The 2022 Goodwood Festival of Speed presented by Mastercard got underway with a bang yesterday, as we persevered through the drizzle for what was a fun-filled day of never-before-seen metal, drifting and rally action on the Hill.
Seven best moments from Day 1 at the 2022 Festival of Speed
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The BMW M3 Touring makes its world debut
The BMW M3 Touring made its exclusive world debut, with the Duke of Richmond driving it to open the Hill for the day’s driving action. The BMW M CEO came along for a ride, and it’s safe to say the Duke put his fastest foot forward in the M3. He was all smiles as he slithered off the start line and made his way up the Hill past adoring fans. A spectacular opening to the weekend’s action.
Video: BMW M3 Touring hits the Hill at the Festival of Speed
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Ferrari SP3 Daytona takes to the Hill
Ferrari’s latest Icona series car made its dynamic debut at Goodwood and dropped jaws with its retro-inspired beauty and singing V12 engine. Evoking the Daytona-conquering Ferrari prototypes of old, the SP3 Daytona is an utterly stunning supercar, with a 9,500rpm 840PS (618kW) V12 to match its jaw-dropping good looks. It also happens to be the first non-hybrid mid-engined V12 Ferrari for 20 years, so the 500 buyers can count themselves as very lucky indeed.
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Polestar 5 makes dynamic debut
Polestar took the fight to Porsche, Audi and Tesla this weekend, with its epic Polestar 5 prototype getting its dynamic debut. Still covered in disguise, the production version’s reveal nears as development continues. Revealed this weekend was the spectacular power figure of 884PS (650kW) which should be enough to trouble at least the German pretenders to Tesla’s EV crown. Even through the disguise, we can tell it’ll look stunning too.
Polestar 5 flexes its muscles for the first time at Goodwood
Mercedes-AMG One takes the headlines on Day 1
This was the big one, wasn’t it? Everyone said it was impossible when Mercedes-AMG said it was going to put an F1 engine in a road-going supercar. Nothing is impossible when you have Mercedes money to play with. Not without its challenges, it’s taken five years to get the One here, running in full production trim, active aero, F1 engine, hybrid systems and all. We were simply in awe.
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Rally cars and off road arena cars on the hill
Before the weekend really gets underway, the rally cars and off road arena cars introduce themselves with runs up the Hill on Thursday, before taking to the muck, ruts and jumps for which they were designed. From world rally legends, to bespoke buggies, to custom monsters, we loved to see it.
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Drifters burn rubber and put on a show
Out resident masters of cars exclusively beyond the limit were on hand to make smoke and noise with their specially-specified machinery. Drift GOAT James Deane made his 2JZ M3 dance the Hill, as a rotary-powered Chevrolet Corvette got its debut, much to the chagrin of small-block purists. More rotary madness came in the form of a screaming Silvia S15, which had dispensed with its SR20 in favour of Mazda power.
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A first look at the Formula 1 cars
A selection of our F1 batch made an appearance on the Hill too for a soft run readying for the weekend. It’s good to have the sound of DFVs, V8s, flat-12s and V12s echoing throughout the grounds again as titans from all eras of the pinnacle discipline in motorsport blew the cobwebs away for another weekend of fun in the West Sussex sun.
You can catch all of the action from the 2022 Festival of Speed by watching our live stream.
Photography by Michal Popisil, Joe Harding, Jordan Butters and Toby Whales.
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