Lepas will make its UK debut at the Festival of Speed with the L8 SUV

The First Glance Paddock will be home to the L8 SUV over the event, where it will run up the Hill with professional racing driver Sasha Brunton at the wheel. Lepas draws design inspiration from the elegance and athleticism of big cats — its name is a portmanteau of ‘leopard’ and ‘passion’ — and Brunton will embody this theme by sporting a leopard print race suit and helmet for her trips up the Hill. She certainly won’t be hard to miss.

Two trims are on offer for the L8 SUV: Essence, which focuses on everything a driver would need including tech, safety and comfort, and Elevate, which is more luxurious and refined. That sets you back just under £38,000, while Essence costs just shy of £35,000.

Whichever you choose, both are powered by Lepas’ Super Hybrid ecosystem which features a 1.5-litre turbo engine mated to a Dedicated Hybrid Transmission, electronic gear selector and an 18.4kWh battery that can charge from 30 to 80 per cent in 20 minutes.

The powertrain delivers a combined range of 745 miles, and a pure electric range of 56 miles. Lepas plans to add a fully electric L8 to its line-up in 2027, while UK Managing Director Ray Wang has said that additional models — the L6 C-SUV and the L4 B-SUV will be arriving soon. Lepas is preparing to officially launch later in July, with over 50 showrooms opening in the coming months.

“We couldn’t have picked a better or more exciting event at which to finally introduce the UK public to the Lepas brand and to showcase our first model, the L8 premium SUV,” Wang said.

“The Goodwood Festival of Speed is an event of global significance in the automotive calendar and one of the highlights of the summer in Britain. We can’t wait to be there and to properly begin our journey in this country.”

Tickets for the Festival of Speed are limited. Only Thursday admission remains but hospitality packages for all four days are available. Missed out on a ticket for Friday or Saturday? Find out how you can access our sold-out days with one of our new packages.

If you’re not already part of the GRRC, joining the Fellowship means you can save ten per cent on your 2026 tickets and grandstand passes, as well as enjoy a whole host of other on-event perks.