Some Of The Best 2023 Goodwood Festival Of Speed Hill Climbs So Far

The Goodwood Festival of Speed is currently underway, and although we thoroughly enjoy seeing new cars revealed and old ones gleaming in the sun, the highlight of the weekend-long motoring extravaganza is undoubtedly the hillclimb course. As always, the cars going up the route are a diverse bunch, including purpose-built racecars, pre-war classics, production cars, and one-off builds.

The below video comes directly from the organizers and shows some of the best runs up the hill this year so far. It starts with aPorsche 911 GT3 Cupin a vivid multicolor wrap. After the first day of the event, this was the quickest car overall on the timesheets, and with mixed conditions (read typically British weather), it's possible that nothing else will go faster.

But not everybody is there to go fast. Mad Mike Whiddett certainly wasn't, and neither was Travis Pastrana...

After the 911 GT3 does its thing, we see a less serious run up the hill from Elfyn Evans in a Toyota GR Yaris Rally1, who opts against achieving a fast speed and instead entertains the crowd with smoky donuts. Thereafter, former F1 driver Karun Chandhok takes a ginger drive up the hill in theLe Mans-winning Mazda 787B. We'd have liked to hear the rotary engine scream a little louder, but we don't blame Chandhok for taking it easy in an irreplaceable piece of history, particularly one as wide-hipped as this.

Thankfully, you can always count on New Zealand native Mad Mike Whiddett to provide a proper show, and he spent his time on the course lighting up the rear tires of his Mazda RX-7 at every opportunity, spitting flames several feet long with every break in throttle application. He went viral in 2019 for his800-horsepower Lamborghini Huracan drift car, which also took to the famous hill.