2023 Goodwood Festival of Speed preview
Porsche will become the first brand to feature on the FoS sculpture four times
Motoring extravaganza celebrates 30 years; Porsche is centrally featured company for its 75th anniversary
The Goodwood Festival of Speed will return in 2023 from Thursday 13 July to Sunday 16 July - and it’s to be a big year for car unveilings and international public debuts.
This year’s theme, Goodwood 75, celebrates 75 years of the Goodwood estate and 30 years of the Festival of Speed.
Tribute will be paid to the estate itself and to remarkable feats in automotive engineering and famed drivers from past and present.
The famous Goodwood Hillclimb will also return, focusing on cars and bikes from historical racing years 1948 to 1966 and more modern cars from 1998 to 2023.
Porsche will be celebrated by the event’s central feature. It's 75 years since the firm produced its first sports car, the Porsche 365, and it will hand a debut to several new cars at Goodwood.
Which new cars should you look out for at this year’s Festival of Speed? We’ve compiled a list of the biggest expected debuts…
*Cars we’re expecting to see at the Goodwood Festival of Speed*
-BMW 5 Series-
The new BMW 5 Series is one of the most anticipated cars of 2023, and it will appear in the UK in public for the first time at the Festival of Speed. An all-electric i5 variant will also be present at the event, with both cars taking to the famous hill climb. This generation will be the final time the 5 Series is sold with an internal combustion engine, so make sure you visit the German brand's stand to say your goodbyes.
*New BMW 520i is last pure-combustion 5 Series*
-Caterham Project V-
Caterham's first electric car will be fully revealed at the event. We still don't have many details about it yet, but it's likely to be a two-seater sports car and entirely unrelated to the Caterham Seven. The model, which will lead the firm's push into electrification, will continue to uphold the values of "lightness, simplicity and a driver-focused experience", upon which Caterham has built its legacy.
-Hyundai Ioniq 5 N-
We’ve been hotly anticipating the sporty Hyundai Ioniq 5 N for some time now. It will be Hyundai‘s first electric performance car, with a focus on the UK market. Expect ramped-up performance and a more aggressive exterior design.
*2023 Hyundai Ioniq 5 N EV hot hatch to be revealed at Goodwood*
-Ineos Grenadier FCEV-
The hydrogen fuel cell-powered version of the Ineos Grenadier 4x4 uses powertrain technology sourced from Hyundai, with which Ineos inked a memorandum of understanding in 2020.
*Ineos Grenadier hydrogen FCEV to star at Goodwood*
-McMurtry Speirling Pure-
The Speirling broke the Goodwood hillclimb record last year, and McMurtry has now revealed a track-only version for the public to buy. On sale from £984,000, the single-seater, 1000bhp demon is more efficient that the standard car, meaning it's, unbelievably, even faster. You can see it in public for the first time at this year's Festival of Speed.
*McMurtry Speirling Pure goes on sale with 1000bhp for £984,000*
-Mini Aceman concept-
The Aceman is Mini's first new product name for ten years and will arrive next year to fill the gap between the flagship Mini hatchback (to now be called Cooper) and Mini Countryman SUV. It will make its UK debut at this year's Festival of Speed, and you'll find it in the Electric Avenue. Positioned to rival the upcoming Jeep Avenger, it will also be built in China and will use a stretched version of the electric Cooper’s Spotlight architecture. The Aceman will form a key component of Mini's future.
*Mini Aceman EV is electric-only Clubman replacement*
-Porsche Mission X-
Porsche will celebrate its big anniversary this year with the Mission X - a 75th birthday present to itself. The electric hypercar concept previews a potential EV successor to the Carrera GT and 918 Spyder, so you can guarantee it will be a very powerful machine indeed. A powertrain that could offer around 1500bhp will be key to achieving its goal of becoming the fastest road-legal car to ever round the Nürburgring.
*New Porsche Mission X concept is electric 918 Spyder successor*
-Porsche Cayenne-
The updated Porsche Cayenne will be showcased at this year’s event. The German car maker’s larger SUV gets a new set of upgraded engines, plus a revised chassis and a total interior overhaul. It’s unlikely that we will see the electric Cayenne, though, with that not due on UK roads until 2025.
*New-look Porsche Cayenne gets power, EV range and tech boosts*
-Porsche 718 Spyder GT4 RS-
This will be the last Porsche 718 Boxster and the most powerful yet. It takes 493bhp and 332lb ft from a GT3-based atmo 4.0-litre flat six with an ear-splitting 9000rpm redline. That’s mated to a “lightning-speed” seven-speed PDK automatic gearbox, all of which combine to propel the roadster from 0-62mph in just 3.4sec. It’s likely this £123,000 sports car will be one of the most popular cars at this year’s event.
*Porsche 718 Boxster bows out with 493bhp Spyder GT4 RS*
-McLaren 750S-
The McLaren 750S is the thoroughly updated and enhanced replacement for the 720S, which holds the crown as Woking’s best-selling car. It brings a slight restyling, but 30% beneath that impressive orange bodywork is said to be new. It brings 740bhp, and McLaren hopes it will enter the fray as “a new benchmark” to the supercar segment.
*New McLaren 750S replaces 720S with more power, revised chassis*
-McLaren Solus GT-
The McLaren Solus GT is the British firm’s ultra-limited, single-seat track car, which is driven by an 830bhp V10 engine. Created with speed, downforce and lap times in mind, it will no doubt be targeting a blistering time up the Goodwood hillclimb.
*McLaren launches V10-powered single-seat Solus GT*
-MG Cyberster-
The Cyberster is the first all-new sports car to be fitted with an MG badge since the MG F in 1995, and it will make its official public debut at Goodwood this year. The Chinese firm says it wil be the world’s first “affordable” EV roadster, with prices starting at £55,000 for a rear-wheel-drive 309bhp version and rising to £65,000 for a dual-motor, four-wheel-drive version with 536bhp. It will no doubt draw significant crowds.
*Official: 2024 MG Cyberster rivals BMW Z4 for £55,000*