This year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed will host a variety of motorsport stars, historic racers and new car reveals – here’s the full run-down
The 2023 Goodwood Festival of Speed is shaping up to be one of the biggest yet, with a frenzy of motorsport action and production car debuts scheduled to take place throughout the weekend. A diverse range of machines – from electric cars to fire-spitting classic racers – will take to the iconic Goodwood hillclimb, along with a wave of new releases from major manufacturers including Ferrari, Porsche, Lamborghini and Lotus.
We’ve devised a list of the key brands in attendance and the new cars on show, from Caterham’s first EV to Singer’s latest restomod, to cover what you can expect at the Festival of Speed in 2023.
Numerous Alpines will be on show this year, including the radical A290_β electric hot hatch and limited-run A110 R Le Mans special edition. The A110 S Enstone Edition – another design led special – will also be in attendance.
Originally built for the late Ken Block, Audi's all-electric S1 Hoonitron will take part in Goodwood's Driftkhana showcase this year. Inspired by the iconic S1 Quattro rally car of the '80s, the purpose-built drift machine develops 670bhp thanks to a dual electric motor setup.
Celebrating its 110th anniversary in 2023, Aston Martin will showcase its new Valour hypercar alongside existing models like the Valkyrie, Valkyrie AMR Pro and V12 Vantage at Goodwood this year.
As Bentley's W12 engine nears its end, the British firm will roll out numerous special editions – including the Batur and Continental GT Le Mans Collection – to commemorate the legendary powerplant at the Festival of Speed.
The recently unveiled G60 5-series will be on display at the BMW stand, alongside its all-electric counterpart: the i5. The firm's reimagined 3.0 CSL road car will also make an appearance.
For the first time ever, Caterham will present battery powered sports cars at Goodwood in 2023, with the Project V electric coupe making its first public appearance alongside the new EV Seven concept.
A one-off Ferrari from the brand's Special Projects series is always certain to draw crowds, and the new KC23 is expected to do so this weekend. Taking the 488 GT3 race car as a base, the KC23’s smooth form and intricate design details will guide Ferrari’s future road car projects. It’ll be on show alongside current Ferrari road cars and track-only XX models.
We’ve been eagerly awaiting the first electric performance car from Hyundai’s N division for some time, and the Ioniq 5 N will be the first to arrive when the covers are pulled off at Goodwood. With simulated gearchanges and augmented powertrain sounds, the new model could rekindle some of the engagement that’s sorely missing from most EVs today.
An all-new Le Mans hypercar from Lamborghini will debut at the Festival of Speed, which will mount a challenge in next year’s World Endurance Championship. With Lamborghini set to battle the likes of Ferrari and Porsche in its 2024 campaign, next season could serve up a tantalising battle between these industry giants.
Continuing its series of road-going conversions for hypercars destined for the track, Lanzante will run a street legal Zonda Revolucion and McLaren P1 GT up the hill. These will be joined by the firm’s P1 HDK, which uses a Cosworth-fettled 4-litre twin-turbo V8 with almost 1000bhp.
Lotus’s new era is in full swing, with the Emira, Evija and Eletre running up the Goodwood hill this year. The event will mark the public debut of the four-cylinder version of the Emira, as well as the 905bhp Eletre R SUV.
With a series of incremental updates over the outgoing 720S, the new McLaren 750S might fly under the radar among the other exotic metal at Festival of Speed, but the firm’s V10-engined Solus GT is sure to make an impact. Limited to just 25 units, the track-only machine develops 828bhp and revs to an astonishing 10,000rpm.
It’s almost impossible to imagine a faster, more capable machine than the McMurtry Speirling that broke the outright Goodwood hillclimb record last year, but the new Pure version is exactly that. Now available to customers, the 1000bhp fan car occupies a smaller footprint than a Fiat Panda while achieving extreme cornering forces of over 3G.
With the MG4 XPower and Cyberster sports car, MG’s growing portfolio of driver-focused EVs will be in attendance at the 2023 Festival of Speed, as well as the more specialised EX4 concept that draws inspiration from the Metro 6R4.
Pagani’s next chapter begins with the Utopia, and the V12-engined hypercar will be rolled out at Goodwood for a rare chance to see one in the metal. With carbonfibre construction, a twin-turbo AMG-derived V12 and fastidious detailing, it treads a similar path to the Huayra before it; albeit this time with the option of a manual gearbox.
As Goodwood’s celebrated manufacturer this year, Porsche is pulling out all the stops with a host of iconic machines on display. The 718 Spyder RS, Mission X show car and GT3 RS will be rolled out alongside a new 356-inspired electric concept built specifically for Porsche’s 75th anniversary: the Vision 357 Speedster.
The new DLS-T restomod will be central to Singer’s Goodwood appearance this year. Taking cues from historic Porsche race cars, the DLS-T is the wildest Singer project yet with a 700bhp twin-turbo flat-six, cartoonishly wide bodywork and a $2m price tag.
Tesla is set to silently decimate the Goodwood hillclimb with two of its quickest cars to date: the Model S and Model X Plaid. The firm’s warp-speed supersaloon recently broke the Nürburgring lap record for EV production cars, so we expect it to light up the timing screens at the Festival of Speed.
The Festival of Speed is always littered with motorsport stars, and this year Sebastian Vettel will take to the hillclimb in two classic F1 cars from his personal collection – an ex-Nigel Mansell Williams FW14B (commonly known as ‘Red Five’), and Ayrton Senna’s 1993 McLaren MP4/8 – running on sustainable synthetic fuels.
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Along with Vettel’s appearance, Goodwood has confirmed that Pirelli will act as the event’s tyre partner for 2023 and beyond. Of course, tyres are shown no mercy when drivers let rip on Goodwood’s 1.16-mile hillclimb, but Pirelli’s presence will extend into the paddock with two exhibitions to showcase the company’s 150-year lineage in motorsport and technology. Centred around its P Zero line-up, Pirelli’s high-performance tyre range is due an imminent update, and this will be previewed by three new products at this year’s Festival of Speed.
To coincide with the 75th anniversary of the 356, Porsche will take centre stage as Goodwood’s ‘celebrated marque’ this year. An enormous sculpture will be built in tribute to the Stuttgart firm, which has headlined the Festival of Speed three times already – most recently in 2018. This year promises a showcase of Porsche's most revered models being driven up the Goodwood Hill, which includes the latest 992 GT3 RS.
The 2023 Festival of Speed will also celebrate 100 years of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, with a collection of cars and drivers from the legendary race in attendance. These anniversaries coincide with the Festival's 30th year running, which is set to build upon the success of 2022 with a full capacity crowd.
Tickets for this year’s Festival of Speed are now completely sold out, but those wanting a taste of vintage motorsport action can look forward to the Goodwood Revival later in 2023, which hosts a fantastic selection of historic racing events at Goodwood’s race track.
The Revival takes place from 8-10 September, with grandstand tickets starting from £48 per person. General admission tickets cost from £75, with an admission and grandstand package starting at £132.
Keyword: Goodwood Festival of Speed 2023 preview: new cars from A to Z