Recap of the Goodwood Festival of Speed 2022

From record-breaking speed, to an exciting addition to the Lexus range, to seeing how the new BMW deals with the iconic hill climb, there was a tonne of spectacle. Here is a brief overview of the highlights from this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed.

Electric Revolution

The biggest headline from Goodwood was the shattering of the Hill Climb record time, achieved by a complete unknown. British startup manufacturer McMurtry unleashed their track car in the form of the Spierling on the course, driven by former Formula 1 driver Max Chilton. The car is entirely electric and is inspired by the banned driving innovations of the past. It managed to break the previous record set by automotive giants Volkswagen with a time of just over 39 seconds, averaging a blistering pace of 106mph. It marks a new zenith for the potential for EV racing outpacing petrol motors.

Electric vehicles were predominantly the cars that caught the eye this year, such as Ford’s amazingly ludicrous 2000bhp Pro Electric Supervan. It’s the fourth edition of the overclocked Transit van over the past 50 years and serves as a showpiece to signal the unveiling of the new all-electric E-Transit commercial vehicle. The ‘Supervan 4’, as it has been affectionately donned, certainly turned heads with its four motors for each wheel, and Ford claims the van shoots from 0-60 in 2 seconds and goes on to reach over 200mph.

Another speedy monster that made festival-goers holler was a modified 1983 Subaru GL Wagon, brought back from the 80s and redubbed the ‘Family Huckster’. This is no family car, however, with a souped-up engine that produces an eye-watering 862bhp.

Old Faces

As well as the new and thrilling concoctions, the Goodwood Festival of Speed is equally about the older, more classic faces and names that have made their mark in motoring history. One name that made a surprise appearance was legendary F1 driver Nigel Mansell, who has been shy over the past few years. He received rapturous applause when he drove a Ferrari 639 V12 that preceded the 640 from the 1989 Formula 1 World Championship, bringing back memories of the iconic period of F1 and finally giving a lost F1 car its run in front of the fans.

Just as time-turning was Damon Hill’s drive around the block in his father’s F1 World Championship-winning BRM. However, no one could get a better reaction than the story of Wayne Rainey. A three-time world biking-racing champion before being paralysed in a race in 1993, he made his return on the bike for Goodwood thanks to some modifications that allowed him to control the bike as he did in his heyday.

Big Steps for the Estates

This year was a big year for BMW, which took the coveted central feature spot to celebrate 50 years of their ‘M’ vehicles with a dazzling art display. M has been BMW’s badge for their high-performance cars, and has enjoyed success in several touring car championships and even Le Mans. They came with a new model to mark the half-century – the BMW M3 Touring estate. It’s a model they’ve long-teased, and they unveiled it right at Goodwood, with its 500bhp engine. It will go on sale soon and become one of the fastest estate cars in the world. If you’re after BMW M3 deals, cars2buy offers leases from thousands of trusted partners across the UK, so you can experience the power of BMW’s M line.

Fellow countrymen Mercedes made big strides this year, too, no less with a car that they tout as a Formula 1 car for the road. The Mercedes-AMG One looks like a car designed by Stanley Kubrick circa 2001: A Space Odyssey, and has a series of head-spinning numbers to boot. With a turbocharged racing engine mated to four electric motors, the complete package reaches 1049bhp, allowing it to climb up to 219mph, the fastest any Mercedes production car has ever gone. You’d be hard-pressed to buy one, as all 275 models of the car have now been sold – for a crazy £2.5m each. If you want your hands on the Mercedes-Benz experience, take a gander through car2buy’s Mercedes personal lease deals, which have the flexibility of whatever time period, deposit and mileage suits you best.

Lexus has also given us a glimpse of its ambitions by publicly debuting an all-electric supercar concept that will eventually be a child to the excellent Lexus LFA. This is way in the future, though – 2030 if the company stays on track – but it boasts some impressive looks and technical figures. It could well be the Honda NSX of its time when it does come out, and will surely be a welcome addition to the Lexus range.