Goodwood Festival of Speed 2019: Autocar’s favourite moments

The 2019 Festival of Speed had something for everyone.

Supercar unveilings, celebrity appearances, smoke-spewing burnouts and all manner of exotic metal were on display at Goodwood this year. Autocar was there all weekend to cover all the announcements - but what stood out the most? Here are some of our favourite moments from the show.

Citroen’s historics raise a smile

Amid the throng of supercars and competition cars screaming around and shredding tyres, the 2CVs quiet, sedate and wallowy run up the hill was an exceptional reminder that the world of automotive comes in many different shades, and an opportunity to pause and ponder the achievement of making this most simple of vehicles so innately charming.

Jim Holder, editorial director

De Tomaso P72 wows with 60's throwback styling

No other car at this year's Festival could hope to match the dramatic styling of the reborn De Tomaso. The P72 is a proper throwback to the 1960s, with the kinds of curves and angles you just don't see on modern supercars. That only 72 will be made means few will ever see one in the metal. I'm glad I got to.

Tom Morgan, deputy digital editor

Keeping the classics alive

It’s a real pleasure to see how devoted top-rung F1 teams like McLaren and Ferrari are to their heritage cars. When you consider that tyre costs alone must be astronomical, it really makes it that bit more special that we still get to see them pushed to the limit. A personal highlight has to be hearing the 3.5-litre Cosworth-developed V8 in Michael Schumacher’s 1994 Benetton-Ford B194 being revved to oblivion on the exit of Molecomb corner.

Felix Page, junior reporter

Aston celebrates the past with a look to its future

An incredible collection of cars both old and new marked 70 years since Aston Martin first raced at Goodwood, including the upcoming DBX SUV. It might stand out from the marque's current line-up, but seeing the variety of cars to have carried the badge in the past acts as a reminder that Aston has never been afraid to try something different.

Tom Morgan, deputy digital editor

Ken Block slides in to Sussex

It's no surprise that the King of Entertainment came to Goodwood and put on a raucous display of tyre-shredding fun, but the fact he made himself available, greeted fans and wore a perma-smile just cemented his status as a crowd favourite and someone who clearly remembers what’s important to the fans.

Jim Holder, editorial director

No shortage of variety

Clichéd though it may sound, the Festival of Speed might just represent the perfect balance of old and new. No more than seven steps across the supercar paddock would take you from Charge Automotive’s electrified Mustang to the 769bhp V12-powered Apollo Intensa Emozione, and arguably the most exciting hillclimb cavalcade saw Mahindra’s Formula E racer chasing outlandish 1970s F1 racers to the top. The rise of electrification? It’s here for sure, but it doesn’t mean we have to give up the oily bits just yet.

Felix Page, junior reporter

Kamaz dakar truck churns up the hillclimb - sideways

On the unlikely chance one tires of seeing (and hearing) the best of McLaren, Ferrari and the rest going up the hill, there was a different kind of vehicle to be impressed by at this year’s Festival. The word ‘truck’ isn’t one that tends to excite but then you probably haven’t seen the Kamaz Dakar truck. This 1000bhp 10-tonne brute stunned the weekend’s crowds with its ridiculous drifting, even if it wasn’t quite as impressive as the Mad Mike stunt filmed ahead of the event in which he jumped a Lamborghini Huracan in the Kamaz…

Rachel Burgess, deputy editor - digital

Celebrating Schumacher the right way

Seeing each of Schuey’s racing machines lined up, from his early single seaters to the Mercedes F1, via several title and race winning Ferraris, Benettons and Jordans, mixed feelings of happiness of the brilliant racing memories with sadness at his fate since that skiing accident. Those were feelings shared by the welcoming party who paraded with the cars in front of the house, including Jean Todt, Ross Brawn, Luca di Montezemolo, and Michael’s wife Corrina. A moving and fitting tribute to F1’s most successful driver. Keep fighting, Michael.

Mark Tisshaw, Editor

Formula 1 drivers up close and personal

The access to an astonishing variety of racing cars at Goodwood is like nothing else, but also punters can get closer to the drivers themselves than almost anywhere else. Hang around the start line long enough and you'll see racing icons such as Jackie Stewart and Emerson Fittipaldi up close, but it's the current F1 drivers that are the most eager to please. Here Daniel Ricciardo, in his usual outgoing, no-nonsense style, is signing and throwing t-shirts into the crowd having just spent the best part of an hour taking endless selfies and chatting to fans. 

Mad Max Jet bike brings turbine thrust to the paddock

The Festival of Speed always has a familiar soundtrack each year - petrol engines of all shapes, sizes and ages, from the eardrum-shattering snarl of a heritage motorcycle to the evocative wail of a racing V12. Just occasionally there’s something very different, and when we heard a jet turbine firing up just outside the media room, every weary journalist looked up from their laptop with a bewildered face. It was, of course, the astonishing Mad Max jet bike: a motorcycle propelled by the thrust of a Rolls-Royce helicopter turbine and capable of well over 230mph. Ambitious engineering at its finest. 

Lawrence Allan, News Editor