What's the news?
Lord March decided 23 years ago that the old Goodwood estate needed motor racing back. Whilst the circuit itself wouldn't be ready for another few years, contained within the grounds of his estate was a patch of tarmac that would prove perfect for the job. Thus, the Goodwood Festival of Speed was born, and there's no other event quite like it in the world. Manufacturers flock to West Sussex in England each June to show off their wares - and Aston Martin is no exception.
The weekend's main attraction of course is the demonstration runs on the hillclimb, and Aston has released details of its planned high-speed show. The new DB11 will be driven by CEO Dr Andy Palmer, and all eyes (and ears) will be on the DB9's successor to judge its suitability for the crown of ultimate GT. The mental Vulcan also returns after its world debut at last year's event, and hustling the 820hp weapon up the course will be Aston Martin Racing's Darren Turner.
Turner will also be entrusted with the new Vantage GT8 (as reviewed by us here). The GTE racer-influenced machine is a fitting swansong for the V8 Vantage and with its track-focused chassis and aero it will be interesting to see what sort of time it can clock relative to its class rivals up the hill. The beautiful V12 Vantage S (featuring a seven-speed dogleg manual gearbox, no less) will round out Aston's hill line-up. A large static display is also planned to allow onlookers to drool over the company's offerings in person.
Anything else?
The Festival of Speed takes place next weekend (24-26 June) and thanks to Lord March's clever decision to ensure no date clashes with other major racing events, you can be sure of a star-studded turnout in terms of both machinery and motorsport persona.