The Volkswagen Beetle
My sister was delivered by VW Beetle. Or at least, a German midwife, who happened to live up the street from us. Her identity is for me completely merged with that car. And that’s the thing about the VW Beetle. There is humanity.
Vauxhall Viva Estate
Way back in 1987, the very apex of exhibitionist, greed-is-good, me first Capitalism I bought a car. It should have been a Golf or Peugeot 205 GTi or even a BMW 3 Series shouldn’t it? It was actually a tatty 1975 Vauxhall Viva estate. The car was dull sand yellow on the outside, with sickly […]
Life with a Ferrari Daytona
In a quiet cul de sac in suburban Surrey there lies a little house with a big secret. Lift up the garage door and you might expect to find the usual household detritus – perhaps a couple of old mountain bikes or a tumble drier. But not here. Gleaming under a strip light is the […]
Bubblecars and Microcars
I’ll be totally honest and say that I didn’t know much about bubblecars before making this film.
In fact, all I really knew was that they were something to with Messerschmitt the plane people, and possibly didn’t have a reverse gear. That was about it, but I’m a firm a believer that a complete lack of knowledge of the subject matter shouldn’t necessarily prevent us from being the right people for the job, so with a gratefully accepted commission, we hastily set about finding out what bubblecars were and where we could find them.
Twilight over the Humber
On the back of a quiet industrial estate in Hull, you can find treasure. There, lying dormant in a large warehouse lie more than 20 classic cars, cars that were constructed to be the very best machines of their day. Cars that hold significant historical importance to our motoring history, but also the history of […]
Adrian Flux Forever Cars
We’ve often thought about it – what would happen if you just never sold your car? The answer is predictable of course; it would become part of your life, your identity. You. But could you really keep a ‘machine’ – a car or bike – forever? We know a lot of people who have […]
The long way to Land’s End
It doesn’t get much madder than this. We’re 12 hours into one of the UK’s oldest and most punishing motorsport events, slithering up a narrow track that you could barely walk up. The wheels are fighting a losing battle with gravity, spinning away on the damp surface and sending clouds of mud flying towards the […]
Tempus Fugit: the vehicles of The Italian Job 50 years on
It’s hard to believe that half a century has passed since The Italian Job brought its own cheerful brand of Euro-scepticism to the silver screen. In that time its status has changed from that of a good, enjoyable caper movie to something akin to a national treasure. Film buffs and sociologists alike could no doubt […]
718: Sixty Years of Porsche’s Targa Florio and F1 Flier
When it comes to all things Porsche, modern-day Zuffenhausen aficionados know the 718 as the latest incarnation of the crowd-pleasing Boxster and Cayman. In actual fact, the legacy of those three little numbers stretches back over six decades and has its origins on the racetrack. Yep, that’s right, the 1960s pioneering four-pot open top was […]
Aston Martin Lagonda
The wedge Lagonda has always divided opinion for its outlandish, elongated looks and for, well, being not very Aston like.
So, let’s just call it a Lagonda, after all the words Aston Martin were not on the badge from 1984. We should view this model for what it was: an advanced, ambitious and attention grabbing car which was so successful that the company considered stopping V8 Aston production to focus on the just the Lagonda. The model saved Aston Martin. But it should also be viewed in the context of the period and the design fashions of the 1970s: Saturday Night fever, punk and a fashion for wedge designs in cars. Of its ilk, the Lagonda has stood up well.