Friday 09 July 2021 8:55 am | Updated: Thursday 08 July 2021 8:10 pm

Goodwood Festival of Speed 2021: Britain’s coolest car park

Against the odds, the Goodwood Festival of Speed 2021 is actually happening. And after more than a year of lockdowns, limited social gatherings and scary statistics, we couldn’t be happier.

There’s plenty to see inside the event, including the hillclimb, forest rally stage and Cartier concours lawn. But nothing serves up such wild variety as the Festival of Speed car park. Here, you’ll spot everything from classic Fords to Lamborghinis. And we did…

TVR Sagaris

Oooof. The Sagaris was TVR at its bonkers best: a low-slung fibreglass body wrapped around a 412hp 4.0-litre straight-six.

Few cars rock ‘Dairy Milk’ purple paint with such conviction.

BMW M2

How about a BMW M2 x 2? No, not another pointless fast SUV, but twin examples of this superb modern M car.

Our review from the 2016 launch said: ‘the M2 is fantastic – a car dominated by its superb chassis, such as we haven’t seen since the E46 M3’.

Ferrari 360 Challenge

Owned by talented car photographer Mark Riccioni, this road-legal race car has possibly the finest number plate we’ve ever seen.

It also wears uber-cool Volk Racing TE37 alloys and boasts a stripped-out interior and F1 electro-hydraulic gearbox. Lots of sauce, no cheese.

Lotus Esprit

Austin Allegro, Triumph TR7, Land Rover Discovery… A wide variety of cars have used the humble Morris Marina door handle, but none with such panache as the Lotus Esprit.

This one looks like a packet of Benson and Hedges – and probably smokes a bit, too.

Lamborghini Diablo VT

Take your pick of supercar icons here. On damp grass, the four-wheel-drive Lamborghini Diablo VT is the sensible choice.

It employs a modified version of the drivetrain from the LM002 off-roader, plus the small matter of a 492hp 5.7-litre V12. Eminently sensible.

Ferrari F40

Still, who can resist an F40? Thirty-four years on, Ferrari’s 40th anniversary present to itself is still the definitive supercar.

This particular F40 has been wrapped by Yiannimize to promote Paddlup – a new exotic car sales website. We’ll stick with Rosso Corsa, thanks.

Porsche 911 Carrera

Resplendent in Guards Red, this Porsche 911 Carrera has the Sport pack fitted – meaning wider, Turbo-look rear wheelarches and a tea tray spoiler.

We can think of few cooler ways to channel your inner 1980s stockbroker.

Jaguar E-Type and Caterham Seven

It’s a long way from Coventry to Caterham, but these are both great British sports cars.

The sophisticated Jaguar E-Type epitomises the swinging sixties, while the back-to-basics Caterham Seven harks back to an even earlier era.

McLaren 570S

How many McLarens can you spot in this picture? That even looks like the side scoop of an MP4-12C on the far left.

Also, who let the rogue Lamborghini Huracan in?

Nissan 370Z Nismo

This is a bit of a curio: a Manga-styled muscle car that only sold in very small numbers. Its 3.7-litre V6 produces 355hp for 0-62mph in 5.2 seconds.

The 370Z Nismo looks the part, but never fully delivered as a driving machine.

BMW M635 CSi

Has there ever been a finer proponent of the BMW ‘shark nose’ than the E24 6 Series? This shapely four-seat coupe remained in production for 13 years, from 1976 to 1989.

The flagship M635 CSi – badged M6 in the USA – packed a creamy 3.5-litre straight-six developing up to 286hp.

Lotus Europa

Q: How do you make a gigantic Bentley Mulsanne invisible? A: By parking a Lotus Europa next to it.

Like these chaps, we love the mid-engined Europa’s ‘breadvan’ styling – even more so in classic black and gold John Player Special livery.

Alpine A110

Alpine is planning to build a crossover, and its next sports car will be electric, so let’s celebrate this lightweight marvel while it lasts.

We drove the more powerful A110 S last year, saying: ‘It carries speed with confidence, encouraging you to explore its higher limits. And its modest dimensions (shorter and narrower than a Ford Focus) mean you aren’t constantly in fear of a tractor around the next bend’.

Lotus Esprit

More Morris Marina door handles… and another Lotus Esprit. This wonderful wedge was the work of Giorgetto Giugiaro, a man whose CV also includes the Volkswagen Golf Mk1, BMW M1 and Maserati Bora.

Peter Stevens softened the edges in 1988 and the Esprit remained in production until 2004.

Morgan Aero Supersports

A targa-topped version of the Aeromax coupe, only around 180 examples of the Supersports were built.

A bombastic BMW V8 provides the soundtrack, while the chassis combines bonded aluminium with a traditional ash frame.

Porsche 993 Turbo

In 1995, after two decades forging a reputation as the ‘widowmaker’, the 911 Turbo gained four-wheel drive and became an entirely different kind of performance car.

With a 408hp flat-six – still air-cooled – the 993 was ferociously fast, but it now offered sure-footed traction and everyday usability. The recipe has remained broadly the same since.

Toyota GR Supra and Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio

Angular Japanese coupe meets curvaceous Italian super saloon. Only in the Festival of Speed car park.

Interesting fact: we once drove the 510hp Quadrifoglio around Goodwood’s historic race circuit. It went very sideways indeed.

Lancia Delta Integrale

Hello, yellow. One of the great homologation specials, the Lancia Delta Integrale was a giant-killing rally car and awesome hot hatchback. Later ‘Evoluzione’ versions, as seen here, offered up to 215hp, plus Recaro seats and gorgeous Speedline Montecarlo alloys.

Ford Escort RS Turbo

Here’s a very different hot hatch. The original 1984-1986 Ford Escort RS Turbo was only available in white and just 5,000 examples were built.

It felt as rough-and-ready as its 132hp CVH engine, but boy racers loved them – and still do.

Ferrari 488 Pista

We don’t know who ‘Mr 6’ is, but he’s a lucky man. The track-focused 488 Pista is one of the great modern supercars, combining a balletic chassis with a force-of-nature 720hp turbocharged V8.

This angle offers a great view of the plunging ‘S-Duct’ in the car’s nose.

Porsche 911 GT3 RS

Speaking of aerodynamic attitude, it’s rarely more in-yer-face than the ‘991.2’ Porsche 911 GT3 RS.

In our review, we said: ‘For all its perfectly-judged poise, the star of the show remains aft of the rear axle. The engine’s insatiable hunger for revs is animalistic and utterly addictive. It simply keeps going… and going… until you run out of nerve or road. Or both.’

Audi RS6

Back in the real world – almost – the Audi RS6 serves up supercar pace and lets your labradors join the ride.

This C7 model offers 560hp and a top speed nudging 190mph. It looks utterly menacing in black, too.

Lamborghini Huracan Performante Spyder

Prefer something slightly less subtle? How about a fluorescent green drop-top Lambo?

After all, a 5.2-litre naturally aspirated V10 deserves to be seen AND heard.

McLaren 675LT

An imposter in a field of Ferraris, the McLaren 675LT can certainly stand its ground.

We waxed lyrical about this one, saying: ‘Its chassis is so intuitive, its responses so immediate, that it feels hard-wired into your brain. There’s no opportunity for using full throttle, but that scarcely matters. Like all great driver’s cars, the McLaren also rewards at sane speeds’.