► MG takes centre stage to mark centenary
► Red Bull hypercar set to be revealed
► Limited Festival of Speed tickets available
The Goodwood Festival of Speed has become the go-to event on the UK’s motoring calendar.
From watching F1 drivers tackle Goodwood’s infamous hillclimb to seeing pre-war cars spitting flames and the greatest rally cars taking on a dedicated stage, the Festival of Speed (FOS) is quite a spectacle.
Goodwood is also increasingly used by manufacturers to show off and reveal their newest metal, and 2024 is no different, with a range of important world debuts or cars being seen in public for the first time. Here’s a full preview as well as key information about how to get there and how you can still get your hands on tickets.
Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale
Alfa Romeo is returning to supercar territory and it’s doing this with the 33 Stradale. Limited to just 33 units, the lucky few choosing it have the option of 3.0-litre twin-turbo petrol power or having it as an EV.
While revealed in August 2023, the 2024 Goodwood Festival of Speed is the first time the 33 Stradale will have been seen outside of Italy. Alfa Romeo’s new electric Milano crossover will also be on show at the the West Sussex festival.
Aston Martin Valiant
Aston Martin is really embracing the limited-run specials at the minute and the latest is the Valiant – a more track-focused variant of the Valour. What gives it further prominence is that it was originally commissioned by Fernando Alonso as a collaboration between the double-world champion and Aston Martin’s Q Division.
The Valiant is the real deal, with a 735bhp 5.2-litre twin-turbo V12, manual gearbox and rear-wheel-drive. It makes its global debut at the FOS and will even be driven by Alonso up the 1.16-mile hillclimb on the Friday.
BMW M5
BMW tends to chuck everything it’s got at Goodwood and this year is no different, with a host of new metal set to be at the FOS, including its new X3 SUV, M135 and facelifted M2. But the most important car there will be the new BMW M5 just a couple of weeks after its first reveal.
Now using a plug-in hybrid set-up, it’s proven controversial with its sheer heft – it now weighs 2.4 tonnes, 500kg more than its predecessor – and with slightly worse performance on paper. Regardless of your thoughts, it will be your first chance to catch it in person at the Festival of Speed.
Ford Mustang GTD
Ford’s latest skunkworks project is the Mustang GTD, devised after-hours by engineers that had the idea of conquering European sports car makers with its typical muscle car. Inspired by the Blue Oval’s GT3 cars, it’s designed for the track but can be homologated for the road.
Ford really is going for 911 GT3 RS territory with its new Mustang, and it will make its UK debut at the 2024 Goodwood Festival of Speed. Set to be priced from £315,000, the GTD will be very limited in numbers with Ford currently taking applications via a dedicated website.
Land Rover Defender Octa
The Defender has proven a huge success since it was revived in 2020 and Land Rover has continued to push the extremes of this SUV, including with a 5.0-litre V8 engine under the bonnet.
But it goes a step further with the Defender Octa, which makes its dynamic debut at the FOS just a week after its reveal on 3 July. Using a BMW-sourced 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8 engine, it’s set to demonstrate a new dimension for this SUV.
MG HS
MG is going big at the FOS this year and will even have the famed central sculpture in front of Goodwood House for the first time as it marks its centenary year. MG is likely to show off a range of classic models from its past, but will also mark the start of sales and deliveries of its new electric Cyberster sports car.
It will also reveal a new generation of its HS SUV at this year’s Festival of Speed. The HS is MG’s largest SUV in Europe and has been a big seller in recent years owing to its exceptional value. Expect a more premium design inside and out, with the plug-in hybrid model said to offer an ‘unmatched electric range for the class’.
RB17 hypercar
Perhaps the most anticipated reveal at Goodwood this year is Red Bull’s first hypercar. It’s been a long time coming and is the brainchild of Formula 1 designer Adrian Newey. Despite the firm confirming that Newey would take a step back from F1 design duties and leave the company entirely in 2025, final development of the RB17 is currently his primary focus.
It’s aimed specifically for track use with its F1-derived mild-hybrid V10 engine. Just 50 will be built at a rate of 15 per year, and at a rumoured cost of £5 million each. It will be an important moment seeing the RB17 for the first time.
Zenvo Aurora
Making its European debut at the 2024 Festival of Speed is the Zenvo Aurora – or what this wild Danish supercar maker did next, after rocking the world with the wing-tilting Zenvo TSR.
The new model comes in two variants, Agil and Tur, and uses a quad-turbo V12 with up to three electric motors to deliver as much as 1850bhp. You can see the new cars, and a TSR-GT (which will be climbing the hill) on Zenvo dedicated stand, the first it’s ever had at Goodwood.
Where and when is the Goodwood Festival of Speed?
The Festival of Speed takes place at the Goodwood estate close to Chichester in West Sussex. It takes place between Thursday 11 July and Sunday 14 July 2024.
Are tickets still available for the Goodwood Festival of Speed?
Tickets often sell quickly for the Festival of Speed, and this year is no different. At the time of writing, the only date with general admission available was Thursday (at £70 each), with the only way of getting into the remaining dates being as part of a hospitality package.
You can buy resale tickets through Twickets, which has partnered with Goodwood as its official ticket resale platform. Unlike other similar sites, there is a cap on what tickets can be resold for, meaning they won’t end up costing significantly more than their original price.