Everything to Look Out for at the 2026 Goodwood Festival of Speed

Britain may not have a ‘traditional’ motor show anymore, but it does have the Goodwood Festival of Speed, which in many ways is better. Not only are you in lovely, bucolic surroundings (assuming the rain stays away), as opposed to a big, soulless exhibition centre somewhere on the fringes of a city but you actually get to see and hear stuff getting driven – and driven hard.

As anyone who’s been during the last few years and jostled their way through the ever-swelling crowds will know, the event is only getting bigger, and each year it seems to play host to more major debuts as well as incredible machinery from days gone by. With this year’s event taking place between 9 and 12 July, here’s everything to look out for, whether you’re making the pilgrimage to West Sussex or watching proceedings at home.

Alpine

The really big news from Alpine is that’ll be using Goodwood to debut an early pre-production mule of its next-generation electric A110 sports car. We’re not sure how much of a hint at the eventual production car this will give us, but it’s going to be leading a parade of other iterations of the A110 from over the years.

Elsewhere, expect to see the rest of the brand’s current range, the A290 and A390, as well as 2012’s Lotus E20 Formula 1 car – now rebranded as an Alpine – making many good V8 noises. Current Alpine F1 drivers Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto will be handling some of the brand’s driving duties across the weekend.

Ariel

Amazingly, the Ariel Atom has now been around for over a quarter of a century, and to mark that, the company revealed the wildest version yet of the skeletal sports car – the Atom 4RR. Powered by a 525bhp motorsport-spec version of the standard car’s 2.0-litre turbocharged Honda engine, it’s even quicker than the old Atom 500 V8, and it’s making its public debut at Goodwood.

Aston Martin

No major debuts or surprises planned from Aston Martin as far as we know, but it’s bringing along pretty much its entire range, including the uprated S versions of the Vantage, DB12 and DBX as well as the Valhalla, Vanquish and wailing Valkyrie. Last year’s AMR25 F1 car is making a run too, making Goodwood your best chance to see a modern Aston F1 machine successfully completing an event this year.

Audi

You can expect two very different Audi machines to draw eyes to the hillclimb. One is its new limited-run Nuvolari supercar, based on the Lamborghini Temerario but featuring a jaw-dropping new body that previews the brand’s future design language.

The other is the Auto Union Lucca, an inch-perfect recreation of a V16-powered speed record car built by Audi’s predecessor company. The original version managed to average 203mph over a flying kilometre back in 1935, and this exacting replica was built by British outfit Crosthwaite & Gardiner at the behest of Audi’s Tradition department during 2025 and early 2026.

Bentley

There are no major debuts to expect from Bentley, but it’ll be one of your first chances to catch the new 657bhp, lightened Continental Supersports, perhaps the most hardcore Bentley of all time, in action.

BMW

BMW somewhat broke the internet earlier this year when it revealed an M3 Touring built to GT3 racing specs for the Nürburgring 24 Hours. Following its fourth-place finish at the race this year, it’ll be the centrepiece of BMW’s hillclimb runs this year. The M3, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year, is set to be a major theme of BMW’s Goodwood presence, so expect to see plenty of classic examples making an appearance as well as, away from the track, a display of the not-at-all controversial electric Vision M Concept.

Cupra

Sporty Seat offshoot Cupra, which is only growing more successful as a standalone brand, is making its FoS debut this year. The Raval electric supermini, including the hot 223bhp VZ version, is the only thing it’s fully confirmed so far, but we’re promised “several unexpected announcements,” so this space will be worth watching.

Dacia

With Dacia’s World Rally Raid Championship programme closing at the end of 2026, a year earlier than planned, FoS will be one of your last chances to see its car, the sci-fi-style Sandrider, running with full factory support, with Dacia driver and nine-time WRC champion Sébastien Loeb behind the wheel.

Denza

Of all the Chinese brands currently entering the UK market, Denza is one of the only ones building cars you might actually be interested in. A luxury division of BYD, it’s using Goodwood to debut the coupe version of the Z, a 1,582bhp, 217mph electric four-seater first unveiled as a convertible earlier this year. It’ll also be showing off a mysterious ‘Racing’ version of the same car.

This car’s likely coming to Europe following the Z9 GT, an electric or plug-in hybrid sports estate, and the BAO 5, a boxy Land Rover Defender rival, both of which will also be present.

Formula 1

With the Festival of Speed once again taking place the weekend after the British Grand Prix, F1 will have its usual massive presence in the grounds of Goodwood House. Alpine/Renault, Aston Martin, Ferrari, McLaren, Mercedes and Williams are all confirmed to be running a selection of classic and modern machinery at the event, with Lando Norris, Pierre Gasly, Franco Colapinto and Damon Hill among the confirmed drivers.

Gordon Murray Automotive

The wailing V12-powered T.50S track car, running up the hill. Need we say any more? That’s undoubtedly going to draw plenty of eyes (and ears) to GMA’s Goodwood lineup, which also includes the first prototype of the Le Mans GTR supercar and one of the final validation prototypes of the T.33 Spider. We’d suggest finding a spot trackside for these ones.

Honda

In terms of new stuff, Honda’s star attraction is the dynamic debut of the Prelude HRC concept. First unveiled at the Tokyo Auto Salon in January, this bewinged prototype hints at a more focused version of the new hybrid Prelude coupe, although any suggestions that it could get a full Type R treatment have largely had hot water poured on them by Honda.

After being rolled out in prototype form at Goodwood last year, the little kei car-based Super-N EV is likely to draw plenty of admiring glances given the response to it so far. Making a bit more noise than those two cars, meanwhile, will be the 1986 Williams FW11, the first Honda-powered car to win the F1 Constructors’ Championship. Some of its runs will be with 1996 champ Damon Hill behind the wheel, who’ll be doing his best to distract onlookers from Honda’s current F1 woes.

Lamborghini

On 1 July, Lamborghini is revealing a new, twin-spoilered version of its Urus mega-SUV. Thought to be a higher-performance version of the now PHEV-only Urus SE, potentially reviving the Performante badge from the older car, there’s a very high chance it’ll be making its public debut at Goodwood.

McMurtry

While McMurtry hasn’t officially made an announcement for Goodwood, it’s confirmed that the final customer version of its insane 1,000bhp fan car, the Spéirling, is to be unveiled the week before. Given the Spéirling’s relationship with Goodwood – the prototype holds the current hillclimb record – we’re inclined to put two and two together and suggest it might be back this year.

Renault

Renault’s Goodwood lineup is nicely emblematic of how it’s been doing more than arguably anyone else to make electric cars cool of late. Central to it will be the 547bhp 5 Turbo 3E, the all-electric homage to the original 5 Turbo Group B homologation special. It’ll also be one of your very first chances in the UK to get up close to the adorable new Twingo EV, as well as the Plein Sud version of the new Renault 4 with its retractable fabric roof.

Singer

While Porsche reimaginer extraordinaire Singer hasn’t announced any new products, it will be the partner brand this year for Goodwood’s monumental Central Feature sculpture, which sits on the lawn outside Goodwood House. As usual, it’ll be designed by sculptor Gerry Judah, but we won’t see the finished design until the event kicks off on Thursday 9 July.

Subaru

Subaru’s been the main sponsor of Goodwood’s rally stage for the last couple of years, and that continues in 2026 with the new 375bhp electric E-Outback taking up the role of course car on the short gravel run. Of a bit more interest to those who enjoy their Subarus flat-four-powered, though, are the two rally cars the company’s wheeling out for the weekend: the WRC Impreza with which Richard Burns won the 2001 World Rally Championship, and a Group A Legacy RS from 1992.

Perhaps coolest of all, though, is the appearance of the Brataroo, the the 670bhp Subaru BRAT driven by Travis Pastrana in the latest Gymkhana film, with Pastrana himself piloting it up the hill.

Toyota

One of the most exciting upcoming cars is without a doubt the Toyota GR GT, and after being semi-officially revealed in prototype form at FoS last year, it’s making a comeback this year, now free of camouflage. Both the road car and GR GT3 racer will be running up the hill, while their vastly more controversial sibling, the electric Lexus LFA concept, will be on display.

Also running will be the new (and already sold out) GR Yaris Aero Performance and the company’s WRC Yaris and Dakar Rally Hilux, while the TR010 Le Mans Hypercar that recently claimed Toyota’s sixth victory at the French endurance classic will be on display.

US motorsport

With the United States celebrating quite a big birthday just a few days before FoS kicks off, Goodwood is planning plenty of celebrations of the history of American motorsport. A large contingent of machinery from NASCAR, IndyCar, Pikes Peak and Can-Am and others will be making its way up the hill, as will the trio of Ford GT40s that took all three podium spots at the famous 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Oh yeah, there’s also going to be someone called Lightning McQueen there. We’re not entirely sure how this is going to work.

Yangwang

Chinese brand Yangwang – another sub-entity of BYD – is one that’s been generating plenty of headlines lately, mainly thanks to its U9 Xtreme electric supercar hitting 308mph last year. That car’s joining the FoS roster for 2026, although it’s not clear if it’ll be running or just static.

What else can we expect?

While a few manufacturers are yet to make any official announcements, there’s a good chance we’ll see them at the Festival of Speed. Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, JLR and Ford all tend to have fairly big presences among others, although none have officially revealed their plans this year yet.

Anyone who’s been to the event in the last few years can’t miss the growing presence of Chinese companies there, and this year will be no different. MG will be revealing two new concept cars, including a preview of a future electric supermini, and Lepas, another Chery sub-brand alongside the now-ubiquitous Jaecoo and Omoda, will be showing off its UK lineup ahead of its launch here.

There’s a lot to look forward to for fans of two wheels, too. Ducati is marking its 100th anniversary this year, and will be rolling out plenty of bikes new and old to celebrate, while there’ll also be an Italian chap called Valentino Rossi at the event. Apparently he’s quite good at riding motorbikes.

Finally, there are always a few surprises in store, whether they come from major brands or independent builders of bonkers machinery gunning for the outright Timed Shootout victory. It’s always worth keeping an eye out for the official entry list, which tends to be released a few days before the event.