GRR

The Hispano Suiza Carmen marks the return of a legend at FOS

23rd June 2022
Seán Ward

There were plenty of new machines on the Hill over the course of the opening day of the 2022 Festival of Speed presented by Mastercard, everything from the Czinger 21C to the BMW M3 Touring. Not to be missed, though, was this, the Hispano Suiza Carmen.

ps_hispano_suiza_carmen_goodwood_fos__7.jpg

If the name sounds familiar it’s because Hispano Suiza was founded in Barcelona in 1904, and up until its demise in 1946 it produced some seriously grand and for the time fast cars. This car, then, is the first new Hispano Suiza in more than seven decades, with the Carmen name inspired by Carmen Mateu, the granddaughter of Damián Mateu who originally founded the company.

On a technical level the Carmen is very different to those produced in the early 20th Century, an all-electric luxury performance car with 1,020PS (750kW) courtesy of two electric motors, one at each rear wheel. In some ways, though, the Carmen does a very similar job to the Hispano Suizas of old, blending both luxury and speed - the company describes the Carmen as ‘hyperlux’, a mash-up of ‘hypercar’ and ‘luxury’.

ps_hispano_suiza_carmen_goodwood_fos__8.jpg
ps_hispano_suiza_carmen_goodwood_fos__9.jpg
ps_hispano_suiza_carmen_goodwood_fos__6.jpg
ps_hispano_suiza_carmen_goodwood_fos__4.jpg
ps_hispano_suiza_carmen_goodwood_fos__1.jpg
ps_hispano_suiza_carmen_goodwood_fos__2.jpg

Only 24 of these curious-looking silent beasts will be built, and whether the styling ticks the right boxes for you or not, that such a famous and historical name is making a return should be celebrated.

You'll be able to catch the Carmen and other world debuts at the 2022 Festival of Speed by clicking here for our live stream!

  • Hispano Suiza

  • Carmen

  • FOS 2022

  • Festival of Speed

  • Electric Avenue

  • hispano-suiza-carmen-at-fos-main.jpg

    Festival of Speed

    Electric 1,000PS Hispano Suiza Carmen hypercar to debut at FOS

  • hispano-suiza-carmen-sagrera-festival-of-speed-main.jpg

    Festival of Speed

    Video: Hispano Suiza Carmen Sagrera will make its dynamic debut at the Festival of Speed

  • hispano-suiza-carman-boulogne-festival-of-speed-2023-main.jpg

    Festival of Speed

    Hispano Suiza returns to Festival of Speed with the 1,000PS Carmen Boulogne

Shop the latest layers essentials in the Motor Circuit Collection

Shop Now
Download the

Goodwood Motorsport App

Timetable, personal itinerary, map and more. Download free for iOS and Android.