If, as they say, life is a carnival, then the Duke of Richmond and Lennox is a carnival barker extraordinaire. This British aristocrat took the reins of the family estate in 1995 and, despite the United Kingdom having more racetracks per square mile than anywhere else on Earth, has made that estate, Goodwood, into the foremost automotive destination in the country.
Every summer, the 4,900-hectare slice of heaven in southern England plays host to the Festival of Speed, a rolling tribute to all things motorized: cars, motorcycles, airplanes, you name it. Think of the Festival of Speed as Coachella or Glastonbury, but replace all the music and drugs with the shattering roar of internal combustion engines and the pungent aroma of burnt rubber combined with unburnt fuel.
Over the past 30-odd years, the festival has grown in stature. Now, the event lasts four full days and sells out well in advance. It has become the premiere place for automakers to show off their latest exotic machinery.
To that end, Defender — part of the Jaguar Land Rover “house of brands” — used the Festival of Speed to introduce its most extreme SUV ever: the OCTA. Of course, Defender didn’t just whip a silk sheet off its new flagship. Oh, no. The company sent this giant machine flying up the famous hill climb on the Duke of Richmond’s West Sussex estate at full speed. With a thunderous 4.4‑litre twin-turbo hybrid V8 churning out 626 horsepower and 553 lb-ft of torque, it’s no surprise this was the quickest Defender ever up the Duke’s driveway.
Seeing such a big thing go so fast felt almost like a hallucination. Its wider, taller stance, massively flared wheel arches and trick 6D Dynamics suspension would seem to make the OCTA equally at home on the Baja 1000 course as it is at this posh English garden party. Even from our brief taste of the OCTA’s capability, it’s clear Defender likely has a smash hit on its hands with its new range-topper.
Elsewhere on the grounds, there were displays for everything from classic cars to classic motorcycles to classic tractors. After walking for miles and miles to see everything there was to see, fans could find a seat in the Veuve Clicquot outdoor lounge and watch the supercar shootout on a massive screen.
What has the Duke of Richmond and Lennox wrought with the Festival of Speed? Only the single best motoring show on the planet. Tickets for the 2025 edition are on sale — so you can either kick this event off your bucket list or kick yourself.
The post Flagship Defender OCTA Debuts at Goodwood Festival of Speed appeared first on Sharp Magazine.
