WORDS: ELLIOTT HUGHES | PHOTOS: GOODWOOD
The highly anticipated Goodwood Festival of Speed makes its return on July 13-16, 2023, marking 30 years since the inaugural edition of the world-renowned event took place in 1993.
2023 marks the fourth time Porsche has headlined the Festival of Speed
This year’s celebrated marque and the subject of the centrepiece sculpture is Porsche, which is celebrating 75 years since building its first sports car, the 356. This will be the fourth time Porsche has headlined the Festival of Speed.
The Stuttgart brand will also be honoured with an exhibition outside Goodwood House and live parades of its most iconic models. Porsche will take the opportunity to look towards its future, too, by publicly debuting several new models – including its all-electric Mission X concept.
The company’s anniversary neatly ties into the theme of the 2023 Festival of Speed: Goodwood 75, which celebrates 75 years of the Goodwood Estate. Tributes will be devoted to the estate itself, as well as to legendary drivers and landmark feats of engineering.
One such driver is four-time Formula 1 World Champion Sebastian Vettel (below), who will drive several cars from his personal collection up the fabled Hill on Saturday and Sunday. The models in question include Nigel Mansell’s championship-winning Williams FW14B and Ayrton Senna’s McLaren MP4/8.
The German driver’s return to the event follows an 11-year hiatus, and was agreed to on the condition that his cars use sustainable fuels as part of his Race Without Trace initiative, which aims to demonstrate that ICE racing cars can be run without jeopardising the environment.
Endurance racing fans will be delighted to learn that Goodwood will also honour 100 years of the Le Mans 24 Hours with an unprecedented collection of cars that raced at La Sarthe. Complementing the selection of race machinery are cameos from some of Le Mans’ most legendary drivers, including nine-time winner Tom Kristensen.
Adding to the Le Mans 24 Hours excitement is Lamborghini’s reveal of its new LMDh prototype racer, which it will use to campaign in next year’s endurance-racing calendar. The car will be publicly presented on July 13, and follows the debut of Porsche’s 963 at the 2022 Festival of Speed.
The return of the popular Formula 1 paddock is sure to be another event highlight, with Williams, McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes confirmed to be present for all four days of the event, just one week after competing at the British Grand Prix.
The teams will run several challengers both historic and contemporary, and drivers Esteban Gutiérrez, Zhou Guanyu and George Russell will be on hand for autographs before delighting crowds with demonstration runs up the Hill.
Of all the F1 teams, this year’s event will be particularly special for McLaren, which will celebrate its 60th anniversary with a spectacular line-up of historic racing cars. The headline attraction is Mika Häkkinen’s reunion with his 1999 championship-winning MP4/14A.
For those who prefer two wheels, Goodwood is hosting six Moto GP teams and ten active riders as part of its Moto GP Celebration. Ducati, GasGas, LCR Honda, Aprilia, CryptoDATA RNF and Red Bull KTM will all be present. Riders include championship leader Francesco Bagnaia, Lorenzo Savadori, Michele Pirro, Brad Binder and Augusto Fernández.
There’s plenty more to see, such as the Cartier Style et Luxe concours, ever-popular Supercar Paddock, Rally Stage and Bonhams auction. More details on ticket availability can be found here.
