Goodwood Festival of Speed to go ahead amid UK’s COVID surge

LONDON -- The closest thing the UK has to a national auto show -- the Goodwood Festival of Speed -- has been given the go-ahead after it risked a second year of closure following the country's recent extension of COVID restrictions.

The event, held over four days from July 8 to July 11, has been given permission by the UK government to run as a 'pilot' event.

Showgoers must have either have had both shots of a COVID-19 vaccination or show proof of a negative lateral flow test.

Goodwood said it had reduced the number of people who will be present on site "by an appropriate percentage" to allow for social distancing, without giving a number. Normally the show receives about 200,000 visitors over four days.

The UK government extended pandemic restrictions to July 19 from June 21 after infections in the country rose, threatening large-scale public events.

Global automakers have long supported the Goodwood outdoor event, held in the grounds of a country house in the south of England, and this year exhibitors include Ford, Toyota, Alfa Romeo, Lotus, Jaguar Land Rover and Porsche.

Lotus will use the event to show its new Emira sports car to the public for the first time, following a global unveiling online two days earlier on July 6.

The Emira will replace the Geely owned automaker's entire range.

The Goodwood event will also mark the global unveil of the Genesis G70 Shooting Braking, a wagon version of its G70 sedan. The car will rival premium wagons versions of the of the BMW 3 Series, Audi A4 and Mercedes C-Class.

Genesis will also show the Genesis X electric sedan concept in Europe for the first time.

Also participating will be Rimac, which is expected to demonstrate the new Nevera electric hypercar.

The Nevera was initially scheduled to be shown at last year's Geneva auto show, which was canceled due to the pandemic.

The Polestar Precept concept will make its European debut at the event following its unveiling at last year's Beijing auto show. The four-door electric premium sedan has subsequently been confirmed for production.

Also making its debut will be the Kimera EVO037, a low-volume update of the Lancia 037 rally car. The Italian supercar has is restricted to 37 examples and costs from 480,000 euros. The first cars will be delivered to customers in September, the company said.

Goodwood said in a statement that there would be "a number of other debuts but these are currently embargoed."