two kilometre hill. Seven former world champions will be in attendance, as will iconic designers like Adrian Newey, Ross Brawn and Gordan Murray – once again highlighting Goodwood’s unique appreciation for both engineering genius and raw performance.

While the sound of Formula one cars from different eras racing up the Hill past Goodwood house is sure to be a highlight, it’s the debut of new cars that truly captures the imagination of attendees: hearing the sound of a new engine for the first time, seeing the elegant lines of a new model. It’s enough to make those in attendance dream about being behind the wheel, not just on Goodwood’s grounds, but on the open road.

For those who are looking to buy something older, rather than a new model, opportunity won’t be lacking, either. As in previous years, Goodwood will be host to a prestigious Bonhams auction of rare and desirable cars, which will be on view over the first two days of the Festival of Speed, before the bidding starts. This year’s array features memorabilia, paintings and car-related trinkets, but also a car from The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift, a Formula One car, vintage Ferraris, a 1994 Range Rover Soft-Dash LSE “Autobiography”, believed to be the only one ever produced, and plenty more.

With such a unique blend of old and new, form and function, it’s no wonder that Goodwood Festival of Speed is one of the events of the year when it comes to automotive design and motorsport.

Feature image courtesy PA Media (Max Verstappen at the 2024 Goodwood Festival of Speed).