Goodwood Festival of Speed 2019: Best of the Arena

The Arena was a new addition to this year's Festival of Speed.

Goodwood has always played home to all manner of drifters and stunt drivers, but usually on the hillclimb course - 2019 was the first time they had a dedicated space to burn rubber and kick up plumes of smoke. The results were, as you might expect, action-packed.

Here are just a few of the highlights.

Red Bull Kamaz Master, 2016

It might be the Dakar rally's most distinctive vehicle, but the Kamaz Master is able to hoon it up with the best of them. Under the bonnet is a 12.5-litre turbodiesel engine putting out a massive 980bhp - enough to propel the mammoth machine to over 100mph.

Red Bull Kamaz Master, 2016

The desert attack truck has room for three pilots and carries a 1000-litre fuel tank, so can be driven almost constantly during a race. At Goodwood, its drivers were more concerned with shredding as much rubber from the giant tyres as they could.

Toyota GT4586, 2016

The rear-driven, front-engined Toyota GT86 is already loved by drifters, and no stranger to an engine swap or two, but this might be the ultimate: a V8 from a Ferrari 458, all but guaranteeing to light up the rear wheels whenever you go near the throttle.

Toyota GT4586, 2016

Creator Ryan Tuerck had to make major modifications to the GT86 chassis to make room for the 4.5-litre V8, which revs to 9000rpm and 570bhp. That includes a carbon fibre intake, custom headers, and exhaust pipes built into the front bumper, with the radiator moved to the rear and a full roll cage inside the cabin. 

Lexus RC F, 2019

This one-off creation made its UK debut at this year's Festival of Speed. Built for five-time Middle East Drift Champion Ahmad Daham, the drift-spec RC F puts out 844bhp from a 3.8-litre supercharged V8.

Lexus RC F, 2019

Daham holds the Guiness World Record for the longest twin drift, and has racked up plenty of podiums in drifting competitions around the world. The RC F saw plenty of sideways action throughout the weekend before heading off for its maiden competition.

Falken Tyre 'Eurofighter' E92 M3

Newly built for the 2019 drift season, Falken's Drift Masters Grand Prix entry is based on the iconic E92-generation BMW M3, with a full carbon-kevlar widebody kit and a chassis tuned by HKG racing in Ireland.

Falken Tyre 'Eurofighter' E92 M3

Instead of a BMW straight six under the bonnet, the engine has been swapped to a favourite of drifters everywhere - the Toyota 2JZ. Driver James Deane also took to the hillclimb between Arena shows to demonstrate precision drifting to the crowds.

It wasn't just four wheels on display

This year's Festival of Speed had a dedicated jump area for BMX, dirt bike and extreme sports riders, but the Arena had its fair share of two-wheeled action as well.

Who needs a saddle

There's 

Terry Grant knows his stunts

The stunt driver holds numerous Guinness World Records, including the the fastest mile driven by a car on two wheels. He achieved the feat at last year's Festival of Speed behind the wheel of a Land Rover Range Rover Sport SVR, ascending a 1-mile stretch of the Goodwood hillclimb in 2mins 24.5 - 30 seconds faster than the previous record.

A true record breaker

Grant earned records for the highest loop-the-loop ever performed in a car, the furthest barrel roll jump, the most amount of doughnuts performed in 100 seconds, and the most doughnuts performed while standing on the roof of a car. Basically if it has four wheels and can spin, Terry has done it.

Smoking very much encouraged

Lighting up a cigarette in the supercar paddock will earn you a stern telling off from the marshalls, but over at the Arena smoking of a different kind is very much encouraged. This ZeroEV Nissan Skyline uses the powertrain from a Tesla for zero emissions drifting. Well, zero petrol emissions, anyway.