Whilst football may not have come home for England after a defeat to Italy on penalties in the Euro 2020 final at Wembley last night, over at our Goodwood venue this weekend, something else was coming home after a long wait for petrolheads.
Following a year's hiatus (for obvious reasons), the 28th annual Festival of Speed was held, welcoming back motoring enthusiasts from across the UK to showcase the most mind blowing new designs and feats of automotive engineering around - as well as some mouth-wateringly desirable sets of wheels bought along by visitors.
Among the well known marques on display in the car park as the sun shone were Supercars from Aston Martin, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Lotus, Porsche and Caterham to name just a few. Lotus themselves were in attendance over the weekend, showcasing their newly unveiled Emira and Evija models on the front lawn of Goodwood House, where they were the feature of this year’s sculpture in their honour.
Also making their first public appearances at the 2021 festival were BMW's new 2 Series electric model, McLaren's Artura performance car, and Lamborghini also showed off their new Aventador Ultimae.
A host of famous faces were also spotted in attendance at the glorious East Sussex venue; among them Hollywood superstar Tom Cruise, Countryfile presenter Adam Henson, and Danny Jones and James McVey from chart topping bands McFly and The Vamps. But they weren't the only ones raising eyebrows.
The Airo, a new car created by the British designer Thomas Heatherwick, was also showcased. It's radical, forward thinking design, with its grooved contours specifically designed to strip the pollution out of the air, has been met with bemusement by some motoring critics. They say it's unlikely to become anything more than a concept car.
But Heatherwick, who is also responsible for the recent redesign of the London RouteMaster buses, has taken a more optimistic approach, and is confident that production of over a million units of the car will be underway in China by 2023, saying "Car manufacturers are falling over themselves to make electric cars, but a new electric car shouldn't just be another one with a different look." We await two years hence to see who got the predictions right there!
Out on the famous paddock, a whole host of iconic classics were on display. This included a set of vintage Racing Cars from the Formula 1, Nascar and IndyCar motorsport series, all to celebrate the career and achievements of US racing legend Roger Penske, who has raced in or been involved in all three either as a driver or team owner since he made his racing debut in 1961 at the US Grand Prix.
The overall feeling at Goodwood was one of joy to be back around a whole host of cars and attractions. For many, the only difficulty was finding the time to see and appreciate everything on offer. But it's clear to see that whether you're a fan of the hot wheels of today or the pioneers of yesteryear, the Festival of Speed has lost none of its wide appeal after a year's absence.
To book your next Supercar, Drifting, Arrive and Drive or Truck Driving experience at glorious Goodwood, visit our Goodwood page on the Driving Experience website today. You can book from dates on our Events Calendar or purchase one of our open Gift Vouchers!
