Adam Wilkins

Gallery: The newest metal in the First Glance batch

The First Glance category does exactly what you’d expect – it gives visitors to the Festival of Speed presented by Mastercard the chance to get their first look at the freshest new metal. From the likes of Toyota and Kia to prestigious marques like Bentley and Rolls-Royce, there’s a wide range of new cars to ogle over and consider as your next purchase.

As we edge closer to 2030 and the impact that will have on the internal combustion engine, there is an increasing number of EVs in the First Glance category. With many new names entering the fray, it’s an exciting time redolent of the early days of the motor industry. Start-up car-makers present at the Festival of Speed have brought a real variety of machinery, from the single-seat three-wheeled ElectraMeccanica Solo via the Rivian R1T truck via the super-fast Lucid Air saloon.

If you prefer pistons, there are still plenty of internal combustion engines coming to the market. Some of them seem like a swansong celebration of the theme, with both Aston Martin and Mercedes-AMG bringing cars with more than 700PS to the Hill (and to the road...). Slightly more down to earth is the Toyota GR86, although we hesitate to describe it as attainable on the basis that the UK’s allocation sold out within less than hour of it becoming available. It joins its GR brothers, Supra and Yaris.

Beyond those, there are plenty more to tempt you. Can you pick a favourite?

Photography by Joe Harding and Jordan Butters