Goodwood Festival of Awesome

Goodwood Festival of Awesome

July 06, 2012


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We're pretty sure there’s nowhere else on Planet Earth where in the course of a day you’ll see Lewis Hamilton doing doughnuts in an F1 car, chat to the owner of a 1904 Mercedes, relax in the brand new 2013 BMW M6, race Porsche Cayennes through a muddy field, see Mark Webber drive Infiniti’s extreme electric hybrid or watch the classic Lancia Delta Integrale rip it through a forest rally stage.

If you love speed and cars, you’ll love this spectacular English automotive garden party. We were in attendance last week to bring you our highlights from the world’s greatest festival. And here they are:

This is the Infiniti Emerg-E.  It’s a mid-engined hybrid, unveiled at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show.

It’ll do 0-60 in 4 seconds thanks to a combination of electric and petrol-engine power, and according to Infiniti design guru Shiro Nakamura, the carbon shell’s “like silk wrapping over the wheels”. And you know what?  He’s right.

It was drop-dead gorgeous pictured here in the supercar paddock or later racing up the hill climb with Formula 1 legend Mark Webber at the wheel.

 

Check out the distinct Zagato styling on this baby – the Aston Martin V12 Zagato.

It’s a 6-liter, 510 horsepower, V12 monster that Aston Martin say will maintain the level of polish you currently only see in their $2 million exotic, the One-77. And having seen it in the flesh, we agree.

 

The McLaren MP4-12C remains one of our favourite cars – a technological marvel as comfortable on the road as it is fast on the race track. And it’s fast.

This sweet-looking Union Jack-liveried track version was put through its paces on the day by British F1 hero Jenson Button.

 

These pictures of the BAC Mono don’t really do justice to the robotic, futuristic styling.

Advanced carbon fiber struts, high-end shocks and race-tuned Cosworth engine are all encased in gloss-white plates.

It’s like something out of Mass Effect!  Pure, sci-fi car-porn. The only thing that could make us love it more would be if it could fly. Or transform into a robot.

The Lancia Delta in the Martini livery is a legendary rally car. To fans of the ’95 coin-op classic, Sega Rally Championship (you know who you are), seeing Juha Kankkunen's Lancia Delta HF Integrale is a spine-tingling experience. Seeing it parked up behind the Carlos Sainz 6th Generation Toyota Celica is just insane.

We were clearly so excited we didn't get any clear shots, but you can just about see the Lancia second across in the left-hand shot.

Goodwood’s Supercar Paddock is an overwhelming experience: a barrage of exotic alloys, carbon fiber, sparkling paintwork and the coolest, most expensive modern supercars you’ve ever seen in one place.

Even the wildest, most dramatic-looking cars in the world can seem pretty ordinary in this crowd. Not a problem for the Pagani Huayra. The most extreme, flamboyant, beautiful car ever made? Quite possibly.

Hit comments if you love these cars, shout if you want to see more or tell us about your all-time favorite driving experiences in games.