Preview: Goodwood Festival of Speed

This weekend’s Goodwood Festival of Speed is set to host an array of UK and world reveals of new models as the three-day event has now in effect become the unofficial British motor show.

Fifty years of the Porsche 911 will provide the core theme of the Central Feature Sculpture, while 90 years of Le Mans 24 Hours, 50 years of McLaren Racing, 50 years of Lamborghini, 40 years of the World Rally Championship and 60 years of the Sports Car World Championship will also be celebrated.

While Jaguar will attempt to hog the limelight with its extreme F-TYPE roadster-based PROJECT 7 concept and three new ‘R’ models – the XJR, XKR-S GT and XFR-S -- also among this year’s debutants will be Caterham’s new Seven 620R.

Billed as the most extreme take on the lightweight roadster, the Seven 620R packs a 231kW punch from its supercharged 2.0-litre Duratec engine.

Caterham claims the 620R can sprint to 60mph (96km/h) in less than 2.8 seconds and achieve a top whack of 250km/h, placing it at the top of the brand’s line-up (it replaces the giant-killing Superlight R500).

The newcomer will be fanged up the Goodwood hill by Caterham F1 Team driver Charles Pic, as well as Caterham F1 Team reserve driver and Caterham Racing GP2 driver Alexander Rossi.

The 620R features a unique gunmetal chassis, an air-flow optimised nose cone and a race-developed cooling package. De Dion rear suspension and wide track front suspension units are complemented by high-performance dampers all round, while the car sits on lightweight, 13-inch alloy wheels fitted with track-inspired Avon ZZR tyres.

Orders are now being taken for the Caterham Seven 620R, with first deliveries expected later this year.

Peugeot will also use the Goodwood show to unveil its most powerful road car to date, namely the RCZ R, which is an evolution of the Peugeot RCZ, and is powered by a 1.6-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine developing 194kW.

In addition to its uprated engine, the Peugeot RCZ R features a bespoke suspension setup, a Torsen limited-slip differential and bespoke alloy wheels.

The French lion will also unleash the fire-breathing 208 T16 that won the recent Pikes Peak hillclimb in the hands of multiple world rally champ Sebastien Loeb, who covered the 19.98km course (which has 156 corners) in just eight minutes and 13 seconds.

The 208 T16 has a mid-mounted twin-turbo V6 that cranks out 653kW, while traction is maximised by four-wheel drive and Le Mans-derived high-downforce aerodynamics. This allows it to rocket from rest to 100km/h in a spine-compressing 1.8 seconds, and to 240km/h in seven seconds.

It will be piloted at the Goodwood Festival of Speed by Peugeot test driver Grégory Guilvert, who did much of the development work on the Pikes Peak 208.

Also making its ‘moving debut’ will be the new Range Rover Sport, which will be driven up Lord March’s legendary driveway twice each day during the festival.

With weight savings of up to 420kg vis-à-vis its predecessor, the new Sport is touted as the “fastest, most agile Land Rover ever” – a claim that’s not too far-fetched based on our recent first drive.

Meanwhile, fellow Brit brand Bentley will roll out its new Continental GT Speed Convertible – billed as the world’s fastest four-seat convertible – and two of its 2003 Le Mans-winning Speed 8 race cars.

Away from the hill, the highlight of the Bentley presence will be an enlarged exhibition area where showgoers will have the opportunity to ogle the new Flying Spur – the fastest, most powerful luxury sedan in Bentley’s history.

McLaren will take a trip down memory lane by showcasing its Le Mans heritage at the Goodwood FoS, in addition to rolling out its new 674kW P1 hypercar.

The F1 GTR, which won Le Mans in 1995 and also claimed the highest practice top speed of the year at 380km/h, will be taking to the Goodwood Hill, along with the F1 GTR ‘Longtail’ that was built for the 1997 racing season.

Toyota’s TRD go-faster division will also be represented via the Griffon project, which showcases a range of aftermarket mods for the 86, with the emphasis being on weight savings and improved handling.

The Griffon ditches the standard limited-slip diff with a mechanical diff and the final drive ratio has been reduced to 4.8:1. It also gains new coilover shocks, an oil-cooler and TRD monoblock brake callipers with race-spec pads.

Its weight-saving diet brings a carbon-fibre roof, bonnet, doors, bootlid and rear wings, while the bumpers, front wings and rear diffuser are made of carbonfibre-reinforced plastic. The standard car’s glass windows have also been replaced by polycarbonate units.

Inside, there’s a new TRD driver’s seat, gear knob, ignition button and gauges, along with a Momo steering wheel and Takata seatbelts.

One of the more unusual debutants will be the Vühl 05 supercar , which is the handiwork of Mexican brothers Iker and Guillermo Echeverria, who have been backed by funds from private investors and the Mexican government.

Vühl, pronounced “vool” and short for “Vehicles of Ultra-lightweight and High-performance”, appears to have at least some cred as its development partners and suppliers includes Magna Steyr, Multimatic and Ford.

The 05’s body fabrication is carried out in Canada, while the chassis production and final assembly is completed in Mexico City. Handling calibration and tuning has been carried out in the UK.

In addition to the various world debuts, a number of vehicles will be making their first British appearance, and these include the latest-gen Porsche 911 GT3, new Audi A3 sedan, Innotech Aspiron and production-spec Alfa Romeo 4C.

Of course, there will also be the usual parade of historic F1, Le Mans and rally cars, with a number of legendary drivers to be found in the paddock and behind the wheel for the thrash up Goodwood Hill.

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