Seven highlights from the Goodwood Festival of Speed 2017

Another Goodwood Festival of Speed has come and gone, proving once again that the world's fastest car show is one of the most exciting events for motoring fans.

Attendees were treated to an eclectic mix of new and old machinery, as well as appearances from F1 personalities such as Nico Rosberg and Bernie Ecclestone. Those looking for a spot of racing were also given a shootout between the fastest cars at show.

So without further ado, here are seven highlights from this year's show.

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1 - Nico Rosberg returns to the cockpit

Nico Rosberg shocked F1 fans when he announced his retirement days after clinching the championship last year, but that hasn't stopped the German from driving up the Goodwood hill in one of his former cars.

While Red Bull Racing's Pierre Gasly spun the wheels of his 2011 Red Bull F1 car and performed donuts for the crowd, Rosberg seemed to push his 2014 Mercedes-AMG W05 as fast as he was allowed to up the hill.

He was later spotted on the balcony of Goodwood House, chatting with the head of the Goodwood estate - Charles Gordon-Lennox, the Earl of March.

2 - Bernie's Sculpture

A large sculpture dedicated to a motoring brand, or figure, always features in front of Goodwood House at the Festival of Speed - and this year was no different.

The career of former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone was celebrated at the show, which saw a giant sculpture featuring five cars from his time in the series.

Called the "The Five Stages of Ecclestone", AutoExpress says the sculpture featured the Connaught F1 car Ecclestone drove during the 1958 Monaco grand prix, as well as the car that won the championship - the Ferrari F2001 - when he building the series's audience with "big TV rights deals".

3 - 70 years of Ferrari

An abundance of Ferrari road and racing cars were on show to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Italian marque. Legendary F1 cars, such as the company's championship-winning F2007 and Niki Lauda's 312 from 1974, joined sports car prototypes and track-only supercars on the hill to mark the occasion.

While some of these cars are worth millions of pounds, many of the owners were happy to spin their wheels and rev their engines, letting the crowd hear the iconic roar of a Ferrari V12 engine.

4 - Celebrities and sports stars

It's not just the cars that star at the Festival of Speed, as motoring fans will often find themselves walking past a number of public figures from the automotive and motorsport worlds.

Head of Liberty Media and new F1 chief, Chase Carey, was spotted walking around the crowds outside of Goodwood house, along with his predecessor - Bernie Ecclestone. He was joined by former F1 and sports car driver Mark Webber, as well as Red Bull drift athlete "Mad" Mike Whiddett.

5 - Lego McLaren 720S

McLaren brought a trio of new 720S supercars to the festival, one of which was a full-scale model made out of Lego.

Fans who visited the McLaren stand could help build the car, which consisted of 267,000 bricks and weighed 3,527lbs - around 700lbs more than the regular 720S. The Lego version took 20,000 to build by hand, although 12,000 pieces were left for the public to attach at the show.

6 - Concepts and prototypes

While the Festival of Speed often focuses on historic racing and road-going machinery, Autocar says there was "an almost bewildering array" of new cars and prototypes on show.

Cars that are due to go on sale in the next few months, or have recently become available, were put through their paces on Goodwood's hillclimb. These included Renault's new Alpine sports car and Jaguar's hardcore XE SV Project 8.

There was a also handful of ultra-rare, track-only cars to make their way up the hill. Attendees were among the first in the world to see the new V12-engined Aston Martin Vulcan AMR Pro, as well as the exclusive McLaren P1 GTR.

7 - The shootout

When it launched in 1993, the Festival of Speed mainly saw an array of luxury cars parading up and down Goodwood hill, but that's all changed in recent years.

To keep spectators glued to the action, a top-ten shootout is held at the end of the event to see who can get up the hillclimb the fastest. This year's race was won by Justin Law in a Jaguar XJR12D prototype racing car, who beat Jeremy Smith in his Penske-Chevrolet IndyCar by just 0.09secs.

Goodwood Festival of Speed 2017: Ticket prices, cars and a Lego McLaren

30 June

This weekend's Goodwood Festival of Speed will be one of the biggest in the event's history.

It's one of the most significant motoring events of the year, where automakers and notable motoring figures meet to celebrate motorsport and production vehicles from across the ages.

This year, the show "will celebrate the life and career of former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone", says AutoExpress, with a huge sculpture that "will represent five distinct eras of Bernie Ecclestone's involvement in F1", including five iconic cars from his career.

Attendees can also see some of this year's drivers and machinery at the event, as well as reigning F1 world champion Nico Rosberg.

Here's everything you need to know if you're heading to Goodwood this weekend.

When is it and how much are tickets?

The Festival of Speed runs from 29 June to 2 July and is held primarily on the hillclimb stage in front of Goodwood house in West Sussex.

Ticket prices start at £34 per person for entry into the event on Thursday, rising to £57 for a Friday ticket. Weekend tickets jump to £67 for those looking to go on either the Saturday or the Sunday. A four-day ticket costs £154.

What cars are on show?

There will be a range of production and racing cars on display at the festival, including F1 machinery and cars that have yet to go on sale.

According to Evo, Aston Martin's upcoming Valkyrie hypercar will be on display, as well as the BMW 8 Series concept, which was only revealed to the public last month.

The magazine says attendees should also expect the new Ford GT supercar, Alpine A110 and the Nurburgring-inspired Subaru WRX STI Type RA to set a time on the hillclimb.

Ferrari is celebrating its 70-year anniversary at the event, says Evo, "with the iconic Italian brand set to run a procession of its most iconic models up the drive as well as putting on a show for the masses."

An array of vehicles from Bernie Ecclestone's career will be on show, too, such as cars from the Brabham F1 team that the former F1 supremo ran during the late 1970s and 1980s. This could include the Gordon Murray-designed BT52, which took Brazilian Nelson Piquet to the 1983 F1 world championship.

McLaren is bringing a Lego 720S

McLaren is showcasing its new 720S supercar at the Festival of Speed - in Lego.

The company teamed up with Lego Speed Champions to create a full-sized 720S. However, it's not complete and festival-goers will be able to help finish the bodywork, adding 12,700 bricks to the 267,300 already used.

When completed, the Lego McLaren will weigh 3,527lbs - around 700lbs more than the road car.

It's been built using CAD (computer aided design) data provided by McLaren, so it should share the same proportions as its road-going sibling.

It's not all Lego, though, as the team had to developed a steel frame to put the blocks on.

So far, the Lego 720S has taken 20,000 hours to create by hand. To put that into perspective, it takes McLaren 12 days to build the real car.

Who's going?

Ticket holders can expect to see a host of new and old F1 drivers at this year's event, including last year's F1 champion Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton's teammate at the Mercedes-AMG F1 team – Valtteri Bottas.

Unfortunately there's no sign of Lewis Hamilton this year, but 1996 F1 champion Damon Hill and three-time F1 champion Sir Jackie Stewart are both expected. Martin Brundle, the former racing driver and current F1 commentator, is also expected at the festival.

One of the special appearances at the Festival of Speed will be former F1 driver Robert Kubica, who Autocar says will be driving a 2012 Lotus E20 F1 car.

The Polish driver suffered serious injuries during a rallying accident in 2011, which brought an end to his five-year career in Grand Prix racing. His run up the hillclimb will be his first public appearance in an F1 car since his accident.