2025 Goodwood Festival of Speed preview: EVs are here to stay
In just two days, the 2025 Goodwood Festival of Speed kicks off, meaning until Sunday July 13, the Goodwood Estate will be packed with the great and the good from the automotive and motorsport worlds.
Yet since 2019 – when the record-breaking Volkswagen ID.R blew everyone away with the fastest FoS hillclimb run in 20 years – what was once arguably the event for UK petrolheads has since become a joyous coming together of EVs, the internal combustion engine, (ICE) and the dawn of hydrogen power.
To mark the occasion, the Festival of Speed’s head of content, Matt Hearn, recently explained to EV Powered why electrification is something important for the future of FoS and is certainly here to stay.
While the theme of this year’s Festival of Speed is 75 years of Formula 1, there are still plenty of other things to enjoy whether your thing be EV, ICE, or hydrogen.
“We want to tell as broad a story as possible,” Matt says. “Don’t forget that since the Festival of Speed started in 1993, it has always been about celebrating the past, present, and future of motorsport and everything in automotive culture. If we’re talking about EVs, then they’re certainly as important as the past.
“In 2021, we introduced ‘Electric Avenue’, which was all about getting our guests up and close to electric cars. At that time if you remember, that’s when the government mandated that we’d all be driving EVs by 2030, which was then changed to 2035. We felt it was our duty to do our part to show the public about what electric vehicles were out there, and how they could fit into their lives.”
While ‘Electric Avenue’ will not be part of the 2025 Goodwood Festival of Speed, Matt explains that his team has gone one further this year by organising its inaugural supercar ‘First Glance’ showcase. This translates to the Festival of Speed’s illustrious list of EV and ICE supercars making the blast up the Goodwood Estate’s iconic 1.16-mile hillclimb.
“With Electric Avenue, we realised that a big structure showcasing cars that weren’t moving wasn’t as powerful as showing them in motion,” Matt continues. “There are so many EVs on the roads now that they’re just cars to us like a petrol or diesel car, so we’re keen to show them being dynamic on the hill. Another important thing at the Festival of Speed is to tell interesting automotive and motorsport narratives by putting on a great event and also let the manufacturers showcase their latest and greatest.
“Coming back to EVs, it’s been a case of letting carmakers wheel out their weird and wonderful projects, which I would say started with the VW ID.R in 2018. Since then, we’ve had the Ford SuperTruck, which is coming along this year to try and win the overall shootout. Last year, the all-electric McMurtry Spierling reclaimed the production car record, which was great to see.
“Back in 2023, Hyundai also used FoS to debut its Ioniq 5 N. That was also awesome as that car was a somewhat of a gamechanger on the EV landscape.”
When it comes to automotive preferences, Matt comes from the school of thought that it’s possible to enjoy both EVs and ICEs. He goes on to explain where he feels all-electric motoring is better than its petrol or diesel alternative.
“Something that EVs do really well is big power, and instant power delivery.” he says. “That’s very intoxicating and incredible impressive, given your regular all-electric family car will produce the same sort of figures that a supercar from 30, even 20 years ago was making.
“EVs have also moved things on in terms of not having to use a traditional layout – this gives us cars such as the Rivian R1T pick-up, which has heaps of space. Then there’s the Renault 5 and Alpine A290, which look amazing and are much more interesting than other hatchback offerings around.”
“While we always want to show quite a balanced output, we want to show the best electric vehicles we possibly can, and we want to create a space for hydrogen. EVs are definitely an important part of the future at Goodwood.”
Matt also listed the following as some of his EV-themed recommendations to check out at FoS 2025:
Meet the 536bhp, £150,000 Renault 5 Turbo 3E
Since outgoing Renault president Luca de Meo announced his Renaultution plan, the French brand has become one of the hottest carmakers in the EV world. The Renault 5 shook the EV with its retro design, £23k price tag, and range of up to 250 miles, showing that EVs could be fun, affordable, and don’t have to be fraught with range anxiety. With the R5 Turbo 3e, Renault has taken the 5 and turned it up to 11. Underneath, this £150,000 ‘mini-supercar’ is powered by a tri-motor setup shared with the Alpine A390, which produces 536bhp and sends through the rear wheels. What’s more, the flared body kit and the yellow, black, and white paintjob reflect the Renault 5 Maxi Turbo from the Group B era of the 1980s. Renault says that it has already sold each of the 1,980 R5 Turbo 3e’s set for arrival in 2027.
The very silly, Pikes Peak-winning Ford F-150 Lightning SuperTruck
Ford Racing has been on form with its all-electric race cars in recent years with its F-150 Lightning SuperTruck scooping honours at Pikes Peak in 2023, and coming close with the Transit Supervan 4.2 the previous year. At the 2024 Goodwood Festival of Speed, five-time Pikes Peak winner Romain Dumas set the fastest overall shootout time of 43.98 seconds in the 2,000bhp SuperVan with. This year, the Frenchman will be back for more in the SuperTruck. EV Powered spoke to Dumas about the benefits of an all-electric powertrain at events such as Pikes Peak FoS, which you can read here. Don’t bet against Dumas going quickest again at Goodwood, either – the F-150 Lightning SuperTruck packs some 1,600bhp in tri-motor layout, and 2,000bhp as a quad-motor.
Supercar ‘First Glance’ ft. Alpine, Rimac, Lotus, and Karma
As Matt mentioned earlier, the supercar ‘First Glance’ showcase will be replacing Electric Avenue to give FoS attendees to check out some of the latest electric and hydrogen supercars around. Alpine’s hydrogen powered, 740bhp Alpenglow HY6 will making its journey up the hill, along with the fearsome, fully-electrified Rimac Nevera R, and the Lotus Evija. Moreover, the Karma Kaveya will be making its debut at FoS 2025. Despite a beleaguered recent years, the California-based carmaker will debuting its 1,180hp Kaveya supercar at the event. While the jury is out as to whether the car will see the light of day, the Kaveya is claimed to have a range of over 250 miles courtesy of a 120kWh battery, and will commence production in 2027.
Rimac shooting for another record with its 2,087bhp Nevera R
Rimac has been a fixture at the Goodwood Festival of Speed for some time, with the Croat hypercar manufacturer smashing the production car record on its 2023 debut with a time of 49.32 seconds. Last year, it also returned to celebrate 15 years of operations. In 2025, Rimac will be bringing its 2,078bhp capable Nevera R to the 2025 Goodwood Festival of Speed. With its dual-layer rear wing and ability to generate up to 400kg of downforce, the hardcore Nevera R will achieve 0-62mph in 1.81 seconds, and go from 0-186mph in 8.66 seconds. To cope with all this power, updating torque vectoring ensures that power is split between all four wheels, while new carbon ceramic brakes with a silicon layer ensure better stopping power, cooling, and durability over previous Neveras. As if all this madness wasn’t enough from Croatia’s foremost car maker, just 40 of them will be made.
Denza, MG, and Honda roll out new EV models
The Goodwood Festival of speed isn’t all supercars, you know. Well, sort of. Anyway, Denza – the luxury subbrand of BYD – will be ushering in its classy D9 MPV, chunky B5 off-roader, and its Z9 GT shooting brake, a car launched to much fanfare when BYD chairperson, Stella Li, suggested it may be good enough to woo drivers away from the Porsche Taycan and similar. While that remains to be seen, the Z9 GT comes with a “Compass U-Turn” feature, which spins the rear wheels in opposite directions and allows it to ‘crab’ into tight parking spaces. Denza will be showing FoS guests this dynamic feature aimed at making parallel parking easier, while the B5 and D9 will be on static display. MG will be unveiling its Cyberster Black, its compact Cyber X concept with – yes, you read it – pop-up headlights, and two other new EVs currently under embargo. Honda has also been at work, and after learning the lessons from its loveable-yet-flawed all-electric e, the Japanese firm will be placing its hopes in its Kei-car inspired Super EV Concept when it takes to the hillclimb. Meanwhile, the Honda 0 SUV will be on static display to showcase what the brand’s upcoming ‘0’ range of EVs will be about in terms of design and tech.
Alpine celebrates its 70th birthday
Like Renault, sister company Alpine has been on somewhat of a roll since the start of 2025 and its’s using FoS to celebrate its 70th birthday. Earlier this year, Alpine introduced the R5’s more performance-focused sibling, the Alpine A290, and is set to launch its all-electric, 46b4bhp, tri-motor A390 crossover at the beginning of 2026. Between now and then, Alpine will also release its all-electric A290 Rallye. You guessed it, it’s a stage-ready A290 with a full roll cage, a ZF limited slip differential, upgraded suspension, brakes, and running gear, plus a hydraulic handbrake for all of your Marcus Grönholm-esque fantasies. Based on the road-going A290, the A290 Rallye sends 217bhp through the front wheels and produces 221lb ft of torque. Both versions of A290 will be at the 2025 Goodwood Festival of Speed, along with the A390, the Alpenglow HY6, and the A110 R Ultime – the final hurrah for the ICE A110, before it’s replaced by an EV version next year.
BMW’s glimpse into the future with its all-electric ‘Heart of Joy’
While the BMW Vision Driving Experience or “VDX” isn’t a production car, it’s a test rig of intent from Munich. The VDX produces 13,269lb ft of torque – some five times more than a Koenigsegg Gemera – and has active aero. Most exciting of all, though, is that the VDX won’t have ever done a dynamic run in the UK until the Festival of Speed, so it’ll be quite the treat when it takes to the hillclimb. While the VDX will never be made, several of its innovations will. Its quad-motor layout is set to underpin a generation of all-electric M cars, while its ‘Heart of Joy’ is an all-in-one computer system responsible for the car’s propulsion, energy recuperation, braking, charging, and steering sub-functions. The Heart of Joy will be found in the upcoming range of BMW Neue Klasse cars, including the Vision Neue Klasse X SUV, which is expected to reflect the upcoming BMW ix3. The Neue Klasse X and its next-gen cabin will be on display throughout the weekend of the 2025 Goodwood Festival of Speed.
Extreme H takes to the hill with hydrogen fuel cell
In line with its hydrogen in motorsport driven, the 2025 Goodwood Festival of Speed will be displaying Extreme H’s Pioneer 25 challenger at the event’s Future Lab. Extreme H is the world’s first hydrogen-powered motorsport championship, and will serve as an evolution of the now-defunct, all-electric Extreme E. The Pioneer 25, with its chassis manufactured by Spark Racing Technology, is a hydrogen fuel cell off-roader producing zero emissions bar water. Powered by front and rear eMotors producing 200kW each, the Pioneer 25 has a top speed of 124mph and can manage the 0-62mph run in less than five seconds. Over the course of this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed, the Pioneer 25 will be driven up the hill by former Extreme E drivers, Catie Munnings, Cristina Gutiérrez, and Klara Andersson. No official start date has been made for the Extreme H championship, but it is expected to begin in the latter half of this year.
Hyundai Ioniq 6 N to make electrifying global debut
Like Renault and Alpine, Hyundai is one of the great and the good of the EV world, and used FoS 2023 to debut its excellent Ioniq 5 N Hyperhatch and 5 N drift car. Fast-forward to the 2025 Goodwood Festival of Speed, and the South Korean brand will be launching the N version of its swoopy Ioniq 6 streamliner on July 10. Details haven’t been made official as of yet, but the Hyundai Ioniq 6 N is expected to make around 650bhp, and will benefit from the chassis tweaks and updates enjoyed by its sister car including a twin-motor setup, AWD, plus simulated gearshifts and engine notes. Expect it to be fantastic. The N is also expected to get the Ioniq 6’s new front end, which debuted at the Seoul Motor Show earlier this year.
