Goodwood Festival of Speed 2014: preview

Mercedes will sponsor this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed, which opens its doors on 26 June

The theme for this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed, to be held from 26-29th June, is ‘Addicted to Winning – The Unbeatable Champions of Motor Sport, ‘ celebrating legendary drivers, teams and manufacturers from around the world. Goodwood owner Lord March has announced Mercedes will sponsor this year's show as the brand celebrates 120 years of motorsport.

Alongside the theme, this year’s show will also celebrate the centenary of Italian manufacturer Maserati. Some of the most successful racing cars from the marque’s history will be showcased at Goodwood, including the 1928 Maserati Tipo 26B and MC12 GT racer.

Road cars that will tackling the 1.16-mile hillclimb will be a world debut from a prototype Honda NSX, along with the new BMW M4 Cabriolet, the BMW M5 30 Jahre Edition, the Jaguar XFR-S Sportbrake and the Volvo V60 Polestar.

Famous faces in motor sport including Sir Stirling Moss, Mark Webber, Jenson Button, Emerson Fittipaldi, John Surtees and Lewis Hamilton will all be Goodwood. So too will Sebastian Loeb, who will also be attempting to break the Goodwood hill climb record in the Pike’s Peak Peugeot 208 T16 racer.

Other significant anniversaries to be celebrated at Goodwood will include 50 years since the Mini won its first Monte Carlo Rally. The 40th anniversary of McLaren’s first F1 crown will also be honoured, as will 60 years of the Jaguar D-Type.

Goodwood Festival of Speed 2014: the key cars

Audi R8 LMX

The last hurrah for the R8 supercar has more power, but it's also the world's first road car to feature laser-powered headlights. See it first at Goodwood in June.

BMW i8

The hybrid supercar makes its UK debut at the 2014 GFoS event.

BMW M4 Cabriolet

The sister car to the new turbocharged M4 Coupe and M3 Saloon arrives for its 'dynamic debut' on the hill, sporting 425bhp of six-cylinder firepower to shift the extra heft of its folding hard-top roof.

Honda Civic Type R concept

Lairy-looking prototype of the superhatch Honda hopes to set a new Nurburgring lap record with will turn a wheel in anger for the public for the very first time at the 2014 Goodwood Festival of Speed.

Honda NSX

Also making its UK debut is Honda's new hybrid supercar concept car, due on sale in 2015 with a combination of petrol-fed V6 and electric motor power for banzai all-wheel drive performance.

Jaguar XFR-S Sportbrake

Jaguar's most extreme family car ever will deploy its XJ220 supercar-matching 542bhp output on the hill. Could it be Goodwood's fastest ever wagon?

Koenigsegg One:1

Goodwood 2014 is the first place in the world the general public will be able to see the 1322bhp One:1 hypercar in action. The 1340kg carbon fibre missile is in with a chance of swiping the road-legal car hillclimb record.

Peugeot 208 T16 Pikes Peak

Sebastian Loeb is reunited with the 875bhp one-off in which he smashed the Pikes Peak hillclimb record in 2013. Target: the title of fastest Goodwood hill run ever.

Goodwood Festival of Speed 2014: the drivers

Part of the Goodwood Festival of Speed's appeal is seeing some of the top racing drivers and celebrities in action on the hillclimb - and 2014's Festival will see plenty of big-name drivers take to the track. Here are some of the best-known drivers:

Jenson Button

The 2009 F1 World Champion and current McLaren F1 driver will be driving variety of McLarens, both road cars and racing cars.

Charley Boorman

The 'Long Way Round' star and bike enthusiast will be riding up the hill on his BMW GS 1150 motorcycle.

Emerson Fittipaldi

The F1 World Champion and Indy 500 winner will be driving his 1974 title-winning McLaren M23 F1 car.

Dario Franchitti

An IndyCar champion and Indy 500 winner, Franchitti will be taking on the hill in a Mercedes DTM car.

Damon Hill

The famous F1 champ will be driving his Williams FW18 Formula 1 car.

Sir Chris Hoy

Sir Chris is the proud owner of six Olympic gold medals for cycling, but won't be pedalling up the hill - he's got his hands on a Nissan GTR GT3.

Sebastien Loeb

The nine-time world rally champion and Pikes Peak record holder will be attempting to break the hill record in his 850hp Pikes Peak Peugeot. Plus, he'll be driving a Citroen DS3 on the Rally Stage.

Sir Stirling Moss

One of the best-known names in British racing, Sir Stirling will be driving a Mercedes W196 Streamliner.

Kimi Raikkonen

The 2007 Formula 1 world champion and current Ferrari F1 driver will be in attendance at the Festival.

Sir Jackie Stewart

Top F1 driver Sir Jackie Stweart will return to the Festival in his Tyrrell-Cosworth 001 F1 car.

John Surtees

The only person to win Motorcycle and Formula 1 World Championships, John Surtees will drive his championship-winning 1964 Ferrari 158.