Goodwood Festival of Speed 2018: Best of Thursday

The first day of the Goodwood Festival of Speed is done.

The hay bales are being straightened and the covers are going back over the hundreds of priceless cars - both road and racing - ahead of tomorrow's second day of action. 

In case you weren't able to make it to Goodwood in person, we've compiled the very best of the first day of the 2018 Festival of Speed, snapped by our photographer Luc Lacey.

The McLaren 600LT made its dynamic debut

Woking's most performance-focused Sports Series model yet was revealed last month, but made its first public drive up the Goodwood hill on Thursday.

The McLaren 600LT made its dynamic debut

Power comes from McLaren's twin-turbocharged 3.8-litre V8 engine, delivering 600PS (592bhp) and 457lb ft of torque to the rear wheels. Top speed is 204mph.

The McLaren 600LT made its dynamic debut

The 600LT can go from 0-62mph in 2.9 seconds, matching the 675LT and beating the Ferrari 488 GTB, which manages the same sprint in 3.0 seconds. It outpaces the Ferrari to 124mph too, in a time of 8.2 seconds - 0.2sec faster than the GTB can manage.

Jetpack Aviation JB11 takes to the skies

Thursday saw a first for the Festival - the world's most advanced jetpack made its debut European flight. Fitted with six turbojet engines but weighing just 50kg, the pack can achieve speeds of 200mph and a maximum 10,000ft altitude.

American muscle cars drag it out

These muscle cars clearly feel more at home on a drag strip than a hill climb - but that didn't stop them taking to the Goodwood circuit.

Dodge Charger R/T

First shown off in 1964, the Dodge Charger is an American icon. It started as a mid-size two-door, but evolved over time and is now sold as a four-door sedan.

1968 Ford Mustang Fastback Bullitt

This 1968 Fastback shot to stardom as Steve McQueen's car of choice in the movie Bullitt. The list of modifications made to the car to prepare for its role include a Borg-Warner T-10 four-speed manual transmission and clutch, milled heads, Koni shocks, heavy-duty coil springs, American Racing wheels, Dunlop M-15 racing tyres on the front and Firestone GP Indy tyres on the back, along with a custom exhaust and a Shelby-inspired steering wheel.

Land Rover 70th Birthday parade

Land Rover celebrated its 70th birthday with a parade of 70 models from the company's history. Series I, Series II and Series III Land Rovers went up the Goodwood hill, alongside Defenders, Range Rovers, Discoveries, Freelanders and the current line-up of Land Rover models, along with the original prototye that started it all, HUE 166.

Land Rover 70th Birthday parade

The highlight of Thursday's parade might have been the classic Land Rover models, restored and made road-worthy by the brand's Classic bespoke restorations project team, but there was still room for the more modern end of Land Rover's output. Evoques, Discoveries and Range Rovers completed the procession.

Honda's 150mph lawn mower

If the Goodwood ground staff had left cutting the grass until the last minute, Honda's 15-mph Mean Mower V2 could have got the job done before the public turned up this morning. The original broke the world lawnmower speed record in 2014 with a top speed of 116.575mph, but that has since been beaten. It's down to the V2 to reclaim the record, and with a 999cc four-cylinder engine from a CBR1000RR Fireblade delivering double the power of the original machine, it has every chance of doing so.

Ferrari 488 pista

The go-faster version of Ferrari's already-rapid 488 GTB will be looking to set a time up the hill later this weekend, so Thursday's runs were mere sighting laps. The Pista's twin-turbocharged 3.9-litre V8 engine revs to 8000rpm and produces 710bhp, but with its maximum 568lb ft of torque only delivered in seventh gear, how quickly it can dispatch the climb remains to be seen.

McLaren unleashes the Senna

McLaren Ultimate Series director Andy Palmer calls the Senna "the ultimate road-legal track car". It weighs a paltry 1198kg before fluids, which is less than the hybrid-powered P1, and uses active aero to generate an incredible 800kg of downforce at 155mph.

McLaren unleashes the Senna

The Senna's distinctive see-through door panels give a unique perspective on the driver - but you'll need quick reactions to get a good look. The 789bhp hypercar hits 60mph from a standing start in 2.7 seconds, 124mph in 6.8 seconds, and 186mph in just 17.5 seconds.

Lamborghini's Urus SUV

Super SUVs are quickly becoming a regular sight on the Goodwood hill climb. Lamborghini was among the first on the course on Thursday, pushing the Urus to its limit up the one mile track. With a 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8 engine and four wheel drive, the Urus is capable of hitting 60mph in just 3.6 seconds.

Lamborghini's Urus SUV

It might not have hit its 190mph top speed, but Goodwood let the Urus prove its handling credentials. It shares a platform with the Bentley Bentayga, Porsche Cayenne and Audi Q7, and is an important car for Lamborghini - the company hopes it will boost total sales to more than 7000 cars per year.

Mercedes AMG GT Formula 1 safety car

the Mercedes-AMG GT R being used for the 2018 season is Formula One's fastest ever safety car. Its 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 engine delivers 585bhp and lets driver Bernd Mayländer reach a top speed of 198mph - all in the name of safety, of course. The car needed very little modification for its role, with roll-over protection and ceramic brakes coming straight from AMG's options catalogue.

Lexus LFA

Easily the most exciting car Lexus has ever made, the LFA is all about the engine. 522bhp might not sound excessive on a day that 700 horsepower hypercars took to Goodwood's iconic hill climb, but the way the naturally aspirated V10 delivers its power all the way up to 8700rpm made it a must-see (and hear) whenever it took to the track.

Toyota Celica GT-Four ST185

The first of several giants of modern rallying to take to the hill, Toyota's most successful car to date broke Lancia's WRC dominance and took the manufacturer to two titles. Carlos Sainz, Juha Kankkunen and Didier Auriol all took drivers' champonships while behind the wheel.

Subaru Impreza WRC

Richard Burns raced this Impreza in 2000, narrowly missing out on the drivers' title. He made up for it a year later. The car's 2.0-litre flat four was mated with computer-controlled diffs for the first time, evolving with rallying rules to maintain an advantage.

Audi Quattro A1

Arriving at the 1983 Monte Carlo rally, the Quattro A1 switched from the earlier car's cast iron engine block to a lighter aluminium one. Group B rallying had truly arrived.

Proton Iriz R5

One of the newest rally cars in the Festival of Speed, Proton's 1.6-litre turbocharged four-cylinder is effectively a downsized version of what could once be found in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo. Ollie Mellors drove one to overall victory in the Cambrian rally earlier this year.

Vazirani Automotive Shul

New Indian suaprcar company Vazirani Automotive revealed its first project on Thursday. The Shul is set to use a turbine-electric hybrid powertrain that promises rapid, torque-heavy performance without compromising on range. Each wheel gets its own motor for independent torque vectoring, and the chassis is based on a carbon fibre tub. It also eschews traditional wing mirrors for wing-mounted video cameras.

Porsche Carrera GT

The Porsche Museum clearly wasn't content to merely park up its collection of iconic cars for this year's Festival - it took them all to the track, including this 5.7-litre V10 Carrera GT. It sends 603 horses to the rear wheels, and is capable of the 0-60mph sprint in 3.5 seconds.

Porsche 804

Porsche isn't just about sports cars - it has also produced single-seaters. The only Formula One car ever built by the brand used a 1.5-litre flat eight engine, in order to meet regulations. With Dan Gurney at the wheel, it managed a single Championship win at the 1962 French Grand Prix.

McLaren F1 GTR Longtail

The F1 GTR was the racing version of a car that was never built to go racing, and when it smashed the Le Mans competition in 1995 and 1996, the competition stepped up. McLaren's response was to homologate a race version with a focus on aero, downforce and weight reduction. It kept the F1's wheelbase, but new bodywork made it 641mm longer overall.

Noble M500

Noble kicked off Thursday with a reveal of the all-new M500, a more mainstream car than the rabid M600. It's the first car from the company to use a DSG gearbox, and should deliver around 500bhp from a Ford-derived twin-turbo V6 motor.

Brabham BT62

The BT62 is in its natural environment here. The track-only supercar, which rivals McLaren's Senna with 700bhp on tap from a 5.4-litre naturally aspirated V8 quad-cam engine, made its dynamic debut at the Festival, having only been shown off in stationary form back in May.

Nio EP9

The Chinese electric supercar already holds the Nurburgring electric car record, but the EP9 has yet to set a time up the Goodwood hill. With 1360bhp being sent to all four wheels and a top speed of 194bhp, it has every chance of being the fastest (road-legal) electric car at this year's Festival.

Italdesign GT-R50

Originally revealed as a one-off collaboration between Nissan and design house Italdesign to celebrated 50 years of the GT-R, this is a totally transformed version of Godzilla. A 54mm lower roofline is the most ovbious change, but almost every part of the Nismo GT-R on which it is based has been changed. Performance has been boosted as well, taking the 3.8-litre twin-turbo V6 up from 592bhp in the standard car to a heady 710bhp.

Aston Martin Cygnet V8

The smallest concept car to take to the hill on Thursday was Aston Martin's one-off Cygnet city car, adapted by Q commission service with a 430bhp V8 engine and running gear from a previous-gen Vantage S. The engineers have somehow found room inside the Toyota IQ-derived chassis for a 4.7-litre atmospheric eight-cylinder, plus a seven-speed Sportshift II automatic gearbox and shortened Vantage driveshaft to power the rear wheels.

Alpine A110 GT4

The Alpine A110 is an excellent sportscar, but now it's set to become a GT4 race car as well. Alpine's latest creation can race in any series that conforms to the FIA's GT4 ruleset, which means a British GT entry might not be too far away. Performance figures are still unknown, but the chassis has been lightened and has a significantly larger wing than the already-revealed Cup for improved downforce at high speed.

Apollo Intensa Emozione

There Le Mans-inspired Intensa Emozione will be limited to just ten models worldwide, but securing one will set you back £2.05 million - and likely won't be road-legal when it arrives. It uses a naturally aspirated V12 engine that produces 769bhp and redlines at 9000rpm, while the all-carbon build means the whole thing weighs just 1250kg. As you'd expect, that makes it brutally fast - reaching 60mph in a claimed 2.7 seconds.

BMW HP4 Race

It wasn't all cars on the hill, with BMW's track-only HP4 Race demonstrating why the once-concept machine has to be kept off public roads. With a 212bhp engine that redlines at 13,900rpm, and a carbon frame that weighs just 7.8kg, it's essentially a World superbike spec machine you can go out and buy - if you can afford the £68,000 price of entry.

Drift-spec Nissan GT-R

The Nissan GT-R is a powerful machine, but drift racer Steve 'Baggsy' Biagioni turned things to eleven with his Chevrolet LXS V8-swapped machine. The 7.4-litre, turbocharged engine produces 1200bhp, making it perfect for lighting up rear tyres with the smallest feather of the throttle.

Singer 964

Singer is no stranger to restoring old Porsches, but this 964-era 911 has to be the ultimate. Developed in partnership with Williams Advanced Engineering, it now produces 500bhp from a completely bespoke powertrain and lightweight body. It's the attention to detail inside the cabin that caught our eye, though, with an exposed gear linkage and custom, lightweight seats.

Porsche Speedster concept

The upcoming Speedster is set to be the swan song for the current generation 911, and is on track for a full reveal later this year. A concept version took to the Goodwood hill this week, showing off the design of the hardcore open-top machine. It's expected to use the same naturally-aspirated 4.0-litre flat six engine as the current GT3.

2018 Festival of Speed sculpture

Always a highlight of the Festival, this year's sculpture was designed to celebrate the 70th birthday of Porsche. Look closely and you'll spot some of the most important cars the marque ever made, including the 911, a 959 group B rally car, and the machine that started it all: the original 356.