CAR's guide to the 2008 Goodwood Festival of Speed

By Tim Pollard (photos by James Mann) Motor Shows 09 July 2008 12:11 Click here for CAR's full guide to the 2008 Goodwood Festival of Speed. Read our latest blogs, galleries, news – and even weather reports – live from Lord March's driveway. We're having daily updates to bring you all the news: • DAILY BULLETINWe're uploading daily reports live from the Festival of Speed, with news and pics• BLOGSSee how Ben Barry got on driving a Nissan GT-R up the hill on Friday• PREVIEWFull lowdown on what to expect at the 2008 Festival of Speed• CARS TO SEERound-up of the supercars, racing cars and even Bond cars at Goodwood• STARS TO SEEThe big names from the world of motorsport and beyond• PRACTICAL INFORMATIONHow to get there, links, maps, prices.

Concept Car of the Week: Volkswagen Microbus (2001)

The turn of the millennium seemed to induce a feeling of nostalgia among car manufacturers and with it a plethora of heritage/retro designs, including the new Mini, new Ford Mustang and Nissan Z. Following the runaway success of its New Beetle, which probably started the trend, VW asked itself whether it could enjoy the same success with a modern interpretation of the legendary T1 Microbus. Designed at the surf-central design studio in Simi Valley, California, the Microbus Concept took ample inspiration from its distant ancestor, but was modernized in every way.

BMW Concept5 X5 eDrive revealed. It’s a plug-in Hybrid X5

The BMW Concept5 X5 eDrive (pictured) will debut at Frankfurt The arrival of the BMW Concept X5 eDrive ahead of its debut at Frankfurt next month doesn’t preview and immediate addition to the X5 range of a plug-in hybrid, but it does show what will be on offer in a year or two. Just like yesterday’s Mercedes S500 plug-in hybrid, the X5 eDrive is another example of how car makers have developed their way round CO2 taxation levels by throwing electric motors at ICE engines to create a car that offers impressive emissions and economy on official tests. In the case of the X5 eDrive that means a four-cylinder twin power ICE engine (BMW aren’t saying, but we’re assuming its a petrol engine), a 94bhp electric motor and a lithium-ion battery under the boot all working together to produce an X5 that is capable (at least in official tests, which is all that matters) of 74.3mpg and emissions under 90g/km.