Two years on from its last running, the Goodwood Festival of Speed finally returned in 2021, and the Duke of Richmond pulled out all the stops to deliver one of the most thrilling iterations yet. H.R. Owen was delighted to be supporting our manufacturer partners and hosting customers over the four days of the event, with no shortage of exciting showcases from H.R. Owen brands.
Goodwood Festival of Speed brought with it countless show debuts, thrilling top-speed hill runs, motorsport royalty and even an award or two. Below is a run-down of everything our manufacturer partners showcased.
Photography by Krishan Parmar.
Bugatti
One of the few opportunities members of the public will ever get to see not one but two engineering marvels from Molsheim, Bugatti was showcasing two Chiron evolutions at Goodwood. The Chiron Pur Sport was driven up the legendary hill climb circuit by none other than Le Mans winner and Bugatti Pilote Officiel, Andy Wallace.
Delivering a more track-focused experience than the standard Chiron, each Pur Sport carries a 1.9-metre rear spoiler to generate enough downforce for cornering and stability at high speeds. New, cutting-edge additions to the car include incredibly lightweight, highly temperature resistant 3D-printed titanium exhaust tailpipes to reduce weight and increase performance.
On static display, visitors could ogle the new Bugatti Chiron Super Sport – the quintessence of luxury and speed. The Chiron Super Sport was engineered with top speed in mind, whilst also being able to offer both luxury and comfort, making it the ultimate in grand touring. A combination of gracefully elongated body and meticulous engineering make this one of the fastest and most comfortable Chirons to-date.
Lamborghini
The brand-new Lamborghini Aventador LP 780-4 Ultimae made its public debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, representing a swansong for the Aventador and for Lamborghini’s pure V12-powered models.
The last Aventador was displayed in both coupé and roadster editions, while the Essenza SCV12, the limited edition hypercar developed by Lamborghini Squadra Corse for track use, was driven by Emanuele Pirro up the Goodwood hill.
Lamborghini super sports cars making the famed hillclimb included the Huracán STO and Huracán Super Trofeo EVO 2, flanked by the Huracan EVO road car and Urus Super SUV.
Maserati
The big news from Maserati was the show debut of the MC20, the Trident brand’s first mid-engine two-seater super sports car. Not only that, but it’s the first Maserati with a carbon fibre monocoque, meaning the whole car weighs in at a feather-light 1500kg. Paired with its powerful F1-derived engine, this combination ensures an exceptional power to weight ratio; 0-62mph takes 2.8 seconds. The MC20 headed up the hillclimb each day of the event before parking back in the Supercar Paddock alongside the Maserati Nettuno engine that powers it.
The Ghibli Trofeo, the most extreme incarnation of Maserati’s performance saloon, also made an appearance on the iconic hill climb as part of the First Glance class, complete with a thrilling howl from its 580hp V8 engine.
Ferrari
For Ferrari, the Goodwood Festival of Speed represented the first time all the current models were in the UK together in public. That’s a total of eight cars, five of which have never been seen before at Festival of Speed, and all of them heading up the hillclimb throughout the weekend.
From Maranello’s first front-engined V8 GT, the Roma, to both the plug-in hybrid SF90 Stradale and SF90 Spider it was an opportunity for the crowds to see, hear and smell the very latest performance innovations from the Prancing Horse.
Ferrari was out in full force with its historic racing cars, too, stretching back to the 1950s. There was a particularly spine-tingling run from Mario Andretti in a 1970 512S, but visitors were also treated to the most recent Ferrari F1 car to ever grace the hill, the 2017 Ferrari SF70H.
Rolls-Royce
Essentially Rolls-Royce’s home show, the Goodwood Festival of Speed saw the global public debut of the Rolls-Royce Wraith Black Badge Landspeed Collection. Recently announced, the Landspeed Collection celebrates achievement, innovation and courage, commemorating the tremendous records set by British engineer, Captain George Eyston, in Thunderbolt, which was powered by two Rolls-Royce R V12 aero engines.
The Rolls-Royce Wraith Black Badge Landspeed Collection took to the hillclimb in the First Glance showcase, while a Rolls-Royce Dawn Black Badge will joined cars in the Michelin Supercar Run, smoking its tyres and drifting through corners.
Displayed on the Festival’s Laundry Green, adjacent to Goodwood House, Rolls-Royce was celebrating some of its finest Bespoke commissions – comprising Phantom, Ghost, Dawn, Wraith and Cullinan – each an expression of an owner’s aesthetic sensibilities and of the marque’s peerless craftsmanship.
Rimac
Fresh from the major news of Rimac’s joint venture with Porsche to create the new Bugatti Rimac business, the Croatian company was at Festival of Speed with the all-electric 1,914hp Nevera on the hillclimb.
The next-generation all-electric hypercar, powered by four individual electric motors, can accelerate to 60mph in 1.85 seconds and to 100mph in just 4.3 seconds. It maintains its eye-widening acceleration throughout a full-throttle cycle, achieving 186mph (300 km/h) from rest in 9.3 seconds.
Rimac Automobili’s test driver delighted the crowds with four-wheel burnouts from the start-line and smokey drifts through some of the hill’s first corners, proving that all-electric doesn’t mean a lack of drama. Goodwood visitors agreed, with the Nevera making it into the final three for Michelin’s Showstopper Award.
Aston Martin
Aston Martin’s 1160bhp, multi-million-pound V12 hypercar made its festival debut this year, with F1’s Lance Stroll at the wheel for its voyage up the hill. It showcased its blistering performance, accelerating from 0-60mph in under 2.5 seconds, and deafened crowds with its Cosworth-developed naturally aspirated 6.5-litre V12 engine, capable of revving to 11,000rpm.
And although the Valkyrie was the undoubted star of Aston Martin’s supercar run line-up – even winning the Michelin Showstopper Award – it was joined by the Vantage F1 Edition, the limited run V12 Speedster and the remainder of the Aston Martin line-up from DB11 to DBX.
Throughout the course of the event Aston Martin’s Official Formula One Safety Car Vantage and DBX functioned as front and back-markers for each of the runs, checking the track ahead of every batch.
