The Jaguar Project 7 makes a spectacular getaway from the start line
The 2015 Goodwood Festival of Speed was another smash hit – here are our picture highlights
The 2015 Goodwood Festival of Speed has come to a conclusion, with Valentino Rossi stealing the limelight on the final day with his first visit to the event, just a day after he won the Dutch TT at Assen.
The seven-time MotoGP world champion rode his Yahama YZR-M1 race bike up the hill climb route and then into Goodwood House itself as part of the day’s celebrations.
Goodwood’s traditional ‘Sunday Shootout’ – where drivers compete to set the fastest time on the hill – was won by Olly Clark in his Subaru Impreza, dubbed Gobstopper II. He managed to cover the 1.1-mile hill climb course in just 44.91 seconds. While undoubtedly fast, it’s still some way behind Nick Heidfeld’s record, which was set in 1999 at 41.6 seconds and still stands unbroken.
Second place in the shootout went to Jean Phillippe Dayraut in his Mini Pikes Peak rally car, with a time of 45.51 seconds, while Rod Millen took third position with a time of 45.88 seconds in his Pikes Peak car, a Toyota Celica.
Autocar’s highlights included passenger rides in McLaren’s 570S Coupé, the Chevrolet Corvette Z06, Aston Martin’s Vantage GT12, the Nissan Juke-R 2.0 and the 1021bhp LaFerrari FXX K. We also drove Porsche’s new Cayman GT4 up the hill.
This year’s Festival was home to numerous new vehicle debuts including the new Ford GT and Focus RS – the latter of which was heard in public for the first time on Friday as Ken Block drove it up Goodwood’s hill.
Also on display for the first time was the new Nissan Juke-R 2.0 – which is claimed to offer ‘supercar-beating’ performance and comes with 600bhp from its tuned 3.8-litre V6 engine. Other new models included the Peugeot 308 GTi – the range-topping hot hatchback which gets 266bhp from its 1.6-litre turbocharged engine – as well as Seat’s facelifted Ibiza and the all-new Mazda MX-5.
Dominating the area around Goodwood House was Mazda’s central statue. Created by sculptor Gerry Judah, the 40-metre-tall statue celebrates Mazda’s success in motorsport, and features the Le Mans-winning 787B alongside the LM55 Vision Gran Turismo concept car.
You can read more about the 2015 Goodwood Festival of Speed below, and read our ‘how to do Goodwood’ guide here.
New metal
The Aston Martin Vantage GT12 and the Lexus GS F were both driven for the first time in public at Goodwood, by Aston Martin boss Andy Palmer and Toyota Gazoo racing driver Mike Conway respectively.
The McLaren 570S Coupe also made its dynamic debut in the Supercar Run, while Bentley’s updated Continental family was also on show, along with McLaren’s 986bhp P1 GTR and the all-new Mazda MX-5.
Morgan showed off its all-electric EV3 for the first time at the event. Based on the successful 3 Wheeler, the EV3 is powered by an electric motor developing 101bhp. It’s capable of travelling up to 150 miles, and can reach 60mph in 6.0 seconds.
Lotus also unveiled its new 3-Eleven at the Festival. The super-fast track-day sports car is understood to be capable of lapping the Nürburgring in just over seven minutes – just a few seconds slower than the McLaren P1, Porsche 918 Spyder and LaFerrari.
Volkswagen, meanwhile, brought its Sport Coupe GTE, XL Sport and Golf R400 concepts to the Festival, as well as its 2015 Polo R WRC car – all of which made their UK debuts.
Motorsport stars
Attractions at the Festival of Speed included five current F1 teams – including current world champions Mercedes-Benz. Marking the 60th anniversary of Sir Stirling Moss’s victory at the Mille Miglia in 1955, seven of the remaining eight Mercedes-Benx 300 SLRs were also on show.
Among the many cars to take on the hillclimb course over the weekend was the 28-litre Fiat S76, which received its first public run for 101 years. The car was taking part in a new race category dubbed “Edwardian Leviathans”.
Several motorsport stars were honoured as part of the event, with displays commemorating the careers of Derek Bell and Gilles Villeneuve. Motorbike riding legends Casey Stoner, Freddie Spencer and Kenny Roberts also took to the hill, while the Festival of Speed also featured the largest ever representation of NASCAR racers, including a display by Richard Petty.
Other highlights this year included a dedicated category for drifting, which saw the likes of Ken Block taking to the hill to thrill fans. Block brought his modified 850bhp Ford Mustang, dubbed the ‘Hoonicorn’ to the event.
Also taking to the hill in the ‘catch my drift?’ category was the Norwegian drifter Joachim Waargaard, and drift champion James Deane.
Concours d’elegance
As well as the hillclimb stage, the Festival of Speed also featured the traditional Concours d’elegance, with categories celebrating the 80th birthday of Figoni et Falaschi cars, plus the 60th anniversary of the Citroën DS brand. The Michelin Supercar Run and supercar paddock also returned.
Read more from the Festival of Speed
Autocar’s guide to the Goodwood Festival of Speed
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Source: Autocar Online