The 2018 Goodwood Festival of Speed is upon us, and it’s shaping up to be quite the event that will even include the long-awaited debut of the next-gen Toyota Supra. Be that as it may, the Supra’s debut won’t be the most exciting thing happening this weekend. After all, we all know there is all kinds of action that goes down during the Hillclimb. Records could be broken, new cars and entrants could surprise us, and there could be some pretty interesting crashes as each and every driver pushes their car to the limit up that fun and punishing track.

With that in mind, we’ve decided to take a look back at the some of the most exciting videos from last year’s event, including that Ferrari 458 GT2 and Ford RS200 that crashed, the Range Rover Sport SVR that rode on two wheels, and the debut of the Porsche 911 GT2 RS, among others. With that said, there’s a whole bunch of amazing videos below to help keep you on the edge of your seat until the event kicks off later this week. Let’s get to it!

The BAC Mono takes center stage

If anybody told me last week that the BAC Mono would steal the show at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, I probably would’ve laughed at them without hesitation. Well, the joke’s on me because the Mono not only stole show the show at Goodwood, it dominated discussions after posting the fastest lap time in its class with a blistering 49.54-second lap up the iconic hill. The Mono’s achievement was made more impressive by the fact that it didn’t have to sweat the competition in the Race Cars of the Road class. The closest to come to the Mono’s time was the Caterham Seven 620R, the same car that made James May squeal in terror once upon a time on Top Gear. But it still wasn’t enough to upend the Mono, no thanks to a half-second slower lap time of 50.01 seconds.

Audi R8 makes equally impressive impression in the Supercar class

In the heavily touted Supercar Class of the Goodwood Festival of Speed Hill Climb Shootout, one car stood head and shoulders above the rest. The car in question? The Audi R8 Coupe. Yes, believe it or not, but the R8 took home the title as the fastest car in its class… and it wasn’t even close. During its run, the German supercar managed to clock in a lap time of 51 seconds dead, almost two seconds faster than the car the second-place car – the Nissan GT-R. For its lap time, the GT-R completed its lap in 52.68 seconds. From there, it was followed by the Porche 911 Turbo S (53.1 seconds), Lamborghini Aventador S (54.44 seconds), and the Ford GT (54.54 seconds). Other notable cars who compete in this segment include the Rimac Concept S (7th place at 54.89 seconds), the Aston Martin Vulcan AMR Pro (8th place at 55.62 seconds), and the Zenvo TSR (10th place at 58.03 seconds). Out of all of them, though, it was the Audi R8 that proved its supercar worth the most. Quite surprising, but not really at all if you think about it.

Ferrari 458 GT2 Makes A Mess Of Its Timed Lap

One of the exciting things about the Goodwood Festival of Speed is the unpredictability of these lap times. The hill climb course may be short in distance, but it’s also extremely narrow, making it more difficult for drivers to complete fast lap times. In some cases, drivers lose control of their cars, which is exactly what happened to driver Heinz Swoboda and the AF Corse team’s Ferrari 458 GT2. The lap started off rather smoothly, but just as quickly Swoboda lost control of the 458 GT2, sending it hurtling onto a bail of hay. The impact was pretty intense on the surface, but fortunately, it wasn’t enough to destroy the car. Only the rear wing came off during the impact. The wreck did cause a red flag, which not only stopped the proceedings for a bit, but also caused quite a spectacle.

Ford RS200 Evolution 2 gets wasted

As lucky as the 458 GT2 was in avoiding serious damage, the same, sadly, can’t be said for the Ford RS200 Evolution 2. It’s never a good thing to see a car as valued as the RS200 Evolution 2 get involved in a crash, but that’s exactly what we saw at Goodwood when rally racer Pat Doran lost control of the car and smashed into the same bays of hail that the 458 GT2 crashed into. But whereas the 458 GT2 suffered relatively light damages, the RS200 Evolution 2 was a little worse for wear after the impact with bits and pieces of the bodywork flying into the air moments after the car crashed.

The good news is, that despite the hit, the car was repaired overnight, saving the owner the heartache of seeing one of his most priced cars go to waste. For those who aren’t familiar with the RS200 Evo, it’s arguably one of the rarest and most expensive Ford models out there. Only 24 examples were built by Ford back in the mid ‘80s and today, the cars usually fetch close to $500,000 at auction. That raises the question as to why this particular RS200 Evolution 2 was participating in the hill climb to begin with.

Range Rover Sport SVR goes up on two wheels

It’s not often that you see a car run about on the road while being driven on two wheels, but for world famous stuntman Terry Grant, the act of doing it is child’s play. Even more impressive, Grant actually performed the stunt at Goodwood while behind the wheel of a Range Rover Sport SVR, a car that isn’t exactly known for being light and nimble on its wheels. You have to give credit where it’s due, though. Grant is one of the best at what he does and seeing him navigate the wheel the Range Rover around the Goodwood course is a sight to behold. He did have to be very careful with it considering that the car he was using for the stunt costs well over $100,000. Ultimately, he got the cheers from the crowd and the marshals before dropping the SUV back on all four wheels. The ensuing donuts presumably was an added treat.

Jaguar unveils Goodwood surprise with improved version of the XJR

Remember when Jaguar dropped hints that it was bringing a surprise model to Goodwood? Well, that surprise turned out to be a more powerful version of the XJR performance sedan. Sure, the model itself has some serious age behind it, but Jag appears to be giving the car a proper send-off with a new version that tacks on 567 horsepower, on par with the output of the much newer F-Type SVR sports car. To make the announcement better, Jag even brought a near-production prototype at Goodwood with a light blue camouflage wrap with the number “575” written all over it. Presumably, that’s a nod to the car’s overall output of 575 PS, which converts to 567 horsepower. Give Jag some credit for squeezing every ounce of potential it could get from the XJ line. At the same time, let’s all hope that after this new and improved XJR, Jaguar puts the current-generation model to pasture for good.

Alpine A110 makes awesome debut at Goodwood

Speaking of cars that belong in the First Glance category of the hill climb, the Alpine A110 made its debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. To no one’s surprise, it made a resounding first impression, tearing through the track in all its resplendent glory. For all of the wait surrounding the release of the Alpine A110, the car made it all worth it with a successful showing at Goodwood. Now we wait for the 252-horsepower sports car to finally head to dealerships. Production is expected to start in the early part of 2018, first with the 1,955-unit Premier Edition before the standard production run commences. Those interested in buying any of the 1,955 units of the Premiere Edition will need to shell out almost €60,000, or about $68,000 based on current exchange rates. Given how it performed at Goodwood, the sky appears to be the limit for the Alpine A110.

Porsche 911 GT2 RS also makes a smacking debut

Arguably the most highly anticipated debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed was the Porsche 911 GT2 RS and boy, oh boy, it made quite an impression during the event. The 700-horsepower sports car had a few moments on the track (a failed donut attempt is a bit embarrassing, isn’t it?) but it was still able to get its wits together to showcase its wares in front of a gathered crowd, most of whom look as if they’d sell their kidneys at a moment’s notice just so they could get their hands on the fastest and most powerful Porsche 911 in history.

The ‘Gunslinger’ shows off his guns!

It hardly looks the part of a car that can sit shoulder-to-shoulder with the world’s finest exotics, but don’t tell that to Mike “the Gunslinger” Skinner, who showed up with Goodwood with his massive Toyota Tundra NASCAR race truck. Needless to say, the race-prepped Tundra doesn’t look anything like its factory-built counterpart, but who really cares about cosmetics when you can listen to that rip-roaring V-8 engine piercing the air. Oh, and it did a lap around the hill climb in 49.02 seconds, faster than most of the supercars who did similar runs. Color me impressed!

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Yes, NASCAR was a prominent presence at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. We already talked about Mike Skinner’s massive Toyota Tundra NASCAR race truck posting a stunning lap time of 49.02 seconds. Now we turn our attention to Ed Barrier, who brought his own Chevrolet NASCAR racer to the hill climb. Unfortunately, Barrier’s lap around the hill ended in sour fashion as his racer smashed into the hay right in the first corner of the course. It’s unclear as to what caused the car to crash, although replays appear to show the front wheel locking. Whether it was driver error or mechanical failure, it’s clear that the Chevy NASCAR racer took a heavy hit with all that damage on the front driver side of the car. Ouch.

NASCAR was well represented, at least for the most part

Now, how about this one! It’s a 2017 Red Bull KAMAZ Dakar truck and in my mind, it was one of the spectacles at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. I don’t know if I’m more impressed with its outright girth or the fact that it also participated in the Festival of Speed Shootout, albeit as an exhibition entry. Still, how often will you get to see a rally race truck getting into some sideways action on an actual racetrack? Not that often, I presume. Well, feast your eyes on the Red Bull KAMAZ Dakar going full-tilt up the hill in Goodwood. Can’t say I’ve ever seen that myself either.

Even Red Bulls’ Dakar truck got in on the action!

Current Formula One world champion Nico Rosberg is no longer competing to defend his F1 driver’s title, but as it turns out, the reigning champ is still keeping himself busy behind the wheel of a Formula One race car. Rosberg’s attendance at the Goodwood Festival of Speed was brought about by the event’s planned celebration for former F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone. In turn F1 driver fashion, Rosberg was more than just a spectator at the event as he returned to the cockpit of the title-winning Mercedes W05 F1 race car and treated the gathered crowd a driving display fit for a reigning world champion, donuts included.

Reigning (and retired) F1 champ makes his mark on Lord March’s driveway

The Audi R8 may have topped the standings in the Supercar class of the FOS Shootout, but it was far from the only exotic that posted an incredible run in the event. Other cars like the Rimac Concept One S, Porsche 911 Turbo S, and even the Pagani Zonda 760RS and the Nissan BladeGlider all posted lap times around the hill climb. I’m not going to describe each and every exotic that participated, so in lieu of that, here’s a 30-minute video of all the supercars that took Goodwood by storm. Remember, raise the volume for this one!

Get your dose of the full Supercar Showdown at the Festival of Speed Shootout

Veteran racer Justin Law and his Jaguar XJR-12D were the biggest winners at the Goodwood Festival of Speed Shootout, thanks largely to posting the fastest lap around the course this year. With the XJR-12D in tow, Law posted a lap time of 46.13 seconds. It wasn’t the smoothest lap around the track by any means – you could even see Law sometimes wrestling with the car during his run – but it was fast enough to beat out Jeremy Smith and his Penske-Chevrolet PC22 race car by the slimmest of margins. Once more, I can’t decide which is more impressive: Law posting that 46.13 lap time or him beating out Smith’s lap time of 46.22 seconds by just 0.09 seconds! Either way, big congratulations to both Law and Smith for an impressive duel. If for nothing else, it was a fitting way to encapsulate the festivities from this year’s Festival of Speed. There was enough competition to last a full F1 season, but at the end of the day, it was more about showcasing cars from all eras the way they’re supposed to be seen, and sometimes heard.

Justin Law takes the Shootout title with blistering run aboard the Jaguar XJR-12D

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