If there was any lingering doubt that electric performance has reached another level, the 2026 Goodwood Festival of Speed provided a rather emphatic answer. While thousands of spectators lined the famous Sussex hill expecting a battle between some of the world’s fastest machines, it was Ford’s outrageous Super Mustang Mach-E that once again stole the show—and made it look almost routine.
Fresh off its commanding victory at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb just three weeks earlier, French racing ace Romain Dumas arrived at Goodwood with plenty of momentum. Behind the wheel of Ford’s purpose-built electric hillclimb weapon, Dumas blasted up the iconic 1.16-mile course in an astonishing 41.98 seconds, securing the fastest time of the weekend and extending his remarkable Goodwood legacy. The victory marked Dumas’ third consecutive Festival of Speed triumph and his fifth overall, further cementing his status as one of the event’s modern masters.
Originally engineered for the unforgiving climb to the summit of Pikes Peak, where Dumas recently stopped the clocks at 8:18.202, the Super Mustang Mach-E has proven that its dominance isn’t limited to Colorado’s thin mountain air. At Goodwood, it demonstrated blistering acceleration, relentless grip, and the instant torque that has become the defining advantage of high-performance electric race cars.
Perhaps the most telling statistic wasn’t simply that the Ford won—it was what it beat.
The Super Mustang Mach-E finished comfortably ahead of the cutting-edge Gen4 Formula E machine piloted by Daniel Ticktum, with the all-electric single-seater recording a still-impressive 42.46-second run. Formula E represents the pinnacle of electric open-wheel racing technology, making Ford’s margin of victory all the more remarkable.
Behind the two EVs, the internal combustion contingent fought an entertaining battle for the remaining podium positions. Alex Summers muscled the thunderous 1974 Shadow-Chevrolet DN4 Can-Am prototype into third with a 46.31-second climb, edging reigning rallycross champion Johan Kristoffersson in the ferocious Volkswagen Polo RallyCross machine by a razor-thin 0.01 second.
One of the weekend’s loudest crowd favorites came courtesy of action sports legend Travis Pastrana, whose wildly modified Subaru Brataroo 9500 Turbo combined outrageous styling with equally outrageous speed, posting a 46.77-second run while entertaining fans every inch of the hill.
Beyond the stopwatch, Goodwood remained true to its reputation as one of the world’s greatest celebrations of automotive culture. BMW used the event to showcase its striking Concept Neue Klasse M, offering enthusiasts an early glimpse at what is expected to become the brand’s next-generation all-electric M3. To remind everyone where the legendary performance sedan’s story began, BMW also displayed two icons from the M3 lineage: the homologation-special E30 M3 from 1986 and the hardcore E92 M3 GTS from 2011, marking four decades of one of performance motoring’s most celebrated nameplates.
While nostalgia and heritage were on full display throughout the Festival of Speed, the fastest run of the weekend pointed unmistakably toward the future. Ford’s Super Mustang Mach-E didn’t just win Goodwood—it outpaced the latest Formula E technology and reinforced a reality that becomes harder to ignore with every major hillclimb.
When it comes to outright speed, electricity is no longer the challenger. Increasingly, it’s the benchmark.
Source: Ford