The Goodwood Festival of Speed started in 1993 as a modest gathering on Charles Gordon-Lennox’s estate in West Sussex, England. The then Lord March, now the Duke of Richmond, expected two or three thousand people for a hillclimb up his own driveway. Around 25,000 came instead.
That single afternoon has since grown into a global stage for new-vehicle debuts, hosting everything from concept cars to record-setting hypercars.
The 2026 Festival of Speed runs from July 9th to the 12th at Goodwood House, built around the theme “The Rivals: Epic Racing Duels.” Singer, known for its reworked Porsche 911 builds, headlines the festival’s Central Feature sculpture this year. Beyond that, here are five showcase cars we’re looking forward to seeing on the hill this year.
5
Bentley Design Theme by Mulliner
You’ve never seen two-tone paint like this
A paint fade that shifts color from one side of the car to the other could sound like a stunt, but it fits exactly what the Supersports is built around: a two-seat coupe designed entirely for the driver. The bright color shown here always lands on the driver’s side, whether the car is configured for left-hand or right-hand drive.
Design Theme by Mulliner is available only on the Bentley Supersports, a two-seat, rear-wheel drive coupe that starts at £343,900 (about $486,000) and is limited to only 500 units worldwide. The package introduces Bentley’s first side-to-side paint fade, with a bold highlight color on the driver’s side blending into a darker tone on the passenger side. The Supersports itself is a member of the Continental GT family, although it swaps the standard car’s focus on long-distance grand touring for track performance.
Buyers can choose from three specifications: Dragon (Dragon Red fading to Black Crystal), Electric (Electric Blue fading to Dark Sapphire), and Brodgar (Pale Brodgar fading to Brodgar).
The theme extends to the cabin, where the brighter color surrounds the driver’s seat, and the darker tone covers the passenger side. Likewise, the gear lever matches the driver’s seat color, with contrast stitching carried across the dashboard and headrests.
The Supersports has a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 producing 657 horsepower and 590 lb-ft. of torque, reaching 62 mph in 3.7 seconds. Bentley recently brought a similar driver-focused approach to its mainstream lineup with the Continental GT S and GTC S, which draw design inspiration from the Supersports and pair it with a new hybrid powertrain.
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4
Yangwang U9 Xtreme
The fastest production car in the world
If you want proof that electric hypercars can outdo anything gas-powered, this is the car that wins that argument. Watching a car break 300 mph without a drop of gasoline will be one of the festival’s defining moments, and few attendees will have seen anything like it up close.
The Yangwang U9 Xtreme makes its European debut at Goodwood this year. BYD’s ultra-luxury brand tested the car at Germany’s ATP Papenburg proving ground, where it reached a certified top speed of 308.4 mph, the fastest recorded speed for any production car.
Four electric motors produce a combined output of over 3,000 metric horsepower, running on a 1,200-volt platform, a first for a production vehicle. The car set a lap time under seven minutes on the Nürburgring Nordschleife. Yangwang plans to build only 30 units.
3
BMW M Concept Neue Klasse
A look at where the M3 is headed
The BMW M Concept Neue Klasse will make an appearance at Goodwood following its world premiere at Le Mans in June 2026. As BMW celebrates 40 years of the M3, the Concept Neue Klasse gives us a look at where the nameplate might be headed.
The concept runs a four-motor M eDrive powertrain paired with BMW’s M Dynamic Performance Control system, built on an 800-volt architecture with a battery pack topping 100 kWh.
BMW brings the M Concept Neue Klasse alongside its M3 Touring race car, which finished fifth overall at this year’s Nürburgring 24 Hours, and a new M Performance Track Kit for the M2 coupe.
2
Honda Prelude HRC Concept
The Prelude’s comeback gets some bite
My How-To Geek colleague Adam Gray and I saw the Honda Prelude at the 2026 Detroit Auto Show, though it was locked. While members of the media could view the car from the outside, nobody was allowed to look inside or sit in it.
That locked-door experience makes Goodwood feel like a big deal, since this marks the first time we get to hear the Prelude run. Honda hasn’t sold a Prelude in the U.S. since 2001, so watching the nameplate return wearing parts built by Honda’s own racing division is the moment longtime fans have been waiting for.
The HRC Concept, modeled after the production Prelude that went on sale in September 2025, first appeared as a static display at Tokyo Auto Salon in January 2026. HRC Performance Parts, developed by Honda’s racing division to sharpen handling and response, inspired the concept’s name.
Aston Martin Aramco’s Driver Ambassador and Head of F1 Academy, Jessica Hawkins, will pilot the Prelude HRC Concept up the hill, with racing driver Tiago Monteiro also behind the wheel for the weekend.
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1
Toyota GR GT and GR GT3
Road car meets its track sibling
Toyota tested these cars for a full year on Japanese circuits under wraps, but this year’s Goodwood marks their first uncamouflaged appearances outside Asia. It fits this year’s “Rivals: Epic Racing Duels” theme too, since parking the road car next to its own GT3 racing counterpart shows exactly how much engineering separates a street car from one built to compete at Le Mans.
Both share a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8, with the road-going GR GT pairing the engine with a single-motor hybrid system. The GR GT3 is built to FIA GT3 specification on an all-aluminum frame, a first for Toyota (4,785 millimeters long with a 2,725 millimeter wheelbase).
Toyota positions the GR GT as a rival to cars like the Porsche 911 GT3.
One weekend, five amazing cars
Between a paint job curated around a single seat, a 308 mph production EV, and a street car meeting its own race-bred family member, this year’s Goodwood field touches nearly every direction the industry is heading right now.
The five cars above join a wider lineup that includes new models from BYD, Alpine, and Gordon Murray Automotive. The 2026 Festival of Speed begins on July 9th and runs through July 12 at Goodwood House in West Sussex, England.
Stephan is the sports journalist for the Maple Grove Report.
