[Gallery] Stunning supercars storm into Goodwood | GRR
Pagani Huayra Codalunga. Maserati MC20 Cielo. Porsche 911 Sport Classic. Prodrive Impreza P25. Mercedes-AMG One. Just a handful of cars making their global dynamic debuts at the 2022 Festival of Speed presented by Mastercard, and when they’re not blasting up the Hill in front of Goodwood House they’re left to rest in the paddock shelters of the Michelin Supercar Paddock.
Whether you’re a seasoned supercar afficionado or still in school but just love cars, the opportunity to get up close and personal with the latest in automotive royalty is a complete and utter joy. The trouble is, there’s just so much to see!
As we’ve already written, Bugatti has treated us to three very special cars, record breakers that have pushed the boundaries of road car technology. The newest of the bunch is the Chiron Super Sport 300+, the very car that hit 304mph in a record-breaking run in late 2019. Alongside it is the Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse World Record Edition, one of only eight and a car capable of 254mph, and the Veyron Super Sport World Record Edition, one of just five cars in existance, sold with a standard Veyron-trumping top speed of 257mph but a vehicle that hit 268mph during a record run in 2010.
Ferrari meanwhile has brought along the SP38, Daytona SP3, 296 GTB and 812 Competizione, amongst others, the latter with a freer-revving 6.3-litre naturally-aspirated V12 engine compared to the ‘regular’ 812 Superfast (a 9,500rpm redline rather than 8,900) with 830PS, some serious aerodynamic updates, 38kg less weight and independent rear-wheel-steering.
The Czinger 21C made its way to the UK from California for the first time, blasting up the hill with its 2.88-litre, flat-plane crank, twin-turbo V8 screaming away, helped along by two electric motors, and Jenson Button has taken to the Hill in the Radford 62-2, a car we’ve been lucky enough to see a couple of times in the metal now but never on the move.
From Prodrive there’s the Impreza P25, an all-new, carbon-bodied road-going reincarnation of a Subaru icon, while Pagani has been tickling our ear drums with the 6.0-litre, naturally-aspirated AMG V12 in the Pagani Huayra R. The noise is unbelievable. Also unbelievable, though, is the Huayra Codalunga, unveiled to the world last week and seen in the metal for the very first time at the 2022 Festival. It’s essentially a longtail Huayra, with a 36mm longer tail, and not only does it have 850PS (625kW) twin-turbo 6.0-litre V12 but it’s one of only five cars that will be made. The price? A cool £6m.
The Lamborghini Aventador LP780-4 Ultimae, the very last Aventador and a car we saw static here in 2021, is running on the Hill alongside the Huracan Evo and STO, and running in anger for the first time since 1980 is the Aston Martin Bulldog, the car that was supposed to be Aston’s first 200mph car, arriving here fresh from a two-year restoration. Also from the Aston stable is the Valkyrie hypercar, all-new, limited-run V12 Vantage, DB11 and DBS.
If you’re a fan of the Valkyrie then perhaps you’ll want to get close to the Mercedes-AMG One, the Mercedes hypercar we’ve been waiting to see run since it was unveiled in 2017, now ready to go with its 1.6-litre turbocharged, hybridised V6 powertrain, the very same you’ll find in the back of a Mercedes F1 car, albeit with a rev limit of only 11,000rpm. Still, 1,063PS (782kW) sounds pretty spicy, doesn’t it?
Two Koenigsegg Jesko variants were on the hill alongside the one-gear Regera, the Jesko Attack and the low-drag Jesko Absolut. There are no official speed numbers yet but with between 1,280PS (941kW) and 1,600PS (1,177kW), 300mph seems entirely doable. Speaking of 300mph cars, have we mentioned the bonkers, brilliant Hennessey Venom F5? The target for the Texas team is a top speed of 500km/h, or 300mph flat out, and in testing the car has hit 271mph with relative ease. Then again, a slippery body, a kerb weight of 1,360kg and 1,817PS (1,336kW) courtesy of a 6.0-litre, flat-plane crank, twin-turbo V8, should we be surprised?
The McLaren Artura was back after its debut here in 2021, while the Speedtail was running up the Hill for the very first time. The GMA T.50 was screaming past Goodwood House, too, having debuted at the 78th Members’ Meeting presented by Audrain Motorsport in 2021.
The convertible MC20 Cielo is making its global dynamic debut here this weekend alongside its coupe sibling, and on the less conventional side we have the screaming, 7.6-litre V12 hybrid Delage D12, the Corvette-powered, Yorkshire-bred Eadon Green Zeclat and the all-electric Hispano Suiza Carmen.
A busy weekend in the Supercar Paddock then, but that’s exactly how we like it. Seeing these cars in the metal, hearing the engines burst into life, watching them howl away from the start line, that’s the stuff that gets us all excited.
Photography by Michal Popisil and Toby Whales.