When the Duke of Richmond hosts his annual automotive garden party, the industry turns up in force. The Goodwood Festival of Speed has long since grown beyond a British enthusiast gathering into Europe’s largest automotive showcase alongside the Munich motor show. This year, however, one trend was impossible to ignore: Chinese manufacturers no longer arrived as curious newcomers. They arrived as major players.
The soundtrack across the Goodwood estate is as deafening as ever. When a Formula 1 car isn’t screaming up the hillclimb with a veteran racing driver behind the wheel, giant loudspeakers blast rock anthems while commentators entertain the thousands of spectators with tales from motor racing’s golden decades. Britain remains gloriously unapologetic about its love affair with the motor car.
“Years ago there were perhaps 15,000 or 20,000 visitors,” says Laura, one of the event’s entrance marshals. “This year, with weather like this, it feels like twice that. Thursday was already unbelievably busy.”
A brightly liveried historic NASCAR lays thick black circles across one of the display areas while a Sauber-Mercedes C9, an Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing and the newly restored Auto Union Lucca return from another demonstration run. Crowds instantly surround them, phones held high above heads in scenes more reminiscent of the Tour de France than a motoring festival. Drivers fling open lightweight doors to release the furnace-like heat trapped inside their cockpits while many spectators seek relief from one of the hottest Goodwood weekends in recent memory.
The atmosphere is superb. Old and new, combustion and electric, priceless classics and futuristic concepts all share the same stage.
Since its launch in 1993, the Festival of Speed has evolved into something unique. Once dominated by Britain’s home-grown marques such as Aston Martin, Bentley, Mini, Jaguar and Land Rover, supported by Germany’s premium manufacturers, Goodwood has become a remarkably accurate reflection of today’s global automotive landscape.
Nowhere is that shift more obvious than among the Chinese brands.
Visitors travel around the estate aboard complimentary shuttle buses supplied by Omoda and Jaecoo, while the sprawling exhibition from BYD and its premium brands Denza and Yangwang dwarfs many neighbouring European stands. Crowds queue to tackle an off-road course in the BYD Shark pickup before posing for social media beside the 1,600 PS Denza Z hypercar.
Goodwood increasingly reflects the reality now visible across European registration figures. Brands such as BYD, MG and Chery have firmly established themselves in mainstream markets rather than niche curiosity.
That makes life harder even for established manufacturers. World premieres including BMW’s new i3, Audi’s 1,001 PS Nuvolari concept and Mercedes-AMG’s 680 PS CLA 45 all struggled to dominate headlines despite elaborate launches. Standing out at Goodwood now demands something truly extraordinary.
Manufacturers understand the assignment. They bring their loudest, fastest and most dramatic machinery to West Sussex and let it loose on the famous 1.16-mile hillclimb. Whether powered by petrol or electricity matters less than ever.
The crowds respond with equal enthusiasm.
Even electric performance cars receive the same applause traditionally reserved for V12 supercars. Alpine sends its electric A110 prototype charging up the hill with Formula 1 driver Pierre Gasly behind the wheel and the ever-present Duke of Richmond occupying the passenger seat. Somehow, the Duke appears to be everywhere at once, greeting manufacturers, entertaining guests and appearing beside countless demonstration runs throughout the weekend.
Meanwhile, MG Motor unveils its GO concept, previewing a compact electric hatchback expected to reach production as the MG2 from 2027. The message is clear: this will be aimed directly at cars like the Mini Cooper.
“With the MG GO we wanted to create a compact car that feels modern while remaining emotional,” explains MG designer Carl Gotham. “It takes inspiration from classic MG models but reinterprets them for a new generation.”
Naturally, Goodwood remains about far more than product launches.
Historic racing cars thunder past throughout the day. One-off creations such as the BMW M3 GT3 Touring attract constant crowds, while the hillclimb also hosts everything from a Porsche Taycan Turbo GT and Lamborghini Urus SE Performante to Bentley’s latest Continental GT S.
“I’m not really used to driving in front of crowds like this,” admits Craig Nicolson, Bentley’s Head of Vehicle Dynamics. “You spend a long time waiting on the start line, and as the marshals wave you forward you suddenly realise just how many people are watching. It’s an incredible atmosphere.”
Perhaps that sums up Goodwood better than anything else.
Unlike many motor shows, where visitors naturally gravitate towards one technology or another, the Festival of Speed remains refreshingly open-minded. A priceless pre-war racer receives the same applause as a Chinese electric SUV or a prototype hypercar. Petrol, electricity, hydrogen, heritage or innovation — none of it matters particularly.
As long as it climbs the hill with enough theatre, Goodwood will celebrate it.
