Star automotive acts at Goodwood Festival of Speed

By RELAXNEWS | 22 June 2016


The McLaren P1 GTR.


LONDON: The theme for this year's Goodwood Festival of Speed (FoS) show, which gets underway in England on June 23 in and ends June 26, is "Full Throttle - The Endless Pursuit of Power" and will be typified by BMW. If FoS was a music festival, then BMW is this year's headline act, and as the company celebrates its centenary, it will be treating fans to the best of its back catalogue, its biggest current hits and a host of new material, too.

The Goodwood Festival of Speed is the closest the automotive industry gets to hosting an event as exciting, all encompassing, all open air and astounding as Glastonbury. Just like a huge three-day musical extravaganza, every guest is there to perform, not mime, and each year's performers are carefully chosen and curated.

A 1955 BMW 507 will be driven by Lord March.
A 1955 BMW 507 will be driven by Lord March.  The McLaren P1 GTR.


BMW as this year's headline act will have a sculpture in the grounds dedicated to its automotive triumphs. There will be an avenue ‘M', lined with BMW's formidable ‘M' badged coupés and sedans from the past 40 years. And, a $2 million BMW 507 built in 1957 will be taking to the track with festival's founder, Lord March, at the wheel.

"I'm delighted that BMW has chosen to mark its centenary with us," Lord March said. "I will be honored to drive one of the rarest, and most beautiful, BMWs ever built to open what promises to be a terrific show."

As for what's around the corner, BMW will be bringing all of its best concept cars, including the Vision Next 100, the company's imaginary car for the year 2116.

BMW's is no means the only notable milestone being marked at this year's event. VW will celebrate 40 years of the Golf GTi, the original hot hatch. Slightly hotter still, 2016 marks 50 years of the Lamborghini Miura, the blueprint for the modern supercar.

It's also been 40 years since James Hunt clinched his only F1 world championship, a twisted tale that forms the basis of Ron Howard film "Rush" and as he did so behind the wheel of a McLaren, the British supercar and F1 car company is marking the occasion with a one-off P1 GTR decked out in Hunt's colours that will be hitting the Hillclimb circuit.

The P1 GTR is a track-only hypercar based on the McLaren P1. And for those wondering what it would be like to take one on the road, the FoS will be the place to find out. Racing team Lanzante has modified the US$3mil car so that it is street legal and the result could be a new course record in the road car class.

The Volkswagen Golf GTi Clubsport S taking on the Nürburgring.
The Volkswagen Golf GTi Clubsport S taking on the Nürburgring.


The show will also be a venue for public debuts of new and exclusive material from Mazda, which will be unveiling a new Icon special edition of its wonderful Miata MX-5 droptop sportscar.

Nissan will be demonstrating why it is so effusive about the latest generation GT-R and Renault will be putting its new Twingo GT turbocharged city car and the Clio RS16 concept hot hatch to the test.

Nissan GT-R

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