The 2021 Goodwood Festival of Speed is a unique event that combines static viewings with the competitive aspect of a hillclimb course. The First Glance category gave spectators (and live-streamers) the opportunity to catch a glimpse of future cars in anger.
After being cancelled last year due to the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Festival of Speed returned this year with plenty of reasons to make car enthusiasts reconsider their apprehension for the future of driving. 2022 is lining up to be another great year for new cars.
The all-new cars on the Goodwood hill-climb
The 1,500kW Lotus Evija proved to be a handful up the hillclimb.
British sports car brand Lotus headlined the First Glance category parading the Elan and S1 Elise ahead of the all-new Emira sports car, which sounded absolutely fantastic thanks to a 294kW supercharged V6.
Following the Emira was Lotus’ future: the Evija. This 1,500kW RWD electric hypercar debuted in prototype form and looked like a handful on Goodwood’s treacherous damp surface. Watching it slither up the hill should be enough to dash any idea that electric cars are just appliances.
The Koreans were out in force with the electric Ioniq 5 on show up the hill.
Speaking of electrification, Ioniq debuted the 5, the marque’s first production EV that is somewhere between a hatch and SUV. Its concept car appearance proved a hit with the crowds.
Korean luxury brand Genesis made their European debut with the new G70 Shooting Brake, which dashed up the hill under the power of its 272kW 3.3L turbo V6. They also had the facelifted G70 sedan and GV70 SUV on the track.
Meanwhile Genesis was keen to show off the new G70 Shooting Brake in flight.
BMW sent the all-new M240i striding up the hillclimb with its xDrive system, helping the pugnacious coupe claw its way up the bumpy, wet tarmac. The appearance is growing on us, especially finished in the crayon-like grey coluour.
Following the 2, another two door sports car made its debut; well, actually, two of them did. Toyota sent a pair of GR 86s up the Hillclimb in tandem finished in the Gazoo Racing team colours of red and white.
It didn’t take long for BMW to show us the all-new 2 Series coupe on the track either. The looks are growing on us, too.
The Maserati MC20 made its global dynamic debut packing a 463kW/730Nm twin-turbo V6 which was well and truly on-song. Other supercars included the mental Glickenhaus 004S finished in a racy gold hue and the all-new Mclaren Artura.
There was plenty of action with the famed hay bales leaving the screeching, V12-powered track-only Lamborghini Essenza with only one mirror. There was even a reimagined contemporary take on the famous Lancia 037 on show.
There were a host of new cars on show, but the most attainable was the new GR86 with its 2.4L motor and rear-drive.
Perhaps the most beautiful car on track was the Callum Design Vanquish, a timeless shape with a V12 upfront and some tweaks to make it better than the original.
Other new cars spotted in anger
This track-only Lamborghini Essenza put on a show even losing a wing mirror to the famed hay bales.
There was a slew of vehicles we’ve seen in action before, but most not driven with as much panache as they were up the Chichester hillclimb.
- Alfa Romeo Giulia GTA
- Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT
- Mustang Mach-E
- Mini Pacesetter
- Rimac Nevera
- Aston Martin Valkyrie
- Land Rover Defender 90 V8
