Highlights from the 2025 Goodwood Festival of Speed

The British summer is a funny thing. Two years ago, the Saturday of the Goodwood Festival of Speed was cancelled because of biblical rain and gale force winds, which threatened to rip off the roofs of the many tents and marquees across the estate and produced impossible conditions for the priceless machinery aiming to tackle the hill climb. This year, however, there wasn’t a cloud in sight, and a 30-degree heatwave bathed the 200,000 strong crowds across the second weekend in July. 

It is always a pleasure attending the Festival of Speed. There is nothing else like it in the world; it is a true celebration of all things motoring. Everything with an internal combustion engine — and, increasingly, an electric motor — has a place. Whether you’re into classic superbikes, 1990s rally cars, or modern Formula One machinery, you’ll be able to get up close and personal with icons from each respective category. Every year has a loose theme, and the main event this time around was the celebration of the 75th anniversary of F1.

Goodwood featured a showcase of over 100 Formula 1 cars, making it the Festival of Speed’s biggest ever celebration of the top tier of motorsport. Some of the highlights included a series of Benetton cars from the 1990s — the B195 in particular — which won 11 races in 1995, as well as the World Championship for Michael Schumacher in 1995. Ferrari played a central role during the weekend, reiterating its importance to the sport over the decades. Alberto Ascari’s Ferrari 500/625 was present, a car that won 11 Grand Prix in 1952 and ’53, as was the 312T, which first raced in 1975 and went on to win three Driver’s Championships, including two for Niki Lauda and one for Jody Scheckter. The Scuderia’s V10 era was represented well too, with the F399 and F2002 screaming their way up the hill.

Elsewhere, historic F1 cars from Lotus, Brabham, McLaren, Sauber, Tyrrell, and Williams were all fired up. The latter was a particularly special moment, as champion and national hero Nigel Mansell returned to the driver’s seat of his iconic FW14B ‘Red 5’, a car so dominant it won ten races in 1992, en route to his solo Driver’s Championship. A series of modern F1 cars from Alpine, Haas and Red Bull Racing completed the celebration of F1. 

Alongside F1, there were other anniversaries taking place aside.

As Porsche enjoys the 60th anniversary of its Targa models, it took over West Dean College, displaying a car from each decade. The current 992.2 generation 911 Targa 4 GTS sat alongside an original gen 911 Targa "Soft-window" from 1967. The former is perhaps the perfect sports car. Incredibly powerful, comfortable and refined, it’s a car you could happily drive 1,000 miles in. It boasts an intuitive hybrid system, which employs a 54hp electric motor to boost the already powerful 485hp and 3.6-litre flat-six engine to devastating effect. 

The OG Targa is a different beast. Climbing inside it isn’t as easy as you would like, the huge, bus-like steering wheel making it difficult to get your legs underneath it. The softly sprung leather seats remind you this is an old vehicle, lacking any of the support of modern bucket sets, while the manual gearbox requires a bit of guesswork before you figure out the rough location of the four speeds. Unlike a newer car, it requires a lot of effort and concentration before you get the hang of it, which makes for an incredibly rewarding drive. Small, lightweight and agile, it bounces down the road with its own 2.0-litre flat six providing the analogue soundtrack. By today’s standards, it is not a quick car, but it’s a lot more fun.

The Festival of Speed has become a motor show of sorts, one where many manufacturers choose to launch new cars while simultaneously celebrating their legacies. This year, a number of debuts took place, including: Land Rover and its Defender 110 Trophy Edition; the public debut of the Ferrari F80 and McLaren W1; Lamborghini’s new Huracan replacement; the Temerario; the Jaguar Type 00, and the Aston Martin DB12 Volante. The automotive world is undergoing great change currently, but the Festival of Speed proved, once again, that it’s a great time to be a motoring enthusiast.