Why Goodwood Festival of Speed Is My Kind of Vacation

My second year at Goodwood, from the quiet paddocks before opening day to an unexpected hill climb with Scott Speed.

There are car shows, concours events, races and manufacturer launches. Then there is Goodwood Festival of Speed.

For four days, a quiet English estate becomes one of the loudest, busiest and most exciting places in the automotive world. Formula One cars, motorcycles, rally cars, classics, restomods, new production cars and the latest hypercars all compete for your attention, often at the exact same time. You can hear engines firing from one direction, tires burning from another and something completely unexpected rolling past before you have even figured out where to look next.

This was only my second year attending, but Goodwood has already become one of the events I look forward to most. Technically, it is my vacation. In reality, my life is my work and my work is my life, especially when the thing I do professionally is also the thing I genuinely love.

That is what makes Goodwood such a natural fit for me. I am there on my own time, but I am still checking in with the brands I represent, following every launch, creating content, catching up with people across the industry and paying attention to what the enthusiast world is responding to. None of that interrupts my vacation. It is the vacation.

“Goodwood is the raw version of Monterey Car Week packed into four unforgettable days.”

The Feeling of Being Back

I knew I was back before I ever reached the grounds.

When I landed, the same driver who picked me up the year before was waiting for me. We loaded everything into the car and began the drive toward Goodwood, roughly an hour and 45 minutes through the English countryside. The closer we got, the more familiar it felt. Then we turned into the campsite, and that was it. I was smiling.

Our camp was made up of roughly 20 RVs positioned around a central tent with a bar, lounge furniture and a large dining table. The Zenvo team and the rest of our group would gather there every evening for dinner, drinks and a chance to wind down together after a very long day.

That first arrival is difficult to describe because nothing dramatic had happened yet. I had not seen the latest hypercar or heard an engine attack the hill. I had simply arrived at a place that, after only one previous visit, already felt familiar. I knew what was waiting on the other side of the campsite, and I could not wait to get started.

The Day Before the Crowds Arrive

The event officially opened to the public on Thursday, but our week began on Wednesday. Because we were traveling with a manufacturer team, we had access while the brands were still setting up.

Walking through Goodwood before the public arrives is one of the most special ways to experience it. The grounds are still active, but the energy is completely different. Teams are building their displays, cars are moving into their paddocks and everything feels as though it is coming to life around you.

We stopped at the Zenvo stand to see how the team was progressing, then walked through the Supercar Paddock while the other manufacturers were preparing. Cars you would normally expect to see behind ropes or surrounded by crowds were simply driving past on their way into position. A Pagani would roll by. A Singer would appear from another direction. Another beautiful car would pass before you had time to identify it.

There was no formal presentation and no need for one. Watching the event assemble itself was the experience.

It is also the moment when you understand the scale of Goodwood. Even without the public, there is activity in every direction. You begin mentally mapping the areas you want to revisit, the cars you need to see and the hill climb runs you cannot miss. Then you quickly realize that four days will never be enough.

When Your Work Is Also What You Love

Goodwood is my personal vacation, with a sprinkle of work. But I also have to be honest about who I am: I am always working.

I do not arrive with a rigid list of professional obligations and then switch into vacation mode when those obligations are finished. There is no clean division. I am an enthusiast, a marketer and a brand manager at the same time, and Goodwood allows all of those parts of my life to exist naturally in one place.

The brands I work with are present. Their newest cars are on display. Their teams are there. The hill climb gives those vehicles a chance to be experienced in motion, not simply photographed under perfect lighting. Relationships are being strengthened and conversations are happening everywhere, often informally over coffee, while waiting for a run or back at camp after the day ends.

Of course I am creating content. Of course I am watching what people respond to. Of course I am checking on Zenvo, Bentley, Rolls-Royce, Hennessey and the other brands that are part of my world. But none of it feels like I have left my vacation to go to work. Cars are what I would choose to spend my time around whether they were part of my career or not.

That is one of the reasons Goodwood means so much to me. I do not have to choose between what I love and what I do. They are the same thing.

Seven in the Morning at Goodwood

Thursday was the first official day, and we were at the gates when they opened at 7:00 a.m. That became our routine.

The mornings are always my favorite. It is cooler before the heat builds, the grounds are not yet packed and you can move through the paddocks with enough space to actually look at the cars. The engines are beginning to fire, teams are preparing and the day has not yet accelerated into the controlled chaos that makes Goodwood what it is.

Our first stop was usually the Zenvo stand. We would put down our things, grab coffee from hospitality and use it as our home base. I will say it: Zenvo had the best coffee at Goodwood.

From there, the Goodwood app became essential. The schedule is constant, especially around the Supercar Hillclimb, and I wanted to make sure I caught the brands I was following each day. Zenvo, Hennessey, Bentley and Rolls-Royce were all making runs, and missing one because you were on the opposite side of the grounds was always a possibility.

That is the challenge of Goodwood. There is no single route that lets you experience everything. You can plan, but you also have to accept that you will miss something. While you are watching one incredible group head toward the hill, another paddock is firing up somewhere else. You may turn toward a familiar engine note only to discover a motorcycle, rally car or Formula One car has appeared from another direction.

Four days sounds like a long time until you are there. Honestly, I think Goodwood needs to be five or six days if you truly want to cover everything the way you imagine you will.

My Second Year, and Still Overwhelmed

Going for a second time made me better prepared, but it did not make the event feel smaller.

The first year, you are learning the layout while trying to absorb everything at once. By the second year, I knew where I wanted to go, how long it would take to move between areas and which parts of the day needed to be protected. That helped me experience the festival differently and gave me more time to enjoy the unexpected moments.

But the first day was still overwhelming. Goodwood changes every year. New cars arrive, brands build new displays and entire categories can suddenly dominate the conversation. Familiarity helps you navigate the grounds, but it does not remove the sense that there is always something happening just beyond where you are standing.

That is part of the appeal. Goodwood does not allow you to become passive. You are constantly moving, listening, checking the schedule, changing direction and making decisions about what matters most in that moment.

The Hill Climb I Never Planned

My first hill climb experience was completely random.

I happened to be talking with the Gunther Werks team when an open passenger spot became available. They were incredibly kind and offered it to me. Suddenly, I was not watching the hill climb. I was going up it.

I was paired with Scott Speed, a well-known racing driver, and we immediately hit it off. He was fun, relaxed and exactly the type of person you want to be sitting beside while waiting for something like this to begin.

And there is a lot of waiting.

From the outside, the Supercar Hillclimb looks like a continuous stream of cars. From inside the lineup, the experience is very different. The cars gather, move forward, stop and wait. Then they move again and wait some more. You have time to talk, laugh, watch the cars around you and take in how unusual the moment really is.

I was not scared. I love speed. I was excited, laughing and ready to experience it.

My only frustration was that the opportunity came so unexpectedly that I was not fully prepared to capture it. I did not have my Meta glasses with me, and I was not allowed to mount my GoPro in the car. The marketer in me immediately recognized the content I was missing. The enthusiast in me understood that some moments are better experienced than produced.

Once we started moving, the hill looked and felt completely different from the passenger seat. The elevation changes, the proximity of the course and the sense of speed do not translate through a screen. I had watched the runs from the outside, but being inside the car finally explained why this one stretch of road is the heart of the entire festival.

It was not planned, and that made it even better. Goodwood rewards you for being present, talking to people and leaving enough room in the day for something unexpected to happen.

“The marketer in me saw the content I was missing. The enthusiast in me knew some moments are better experienced than produced.”

Watching the Zenvo Aurora Tur Run at Full Force

The Zenvo Aurora Tur was one of the most important reasons I wanted to be at Goodwood this year.

Last year was a softer introduction. This year, the Aurora arrived in a much more complete preproduction form, with the new interior, new colors and a stronger sense of what clients will actually experience as the program moves closer to production.

Then it ran the hill at full force.

Watching that happen was one of my proudest moments of the week. When you work closely with a smaller hypercar manufacturer, you see more than the finished vehicle. You see the people, the development, the decisions and the work required to bring an ambitious new car to this stage. Seeing the Aurora move through the course in front of thousands of enthusiasts made the program feel very real.

The Aurora is not being created to blend into the hypercar landscape. Zenvo has built the world's most powerful production V12 for the program, and the Tur is intended to bring that performance into a road-focused grand touring experience. At Goodwood, it was able to communicate something a static display never could: sound, presence and force.

For me, the excitement also comes from knowing what happens next. We are moving closer to the point when clients can begin configuring and ordering their cars, and eventually we will see Auroras on the road in Texas. Watching the car on the hill was not the conclusion of the story. It felt like the beginning of the chapter we have all been waiting for.

The Bentley Surprise I Did Not Expect

One of the advantages of Goodwood is that the biggest moments are not always the ones on your schedule.

As I always do, I checked in to see what the brands I work with were doing. That led to time with Christophe Georges from Bentley and the privilege of getting an early look at the Torcal, Bentley's new fourth model line and its first fully electric vehicle.

I was genuinely surprised by how beautiful it was.

Electric vehicles are not the center of my personal enthusiasm. I love engines, sound, gasoline and the mechanical experience of driving. But I can also appreciate when a brand understands how to carry its identity into something new. The Torcal felt unmistakably Bentley. It was elegant, substantial and far more emotionally appealing than I expected.

For people who do embrace electric vehicles, I think they are going to be pleasantly surprised. It does not look like Bentley abandoned its design language to build an EV. It feels like the brand found a way to move into a new category while remaining very Bentley.

That early look was never something I expected when I arrived, and it became one of the most memorable moments of the trip.

The Cars and Trends Everyone Was Talking About

Goodwood is one of the best places to understand what is capturing the enthusiast world's attention because the reaction is immediate. You can see where crowds gather, hear what people are discussing and watch which cars continue drawing people back throughout the weekend.

This year, restomods were impossible to ignore.

The appeal is easy to understand. They combine the design, proportions and personality people miss from classic cars with the performance, reliability and usability expected from something modern. At Goodwood, they did not feel like a niche category. They felt central to the conversation.

That was also why the Gunther Werks experience fit the event so well. The car respected the character people love while delivering the kind of performance that belongs on the hill.

The Kimera was another brand that caught my attention. Goodwood can surprise you that way. You may arrive with a list of the vehicles you expect to define the week, then find yourself drawn to something you did not anticipate.

That mix is one of the festival's greatest strengths. It does not force you to choose between the past and the future. A classic race car can be followed by a modern hypercar, a restomod, a motorcycle and an experimental new vehicle. The audience appreciates all of it.

My Best Goodwood Advice: Camp

The most practical recommendation I can give anyone planning Goodwood is also the one many American visitors may resist at first: skip the hotel and camp.

I am not suggesting a tent and a sleeping bag. I am talking about using a quality luxury RV provider and staying on the grounds with a group campsite.

There are two major reasons this makes such a difference: heat and traffic.

Air conditioning is not common throughout the UK, and even when a hotel advertises A/C, it may not be what Americans expect. The last two summers at Goodwood have been extremely hot. After spending a full day outside and walking five or six miles, returning to a warm hotel room is not appealing.

A quality RV gives you an ice-cold place to return to throughout the day. You can walk back, cool down, take a hot or cold shower, change clothes, charge equipment, grab something to eat and reset before heading out again. That access changes how much of the festival you can comfortably experience.

The second issue is traffic. Goodwood is in the countryside, and the hotels closest to the estate are limited. Many nearby properties are not especially compelling, and the better options book quickly. Stay farther away and the journey to the entrance can take one to two hours each morning, then repeat itself at the end of an already long day.

From our campsite, I was literally minutes from the festival. Instead of spending hours in traffic, I could walk roughly five minutes and be back at our camp.

Going with a manufacturer group made the experience even better. We had the central hospitality tent, a private chef preparing dinner each night, a place to have a couple of drinks and the chance to relax together after being on the grounds from early morning until the event shut down around 7:00 p.m.

The campsite was not simply where we slept. It was where the team came together. It gave us a home base away from the crowds and created the kind of informal time that is often more memorable than a scheduled meeting.

We use Eddy's RV Hire in the UK, and having a provider on-site matters. If there is an electrical issue or anything else needs attention, someone is there to help. The quality of the supplier can determine whether camping feels effortless or becomes another problem to manage.

After experiencing Goodwood this way, I cannot imagine choosing a hotel and spending hours in traffic. Camping is not the compromise. It is the upgrade.

Diane's Goodwood Survival Guide

WHAT TO DO	WHY IT MATTERS
Camp on the grounds.	A quality RV eliminates long commutes and gives you an air-conditioned place to recharge during the day.
Be at the gates at 7:00 a.m.	The paddocks are calmer, the temperatures are better and you can see far more before the crowds build.
Use the Goodwood app.	The schedule moves quickly. Track the hill climb sessions and protect the runs you absolutely do not want to miss.
Expect to walk.	I averaged roughly five to six miles each day. Comfortable shoes are not optional.
Create a home base.	For us, it was the Zenvo stand. Having one dependable meeting point makes the entire day easier.
Do not over-schedule.	Goodwood rewards wandering. Leave enough room for a random conversation, unexpected car or last-minute opportunity.
Accept that you will miss something.	Four days are not enough to see everything. Choose your priorities, then enjoy what happens along the way.
Prepare your content gear.	Keep cameras, batteries and wearable technology ready. The best opportunities may appear with almost no notice.

The Moments Between the Cars

When people ask for my favorite random moment, it is difficult to identify only one because the best part of Goodwood is often the collection of smaller moments.

It is bumping into clients somewhere you never expected to see them. It is spending time with the manufacturer teams outside the structure of a formal event. It is sitting in a lineup talking and laughing with Scott Speed while waiting for the hill climb. It is catching up with Cecilia Hahn from Gunther Werks. It is returning to camp and replaying the day over dinner with people who understand exactly why one engine note or one unexpected car mattered so much.

Those relationships are part of the reason the event feels different from a traditional auto show. Goodwood is not simply a place where brands display vehicles and visitors walk past them. The cars move. The people move. Everyone is sharing the same long, hot, loud day, and the conversations happen naturally.

By my second year, I understood the layout well enough to stop focusing only on getting from one major attraction to the next. I could be more present. I knew when to move, when to wait and when to simply enjoy who was standing beside me.

Why I Will Keep Coming Back

Goodwood is not bougie. It is not a quiet display of cars positioned perfectly on a lawn. It is for people who truly enjoy all things speed.

It is for the purists who love the smell of gasoline and burning tires. It is for people who appreciate the classics, the future and everything in between. It is for the person who wants to stand beside a historic race car in the morning, watch a new hypercar charge up the hill in the afternoon and hear motorcycles or Formula One cars somewhere in the distance before the day is over.

That is why I describe it as the raw version of Monterey Car Week packed into four days. Monterey has its own beauty and importance. Goodwood is something different. It feels alive from every direction.

Goodwood cannot be reduced to an itinerary, a checklist or even a camera roll. Four days are simply not enough, and perhaps that is part of what makes it so compelling. There is always another paddock to explore, another engine coming to life and another moment unfolding somewhere across the grounds.

After my second year, I understand the event better, but I am no less impressed by it. I will return because Goodwood is more than an automotive event. It is one of the few places where the industry I have built my life around is experienced in its purest form, through the cars, the people, the history and the constant pursuit of what comes next.

Photos by Nick Dennis Photos and my iphone