The Goodwood Festival of Speed is just around the corner, kicking off in West Sussex this Thursday in fact. So if you’ve recovered from the thrilling Formula 1 weekend at Silverstone, Hyundai, Kia and Lotus are ready to bring some more fast-paced high-performance cars to you.
First up, the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N which we reported was doing thousands and thousands of kilometres at the Nürburgring track in Germany, is set to make its world premiere at Goodwood.
The first electrified high-performance N model will be unveiled at the ‘Core Box’ of the company’s Hyundai N exhibition at the festival on 13th July at 2:30PM CEST.
> Hyundai’s Ioniq 5 N completes final testing at Nürburgring
This marks the first time IONIQ 5 N will be shown in full, following the release of a series of teaser videos and camouflaged images that showcased key elements of the model’s technology. As the first mass-production, all-electric Hyundai N model, it will further accelerate the company’s electrification future.
The car has already done almost 480 laps, or 10,000km around the North Loop of Nordschleife, one of the most challenging tracks to do a lap on. It speaks about the Ioniq 5 N’s durability, high endurance and racetrack capability, said the South Korean manufacturer.
> MG’s Cyberster and Caterham’s Project V concept to debut at Goodwood Festival of Speed
And as a final show of triumph, Ioniq 5 N will also do a run along the Festival’s iconic 1.87-kilometre Hillclimb, where it will be joined by the company’s other N models.
Another manufacturer bringing out the big guns at Goodwood is Kia, with the new three-row, seven-seat flagship electric SUV.
The car will also be driven up the 1.16-mile (1.86-kilometre) hill several times throughout the weekend by pro driver Jade Paveley, who has competed in various motorsports since the age of 15 and became the 2021 British Rally Cross Country Championship (BXCC) Class T2 Champion and 2018 Junior Welsh Tarmac Rally Champion. She was also the driver of the EV6 GT when it made its dynamic debut at last year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed.
Between drives, the EV9 will be on display in the ‘First Glance Paddock’. Kia will exhibit a second example of the EV9 at the event’s ‘Electric Avenue’ area, where Kia representatives will be available to provide in-depth insights into the new model.
Lotus is also about to showcase two of its cars: the newly updated electric SUV Eletre, and the pure hypercar, Evija.
Taking centre stage for Lotus is the Eletre, making its dynamic debut at the Festival. With customer deliveries starting soon in the UK and across Europe, the Brit carmaker says that “Goodwood is the perfect time to discover its unique design, advanced all-electric powertrain and intuitive driver-focused technology”.
> Lotus Eletre SUV gets rapid-fast charging and cutting-edge tech
The Eletre is aimed at a new generation of Lotus customers. Labelled as a “hyper-SUV”, it blends the core DNA of the Emira and Evija, reinterpreting them as a practical, versatile and spacious family-oriented hyper-SUV. Twice a day members of the Lotus Customer Experience team will be demonstrating its capabilities on the Lotus stand, including the active aerodynamics and immersive 23-speaker audio system created in partnership with British brand KEF and sound processing pioneer Dolby.
Mike Johnstone, Group Vice-President and Chief Commercial Officer, Lotus, commented: “In our 75th year we’ve got an amazing Goodwood Festival of Speed line-up. The current range is a fitting tribute to everything that’s come before, and this is such a great venue for enthusiasts to see our cars and learn about the transformation of Lotus from our knowledgeable product experts.”
