The Goodwood Festival of Speed is an annual car show held at the famous Goodwood House in Chichester in early July. Last year was my first year in attendance and as soon as I walked through the gates, I knew it was automotive heaven. It was a place I saw my first of a multitude of cars and with Goodwood coming up next week I thought it would be a good time to check out my top 10 firsts at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. For this list, I will be excluding finds in the public and supercar car park because there will be another two lists for those. This list also excludes any racing cars so the Mercedes CLR will not be on this list.
10) Ferrari Enzo - The Ferrari Enzo was launched in 2002 yet even today it still looks like a modern supercar. This was the follow up to the F50 in the line of Ferrari hyper-performance machines (288, F40, F50, Enzo, LaF). The power was courtesy of a 650bhp V12 which could push the car up to 220mph making it still one of Ferrari's fastest ever models. Not only can it reach up to £1.9million at auction and is one of only 399, but the Enzo was developed and tested by the legendary Michael Schumacher. 
9) Mercedes AMG One - The next entry is a bit of an odd one as nobody knew it would be there. On the Mercedes stand was this, the Mercedes AMG Project One (now only known as the AMG One). This is Mercedes-Benz's attempt to enter the hybrid hypercar market currently spearheaded by the Porsche 918, McLaren P1 and Ferrari LaFerrari. This is also a response to the Aston Martin Valkyrie. It features the same 1000hp V6 lifted from the Mercedes AMG F1 car and with that can allegedly accelerate from 0-200kph in 'under six seconds'. The car was meant to be put into production at the start of this year and as of yet none of the 275 examples have been sold. This could be to do with the late production or the £2.5 million price tag.
8) Apollo Intensa Emozione - Of all the cars in this list, the Apollo has to win the award for the most hypercar-like hypercar. Finished in a full purple carbon body and gold wheels, the knife like body pointing every which way, this Apollo IE is one of only 10 examples to be build by the now-defunct Gumpert brand. The monumental rear wing, jagged front splitter and jet fighter like interior all come together to make the IE one of the most menacing and fierce supercars out there. The limited numbers plus the £3 million price tag makes the IE one of the most desirable cars out there.
7) W Motors Lykan Hypersport - This 'first' is not just the first of this certain manufacturer but of the manufacturer itself. W Motors is a supercar made in the UAE and much like the previous cars, their models are made in very limited numbers. Both of their models were on display at Goodwood last year but of the two I prefer the Lykan Hypersport. Their Fenyr Supersport was in the supercar paddock and is their newest model but the Lykan had so many subtle features. Examples of this include the cut diamonds in the headlights, the reverse dihedral doors and a holographic gesture control. It's usage in the Fast and Furious movies gained it some attention but the twin turbo engine produced by RUF and the one of 7, £2.5 million price that gained my attention. 
6) Maserati MC12 - The Maserati MC12 was a car produced by Maserati as a sister car to the Ferrari Enzo. It features the same engine and same horsepower output but a body designed by Maserati making it 5 metres long. It is much larger than the Enzo in proportions and much, much rarer with only 50 examples created. However I have never seen a road going Maserati MC12, but Goodwood provided one of the GT1 racing cars and 3 of these editions being the Corsa. The Corsa was a race prepped MC12 which was possible for road legal conversion. This blue Corsa was a star in the centre of the retail section but people were only interested in the Bugatti Veyron and Ferrari LaFerrari that flanked it, a sad thought.
5) Ferrari LaFerrari - Speaking of the Ferrari LaFerrari, Goodwood was actually the first time I saw a LaFerrari in person. Branded as a rebirth of the Ferrari Enzo, the 950hp hybrid powertrain accelerates the car to 60 in 2.9 seconds and up to 219mph. This example was not the only one there as the supercar paddock hosted a LaFerrari Aperta, the convertible version of the standard car. LaFerraris are the most expensive of the holy trinity of the 918 and P1 with prices at auction reaching £3 million, three times the initial price of the car. The Aperta is even more expensive with an example selling at £8.3 million.
4) Ferrari 250 Series - The Ferrari 250 series is known for being one of the most valuable series of car ever created. From lower models such as the 250 GT which can sell for up to £600k, to the top of the pile being the model in this list, the 250 GTO. The 250 GTO gained a reputation after it became the most expensive car to ever sell at auction at £22.8 million. However it gained a greater status when just last year, another 250 GTO sold for £37.68 million. The reason it is so expensive is there were only 39 examples made and it is a Le Mans legend. New, it cost £6000 and when Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason bought one for just over £12000, people thought he was losing money. To the right is his actual car, now worth upwards of £20 million. 
3) McLaren F1 - Known as one of the greatest cars ever made, how could the McLaren F1 not make the list. This example is a very famous one as it was owned by Mr Rowan Atkinson and crashed by him as well. He sent it back to McLaren for it to be rebuilt and here it is. The F1 was designed by Gordon Murray and had a lot of unique features such as the gold engine bay and the usage of Kevlar and the BMW V12. This held the record for the fastest car in the world for 11 years until the Bugatti Veyron came along. But this was not the only example at Goodwood, as with this was a red example in the Concours, an F1 GTR that won Le Mans in 1995 and a Longtail version of the GTR to show the racing prowess of the F1.
2) Koenigsegg - Koenigsegg are another motoring giant that I only saw for the first time at Goodwood. Koenigsegg are a Swedish manufacturer that hold the record for the fastest production car at 277.9mph. The car that did it is the Agera RS, a limited production variant of their model, the Agera. This example is the RS FE, which is the final edition because the Agera model line was replaced by the Jesko early this year. The Final Editions were commissioned by two American millionaires, and they were named Thor and Vader. The one pictured is Vader and Thor was at Goodwood on the Friday before shipment to the US. Goodwood also featured the RSN one off, an original CCR made originally in 2004 and the brand new Regera.
1) Pagani - Obviously my choice as best 'first' would be Pagani, an Italian manufacturer of supercars that is my favourite manufacturer. They are celebrating their 20th anniversary this year and at Goodwood in one week will be the largest collection of them in a single place. This example is the one of 3 HP Barchetta, which is named HP for Horatio Pagani (the boss) and Barchetta meaning it has no roof. Finished in blue and black carbon with a fully custom interior. Pagani love to make their cars for their customers requests with plenty of one offs and specials with their prestige 760 series of which there was one at Goodwood, the Oliver Evolution. Their other model, the Huayra, was released in 2012 and featured at Goodwood with their Roadster model. They are also going to be there next week.
Honorable Mentions - For Honorable Mentions I have to mention the Lamborghini Reventon, Lamborghini Centenario, Lexus LFA and the Porsche 959 which all came close to the Top 10 but unfortunately fell at the last hurdle. Goodwood Festival of Speed will always be the best show I've ever attended and in a week it grows to a whole new level.
By Cieran Boyne
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