Publications
Partners
Cape Town - The annual Goodwood Festival of Speed is nirvana for car enthusiasts. Thousands of petrolheads from all over the world will make their way to Goodwood house in West Sussex, England from June 24 to 26.
'The endless pursuit of power'
The 2016 theme for the show is "the endless pursuit of power", reports organisers.
Apart from rare vehicles taking on the famous Goodwood hill, there'll be new model launches shown to the UK public for the first time in 2016.
BMW is the featured brand in 2016 says organisers, so expect lots of blue-propeller (old and new) badged cars at the show.
Here are 11 cars we can't wait to see at Lord Mach's stunning Goodwood estate:
1. Aston Martin DB11 - The British automaker will show its new DB11 for the first time at Goodwood. It's powered by a 447kW V12 turbocharged engine, the first for the automaker.
The sight of the DB11 upclose is something to behold. We already know it sounds good. Aston Martin president and CEO Andy Palmer will drive the DB11 up the famous hill.
The 611kW insane-looking Vulcan will also make an appearance, powered by a 7.0-litre V12 engine.
2. Audi R8 Spyder - Ingolstadt's hardtop supercar is due to arrive in South Africa later in 2016. Audi used the New York auto show to unveil the new Spyder version.
The Spyder uses the same 5.2-litre naturally aspirated V10 found in the R8 hardtop. Power is a huge 397kW/540Nm. The Spyder should arrive locally in 2017.
3. Audi S5 Coupe - The new S5 Coupe will be shown to the UK public for the first time at Goodwood. For South Africans, the latest S5 coupe is set to arrive locally during the first quarter of 2017.
It uses a newly developed 3.0-litre TFSI V6 tuned to deliver 260kW - 15kW more than its predecessor. Gear shifts are administered via an eight-speed tiptronic 'box.
4. Bugatti Chiron - Unveiled at the 2016 Geneva auto show in March, the successor to the world's fastest production car uses an 8-litre W16 engine from the Veyron which has been completely redesigned. Its engine propels the new hypercar to limited top speed of 420km/h for 'road use'.
The Chiron will take on the Michelin Supercar Run and will speed along the hill each day of the 2016 event.
5. Mercedes-Benz AMG GT R - The GT R will be unveiled to the world’s media at Mercedes-Benz World at Brooklands on Friday (June 24), before being transported to the Goodwood Festival of Speed for its public debut on Saturday 25th June.
Power from its twin-turbocharged V8 is tipped to be a staggering 425kW.
Other Mercedes models making their UK debuts are Merc-AMG C 63 Cabriolet and E 43 Saloon, alongside the SLC 43, SL 63 and S 500 Cabriolet.
6. McLaren 570S Sprint - The recently-announced McLaren 570S Sprint will take on the hillclimb at the Goodwood festival.
This track-only McLaren is set to thrill crowds on the famous hill run and will be on public display at the Supercar Paddock.
A second 570S Sprint will be available to view for McLaren guests at its central location, adjacent to Goodwood House.
The 570S Sprint is built around the automaker's carbon-fibred MonoCell II chassis and features a mid-mounted 3.8-litre twin turbo V8 engine and seven speed transmission.
7. Mini Seven - The new 'Seven' will make its world debut at Goodwood, with Mini South Africa confirming the new model will be available locally from July/August 2016.
The new Mini will be available in 5- or 3-door guise with specially designed exterior and interior details not yet seen in the automaker's current offerings.
8. Lexus LC 500 - The LC coupe will make its UK debut at Goodwood and the good news is that the svelte coupe arrive in SA in 2017.
Lexus says the production version retains much of its design from the concept, with supercar-like proportions and a V8 engine driving the rear wheels through a ten-speed auto gearbox.
9. Porsche 911 R - The 911 R is a 367kW back-to-basics GT3 RS. It forgoes the PDK for a six-speed manual.
The car will be driven up the hillclimb by Porsche GT supremo Andreas Preguriner.
10. Tesla Model X - Electric car company Tesla, will show the Model X for the first time in the UK. Famous for its 'falcon-wing' doors, the Model X is also famous for beating the 'world's fastest SUV' on the drag strip.
The SUV's battery pack allows it to hit 100km/h in just over four seconds.
11. Volkswagen Golf GTI Clubsport S - Fresh from breaking the lap record at the Nurburgring for the fastest front-wheel drive car, the 228kW/380Nm Clubsport S is the automaker's most powerful GTI ever.
In a cool throwback, the Clubsport S will take on the hill alongside the original GTI.