► 2019 Goodwood Festival of Speed
► Preview and what to expect
► Highlights, ticket prices and more
The 2019 Goodwood Festival of Speed is over. Like last year's event, it spanned the space between motor show, celebration – and featured impressive range of cars and motorbikes.
Along with the the usual parade of classic cars from the motorsport and civilian world, each year also has a theme, and this year's was 'Speed Kings.' Simply put, it's all been about record breakers, and it's fitting, then, that the all-time record for the hillclimb was beaten this year – 20 years after it was set. It was also a year to celebrate Michael Schumacher's 50th birthday, and that meant crowds saw the F1 driver's championship winning cars take on the hillclimb – including one driven by one of his arch-rivals, 1996 F1 champion, Damon Hill.
Alongside the retro bits, this year's car has been full of new metal, too. We've seen new reveals from Audi and Porsche, along with several public and dynamic debuts of new products, too. The CAR team got to go up the hill in everything from Porsche 935 and a W Motors Fenyr Supersport, to a new Porsche Taycan and a Alfa Romeo Giulia!
Spanning four days – and with suprisingly good weather – the 2019 Festival of Speed was once again be packed with automotive sights and sounds. Keep reading for everything you need to know about this year's West Sussex garden party. We're still recovering from this year's event, so we'll update this article throughout the day.
Our top picks at FOS
1. Saumsung completes 5G hillclimb
5G only luanched in the UK a few days ago, but tech giants are already showing just how beneficial it can be. At this year's Goodwood Festival of Speed, Samsung remotely-controlled a car using the newly launched high-speed network. Driftcar champion Vaughn Gittin Jr used a rig to drive and even drift a special-modified car, and it was an important step for the future of transport. Autonomous and increased connectivity cars are certainly the next step for cars – and now the technology is in place to make it happen.
2. Mercedes-AMG A45
Goodwood saw the worldwide debut of the Mercedes-AMG A45, the more powerful brother of the A35 and the spiciest A-Class you’ll ever see. Affalterbach’s latest hot hatch features a rather ludicrous 415bhp, all-wheel drive and should be covered in aero-furniture too. It's been going sideways ever since the covers were taken off on Thursday.
3. Porsche reveals new 911 RSR
Porsche might be focusing its efforts on its forthcoming Taycan EV, but it seems that hasn’t stopped the German brand’s commitment to old-fashioned combustion engines. Alongside the UK debuts of the naturally-aspirated GT4 and Speedster, Porsche also revealed its new GTE racer, the 2020 911 RSR at Goodwood.
4. VW ID R takes hillclimb record
VW's ID R has finally taken Nick Heidfeld's hillclimb record with a 41.18 second run. Robert Dumas steered the EV up the hill marginally faster than Heidfeld's 41.6 – beating a record that has stood for twenty years. It's a stunning time, but we can't but feel the McLaren driven by Heidfeld was made to win race, not just to travel the world breaking records...
5. We drive the Porsche 935
Porsche had a huge presence at the Festival of Speed this year, and although the Taycan EV below looked to the future, there were also cars that paid homage to the racing history of the brand – like the new 935. It's a tribute to 'Moby Dick,' one of Stuttgart's most impressive racers – and we got to drive up the hill. Read our thoughts here.
6. Porsche Taycan
Stuttgart’s first EV is due to be unveiled later this year at the Frankfurt motor show, but before that it’ll be paraded around three key markets: China, the UK and the US. Earlier this week the Taycan was in Shanghai, but now it's in Goodwood and has been driven up the hill with Mark Webber at the wheel. There was minimal camo, and it was a chance to see the new EV in action before its official world debut. We've also been for a ride up the hill in the new EV, and will add our thoughts soon.
7. Ford GT MkII
Ford may not be returning to WEC endurance racing next year, but it’s determined to go out with a bang. The Blue Oval announced the GT MkII at Goodwood – the ultimate version of its supercar, and one not kept in check with the WEC's rules. That means 400% more downforce than the road car, 150bhp more than race car, and a very, very big wing. It looks incredible in Ford's new livery, too.
8. Airspeeder
Flying cars!? You read that right... coming to the 2019 Festival of Speed are a fleet of aeronautical automobile. The mind boggles...
9. Radical Rapture
Radical revealed a new road car: the Rapture. It'll straddle the space between tracks cars and road-legal ones and looks like a lot like every other Radical we've seen.
10. BAC Mono R
The BAC Mono just got more extreme. This is the Mono R – something BAC says is the second generation of its hardcore, road-legal single-seater. The Liverpool-based brand even boasts that the new car is ‘the new reference’ point for the automotive industry. Big talk.
BAC has only announced a production run of just 30, priced at £190,950 a pop. Said production run has already sold out, as BAC decided to flog them all to existing Mono owners, which we can’t quite understand the logic of.
11. Singer returns
Singer was back again at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed, and alongside testing updates and a hillclimb, it showed off an all-new commission. Called the Sussex, the newest restomod features a 4.0-litre, air-cooled straight-six, and is designed to straddle the track-car and daily-driver roles. Finished in grey with a black leather interior, it’s understated, and designed for the ‘discreet gentleman’ we’re told. Either way, it looks great.