The 2022 Goodwood Festival of Speed each year celebrates a historic marque of motorsport with its central sculpture in front of the Goodwood House the ultimate centerpiece of the celebration. It's the BMW M Division's turn to showcase itself in what has quickly become the pinnacle of extravagant car-maker marketing, since Ferrari kicked off the tradition 25 years ago.This addition of the ultimate automotive and motor racing event celebrates BMW M's greatest vehicles of the performance brand's 50-year anniversary since its inception, but will actually be the second time the festival has focused on the BMW M division.
A Spectacular Central Sculpture For Goodwood 2022
The BMW Group reportedly had to cough up a figure around £1million to pay for the design, manufacture, construction and secure the rights to the 2022 Goodwood sculpture - a creation which dominates the landscape of the estate, with the highest cars elevated high above the treetops which surrounds the open fields of the Goodwood House estate and gardens.
The Duke of Richmond's house has had an impressive sculpture erected on its front driveway at every Festival of Speed since 1997. Each one designed by the same man - Gerry Judah - and fabricated by the local Littlehampton Welding Ltd company.
Each of the five cars on this year's sculpture are all completely real, including the recently unveiled LMDh endurance racing entry which is set to race in the World Endurance Championship, the 24 Hours of Le Mans and IMSA. However, each of the cars have had their engines temporarily removed and fluids drained for fairly obvious reasons.
For those wishing to take a closer look at the new BMW M Hybrid V8 LMDh racer, they would certainly have to crane their necks to get a look at this particular shell. Nevertheless, the car's celebratory ‘50 years of M’ camouflage livery is unmistakable from any distance. Joining it on the sculpture is the 3.0 CSL from BMW UK’s heritage collection, the M1 Procar, a V12 LMR and Jörg Müller’s 320 E90 WTCC racing car.
Long Awaited Premieres And Concepts From BMW
The Goodwood Festival of Speed is always a Mecca for brand-new car premieres, and this year is no different. BMW M officially revealed, at Goodwood, the first-ever wagon-shaped Touring version of the M3 - one of the most hotly anticipated new performance cars for a long time.
The likes of driver Franke Weishar pushed a Competition iteration of the Touring hard up the hill climb throughout the four-day event, showcasing the stability, prowess and power of the all-new design.
It was also the UK premiere of the M4 CSL, which turned many heads in the 'First Glance' category on the hill climb and at the BMW M stand and showcase centre close to the infamous Molecomb corner. A 635hp M5 CS, M4 GT3, BMW M850i Convertible and i4 M50 head up the collection at the stand, with the BMW M division's first-ever M-exclusive and first-ever plug-in hybrid, the XM, also in attendance.
BMW's customary presence in the 'Stable Yard', situated in close proximity to the House and Cartier Style et Luxe concourse, this time around includes the i Vision Circular, a concept which illustrates the company’s aspiration of becoming the most sustainable car manufacturer. Its focus is on achieving 100% recycled and recyclable material use for a circular economy.
Festival attendees will be given the opportunity to drive the new i4 and iX3 themselves on the Goodwood circuit, and experience the iX M60 experience the performance of the company's electric iX M60 during the ‘Electric Only’ Circuit Test Drives on the Friday.
The BMW M division reportedly sold and delivered a total of 163,542 cars worldwide in 2021. The wider BMW Group sold over 2.5 million cars and more than 194,000 motorcycles worldwide in the same period, but unquestionably has its eyes set on electrification and sustainability during this unprecedented time of change in the automotive industry.
CEO of BMW M Frank van Meel said: “As BMW M, we feel honored to play a very special role at this year's Festival of Speed. For our 50th anniversary, we couldn't imagine a better place to celebrate our products with fans of the brand. I am particularly looking forward to unveiling a certain vehicle to the world’s public for the first time - a vehicle we have been waiting a long time for.”
Goodwood Festival of Speed founder and Goodwood House resident Duke of Richmond said: “We are delighted to be celebrating 50 years of BMW’s hugely successful Motorsport division at this year’s Festival of Speed, and it is especially fitting as we prepare to honor ‘The Innovators - Masterminds of Motorsport’. BMW M’s success can of course be attributed to half a century of innovation and we look forward to honouring the marque’s past, present and future achievements at Goodwood in June.”