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Goodwood 2016: Four highlights from this year's show
Festival of Speed welcomes a new Merc, a one-off Aston, the new Bugatti and F1 stars galore
This year's Goodwood Festival of Speed celebrated "the endless pursuit of power" - and in Autocar's opinion, it was an "unusually well chosen" theme, given the potent crop of road and race cars on display.
Here's some of the highlights from this year's show.
Mercedes AMG GT R
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Mercedes introduced the new, most hard-core iteration of its AMG GT sports car. The AMG GT R uses a fettled version of the 4.0-litre V8 bi-turbo from the standard GT, but producing an extra 74bhp and 37lb-ft torque for a total of 577bhp and 516lb-ft torque. Factor in the lighter curb weight and the GT R does 0-62mph in 3.6secs and climbs onwards to a top speed of 198mph.
Presented in bright green, the AMG GT R wears a significantly more aggressive body kit than the normal car. The front and rear tracks are 1.8ins and 2.2ins wider respectively and the wide, gaping grille sits on top of more boisterous vents and air intakes. Sculpted skirts and wider arches make up the side profile while most of the back is occupied by a massive diffuser, with a large central exhaust exit poking through its middle. A big wing sits on the boot and underneath the car are active aero flaps.
Alongside this are bigger brakes, adjustable suspension and a four-wheel steering system that makes the car more agile at low speeds, turning the rears in the opposite direction to the fronts, and more stable when going fast by pointing both sets in the same direction. The rears can turn by up to 1.5 degrees.
Top Gear says the GT R is as fast as its noticeably more powerful predecessor, the SLS AMG Black Series. "You need your pulse testing if you don't want to take this to your local track evening," it adds.
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The AMG GT R should cost much more than the £110,000 price tag of the standard car when it goes on sale later this year.
Aston Martin Vantage GT12 Roadster
Mercedes wasn't the only manufacturer at Goodwood with a party piece, as Aston Martin brought along a convertible version of its GT12 flagship Vantage.
The car is a one-off created for a customer through the company's "Q" customisation programme. According to The Verge, Aston spent nine months developing the car because the customer "wanted to truly hear the roar of the engine".
Underneath, the roadster is pretty much identical to the GT12. A 6.0-litre V12 with 592bhp sits under the bonnet and Evo says the GT12 Roadster should do 0-62mph in 3.7secs and on to a top speed of around 180mph, slightly lagging behind its tin-top sibling.
How much for your very own, one-off Aston? The magazine speculates it could be double the £250,000 entry price of the coupe.
Bugatti Chiron
(Image credit: Adam Beresford)
No car at Goodwood this year better sums up the show's ethos of the "endless pursuit of power" than the all-new Chiron. The 1,479bhp, 261mph, £1.9m behemoth was revealed earlier this year at the Geneva Motor Show, but as Gizmag points out, not much of it has been seen since.
This year, the Chiron made its dynamic debut in the UK – the first chance for fans to see the car in action up close and personal. Earl March, the owner of the Goodwood estate, took the car for a spin, as did former Le Mans 24h winner Andy Wallace, and Autocar says "there was no doubting its speed and power".
F1 cars and stars
Formula 1 stars also put in appearances, with Manor's Pascal Wehrlein piloting 2014's championship-winning Mercedes W05 Hybrid up the hill alongside current leader and Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg. McLaren's Jenson Button showed off some of the team's classic racers and Sky Sports' F1 pundit Martin Brundle got behind the wheel of the 2009 winner, the Brawn.
Ferrari, Red Bull and Renault all had presence at the event, although there's much more to Goodwood's motorsport offerings than just Formula 1 cars. Legendary racers such as the McLaren F1 GTR Longtail, alongside rally cars and some of this year's Le Mans entrants, were also present.
