The 2024 Goodwood Festival of Speed boasted plenty of supercar action from brands like Rimac, Automobili Pagani and Aston Martin but Los Angeles-based performance automaker Czinger ended up stealing the headlines. Czinger’s 1350hp V8 hybrid 21C hypercar broke the Hillclimb record to procure the title of the fastest road-legal production car up the Hillclimb for itself. The Czinger 21C sprinted up the historic hill in a 48.82-second run, besting the previous 49.32-second record set in 2023. Veteran driver Chris Ward piloted the 21C hypercar which boasts the world’s most power-dense production engine, an in-house developed 950 bhp V8 twin-turbo, with three electric motors to deliver 1,350 horsepower. This allows the Czinger 21C to pull the 0-60mph sprint in 1.9 seconds.

Apart from the record-breaking hillclimb run, Czinger also showcased its 21C V Max in its stunning Iceman Blue specification at its stand within the Supercar Paddock. The Los-Angeles-based firm also exhibited its Bio-Logic alloy 3d Printed and carbon fibre 21C chassis for the first time with Founder and CEO Kevin Czinger, Chief Designer David O’Connell, and Chief Engineer Ewan Baldry in attendance to share insights on the same. Kevin Czinger, Founder and CEO said: “Our team had a wonderful experience at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed, and breaking this record ends our fantastic week with an exclamation point. The 21C exists as proof of what is realised when the handcuffs of traditional manufacturing are removed and traded for the freedom to create, optimise, and perfect. Be on the lookout for more record shattering to come.”

British carmaker Bentley recently teased its plans of ditching the W12 engine and embedding its 771hp Ultra Performance Hybrid V8 powertrain in the new Flying Spur. And now, as the final W12-powered Bentayga, Continental GT and Flying Spur cars roll off the production line at the company’s Dream Factory, Bentley held a celebratory event to commemorate its iconic W12 engine whose two-decade journey now comes to an end. Bentley hosted a special lunch for the W12’s assembly line and R&D teams at Bentley’s Heritage Garage in Crewe where attendees were presented with a W12 engine piston commemorative gift to cherish the legacy. Additionally, as a final swansong, Bentley announced a limited run of 120 ‘Speed Edition 12’ models for Bentayga, Continental GT, Continental GT Convertible and Flying Spur. All Speed Edition 12 cars will feature Edition 12 badging, treadplates, seat embroidery, fascia inlays, and numbered engine plaques.

Over 100,000 W12 engines were produced by Bentley with the 2003 Continental GT being the first model to get equipped with it. The decision to axe the W12 boils down to Bentley’s Beyond100 strategy, which is aimed towards ensuring the company becomes a global leader in sustainable luxury mobility. Andreas Lehe, Member of the Board for Manufacturing at Bentley Motors, said: 
“The W12 has played such an important role in the history of Bentley that it was only right for us to celebrate the engine’s retirement with those linked to this powerplant. The engine’s introduction helped change the face of the company almost overnight and so will go down in history as a true game changer and we should feel very proud to have designed, developed and manufactured such an icon in Britain for such a long period of time.” 

High-performance super SUVs appear to be a norm being followed by almost every legacy carmaker in the 21st century. BMW joined the bandwagon with the launch of the XM SUV in 2022 with a 644hp power plant. Soon after, BMW followed it up with the launch of the 738hp XM Red Label, the most powerful BMW production car. For Swiss tuning firm dAHLer, even the sub 800 hp doesn’t reflect the best output out of the XM, which influenced the tuner to come with its own 848 hp BMW XM with Competition Line upgrades. Modifications made by dAHLer boost the power figures by 100 hp and 100 Nm torques over the Red Label trim to now produce 848 hp and 1,100 Nm torques. The modifications, comprising the optional sports exhaust system with bi-flap control, a lowered sports suspension setup, and ground clearance reduced by 25mm, are fully legal, comply with WLTP and Euro 6d standards, and come with EU/CH homologation approval. Cosmetically, the XM Red Label with dAHLer Competition Line upgrades is said to boast red contrast and accent elements along the wheel wells which now house the in-house developed ultra-lightweight CDC2 Forged 23-inch rims.