And in this Silver Jubilee year we are overwhelmed by dynamic debutants. Never in 25 years has there been so large, and so diverse, a range of new machinery in the First Glance and Michelin Supercar Run classes.

Here’s our A to Z of what has been confirmed so far – and, believe us, there’s more still to come…

A

Alpine A110 GT4

It’s been a busy and award-laden year for the French sports car brand’s reborn A110 coupe since the Premiere edition made its debut at Goodwood this time in 2017. Now it’s time for the racing A110 from Alpine’s race partner Signatech to show what it can do on the hill. It should be in customer teams’ hands for events in the second half of the 2018 season.

Alpine A110 Legènde

Also making its UK dynamic debut is the A110 Légende – a leather-clad luxury A110 with power seats and the emphasis on touring. Priced at  £50,000 it’s available to order now.  Watch out too for the Alpine A442B on the hill, outright winner at Le Mans in 1978 – 223mph on the Mulsanne straight!

Aston Martin DBS Superleggera

Announced only in June, FOS will be the first outing for Aston’s new 211mph super-GT to take over from the Vanquish S. It has all the things you expect of a luxury sports GT from Aston, including a 715bhp twin-turbo V12 and £225,000 price tag.

Aston Martin V600 Vantage

The new Vantage will be taking on the hill but making its dynamic debut is a version of the outgoing model: the V12 Vantage V600, billed by Aston as the ultimate analogue Vantage. The carbon-bodied edition, available as just seven coupes and seven roadsters, bows out of the firm’s VH era with a big bang in the form of the  mighty V12 in 592bhp naturally-aspirated form.

Aston Martin Rapide AMR

It’s First Glance of Aston’s four-door in new AMR form: complete with Aston Martin Racing carbon-ceramic brakes, 21-inch wheels and 205mph top speed. Fastest four-door at FOS? Could be. It won’t be the fastest AMR up the hill though: that is sure to be the 820bhp Vulcan AMR driven by Darren Turner.

B

Brabham BT62

Goodwood is the scene of the world dynamic debut of David Brabham’s new supercar, the first model from Brabham Automotive and first new Brabham to wear his famous family’s name since 1992. And yes it will be David himself who will be showing us what the 700bhp race-bred track car can do up the 1.16-mile hill. It promises to be fast and noisy!

BMW 8-series

There will be a feast of Eights at Goodwood this year as BMW celebrates the UK debut of its all-new flagship sports coupe, reprising a model that last was part of BMW’s line-up 19 years ago. We saw the concept at FOS last year but this time it’s the real thing, and in a variety of forms: the production M850i you will be able to buy from November for £100,000 – it’s sportier than ever with its 523bhp and 0-62 in 3.7 seconds – the M8 GTE racer from Le Mans and (as a static display) a concept preview of the 8-series Gran Coupe tipped for production next year.

BMW i8 roadster

BMW’s still-stunning looking hybrid i8 supercar gets the chop top treatment for arguably even more spectacular styling than the coupe. Behind the wheel, getting a tan (we hope!) will be double British Touring Car champion Colin Turkington, who will also be piloting the new 8-series.

BMW M2 M concept

We know the M2 but not this version making its Goodwood Hillclimb debut: it’s a go-faster special using M Performance Parts for lighter weight, sharper looks and a more dynamic drive. “A unique expression of the M philosophy,” says BMW.

Bentley Continental

The Conti has been redesigned inside and out and it is this new version that we will be seeing blast up the hill for the first time this year. And “blast” is the right word: the luxury GT can hit 60 in 3.6 seconds on its way to a 207mph top speed. Its racing twin, the Continental GT3, will also be making its hillclimb debut, driven by Bentley Boy Guy Smith.

Bentley Bentayga Pikes Peak

Okay so we have seen the Bentayga at Goodwood before but fresh eyes are needed on the example Bentley is letting loose on the hill this year: it’s come straight from another hillclimb (a slightly longer and steeper one…) in the US. Yep, the Bentayga W12 is new king of the Pikes Peak hill in the SUV class. What can it do in a “Race to the Clouds” Sussex-style? Rhys Millen will be the man to show us what the 600bhp monster is made of.

D

DSD Design and Motorsport Boreas

Last year at FOS the Boreas (Greek wind god) impressed as a static display; this time round it’s action stations for the Spanish supercar as it deploys its 1,000bhp of plug-in hybrid power on the hill, and a car 10 years in the making finally gets its moment in the spotlight. Boreas want to build 12 of what it calls the first “green supercar”. 

F

Ferrari 488 Pista

Few cars are as dynamic as the latest special series Ferrari V8 GTB, aptly named the Pista (track), and the first time it’s fired up in anger in the UK will be at FOS. With 0-62mph in under three seconds it is reputedly the fastest-ever production car around Ferrari's Fiorano test track.

Ferrari 812 Superfast

It’s another UK first for the Superfast, Ferrari’s latest word in front-engined V12 performance GTs. Not just a must-see at FOS but also a must-hear: it 6.5-litre naturally-aspirated V12 should sound delicious as it delivers its 789bhp.

Ford Mustang Bullitt

It’s 50 years since a certain film came out with a car chase where the good guy drove a Mustang. It really was quite a good car chase. Good enough half a century later for Ford to  come up with the idea of a special edition Mustang Bullitt and it’s this 163mph car that will be taking on the Goodwood hill – alongside Steve McQueen’s original 1968 Mustang GT Fastback from the film. That car was lost for 40 years but is now restored and will be making its European debut. After the dips and dives of San Francisco our little hill will be a piece of cake.  

I

Italdesign/Nissan GT-R50

Meet the most exclusive Nissan GT-R ever, making its world debut. The restyled, carbon-bodied GT-R50 has been designed by Nissan but created by Italdesign and is intended as a 50 years joint celebration of both the GT-R nameplate and the famous Italian coachbuilder. But if we like what we see during FOS enough Italdesign says it will hand-make 50 of them at £800,000 each. The car is nupgraded everywhere –including race-spec turbos for 710bhp. It will be running in the supercar class every day. If you fancy one, go to www.gt-r50.nissan.

J

Jaguar F Pace SVR

Jaguar already has the accomplished SUV and it already has the potent V8… all it had to do was bring them together under the SVO banner and that’s exactly what has happened with the brand’s first high-performance 4x4. For around £75k you get 550PS (542bhp) and 0-62mph in 4.3 seconds.

JetPack Aviation JB11

Lots of machinery will be flying up the hill, but only one of them will, er, actually be flying. That’s the JB11 making its first-ever  European flight, and going into the Goodwood record books as first aerial hillclimb attempt. A pilot wearing the jetpack will take on the course once every day of FoS. The JB11 is capable of more than 200mph as well as reaching altitudes of 10,000 ft. It uses six turbojet engines and can stay up for 12 minutes.

L

Land  Rover Defender V8 Works

We have seen lots of Land Rover Defenders at Goodwood over the years but not one quite like this. This is the now out-of-production stalwart re-engineered by Land Rover as a luxury, high performance go-anywhere machine. With leather cabin, 400PS, and a tag of £150,000 it really is the Works. Look out too for the Range Rover Sport SVR – it will be going up the hill on two wheels, with Terry Grant driving, to try to break the fastest mile on two wheels record. The mad things you do when you are 70 (that’s Land Rover, not Terry!).

Lanzante McLaren P1 GT Longtail

You don’t get a new Longtail for ages and then two come along at once…as well as the official new LT (see McLaren) Lanzante Engineering has made its own Longtail version of the P1 GTR. Complete with longer tail and bigger wing, it has its premiere at this year’s FoS.

Lamborghini Urus

The super-SUV is coming to Goodwood to take on the hill for the first time after its unveiling in Italy at the end of 2017. It’s the  first turbocharged Lamborghini, the only four-door ever (apart from its LM002 “Rambo Lambo” 4x4 predecessor) and far and away the most practical and everyday-usable Lambo ever made. Thankfully it’ll still do 190mph! Look out for two fast Lambo drop-tops whizzing past on the hill: spyder versions of the Centenario and Huracan Performante.

Lexus UX

Lexus has chosen FoS for the world dynamic debut of its new compact crossover after its premiere at Geneva in March. With its aggressive looks, compact dimensions and claimed hot hatch-like agility, the UX brings Lexus’s typically individual approach to small SUVs. It is powered by a hybrid petrol/electric drivetrain and goes on sale in 2019.

Lotus Evora GT430

The fastest and most expensive  road-legal Lotus ever makes its debut on the hill this year. Light weight (of course) and powerful (424bhp), it uses components from the GT4 race car to turn sports coupe into supercar-chaser, with 0-62mph in 3.7secs and a top speed of 190mph. It’s said that if you delete the rear spoiler it’ll hit 200. Most important, the testers say it’s the best Lotus ever to drive.

M

McLaren Senna

You’ve seen it, we’ve driven it, now the Festival of Speed can stand back and stare as McLaren’s newest Ultimate Series car takes on the Goodwood hill. The rear-drive, non-hybrid hypercar is light and powerful and gets from 0-124mph in 6.8 seconds. It’ll need all its 800kg of downforce to get through Molecomb!

McLaren 600LT

Announced at the end of June, McLaren’s newest model will have its world premiere at this year’s Festival of Speed. Emulating the most famous Longtail of all – the McLaren F1 – this new track-focused addition to the Sports Series gets more power, less weight… and a longer new tail with fixed wing. Oh, and the coolest exhaust pipes at FOS?

Mercedes-AMG GT 4-door Coupe

This is only the second AMG-unique model (after the GT sports car) and it will have a lot to prove when we see it up close and in action on its UK debut. The omens looks good: as well as its sleek five-seater body, the quick version boasts 630bhp for 196mph and 0-62mph in just 3.2 seconds. Not bad for a big hatchback!

Mercedes-AMG G63

Another Merc we haven’t seen before at Goodwood – though you may think you have, so familiar is its boxiness – is the latest G-Class. It’s new everywhere but for that iconic design, and most important it has that number – 63 – on its tailgate still. 

N

NIO EP9

There is no shortage of electric cars at Goodwood this year and the daddy of them all promises to be the NIO, “the world’s fastest electric car”, making its UK dynamic debut. The 1,360hp supercar, which did a 6 minutes 45.9 secondss at the Nürburgring Nordschleife in 2017, will be driven by ‘Ring driver Peter Dumbreck. Just as fast we hope…

P

Polestar 1

FOS this year will be the world dynamic debut of the first model from Polestar, the new stand-alone electric performance offshoot of Volvo. A prototype of the carbon-fibre petrol/electric hybrid coupe will be driven up the hill every day by chief test driver Joakim Rydholm. And it shouldn’t be hanging around with its hybrid drivetrain boasting 592bhp with 737lb ft of torque. Production-spec Polestar 1s will be on display on the Polestar stand. You will be able to buy one in 2019.

Porsche 911 Speedster concept

Porsche’s 70^th anniversary birthday present to itself is this car, making its debut at Goodwood where of course Porsche is this year’s honoured marque. Among very many and very lovely Porsches throughout FOS 2018, this new concept for a Speedster-style edition of the 911 should not have any trouble standing out in the Michelin Supercar Run. It gets all the Speedster styling cues, some 356-type heritage design elements, a healthy 500bhp and an emphasis on a “pure driving experience”. Tell ‘em you want one and they may even make it next year…

R

Rolls-Royce Cullinan

The must-see SUV at Goodwood this year? Obviously the Cullinan. Everyone will want to get up close to the new gold standard of luxury off-road adventuring. The Cullinan is the largest, biggest-engined and most expensive production SUV the world has ever seen. It’s also the car with the shortest distance to travel to get to FOS! There will be four Cullinans at Goodwood: a shiny white one on the stand, a red one in the First Glance runs, and a pair of hard-used test mules, still wearing camo and with Sahara sand in their crevices, that are being used as course cars – complete with roof-mounted light bars and tow bars so they can demonstrate their pulling ability.

Roborace Robocar

One of two autonomous hilllclimb attempts this year, the Robocar – one of the stars of FOS Future Lab last year – will be bidding to become the first race car to complete the 1.16-mile hillclimb guided only by automated computer systems and LiDAR, radar, GPS, ultrasonic and cameras.

S

Siemens Autonomous

The first autonomous road car to attempt the hillclimb without human direction comes from engineering giant Siemens whose self-driving car has been developed in the UK in partnership with  Cranfield University. A non-active “driver” will be in the car but will only take over if there’s a safety or mechanical issue. You will be able to watch the twice-daily runs live-streamed from the car on the big screens around FOS.

T

Tesla Model 3

Making its European debut at Goodwood, the Model 3 is Tesla’s mainstream electric car for the masses – so many masses in fact it can’t build them fast enough to keep up with orders in the US. Among the interesting things about it – the airy cabin, good performance (0-60 in 5.1 seconds), and 310-mile range – is the price. In the US it costs from $35,000. UK sales are tipped to start in 2019. Would you buy one?

Toyota Supra

It’s a big world first this, as the long-awaited new Supra (codenamed A90) finally breaks cover in production form, albeit still wearing a colourful disguise (in tribute to Toyota’s win at Le Mans this year). With turbo inline-six, rear drive and suggested 0-62mph in 3.8 seconds, the first new Supra since 1996 promises to follow Supra tradition and punch well above its weight. It will be driven up the hill by the chief engineer responsible for making it, Testuya Tada.

V

VW Pikes Peak ID R

Another all-electric car, but this VW comes to Goodwood with a special claim to fame: it has just smashed the five-year-old Pikes Peak overall record with a blinding 7-minute 57.148-second run. The specially built mountain racer is the fast and sexy side of VW’s impending electric-car revolution. At Goodwood it will be driven by Romain Dumas who piloted the 671bhp single-seater up the famous 12.4-mile climb. Only 1.16 miles at Goodwood Romain!

W

W Motors Fenyr Supersport

FOS this year welcomes a new company, W Motors from Dubai, and its first car, the Fenyr Supersport. Described as a high performance hypercar it is powered by an 800hp Porsche 3.8-litre flat six with performance quoted as 0-62mph in 2.7 seconds and 0-124mph in 9.4. So it’s fast. It’s also wild looking, with notable features that include a supercar take on coach doors, and a “Triptych” electromechanical active spoiler. Plenty to check out then with this newcomer.