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Aston Martin to star at Goodwood Festival of Speed

The Aston Martin V12 Vantage Speedster DBR1will be at Goodwood. Photo: Max Earey

Aston Martin is celebrating its new era of performance at the Goodwood Festival of Speed with the ultra-luxury marque’s most powerful model line-up ever.

The British manufacturer will again be a starring attraction of the four-day event on 23-26 June, which spreads across the beautiful Goodwood Estate in the South Downs, UK, and is a highlight of the Great British summer.

The new V12 Vantage, announced earlier this year, will be the final Vantage to receive the company’s largest and most potent series-production engine, marking the end of an era for this iconic sportscar. 

As befits such a glorious era, the new V12 Vantage is the most powerful Vantage and the ultimate expression of extreme performance and thrilling driver-focused dynamics. Following unprecedented demand, all 333 examples of this final edition sold out ahead of release. The car will make its UK public dynamic debut on the famous Goodwood Hillclimb on Thursday, continuing to excite crowds over the course of the weekend.

Goodwood is world-famous for its fast and notoriously tricky hill climb, which makes the dynamic element of the event such a thrill. Following on from a successful global media launch in Sardinia in March and the first customer cars rolling off the line at St Athan last month, the critically acclaimed Aston Martin DBX707 will too make its UK public dynamic debut in the ‘First Glance’ batch over the weekend. 

DBX707, the world’s fastest and most powerful luxury SUV, will also showcase several Q by Aston Martin finishes that are available to order through the marque’s bespoke service, including the 2022 Aston Martin Racing Green paint – seen on the Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Team’s car, Q design graphics and a set of lime green brake calipers. With class-leading performance and outstanding handling, DBX707 will certainly look the part while setting some impressive hill climb times. 

Powered by an almighty, naturally aspirated 6.5-litre V12 engine producing 865kW, the Festival of Speed couldn’t go without an appearance from the ultimate hypercar, Aston Martin Valkyrie. The sound of its masterful engine commanded huge crowds in the supercar paddock last year. With customer deliveries now underway, Aston Martin’s groundbreaking hypercar returns to take on the hillclimb once more, this year piloted by WEC racer Peter Dumbreck; an ex-Aston Martin Racing factory driver with no less than 15 Nürburgring 24 Hours races under his belt.

Also taking on the hill will be the Vantage F1 Edition; motivated by the marque’s exciting return to Formula 1 last year and as a direct result of the engineering that propelled the development of the Vantage as an Official Safety Car of Formula 1. This will be joined by the V12 Speedster in the classic DBR1 livery – one of only 88 built, along with the beautiful but brutish DBS, and the DB11. The Aston Martin and Brough Superior AMB001 motorcycle will also be making its Goodwood dynamic debut up the hill this year.

Renato Bisignani, Aston Martin’s Head of Global Marketing and Communications said: “When launching the final-edition V12 Vantage, we told our customers to ‘Never Leave Quietly’, and we hope that everyone leaves Goodwood Festival of Speed this year with the same addictive sound – and sight - of Aston Martin’s most powerful line-up of performance cars, ever.

“We look forward to celebrating Aston Martin’s new era of performance at Goodwood and showcasing our breathtaking portfolio of iconic ultra-luxury models, including a first chance for the public to witness V12 Vantage in all its glory and the opportunity for DBX707 to demonstrate the full potential of the world’s fastest and most powerful ultra-luxury SUV, when it tackles the world-famous hillclimb.”

The beautifully restored Aston Martin Bulldog, which is still gearing up for its first-ever 200mph attempt, also makes an appearance at Goodwood this year following a two-year restoration programme that saw the Bulldog painstakingly stripped and reassembled into its former, iconic glory. 

Aston Martin also proudly celebrates the centenary of its maiden Grand Prix entry in 2022.