2022 Goodwood Festival of Speed Was All About, Well, Speed

Every year when summer comes around, speed and performance enthusiasts from all over the world flock to England for the traditional Goodwood Festival of Speed. The 2022 edition took place from June 23-26 and it certainly had lots of fantastic cars to marvel at.

Here are some that particularly caught our attention…

New Hillclimb Record

McMurtry Automotive, a high-performance electric car maker based in the U.K., made motorsport history by setting a new all-time hillclimb record at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. With former F1 driver Max Chilton behind the wheel, the amazing McMurtry Spéirling completed the 1.16-mile (1.87km) course in a blistering 39.08 seconds, beating the previous official record of 41.6 seconds set by Nick Heidfeld in a McLaren MP4/13 F1.

Beyond its Batmobile looks, the Spéirling’s unique nature comes from a fan-powered downforce system that sucks air from under the car, similar to the Brabham BT46B that won the 1978 Swedish Grand Prix. Believe it or not, it can generate 2,000 kg of instant downforce-on-demand—more than double its own weight—and achieve 0-100km/h sprints in less than 1.5 seconds.

Exotic Cars Rule

Many of the most formidable supercars and hypercars on the planet were on display, too. The list included the Ferrari Daytona SP3, Aston Martin Valkyrie, Koenigsegg Jesko Absolut, Hennessey Venom F5, Czinger 21C, Bugatti Chiron Super Sport, Delage D12 and more.

Croatian hypercar maker Rimac showed its brand new Nevera, named after the quick, unexpected and mighty Mediterranean storm that races across the open sea off the coast of Croatia. The fully electric masterpiece features four motors that combine to deliver 1,914 horsepower, sprint from 0-60 mph (97 km/h) in just 1.85 seconds and achieve an 8.6-second quarter-mile time on a drag strip.

There was also the first of just 275 production models of the Mercedes-AMG ONE, an exceptional car designed as a Formula 1 for the road. Its turbocharged V6 engine can rev up to 11,000 rpm and teams up with four electric motors to generate around 1,000 horsepower.

Awesome Custom Builds

Famous Porsche 911 tuner Singer Vehicle Design from California is responsible for a number of marvelous transformations of 964 models but its latest one marks the first road-going, turbocharged 911 reimagined by Singer. Almost every part of the exterior was modified—except the doors—and is inspired by earlier 911s (930) from the ‘70s and ‘80s. Under the carbon fibre body is a twin-turbocharged 3.8-litre flat-six engine capable of delivering more than 450 horsepower. Over 70 customers have already reserved bespoke restorations enabled by this Turbo Study.

Meanwhile, British company Prodrive unveiled its modern interpretation of the most iconic Subaru Impreza ever, the legendary 1998 Subaru Impreza 22B STi that commemorated the automaker’s 40th anniversary and its third consecutive manufacturer’s title in the World Rally Championship (WRC). The car will have a production run of just 25 units. Starting with an original two-door WRX body, the team fitted new carbon panels and managed to reduce the weight by 100 pounds. The 2.5-litre engine is cranked to 400 horsepower.

Promising Concepts

Finally, a few concepts made their debuts in Goodwood this year including the prototype of the future Polestar 5. It’s a high-performance electric four-door coupe based on the Precept concept shown in 2020. The company likens this vehicle to the world’s top sports cars that achieve an amazing power-to-weight ratio in an exclusive package. Along with an 800V architecture, a new rear electric motor provides superior output and combines with a high-output front electric motor. The 872 horsepower are way more than sporty electric cars like the Audi RS e-tron GT and all variants of the Porsche Taycan.