Goodwood Festival of Speed Celebrates 30 Years

And Goodwood celebrates 75 years since opening its doors

By Diego Rosenberg - June 28, 2023

The world-famous Goodwood Festival of Speed is coming up in July, and the 30th incarnation of this British event is slated to feature history, new introductions, celebrations, concours, and even a nod to the future of transportation. Yet though it’s worth celebrating 30 years of the Festival of Speed, the theme of the 2023 event is Goodwood 75, as it’s the 75th anniversary since Goodwood Motor Circuit first opened its doors.

The Supercar and First Glance Paddock will offer glimpses of “some of the most innovative and anticipated vehicles from across the automotive industry” with over 100 world-exclusives, debuts, reveals, and more. Expected public debuts include the Caterham Electric Seven, Hyundai Ioniq 5, Porsche 718 Spyder RS, and the UK debut of the BMW 5 Series.

The Goodwood Hill will be open to visitors on Thursday the 13th in anticipation for the Sunday race. Even better, Thursday is when the racers practice, giving the visitors an opportunity to play spectator as well.

Thursday visitors will also have the opportunity to attend the Goodwood Festival of Speed Central Feature, which is a celebration on 75 years of Porsche. Will a 917 appear? We don’t have any insider information, but it sounds completely appropriate, innit?

All the featured fun isn’t just for terra firma, mind you, as the Red Arrows, the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team, will strut their spectacular stuff up in the atmosphere. Additionally, fans can enter a contest to win lunch with the Red Arrows team at Goodwood.

The Festival of Speed will also play host to McLaren’s Formula 1 team, as well as the teams from Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One, Scuderia Ferrari Formula 1, and Williams Racing. If your flavor of racing leans towards the two-wheel kind, the Ducati Lenovo, GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3, LCR Honda and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing teams will also be part of the celebration.

A relaxing respite of automotive elegance will occur on Sunday with the Cartier Style et Luxe, a concours d’elegance. You will find the crème de la crème of automobiles at this event, almost like a British version of Amelia Island but on the British Isles. It will be interesting to see what cars are in attendance because the mix of cars in the UK is different. Maybe a Minerva?

To the Luddites out there, you may want to skip this part: Goodwood will be hosting a Future Lab exhibit with a curated line-up of 20 pioneering EV companies, plus a display on Electric Avenue with a selection of the current crop of EVs. Looking ahead has never been so, um, electrifying!

A nod to the past, a nod to the present, and a nod to the future — that’s Goodwood 75 on July 13-16, 2023.

Article courtesy of Classiccars.com