There’s something special about driving cars in their homelands. I’ve been lucky enough to drive Lamborghinis in Italy, BMWs in Germany, and Bugattis in France. Earlier this month, 36 different models from 15 brands descended on the Goodwood Motor Circuit for the latest Media Day Drive, giving us the chance to sample a selection of the latest British-built cars in the quintessentially English surrounds of Goodwood House and on the historic racetrack.

Brands born outside the British Isles included Alpine, BMW, BYD, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche, Tesla, and Yangwang, providing an eclectic mix of sports cars, supercars, and electric rocket ships. With track briefings, lunch, and high tea punctuating the day and a few dozen journalists to share the cars with, it was very much a case of driving what was available. And while not by design, the bulk of my driving was done in British cars. As a proud Englishman, it was reassuring to know that while these iconic brands have foreign ownership, the design, development, and production is done here in the UK, where some of the finest cars in the world continue to be made.

McLaren 750S & Artura: Track Weapons

McLaren Artura

McLaren might have dropped a couple of cylinders in the Artura but the performance of the hybrid V6 supercar continues the legacy of 570S, with ferocious acceleration, precision handling, and a supremely balanced chassis. The new M630 engine – the first V6 in McLaren’s history – is a twin-turbo 3.0-liter unit coupled to an electric motor delivering a combined 671 hp and 530 lb-ft of torque.

These are huge numbers for a lightweight ‘sports’ car but the confidence that all McLaren’s previous Sport Series models were famed for inspiring continues with the Artura. Standstill to 124 mph takes 8.3 seconds, roughly how long it takes to reach Madwick, Goodwood’s first corner. It rockets through the gears without a flicker, with no hint of turbo lag thanks to the electric motor that smooths out the torque. And as you come off the brakes, the throttle response is instant.

Apart from the questionable Flux Green II paintwork, the Artura is the perfect supercar starter package. I defy anyone to drive this car and feel overwhelmed by the experience. Which is not what you can say about its monstrous bigger brother: the 750S.

McLaren 750S

Prior to this event, the McLaren 720S was by some distance the best car I’d ever driven; an otherworldly design matched by performance on an entirely different level. With the 750S, McLaren has inched things forward with a tad more power, less weight, and shorter gear ratios. On the track, where this belongs, it’s clear just how restrained McLaren has been with the Artura. The 750S is an entirely different story, with a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 enabling it to sprint to 60 mph in 2.7 seconds and onto 124 mph in 7.2 seconds.

That is brutal acceleration for anyone to handle and while it boasts classic McLaren traits of immaculate balance, masterful handling, and gobs of grip, you don’t step out of the carbon bucket seats thinking you’re the next Lewis Hamilton, which is something the Artura does. It’s a more humbling experience but one that makes you hungry for more. It won’t eat you alive, and it’s relatively comfortable for something so impractical. To reach the level needed to master this will require plenty of time on the track, which is exactly what owners should do after buying the $300,000 supercar.

Bentley GT Mulliner W12: Sophisticated Killer

With the GT Mulliner W12, Bentley has combined its most opulent and luxurious trim with the 650-hp 6.0-liter W12 engine from the Continental GT Speed to provide an extraordinary package that exudes class and sophistication from its Double Diamond front grille and distinct wheels to its lavish quilted-leather adorned interior, while delivering a truly exhilarating driving experience that’s best experienced on the track. Which is exactly where Bentley kept the car all day, giving us the chance to chuck this heavy slab of sexy British metal around the former Formula One circuit. The perfect place to check out its drift mode; alas, this wasn’t permitted as the inevitable burnt rubber from the 22-inch wheels would cause too much damage to the Duke’s tarmac.

It feels almost wrong to treat such a beautifully adorned hand-crafted vehicle like a boy racer, but don’t be fooled by its English charm. The W12 Mulliner is a weapon, rocketing to 62 mph in 3.6 seconds, reaching 100 mph in 7.5 seconds, and climaxing at well over 200 mph. And it does it with a level of refinement that matches its hand-crafted facade. The twin-turbocharged 12-cylinder engine sends a colossal 664 lb-ft of torque to all four wheels via an elite eight-speed automatic transmission and AWD system that can send up to 97% of torque to the rear wheels. Bentley mode is the sweet spot, but stick in Sport as we did, and the throttle responses quicken, the suspension firms up, and the exhaust note delivers a soulful tune as you shift through the gears on the long Lavant Straight or kick down through Woodcote and into the chicane.

Bentley has leaned hard into its racing heritage with the GT Mulliner, and I would urge owners to take this car to the track to discover this firsthand.

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Lotus Emira: Sports Car Magic

With deliveries of the Emira just starting in the US, you’ll soon be hearing all about the new little Lotus and how fun and engaging it is to drive. Buyers will have the choice of a 2.0-liter turbo-four from AMG, and a Toyota-sourced 3.5-liter supercharged V6 that motivated the Exige and Evora. We got to test the four-pot that delivers 360 hp and 317 lb-ft of torque and while slightly down on power compared to the V6, it’s lighter and more compact, and the one we would opt for.

A 4.4-second 0-60 mph is nothing to sniff at, but like all Lotus cars, the Emira excels when it comes to handling and cornering, and the eight-speed dual-clutch rockets through the gears quicker than the six-speed that’s mated to the V6. It also kicks down with authority and there is a lovely weight to the steering. Despite its relatively small power plant, Lotus has done a magnificent job at making the Emira feel and behave like a high-performance car. We also think it looks and sounds the part, with mini supercar styling and a provocative exhaust note. Three laps on track left us wanting more and we imagine owners will have the same giddy excitement about driving the Emira every time they pick up the keys. If you’re looking for a $100,000 toy and can’t bring yourself to buy a Porsche, test drive one of these.

Mini John Cooper Works Mini Countryman: Family Fun

If you need a runaround for you, the kids, maybe a dog, and some gear, that can also keep you smiling like the two-door sports car you drove before you had a family, then the Mini Countryman JCW ticks all of these boxes. And it does it for around $40,000.

The biggest Mini of them all, the Countryman has plenty of space, an elevated seating position and in JCW trim, has 296 hp and 295 lb-ft of torque on tap courtesy of a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-pot. Mini has cheekily leaned into its ‘drives like a go-kart’ trope with an actual Go-Kart mode, one of the new Mini Experience Modes. This brings the pops and bangs from the exhaust into the cabin, which is a lot of fun as you mash the throttle down a country lane as we did. With Mini’s ALL4 all-wheel drive ensuring the power is sent to all four wheels, distributing the power on the fly depending on the surface and grip levels, the Countryman JCW is easy to control and with 0-62 mph coming up in just 5.4 seconds, it’s no slouch either.

We also think it looks the part both inside and out with a racing-inspired design, new octagonal gloss-black grille, a new badge design, C-pillar and brakes in Chilli Red, and a cabin that boasts a round OLED display in the center of the dash above a row of toggle switches, and some lovely stitched upholstery.

It’s fun, family-friendly and, as crossovers go, one of the more unique offerings on the market. We loved our 20-minute drive on the sweeping country lanes that snake around the Goodwood estate, and I’m sure the kids will love it when I get the chance to test it for a bit longer.

Rolls-Royce Spectre: Elite Electric Englishman

Slide in, press the brake pedal, and the ‘effortless’ door closes itself. That single moment of drama sets you up for the Rolls-Royce experience, which we enjoyed on the verdant surrounds of the Goodwood Estate in the all-new electric-only Spectre.

Cocooned in a typically beautiful cabin with a slightly higher seating position than most other GT coupes, the Spectre affords drivers an expansive view of the road ahead while muting the sounds and numbing the imperfections in the tarmac.

On the first stretch of open road, we mashed the throttle (as you do in a $400,000 ultra-luxury idol), and the impact of 660 lb-ft of torque turning the 23-inch wheels is instant. The end of the road arrives in a flash. Fortunately, the brakes do a fine job of reining in the 6,300-pound car. Around the twisties, the four-wheel steering helps keep the Spectre on a tight line, even at pace, and stays composed in corners. But if you do need to stop in a hurry, make sure to bury the pedal, as the impressive driving dynamics make you quickly forget just how heavy and big (5 meters long, 2 meters wide) the car really is.

There is a lot to admire about the Spectre, from its lavish interior to its huge suicide rear doors and elegant exterior, but one of the most impressive features we discovered in our brief stint behind the wheel was the B mode. There are no driving modes in the Spectre as such. Just a simple column shifter that activates ‘Brake Mode,’ triggering regenerative braking and allowing for single-pedal driving that is perfectly judged. It mimics driving an automatic; releasing off the throttle apes shifting down a gear or two, providing extra control and more finesse than the ‘on-off’ sensation of your typical hi-po EV.

We noted the driving range shrinks substantially as we drained the battery of electrons. In this area, the Rolls-Royce Spectre is not quite the ultimate EV it proclaims to be. But buyers clearly don’t care about such trivialties, and by next year Tesla’s Supercharger network will be open to them anyway.

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Jaguar F-Type R Coupe: Saying Goodbye in Style

In just a couple of months’ time, production of this wonderful sports car will end along with Jaguar’s sedans as the fabled British marque prepares for an all-electric future. The Jaguar F-Type R Coupe is best experienced on the track, where you can open up JLR’s ubiquitous 5.0-liter supercharged V8 and get all 575 horsepower down to the tarmac via an eight-speed auto AWD system.

Inside, it’s more cockpit than cabin, a wonderful place from which to experience the speed and sound of launching the Leaping Cat from 0-60 mph in 3.5 seconds. One of the F-Type’s main problems is the existence of the Porsche 911 – something Lotus will doubtless soon discover – as, like most other sports cars, it lacks the dynamism and agility of Germany’s rear-engined maestro.

But it makes up for that with an old-school charm that we’re confident will make it a future classic. Performance is impressive, plus it has a beautiful, timeless design and one of the best-sounding exhaust notes we’ve ever heard.

Time For Something A Little Different: Tesla Model S Plaid, Yangwang U8, BYD Seal

I also had time to experience warp speed in a Tesla Model S Plaid; that 1.9-second 0-60 mph is no joke. It handles much like a muscle car but without the American V8 burble that makes driving big, heavy cars so worthwhile. The lesser-known BYD Seal was also on track as EVs continue their slow creep into the mainstream. This won’t be coming to the US for now, but with BYD having factories and logistics set up stateside, this is one Chinese automaker to keep an eye on. Finally, there’s the Yangwang (‘look up’ in Chinese) U8 – a 1,000-hp hunk of electric machinery that was more suited to spinning on the spot than lapping a racetrack.

This definitely won’t be coming to the US, but with a very well-appointed cabin, a trick suspension, buckets of power, and outlandish design, it acts as a reminder of just how far the Chinese car industry has come.

In the summer, the legendary British marque MG Motor (owned by China’s SAIC) will headline the Central Feature display at the Festival of Speed with the Cybersteer EV Roadster taking center stage.