The Coolest Cars We Saw at the 2026 Goodwood Festival of Speed

From Subaru’s Gymkhana-ready Brataroo to Toyota’s new GR GT and Red Bull’s RB17, these are the vehicles that stole the show in England.

As it does every year, the Goodwood Festival of Speed’s endless stream of Formula 1 racers, multi-million-dollar hypercars, vintage sports cars, and exotic one-offs charging up the legendary hillclimb circuit offers thrills like no other automotive event on earth. This year also offered one other wildcard in the form of an intense heatwave that made walking around the grounds difficult to say the least. But although the atmosphere itself was stifling, the event’s atmosphere was as intoxicating as ever: The roaring sounds of the cars, the ever-present smell of gasoline, the enthusiasm, and the adrenaline were all present and accounted for.

From riding shotgun up the hill in a Praga Bohemia, to catching up with Travis Pastrana before his ride up on the Subaru Brataroo, we had a blast in the blast furnace of petrol-fueled madness that was the 2026 Goodwood Festival of Speed. Here are just a few of the coolest vehicles we saw charging up the hill and in the paddocks.

Subaru Brataroo

The Subaru Brataroo made an impressive competitive debut at

this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed, with superstar extreme driver Travis Pastrana piloting it to fourth overall in the Timed Shootout. The result made it the fastest

internal-combustion-powered entry in the field, finishing behind only three

all-electric prototypes and showcasing its performance against some of the

quickest machines at the event, including a Formula E race car.

The Brataroo is a modern interpretation of the classic

Subaru BRAT, created specifically for the latest Gymkhana film. Power

comes from a turbocharged 2.0-liter boxer four engine producing 670 horsepower and

680 lb-ft of torque while revving beyond 9,500 rpm. A carbon-fiber body,

all-wheel drive, and an advanced active aerodynamic system—including movable

front louvers and an adjustable rear wing—make it one of the most technically

sophisticated Gymkhana cars Subaru has ever built.

Because the Brataroo was built for Gymkhana, Subaru engineers had to modify much of the vehicle’s setup for the Goodwood hill climb to allow it to turn and handle better through the hillclimb’s numerous corners.

Toyota GR GT

The 2026 Goodwood Festival of Speed was host to the dynamic debut of the Toyota

GR GT, marking the first time the public saw the company’s

new halo supercar in action. Crowds packed the Toyota Gazoo Racing stand throughout the

weekend, and although the car didn’t compete in the Timed Shootout, seeing and hearing the

new V-8-powered Toyota storm up the hill was enough to draw plenty of attention.

Power comes from a 4.0-liter twin-turbocharged hybrid V-8

producing 641 horsepower and 627 lb-ft of torque, paired with an eight-speed

automatic transmission that sends power to the rear wheels. Goodwood gave

enthusiasts their best look yet at what could become Toyota’s most significant

performance car since the Lexus LFA, and perhaps its most ambitious road car

ever.

RUF Flat 8 Engine

RUF has long been associated with Porsche, but the German

company has also built a reputation for creating its own vehicles. At Goodwood,

it unveiled a new 4.8-liter flat-eight boxer engine producing 986 horsepower

and 738 lb-ft of torque. The engine was displayed in a CTR3 Evo prototype, but

RUF says it will eventually power a new mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive

carbon-fiber sports car that’s expected to arrive within the next couple of

years.

Speaking with CEO Estonia Ruf, she told us the family-owned

company wants to differentiate itself from automakers shifting toward electric

and hybrid powertrains. Judging by the crowds gathered around the display, the

new flat-eight accomplished exactly that. After spending a few days at

Goodwood, Estonia said she was thrilled by the reaction from clients, the media,

and festival attendees.

Praga Bohema

Boutique automaker Praga drew plenty of attention in

Goodwood’s Supercar Paddock with its newest model, the Bohema. The Czech-built

hypercar weighs just 2,205 pounds and produces 700 horsepower from a 3.8-liter

twin-turbo V-6 derived from the Nissan GT-R. Although those figures may

seem modest in an era of 2,000-hp hypercars, the Bohema’s incredibly low curb

weight makes it one of the most engaging performance cars at the festival.

We had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to run up the hill as a passenger in the Bohema, where we experienced the car’s

blistering acceleration and fierce braking firsthand. With a ride height of

roughly 4 inches and a chassis designed around lightweight performance, the

Bohema felt remarkably planted through Goodwood’s fast, sweeping corners.

Prices start at about $1.6 million, with the first U.S. deliveries expected soon.

Zenvo Aurora

Zenvo may not be a household name, but the Danish automaker

used the 2026 Goodwood Festival of Speed to show that it’s entering a new chapter.

The company unveiled two near-production validation prototypes of the Aurora

Tur, its road-focused hypercar, giving the public its first look at the

customer-spec exterior and interior ahead of production in 2027. Alongside

them, Zenvo also displayed the track-focused Aurora Agil, while both Aurora

variants made demonstration runs up the famous Goodwood hillclimb.

The Aurora is an all-new hypercar developed from the ground

up and powered by a 6.6-liter quad-turbocharged V-12 producing 1,250

horsepower. In the all-wheel-drive Tur, that engine is paired with three

electric motors for a combined output of 1,850 hp, making it the most powerful

V-12 powertrain ever fitted to a production road car. Goodwood marked a

significant milestone for Zenvo, demonstrating that the Aurora has evolved from

an early prototype into a near-production reality as customer deliveries draw closer.

Koenigsegg Lego

Not everything that stole the spotlight at Goodwood burned

gasoline. LEGO and Koenigsegg brought a life-size, fully drivable replica of

the Koenigsegg Sadair’s Spear to the event, showcasing one of the most

ambitious builds the toy company has ever created. Constructed from 327,906

LEGO Technic pieces, the replica rode on Pirelli P Zero Trofeo R tires and

reached 69 mph, setting a new record as the fastest drivable LEGO vehicle ever

built.

The full-size model was created to celebrate the launch of

LEGO’s new 1:8-scale Technic Koenigsegg Sadair’s Spear set, which is now

available for purchase. The 4,104-piece kit faithfully recreates Koenigsegg’s

limited-production hypercar with functional steering, suspension, a working V-8

engine, and a nine-speed transmission.

Red Bull RB17

The Red Bull RB17 made its long-awaited dynamic public debut

at the 2026 Goodwood Festival of Speed, where former Formula 1 driver Yuki

Tsunoda piloted the track-only hypercar up the famous hillclimb. Designed by

legendary engineer Adrian Newey as his final project before leaving Red Bull,

the RB17 is the company’s first production car and aims to deliver Formula

1-like performance to private owners.

Power comes from a naturally aspirated 4.5-liter V-10 paired

with a hybrid system producing more than 1,200 hp, while a carbon-fiber chassis

keeps weight below 2,000 pounds. Limited to just 50 examples worldwide, the

RB17 carries a price tag of around $6.8 million. Although it didn’t compete in

the Timed Shootout, its first public appearance was one of Goodwood’s headline

moments, giving spectators their first opportunity to see and hear one of the

most ambitious hypercars ever created.

McLaren 788HS

McLaren chose Goodwood to unveil the 788HS, a

limited-production supercar that serves as the ultimate evolution of its

current V-8 platform. Limited to just 200 examples worldwide, the 788HS is powered by a twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V-8 producing 777 horsepower and 590 lb-ft of torque, enough to propel it from 0–60 mph in 2.8 seconds and on to a 205-mph top speed.

The model also features a redesigned aerodynamic package

that generates more downforce than the 765LT, revised suspension tuning, and

extensive use of carbon fiber. It didn’t compete in the Timed Shootout,

but the 788HS was one of Goodwood’s biggest debuts, marking the final and most

extreme chapter of McLaren’s acclaimed V-8 supercar lineage before the brand

transitions toward its next generation of performance cars.