Yes, it's that time of year again - the Goodwood Festival of Speed is here! Four days of petrolhead nirvana with new cars, classic cars, racing cars and everything in between at Lord March's fabulous Goodwood estate. It's a bigger event than ever before in 2015, one we've covered extensively during this week and will continue to do so over this weekend. Keep your eyes on
the liveblog
Away from the Festival there's been a new PH Hero welcomed, a drive of the MX-5 and the hot hatch grudge match of the year. Catch up on everything belo
Leave the hill, can we try the motor circuit?
It seemed barely half an hour passed this week without news of another must-see car at Goodwood. Indeed, with the Festival effectively taking on the British motor show mantle, there's just as much to see off the hill as on it.
It began with the Aston Martin DB9 GT, what looks likely to be the final DB9. Ostensibly it's a little more power and cosmetic tweaks but Aston is always tinkering; expect that car to be a great deal more than the sum of its parts. That will have to wait though, with attention on the Aston stand dominated by the Vulcan's first British appearance.
There's nothing like a fast Ford to get people talking, as proven by the Focus RS. Both the teaser vid and tech spec have drawn a wealth of comments. Hopefully the first drive isn't too far off...
There's plenty more in the Goodwood grounds to be excited by too. See Singer's latest creation, the Juke-R 2.0, the amazing Lotus 3-Eleven and the 'Tailor Made' Ferrari California. Actually, you can't see the California. Ferrari is only allowing Ferrari clients to have a look. Spoilsports.
The other red car being discussed this week
It has to be a very special car on PistonHeads to generate more comments than the first drive of a
new Mazda MX-5
. But then nobody was expecting a new
Alfa Giulia
, complete with a 510hp V6 a host of exciting new tech. That's up to 300 comments and counting...
If that has you in an Alfa mood, be sure to check out the latest member of the PH Hero ranks. The SZ may not be the prettiest Alfa ever made but it remains a stellar driving experience. Values are finally starting to creep up too.
Furthermore, and as with most weeks, it's been seven days full of hot hatch news. We've finally brought together the Civic Type R and Megane Trophy on British roads; a closer test you're unlikely to find all year. That was followed by a drive of a Performance Pack Leon Cupra which would have given both a very close run for their money. What a time to be considering a hot hatch!
A few other stories of note too - Pikes Peak is on this weekend and Lexus has a very interesting car along, Land Rover has made two million Defenders and there's a new Mini Clubman. Not one for the purists that.
BW Art Car meets Paul Smith!
A busy week for PH away from Goodwood too. Contributor Al Suttie has been putting his
hillclimb skills
to the test again, Jesse Crosse has been campaigning the
Yellow Peril Escort
and Ben has finally sorted his
£100K Garage
From our regular features there's a very rare (and expensive) Mitsubishi Evo for sale, a very cheap Leon Cupra Shed and three incredible Porsches in Pic Of The Week.
Finally, just in case you're still short of some entertainment, we have the latest instalment of Charlie Martin's Euro hillcimbing adventure and a very interesting Carpool track project. More of the same next week!
- Jaguar XK/XKR buying guide
- New Audi R8 first drive
- Lotus Evora 400 first drive
- And much more!