The Goodwood Festival of Speed is fast becoming an annual event on the motoring calendar of Maltese car lovers and many recently travelled to the UK to witness this memorable event first-hand.

Attracting crowds of over 100,000 on each of the three days it is held, the Goodwood Festival of Speed primarily consists of a hill-climb held in the grounds of Goodwood House in West Sussex. This year’s edition was held between June 25 and 28.

Besides the hill-climb, the event also promises plenty of new metal, including lots of car debuts, and other fun activities mostly related to the world of motorsport.

The event is a direct response to the continued demand from vehicle manufacturers and motorists for an annual motor show that enables car enthusiasts to see and experience the latest models, and gives car companies the opportunity to showcase their products in a stunning setting and a relaxed environment.

The following are seven highlights from this year’s exciting Goodwood festival.

1. The Old and Rare

Some of the world’s rarest cars appear at the Festival of Speed and even when it’s a priceless racing car, they are always driven in the manner that they were designed for – fast. Just one example is the Maserati 250F, one of only 26 ever made and raced by such greats as Sir Sterling Moss and Juan Manuel Fangio. The last one to be sold at auction made over €4 million.

2. The New

Rather than just pulling a sheet off a static display in a stuffy exhibition hall, many car manufacturers wheel out their new models and participate in the hillclimb in a cloud of tyre smoke and noise. Amongst the debutants this year was Aston Martin’s outrageous Vulcan with over 200mph. Only 24 were built so you’re more likely to win the lottery than see one being driven.

3. The Show Stands

Support from car manufacturers for Goodwood is growing every year and the garden party feel of the show often means that car firms can go a little wacky when designing their displays. This year, there were slides, simulators and competitions to contend with, but Honda took the biscuit with their toybox stand, with each of their newly-launched models housed in their own full-size Matchbox-like container. Even the McLaren Honda MP4-30 F1 racer had its own box with ‘Scale 1:1’ on the outside.

4. The Red Arrows

Even if you’ve seen them before, the Red Arrows put on an incredible display that stands up to repeated viewings. As always, they arrived with a bang and a thunderous boom as they passed just a few thousand feet overhead.

5. The Sculpture

Each year, the lawn in front of Goodwood House is home to a new sculpture celebrating a par­ticular manufacturer. This year’s display was one of the most incredible ever produced. As the Central Feature Marque, two Mazda racing cars were placed at the top of the 40-metre steel beam structure, designed by artist Gerry Judah. Stunning by day, it was even more spectacular when illuminated by fireworks in the evening.

6. The Crashes

One thing you can be sure of at Goodwood is that someone will go off at the tricky Molecomb corner, demolish some hay bales and force some local horses to go hungry. Amongst this year’s victims was someone else who knows a thing or two about speed – Wing Commander Andy Green, who already holds the world land speed record and will, next year, attempt to break the 1,000mph barrier. Unfortunately, this year it was a Bloodhound Jaguar that was broken while in his hands.

7. The Stunts

As if driving up the hill as quickly as possible isn’t dangerous enough, there are a whole host of individuals willing to put their necks on the line for the sake of entertainment. Stunt driver Terry Grant set a new record time for the hillclimb while driving on two wheels, but for sheer eye-widening spectacle, it was hard to beat the freestyle motocrossers.

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