Summer Speed

The main event at Goodwood Festival of Speed is the hill climb, but there are many other reasons to make a pilgrimage to the world-famous celebration of motor sport and car culture.

- Wei-Yu Wang

Even Casual Motoring fans would have heard of Goodwood Festival of Speed. You go for the hill climb, which is a 1.9km course traversed by dozens of cars of different models that range from those made in the early 20th century right up to today's cutting-edge supercars, and in all sorts of classes from Formula 1 racers to Rolls-Royce sedans.

It's a four-day event, but the only real competition is the Sunday Shootout. It saw a new record set this year by Max Chilton, who completed the run in 39.08 seconds in a single-seat electric concept McMurtry Speirling. In between runs, the cars are kept in paddocks that are accessible to the public, allowing them to be admired up-close.

While that's all true, there's a lot more to Goodwood Festival of Speed that makes it an occasion. Read on to find out why tickets are sold out every year.

The Journey And The Car Park

There's no highway that will take you direct to Goodwood; it's tucked away near England's southern coast, just outside the city of Chichester. Coming from London, you'll quickly leave the M25 behind and end up on triple-digit A roads winding lazily through small towns with inns and greens that are hundreds of years old.

The closer you get, the more frequently you'll encounter a remarkable automotive, whether vintage or modern, as auto fans converge on Goodwood. Some will have been granted access to Performance Parking, the Festival's designated car parks that are reserved for high-end vehicles. The list of approved models reads like a who's who of classic cars - a discriminatory, exclusive catalogue of the best in motoring.

The Estate