2026 F1 Predictions! | The Car Podcast #68
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Concept
Grand Prix
A Grand Prix is a big car race that happens in different countries. It's part of a series of races where the fastest cars and drivers compete for the championship.
Concept
Formula One
Formula One is a type of car racing that involves very fast cars and famous races. It's considered the top level of racing, and many people admire it even if they can't drive those cars themselves.
Concept
Goodwood Members Meeting
The Goodwood Members Meeting is a special car event in England where people can watch classic cars race and enjoy various motorsport activities. It's a fun gathering for car lovers.
Concept
Classic Le Mans
Classic Le Mans is a special event that showcases old race cars that were part of the famous 24-hour Le Mans race. It's a way to celebrate the history of racing and see some amazing vintage cars.
Concept
Car Week
Car Week is a big event in California where car lovers come together to see and buy fancy cars. There are shows and auctions where people can look at classic and luxury vehicles.
Car
Fiat Pandas
Car
Fiat / 2100 Familiare
The Fiat Panda is a small car made by Fiat, great for driving around cities. It's been around for a long time and is known for being easy to park and use.
Concept
Targa Florio
The Targa Florio is a famous car race that takes place in Sicily, Italy. It's known for its tough roads and stunning views, making it a special event for car enthusiasts.
Concept
Nürburgring
The Nürburgring is a well-known race track in Germany where many cars are tested and where racing events take place. It's popular among car fans for its difficult course and beautiful scenery.
Car
Pontiac Solstice
The Pontiac Solstice is a small, sporty convertible car that is fun to drive. It's designed for people who enjoy open-air driving and a zippy performance.
Car
Ferrari 458 Spider
The Ferrari 458 Spider is a high-performance sports car that has a convertible roof. It's known for being fast and fun to drive, making it a favorite among car enthusiasts.
Car
Citroën AX
The Citroën AX is a small car made by Citroën that was sold in Europe. It's known for being light and easy to drive, which made it a favorite among many drivers.
Car
Citroen Ax
The Citroen AX is a small, economical car that is easy to drive and great for city use. It's known for being affordable and good on gas.
Car
Daimler Super V8
The Daimler Super V8 is a fancy car that has a strong V8 engine and lots of luxury features. It's designed for comfort and performance, making it a special choice for those who want something upscale.
Brand
Jaguar
Jaguar is a car company from the UK that makes luxury cars. They are known for their stylish designs and high performance.
Part
engine
An engine is the part of a car that makes it go. It turns fuel into power to move the car.
Car
BMW M5
The BMW M5 is a fast and powerful car made by BMW. It's designed for people who want a mix of luxury and high performance.
Car
Lancia Delta Integrale
The Lancia Delta Integrale is a sporty car that was very successful in rally racing. It has a powerful engine and four-wheel drive, which helps it handle well on different types of roads.
Concept
Isle of Man TT
The Isle of Man TT is a famous motorcycle race that takes place every year on the Isle of Man. It's known for being very exciting but also very dangerous because of the fast speeds and tricky roads.
Car
Mercedes-Benz S560 Cabriolet
The Mercedes-Benz S560 Cabriolet is a fancy convertible car known for being very comfortable and having a strong engine. It's a part of the S-Class lineup, which is Mercedes' top luxury series.
Car
Mercedes-Benz S63
The Mercedes-Benz S63 is a sportier version of the S-Class, designed for those who want a luxury car that also offers high performance. It has a more powerful engine and sportier features compared to the standard models.
Car
Audi S Cabriolet
The Audi S5 Cabriolet is a fancy convertible car that is fast and stylish. It's great for enjoying the sunshine while still having a powerful engine.
Term
air scarf
An air scarf is a special feature in some convertibles that blows warm air on your neck. It helps keep you warm when you're driving with the roof down on a chilly day.
Term
four-wheel drive
Four-wheel drive means that all four wheels of the car can move at the same time, which helps the car grip the road better, especially in bad weather or rough terrain.
Car
Honda S500
The Honda S500 is a tiny sports car from the 1960s that was Honda's first attempt at making a fun, fast car. It has a unique design and was known for being very lively to drive.
Term
heated steering wheel
A heated steering wheel is a steering wheel that gets warm, making it more comfortable to hold when it's cold outside.
Term
heated seats
Heated seats are seats in a car that can warm up to keep you cozy when it's cold outside.
Car
BMW E30
The BMW E30 325 Cabriolet is a convertible car from the 3 Series line made by BMW. It's appreciated for its good looks and fun driving feel, especially among car fans.
Term
30,000 miles
When a car has '30,000 miles' on it, that means it has been driven for that distance. Generally, cars with lower mileage are considered to be in better condition.
Term
50 grand
When someone says '50 grand,' they mean fifty thousand dollars. It's a way to talk about how much something costs, like a car.
Term
torque
Torque is how strong the engine is when it turns the wheels. More torque means the car can speed up faster and pull heavier loads.
Car
Mercedes-Benz SL
The Mercedes-Benz SL is a stylish convertible car that you can drive with the top down. It's known for being luxurious and comfortable, making it a great choice for enjoying sunny days.
Car
Mercedes-Benz 420 SEC
The Mercedes-Benz 420 SEC is a stylish and powerful coupe that combines luxury with performance. It's designed for a smooth driving experience and has a strong engine that makes it fun to drive.
Term
323i
The 323i is a specific version of the BMW E30 that has a stronger engine than the basic models. It's popular because it offers good performance while still being practical.
Term
320
The 320 is a version of the BMW E30 that has a smaller engine compared to the 323i, making it a more affordable option for buyers who still want a fun car.
Car
BMW 325
The BMW 325 is a model in the 3 Series lineup, which is known for being sporty and fun to drive. It's a good option if you want a car that feels responsive and enjoyable on the road.
Car
Volkswagen Golf GT
The Volkswagen Golf GT is a sportier version of the regular Golf car. It's designed to be more fun to drive and usually has a more powerful engine.
Car
Mercedes-Benz 190E
The Mercedes-Benz 190E is a well-made small car that is comfortable and reliable. It's known for being a good choice for people who want a nice car without being too flashy.
Car
Audi RS4
The Audi RS4 is a fast and powerful version of a regular Audi car, designed for people who want a sporty driving experience. It's great for everyday use while still being exciting to drive.
Car
BMW F12
The BMW 6 Series is a fancy car that is designed for long drives and comfort. It's stylish and has a powerful engine, making it fun to drive.
Car
Ferrari F12
Car
Land Rover Defender
The Land Rover Defender is a tough car made for driving on rough roads and in the countryside. It's famous for being able to go almost anywhere, which is why many people love it for outdoor adventures.
Car
Ford Escorts
The Ford Escort is a small, budget-friendly car that many people used for everyday driving. It's known for being reliable and easy to maintain.
Car
Audi R8
The Audi R8 is a super cool sports car that looks amazing and is really fast. It's designed for people who love high performance and luxury in their cars.
Car
Peugeot 205 GTI
The Peugeot 205 GTI is a small, sporty car that is really fun to drive. It's known for being quick and nimble, making it a favorite among car lovers.
Car
Porsche 928
The Porsche 928 is a fancy sports car that looks different from most Porsches because the engine is in the front instead of the back. It's known for being fast and comfortable, making it a great choice for long drives.
Car
Porsche 911
The Porsche 911 is a classic sports car that many people admire for its unique shape and fast speed. It's been around for a long time and is famous for how well it drives.
Car
Ferrari 456
The Ferrari 456 M GT is a beautiful sports car that is very fast and luxurious. It's designed for people who want a comfortable ride while still enjoying high performance.
Car
Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale
The Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale is a very rare and beautiful sports car from the 1960s. It's known for being light and fast, and many people think it's one of the prettiest cars ever.
Car
Land Rover Range Rover
The Range Rover is a fancy SUV that can drive off-road but also feels very comfortable inside. It's known for being luxurious and is often seen as a status symbol.
Car
Ferrari 288
The Ferrari 288 GTO is a rare and very fast sports car made by Ferrari. It's famous for its beautiful looks and powerful engine, making it a dream car for many enthusiasts.
Car
Lamborghini Countach
The Lamborghini Countach is a flashy sports car that looks very unique and is super fast. It's famous for its sharp angles and is a dream car for many people.
Car
Cadillac Fleetwood
The Cadillac Fleetwood is a big, luxurious car that was made for comfort and style. It's known for having a lot of space inside and is often seen as a classic American vehicle.
Car
BMW M3
The BMW M3 is a super sporty version of a regular BMW car that is really fun to drive. It's designed for people who love speed and handling while still being practical for daily use.
Car
Alpine 110
The Alpine A110 is a small, light sports car that is really fun to drive. It has a cool history in racing and is loved for its quickness and agility.
Car
Bmw X5
The BMW X5 is a big, comfortable SUV that is great for families and long trips. It has a nice interior and drives smoothly, making it a popular choice for people who want a luxury vehicle.
Car
Porsche 944
The Porsche 944 is a sporty car that is fun to drive and not as expensive as some other Porsches. It's known for being well-balanced and easy to handle on the road.
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Hello, and welcome to the car podcast of Chris Harris.
He's very, very helpful friends,
because we carried on programming
throughout the Christmas period.
Everyone took a laptop with them,
and wherever they were staying,
whichever renting house or family house they were staying,
they found a way of communicating.
Even Gordon Murray, would you believe it?
It's episode 68,
so not quite ready for a large FNAF session.
That will come as we now work out
at the beginning of the new year.
I don't know why people find that number so funny.
I personally rose above it many years ago.
The highlights of 2025,
the best things you did in a car.
The, that time between Christmas and New Year,
often known as the Gooch,
that is the time for reflection
of what we did the year before.
And sometimes I'm looking forward
to what we're going to enjoy doing next year.
So let's start by reflecting on 2025.
I'm going to go first to Manish,
because normally I don't,
because it's not motorsport related.
So over to Manish first.
Well, let's say I made a little list of things,
and I think it's been a magical 2025,
and I think it's going to be very difficult for me
to top a year like this.
I, you know, had the most extraordinary experiences
at both the Bahrain and Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
I've never gone to a Grand Prix before
where I've wanted a result so badly,
and actually we got the result.
And that, you know, it's been magical,
especially Abu Dhabi,
especially seeing McLaren win,
especially seeing that look on Andrea's face,
and seeing Lando just not able to stop smiling.
Even Oscar, she was fantastically magnanimous,
but amazing.
I think making the Luca film, you know,
it takes so long to make a film, and...
Did you make a film about Luca, Manish?
Yeah, we did.
We did.
So two years.
Two years, two and a half years,
three if you include the development.
It's the most extraordinary feeling
to sit down with a piece of plain paper,
because fundamentally I'm a writer.
I think that's what I really have in common with Mr. Harris.
Our other skills kind of bolt onto the writing,
but writing's where it begins.
It really begins with the written word.
And, you know, when you have a piece of plain paper
and you have to write fade in on it
and really conceptualize something,
and then to see it, you know,
even if you're seeing it in a little theater in Soho,
especially if you're seeing it in an opera house in Milan,
it's the most incredible feeling.
It is the most incredible feeling,
but I have to say all of these,
all of these have been shaded by buying
and picking up Lola, which is what I did this year,
and, you know, to own my dream car
and then to spec her, you know, in a completely mad,
completely, I completely admit it, you know,
a mad but dreamy way to go and pick her up at her walks.
Yes, I know she didn't perform terribly well
on our first day out together.
I'll never forget her being driven
onto that low loader by Mr. Harris, but she's a joy.
I'm driving her in an hour.
Gonna take a lovely sort of, you know, post-boxing day,
cruise up the A40, and I think that experiential thing,
I'm quite a sort of theoretical person, as you know.
You know, the nice thing about liking Formula One
is you're never gonna be good enough
to drive one of those cars.
You'll never get an opportunity to.
So once it sits in that realm of fantasy,
it's my perfect home.
I've got 50 years of experience of that perfect home
that I never actually have to live in.
When you buy a car, you know, and the fuel cable goes,
or, you know, it craps its air conditioning over itself,
or you just drive it along Parkway
and a motorcycle overtakes you and blows a kiss.
That's real.
None of that is theoretical.
And I think that's the, for me,
the happiest thing about being a part of this podcast.
You've taken Mr. Theory and inch by inch,
you've dragged him, kicking and screaming,
but also grinning into reality.
And I love it.
And, you know, long may this live.
And 2026, let's find her a sister or a brother.
Well, let's do it.
Yes, yes.
100%.
What a year.
What a year.
The B3177 turned off.
Ah, someone took a photo.
Honestly, I now, if I'm driving by myself,
I have to kind of stop and do it.
It's really weird how that little innocent road sign,
next time I go past it,
I hope to see a little collection of memorabilia
and others who listen to this,
sort of signifying their little personal moment
of epiphany and enjoyment as they go past the moment
where Lola slightly embarrassed herself
on her first trip.
But I agree with you, it was wonderful.
Thank you.
Neil Clifford, what about,
I mean, I'm just trying to look at my notes here
and I've written far too many.
I'm trying to, because you realise
how much you do in a year, don't you?
Whoa, where are you going to start with?
Well, I do, I have a love-hate relationship
with Instagram.
I don't really do love Instagram.
I think it's funny, but we're all a bit too stuck on it,
aren't we?
The one thing I use on Instagram,
if I can just share with you one second,
the little stories that you can save,
all the things that you've done within your profile.
And whenever I do something lovely,
I do save it in this little story
and I go back and look at it
and look at all the things I've done.
And I drove to Como with my wife.
I went to Goodwood Members Meeting.
I had an amazing stag do, car-related in Sicily.
I went to the TT with Mr. Harris.
I did Classic Le Mans.
I did Car Week in August.
I went to the Toto Bene thing.
I did Revival, the Willow Springs opening in California
and the London to Brighton.
I mean, what, a bloody year?
That is a year.
It's probably my best car year of all time.
And I wouldn't have remembered all those things
unless I had this little sort of,
whatever it's called, little thing that I share.
They're all brilliant.
I can't really choose.
The stag do was really good.
I've got a friend called Luke, Luke Gilberton.
Everyone knows him as Tall Luke.
And he was incredibly nervous.
He doesn't drink.
He was super scared that we were taking him
to, I don't know, Vilnius
or some other sort of slightly shady stag do type place.
And we didn't even tell him where we were going.
We ended up in Stansted at five in the morning.
He looked very sheepish and nervous
and we'd bought all the silly sort of equipment
to make him think he's going to Vilnius.
And then we fly to Sicily and we rent amazingly
three blue Fiat Pandas.
And we just drive the Targa Floreo for three days
with a load of mates, Alex Penfold,
who probably is the best automotive photographer
in the world, amazing, amazing, talented individual,
made a book out of it.
And maybe another little podcast I'll share in 20 seconds.
There's a book called, whatever it's called,
10 Days in Sicily, which is an amazing book
that Chris and I know and bloody expensive thing.
I gave it back to you, I gave it back.
You did, you gave it back to me.
And then we've replicated that book.
Penfold replicated that book, made that book
because we took all the same photographs.
We've reenacted the photographs from that book this year.
And if I was going to add up everything,
TT was amazing, Willow Springs was amazing,
Revival's always brilliant.
I didn't even talk about the scramble.
Great thing about the scramble,
it's not about the cars, about the people,
it's just the most joyful event of the year always.
But my highlight probably would have been
Tall Luke's stag do in Sicily,
reenacting the Targa Florio of 66.
Brilliant year for me.
There you go, there's a prompt to everyone who's listening.
If you fancy doing something in 2026,
reenact a great event that you used to find
captivating as a child.
Yes.
Don't try and recreate the Birmingham Super Prix
in your local town centre, if that's what it was,
but outside of that, it's sort of carte blanche.
Chris Cooper.
Though I think bringing back the Birmingham Super Prix
on an official basis,
rather than just an unofficial basis
at two o'clock in the morning, would be mega.
If you've got five minutes to spare
over this Christmas and New Year period,
this goes out on the 2nd of January, I think, doesn't it?
So the last weekend before proper work restarts,
then just go onto YouTube and find pictures of the Birmingham,
both the F3000 race, which is just mentally fast,
but the two-in-car races, and usually John Clelland,
having business with Frank Sitner or James Weaver
or whatever it is, it's really brilliant.
The two of you, you've both kind of hit the nail on the head
about, I think, what this is about.
It's about people and trips for me.
I haven't done as many wonderful things as,
I have to redouble my efforts to not work so much next year
and find time to do these things,
because they all sound unbelievably wonderful.
I work hard too.
I know you work hard, but I have to work even harder
to find the time to do that.
I'm joking, I'm joking.
To do that.
So the St. Morse road trip we did,
the Cornish road trip we did, beginning of the year.
Sorry, this is my, some of you might have noticed,
I think, thank you very much, Cameron.
My Lem soup has arrived.
Good lad.
Members meeting, little mug.
Members meeting.
This is why I'm dressed up all warm this morning,
because I'm feeling really, really sorry for myself,
because I've got the man flu.
So apologies if I'm slightly nasal, shit.
The road trip to Cornwall was brilliant,
because we were all in our, each of us were in our own cars.
And there is something, there is something.
It's not just, there's a bit of a childish wonderment about it.
And I don't mean sort of just being reprobate
and sort of anti-social, I don't mean that.
It was just this childlike Geely of being on the road
with your mates, and where are we gonna stop for petrol
and when's Lola gonna break down, really?
But the sort of, well, Lola did break down,
the sort of the Geely we all had about,
but we can fix this.
That's lovely.
Which has mainly involved Mr. Harris and Mr. Clifford,
bringing their considerable resources to bear to sort of,
and actually, luckily, I had a four seat car.
Yes. A large boot.
Otherwise, Manage would have been still on the off road
of the B3177 between Holiston and Exeter.
So that, the road trip, so we've got to,
we'll get to it later on when we do the next trip.
We've got to do a road trip.
The road trip was really, really fun.
There's another road trip in there, which was the one,
we sort of was a road trip.
That Mr. Harris and I did with our sort of eldest,
my boys and his eldest, going to the Nurburgring in May
for the Darren Langeveld destination Nurburgring track day,
which is the best track day thing.
It's just wonderful.
They're so well organized, great people, great cars,
blessed with fantastic weather again,
and just the sort of the driving there,
because my boys had never been.
So a bit like we used to do when you get off the motorway,
going towards Kälberg, looking for the signs
where the tank weight limits are on the side
of the road or the speed limits,
which have gone, which is really frustrating.
But just remembering all the happy things that we'd done
when we were racing there,
you know, busily and stupidly and expensively,
just sharing that with my boys.
And then the whole stake on a stone, the piston clouser,
asked Mr. Bovingdon, Chris Hoy, all there together
was just such a lovely, lovely.
It was the people, it was the place,
but it was also the trip on the way back.
Some of you will find this extraordinary to believe.
Mr. Harris wasn't quite ready to leave on time.
When we left.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa,
there's a story to that.
So I said, I might have said something along the lines of,
tell you what, we'll leave now,
because I hate waiting.
I really hate waiting.
I hate not being on time.
I know-
You gave us 30 seconds.
It might have been less than that.
So the boys and I, we made haste towards Kale.
We probably made progress on a number of occasions
to considerable effect.
So we got there and we got into the Flexi Plus
and it was a train we wanted to get.
So I said, because, you know,
one travels with hope as well as generosity.
We'll go into the Flexi Plus
and get all the sandwiches you can get.
So Mr. Harris doesn't have to stop at Flexi Plus.
Let me touch.
And we'll meet up on the train.
Actually, we got onto the same train.
We went on different floors.
He's only a couple of cars behind us.
So we had a lovely little trip on the train right at the end
where we shared all the sandwiches that we'd blagged
and sort of got in the Flexi Plus little terminal.
And we got onto the M20,
which is always a bit disappointing
after being on French and Belgium and German auto routes.
We had a lovely little roll up the M20
towards Meathow and Ashwood,
watching that ridiculous rear wing
on that 992 RS from Reading as it opens and closes.
When you're behind it,
when you watch that thing open and close,
it is just the most extraordinary device to have ever seen.
But it was wonderful because it was the trip.
It was the journey as much as being there.
The people, the company,
it's just the elixir of life.
Do more things.
Do more things.
So yeah, so there's loads more,
maybe not quite as many as Mr. Clifford's,
but they're all characterised by the company,
the cars are important,
as much as what we're doing with them
and the trip and the journey.
There's a lesson in there for all of us.
I wrote a list, but there's too many of them.
It makes you realise how lucky I am to do the things I do.
I want to clarify one thing about the Nurburgring trip,
because I'm very private about my life.
You won't find any pictures of my children anywhere,
you won't even find their names.
But this particular specimen I was dealing with in Germany,
who obviously is my oldest one, I love him to bits,
he's upstairs at the moment, he'll wake up in about,
this is being recorded at 11am,
he'll sort of saunter down at one or something.
He's that student age.
I said to him, last thing I said was before I went to bed,
because after a day at the ring, you're quite tired,
you know, you have your steak on a stone,
you have all these thoughts of having a couple of beers,
you have one beer and you feel hammered
and you go to sleep, it's lovely.
I said to him, because he stayed up with the Cooper boys,
there you go.
They did do that, yeah.
I said, we're leaving really early,
we're leaving at about 5am.
So just, you know, all I care about is you're awake,
ready to go, yeah, yeah, don't worry about it,
it's all covered, don't worry, it's all good.
So anyhow, we get to 4.45, whatever it is,
he's cleaning that awake.
But I know his room's next to mine,
and it's in the Lindtner Hotel,
right overlooking the roundabout,
that central roundabout where the Nurburgring,
sadly everyone now misbehaves.
Anyhow, the sun was coming up,
it was the peak of the summer,
probably not far away from the solstice, was it?
And there were already a couple of people,
Brits, that either not gone to bed,
that were on the roundabout.
So I had to try and extricate my son from this room.
So I went on the outside over the balcony,
round the outside, had a bit dodgy,
scaled the balcony, and I was wrapping on his window
of his balcony, and words I can't use now,
like, Mr. Cooper's gonna drill me seven U.S. holes
unless you come downstairs immediately,
because he's got the patience of a serial killer.
And sure enough, I was wrapping on the window,
and I heard this, oh, what do you want?
And I woke him up, he realized his mistake,
and I turned around, and I've never had this before,
there was, I don't know who you are, if you're still there,
I think you're a British.
Someone shouted, can I get a photograph from the roundabout,
as I went, as I tried to scale back over the fucking balcony
to go back to my balcony.
I didn't know you'd done that.
5.03 a.m.
That's actually quite dangerous,
you could have fallen off, and everything.
It was extremely dangerous,
but I'd rather, I'd risk that,
rather than have to deal with your face,
when I'm late.
Slightly humble.
There we go.
So, what do we do?
First of all, trips, yes, I love trips.
Also, buying something, and using it as it should be used,
is the thing I love the most.
So, if you buy a lawn mower, go and mow seven acres.
If you buy a streamer, go and take on something
that's worth streaming, don't buy a car,
and not use it as intended.
So, beginning of the year, brilliantly,
we owned a 4.58 Spider, and we drove it all the way to Rome,
to see Manish and Luca, and then we had an adventure
on the way back, and we went and saw Rafa in Maranello.
And do you know what, we sold the car very soon afterwards,
partly because we needed the money as ever,
but partly because I ticked the box.
You know, I just think, if I ever owned a 4.58 Spider,
am I ever gonna do anything more Ferrari with it,
than drive to Rome, to have a photo outside Luca's apartment?
I'm not, I've just, you know, I've completed,
I've completed that game.
I'd have another one in a flash, by the way,
one of the highlights of my last few years,
the 4.58 Spider, but then the Luca Sergio Iroca's,
between us four, we will quadruple the value of them,
over the next few years.
100%.
Ferrari doing that all by themselves, to be honest.
No, no, Manish.
We'll get to that later.
We'll get to another.
So, Bahrain Grand Prix is always a good laugh.
My abiding memory was standing on that fucking grid,
thinking I'd rather have pins put in my cuticles,
than be here, and seeing,
I bet that's Neil Clifford with the pings.
It's someone sending me a car for sale,
I'm turning my phone off.
Oh, because it's our good friend, Mr. JK,
and once those start coming,
they're gonna get you on going.
Also, that's the thing you may need to turn that off.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, that's cool.
Or you can show us what he's sending you.
It was a Citroen AX.
GT?
Yep.
Cool.
I've now turned my phone off.
I'll have a look.
I don't know whether it's on car and classics.
Yeah, I'll let him.
I might have views on that front.
Anyhow, so we, I was stood there,
I was aware of the fact that the bloody live feed camera
was there, and I was stood like an absolute lemon.
Luca and the boss of the FIA,
and I thought that some people would love to be here.
Right now, I'd give you a grand
to just be anywhere else, 10 grand.
I don't want to be there.
And Martin, very kindly, I don't know where went,
and grab and make you safe and sort of metaphorical cuddle.
So that was good.
I then, the springtime was interesting
because I purchased a Daimler Super V8,
which is one of those cars that, when I bought it,
I, you know, a minute after buying it,
I thought, what have I bought this for?
Tell you how much it was, and what have I bought this for?
Beforehand, there was a pre-purchased deal.
I can't remember who it was with.
His initials at NC.
Yes, that's right.
And so he's the one that can't control
his text messages at the moment.
So I said to Neil, you said you're going to own
half of a Daimler Super V8, it's going to be an honour.
And when it became available, he went, no, I'm not.
That just tells you why I should be...
I don't do halves.
I hate this halves strategy.
Well, some of us have got half measures resources.
So I...
It was a slightly more complicated half strategy,
if you remember, Mr. Harris.
So I...
This thing landed and I thought, what have I done here?
This is just one of those ones where
this seemed like a really good idea at 1 a.m.
And it's turned out to be the car
I've probably done the most miles in this year.
It's absolutely glorious.
It lowers my pulse and it's going absolutely nowhere
apart from staying in my shed.
It's a reminder of all the values
that Jaguar should be presenting.
And I think we all go over those ad nauseam in 2026,
but Jaguar was a big part of my 2025.
I had no idea.
The SGS project is moving forward, so I promise you.
Just had a few hiccups on the way,
but it is coming along nicely.
We've got the spec of the engine defined
and the cars in pieces with Graham and his merry help.
So Jaguar, big part of the year.
Green M5, V10.
You've not seen much of that recently,
because... Oh, by the way, Cooper.
Yes.
Green M5 is...
Watch this space. Let's just say, watch this space.
The engine is an ongoing project.
Dara at everything M is working hard on it.
Let's say it's been less than straightforward
over the last three months
since he went to the Mr Scramble,
which, of course, is another highlight for me.
I don't really... Not for good people.
Not for good, with large groups of people.
But, actually, the Scramble is fabulous.
Joyful.
I think... And, you know, it's Mars' birthday.
It's better than Goobood.
Keep Goobood. You can have... I love Scramble.
I had quite a lot of Goobood as well,
but I think the Scramble's better.
I'm allowed to say that.
So, the Intergrali.
So, lovely Peter at GP.
Classics and Customs, or Customs and Classics,
has built this amazing interior,
but did so much more.
He basically rebuilt my Intergrali by hand.
I didn't suddenly a huge bill.
He might... Him and Dara,
are they the best human beings I've met this year?
They're up there. They're fabulous.
Intergrali driving out for the first time.
I think two things stand out for me.
I've done lots of events, done lots of racing and rallying.
I've spoken enough about this safari.
Of course, that's the best thing I did last year,
because it's probably the best thing I've ever done in a car,
without holding a steering wheel, which is bizarre.
But I think the Race of Remembrance,
I'm going to have a big push on this next year.
So, all of you that listen,
there's going to be some Mission Motorsport-based events.
There's one in January.
If you look on my Instagram, you'll see,
as a track day, I think it's 24th.
Yeah, exactly.
Nighttime track day.
So, we're having a track day in the dark at Anglesey.
What could possibly go wrong?
So, that's one event.
And we're going to have more,
because being around those people is humbling,
and I haven't done enough with them,
partly because BBC wouldn't let you do much outside of
children in need or whatever it was they did.
So, Race of Remembrance, fabulous.
That's an event to cherish.
And then, it always comes back to this for me.
I'm not saying this is more important,
because the Race of Remembrance is the most important thing
I could do all year.
But the Isle of Man TT is the best thing you can do.
There's nothing comes close.
Nothing even comes close in terms of what you see,
the people you meet, the laughs you have.
So, this year again, I'll be renting a house for a week,
and I'll wobble over on some motorcycles with some friends,
and I will sit there and I will drink in what is the best
spectator of any type,
whether it's four wheels, two wheels, any wheels,
or in fact, doesn't have to be sport.
I think it's the most extraordinary thing
short of watching Saturn 5 launch from a couple of yards away.
So, I know I'm a scratch record about the TT,
but I think it's fabulous.
And of course, the podcast.
So, I don't really assess what we do here.
Just because my brain doesn't work like that,
I just wake up, I get led by these three married gentlemen
who are much clever and more talented than me,
and we just talk bollocks.
And there's something, well, maybe I've taught them one thing,
that is if you just relax into your standard,
just your standard bullshit trade and just talk chat,
and if people listen to it, that's content.
That's content. That's all you need to do.
And I love it. And sometimes there's this,
oh, we need to do this, we need to switch it up,
we need this, we need this.
No, you don't. You don't.
You just need the four people talking bobbins.
And it's lovely. And we're very, very grateful
that you listened to us.
We will have the occasional guests,
but only do it to keep people off my back.
Right, here we go.
Let's move on.
Let's move on to the second part of the agenda.
Did you tell them all that?
This is good.
Is the badge always really worth it?
I.e. 560 SEC versus 500 SEC.
This is so specific in the C, not WC126.
I'm going straight to Mr Clifford because I know he wrote this.
Well, I will be an awful name dropper just for 10 seconds.
I had this debate playing tennis with our good friend Jay,
who it will be coming back on in 2026 this morning,
because he has bought the Mercedes S560 cabriolet.
Okay.
It's a lovely, lovely car.
I'm still looking for one of those.
You must have found one I did.
What's an S560?
The S560, the current model, the current issue.
Yeah, the non AMG one.
Yeah, so he had the AMG one.
He had the S63 cab, which was a beautiful thing,
blue with tan, lovely spec.
But we always felt that it was a bit too loud
and a bit too firm all of the time.
He did particularly.
I always thought it was just a cool thing,
but he, you know, he was like, I love it.
I love it, but it's just a bit too much.
I'm going for the thinking man's S cabriolet.
And he wanted the very latest car with the LED lights
and the, you know, that 2021 car has got,
it's got the air scarf.
It's got, actually it's got a heated armrest
in the middle of the car.
It's got four-wheel drive where the S500 before it didn't.
That's right, four-wheel drive.
So you feel, you've got that feeling
of I could drive to the North Pole,
even though you're just driving
to the Holton Tennis Club this morning.
You've got the heated seats, the heated steering wheel,
the air scarf, you've got everything's bloody heated.
But it's softer.
And we had the debate, we had the debate
for a good half an hour this morning
about this sort of badge snobbery.
And sometimes it's correct,
but sometimes I don't think it is correct.
You know, we're all in search of that sort of,
and actually they don't exist anymore,
because even when you find the unicorn, it's shit.
The 325 E30 cabriolet from, you know,
wherever four-star classics or old kernel or, you know,
there's all these 20 grand, they're all a bit shit.
I've bought about seven of the bloody things.
You never find a good one anymore.
They've just been too used.
But the debate we had this morning
was it moved on from S63 and S560,
is that SEC 560?
Now, we always go, don't we,
in our head for the, you've got to have the 560.
You really can't have the 500.
But you know what, and I love Neil Dickens at Hairpin,
he has got the mintiest S560, okay?
Yeah, he has.
It will be a lot of money,
because you can't bloody see it because of this stupid thing.
It's silver with blue, 30,000 miles.
It's, you know, apart from that one,
the Nigel Mansell one that he had recently,
it's a beautiful S560.
You want an S560, that's the one.
But you know, it's going to be 50 grand, right?
Because it's fine me another, sir.
It's one of those dealership conversations.
I know it's expensive, but fine me another.
But then you go round the corner
to our good friends at Edward Hall, right?
They've got a blue one.
Can't see it again.
For 20.
For 20.
Now, this is 20 grand.
Yeah.
Fundamentally, that model of car,
what is it, W126,
they're all going to be a bit shit, unfortunately.
Not a lot of these cars travel well
from the 80s and the 90s.
Some of them didn't start well.
Yeah, why don't you just do the 420?
Okay, if you've got never-ending supplier money,
get the 560, the 30,000 mile car,
it will be perfect.
But actually, if you just want that shape,
I think for half the money,
you can do the 420.
And if you debadge it, who cares?
You can pretend it's a 560 anyway.
Mr. Harris, would you like to come in at this point?
I've got a little theory on this.
I don't want to interrupt you when you're in full flow,
because it's such a wonderful sight.
It's like seeing an America's Cup racer just soaring through the waves.
I think this is about talk, right?
I'll tell you why.
When you buy one of these older vehicles,
you're normally reliving something you read in a magazine
when you were 15, you thought I'd never have one of those,
but I could find one.
It's normally what you're doing.
And so that's why you buy the 850 CSI.
That's why you buy the 560 SEC,
because they were the ones that you saw,
your favourite journalist driving when you were little.
But the reality is, when you buy that car,
you will probably not bang it off the rev limiter at all.
You know where I'm going with this, right?
So you won't.
And so it doesn't really matter whether you have the super-duper one or not,
because if I buy an 850 CSI and I'm pretty brave with this stuff,
I buy a car, thrash it.
If I drive that like I want to drive it or drive it like a new car,
it'll go bang probably within a couple of months,
or I'm going to have an issue.
So I won't drive it like that.
So really, you have to choose the model that's got similar torque to the top model,
because you're going to drive it on torque, not pounds.
And that's why the ultimate example of that is the R129 SL.
It's a heavy car.
And if you've met cars listening to this, H, we all agree on this.
Sometimes I thought, well, I might just buy a 320 SL R129.
And however hard you go, you can't.
It hasn't got the torque.
You won't thrash it.
But if you want to drive the car without it kicking down every two minutes,
you need the torque of a 500.
320 and the 280 won't do it.
And I do believe classic car or older car ownership is about torque, not power.
So when you...
Well, if the 420 SEC will drive on par throttle a bit like the 560 or the 500,
buy it.
If it won't, you have to get the big one.
It's all about that tickle.
When you tickle away and you think, oh, just pop past someone,
does it want to kick down three gears and feel like it's got no power?
How would you see E30 320 versus E30 325?
Well, I'll tell you what, that's the best example of the other way around.
The 320 is gutless.
And it was so gutless that BMW had to fit a shorter rear axle to it.
So it's got a shorter final drive.
So not only have you got...
You have to rev the knackers off it to make it go.
You then got a car that isn't very nice when you're cruising.
I know this.
This is the best question I've ever been asked.
I wish someone asked this to me one day.
In 1985, my late father went to Western County's BMW in Bristol
to order his new 323...
No, sorry, 84.
His new 323i.
Remember the E30 originally was a 323.
The launch car was a 323.
Yeah.
So he went to order his new 323
and because he liked saving a few pennies,
he looked at the thing and said,
well, we don't need the 323 because the 320
is as fast as the old 323i, isn't it?
Look, you can see the numbers here.
He kept it a year because it wouldn't go fast enough up Dundry Hill.
I remember that.
But it just didn't have the guts.
So you do need a 3...
Long answer, you do need a 325.
You do need a 325.
It's more consistent.
And there are some cars that are really good like that.
The underling, the undercard is actually so close
to being as good as the special one flexing its muscles.
I mean, quite often what you want is the car
that the underling is just a detuned version of that engine.
So a normally detuning means you've got very similar torque,
but you don't have the headline power figure.
They go for power for the marketing materials, don't they?
So you quite often find that, you know, a Golf GT or something,
he's got a staggering amount of torque.
If you drive them on the road where you would a GTI,
they're just as quick, really.
But badge snobbery is really mainly about Mercedes
because they tend to have been brilliant at that one model
17 different versions of the same car.
You know, if you go...
Let me see, there's another example I was thinking about here.
So the 2-1-4 or the 1-2-4, sorry, the 1-2-4 Coupe,
which I've always been...
I've always been...
I've always been keen to...
I've had the Cabriolet.
I've never had the Coupe at the time, mid-90s.
You were such a player with an E320 Coupe.
It's just a really cool car.
But if you saw...
You see the 300s.
Yeah.
And there was that one with the funny badge, wasn't there?
The 324, the 4WD.
The 24WD, that big long badge.
You're always, when you're on car and classic,
you're thinking, oh, bollocks, I can't get a 300.
I've got to find the 320.
I'm sure the 300's similar, isn't it?
The 324 would have been...
You'd need to rev that, because it's, you know, 4-valve.
I said, I've got that engine in a car that I never drive.
That's the phrase that a lot of people will say.
Yeah.
I thought the way Mercedes drew people in
and just understood, particularly male psychology
and our inadequacies with their badging sequences
was so clever.
Do you remember when the W-1-2-4 was launched,
the most popular car was the 230E?
Now, the entry-level car was the 200.
And for the first year, it was carburetor-fed,
so they didn't even give you an E.
Yeah.
So you just had 200 on the back of your car.
Can you imagine how inadequate people felt?
Horrible.
It's interesting what you say about torque.
Because this is, torque is work done.
This is the easiest, simplest way of distinguishing.
What's different between torque and horsepower?
Torque is work done, like lifting a weight a certain distance.
Horsepower is the rate of work done.
How quickly you can do that.
I know.
And you gave us this beautiful explanation last week or the week before.
I did.
But I thought I'd share it with the ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls.
That was over lunch.
It wasn't on a podcast.
It was on lunch.
Exactly.
So what I'm showing you now, I think it's really...
Go ahead.
Go ahead.
So torque is work done.
Can you lift a weight from here to here?
And that's work done.
Horsepower is how fast can you do that, the rate of doing it.
Which is why horsepower is...
Torque is more important to acceleration.
Horsepower is more important to top speed.
Almost irrespective of weight and blah, blah, blah.
The car of the same weight...
Oh, I got this right.
Car of the same weight, horsepower will affect the top speed of that car.
Overcoming.
Because it's the rate of work done.
Kind of overcome wind resistance, rolling resistance, blah, blah, blah.
So work done is torque.
That's the best way to think about it.
Horsepower is how fast, the rate of it, blah, blah, blah.
I think this...
The 561 is interesting, isn't it?
Because I would have said, almost automatically, the 560 is the one you want to have.
Because it's going to waft more.
Exactly what you said.
It's going to waft more.
But do you know that?
That's what your head tells you.
No, that's what your heart tells you.
It doesn't tell me that I just won the best badge.
See, I think where it doesn't...
Because your question was, is the badge always really worth it?
And the answer is no.
It's not always really worth it.
And I think you're right about Merck.
Because when you look at SL65s through the year, through the years, you think they haven't got much more power.
And that engine is going to weigh an awful lot more.
I'm sort of getting sucked into something, which is twice the price, but actually will frustrate me.
So I won't...
And then you see an S65, the model that you and JK were talking about.
That shape and series of...
Yeah, they do a V12 coupe.
That's super rare.
That V12...
It is super rare.
And there's the convertibles around.
You see, occasionally, you think, God, a twin turbocharged V12...
They're not going to make that anymore.
No.
I think the S560...
The S560, what colour has JK got?
Black black.
Black black.
So that S560, I think, is the sweet spot of that.
When he was on our podcast last Christmas, he made a passing comment about the S560.
I thought, he's so right.
He's so right.
I spent the rest of the year looking for one and couldn't actually find one.
No, it's a rare car to find.
It's a rare car to find.
Black black.
In fact, I don't know when...
You know, the triple black.
I don't know where the third black comes.
Is that the roof?
Yeah, the black is the roof.
It's a reference to muscle cars.
It was always triple, wasn't it?
Triple black.
Yeah, triple black, which is a really great saying, isn't it?
So I think...
Can I bring Manish in here?
Manish has said nothing for about 20 minutes.
No, it's fine.
I was just...
You know, I'm pondering my R107.
And I think this falls beautifully into exactly this conversation.
We could start this conversation back in the 70s with a 280.
And we could end this conversation in the late 80s with a 560 SL.
And what you have is God knows how many badges in between.
How many engine sizes.
There are some manuals, which I've been told to avoid.
And my view on it was an absolute flip view, which is I really don't care about the badge on this car.
This particular car, I really, really don't care about the badge.
This is not a car that's going to be bought for whole climbing.
This is a car that's going to be bought for taking lovely Sunday drives on you.
I mean, I think I really appreciate your point about the talk.
What you don't want is a car that's gasping and wheezing and breathing like crazy in lane two on the motorway
as you're trying to overtake a truck at 60 miles an hour.
But at the same time, I don't feel wedded to the fact that it has to be an absolutely mint 560 SL,
the very last one, one board.
I was just looking for the pitfalls and perils with this particular car.
I always thought the 420 was quite a thinking man's 107.
And someone said that.
It's the sweet spot.
It was a 500, didn't it?
It was a laser engine, I think it did.
It did.
And as you guys have told me in 560, you can't buy one in Britain anyway.
They're imported from America.
So I really love the idea of, I mean, I'm sitting and thinking 420 over the 500 on the basis of that was the last series of car built.
You'd hope every refinement, everything they'd learned in the previous 20 years, almost 20 years would go into that.
You just can't get a 560.
But that's okay.
That's really okay.
In fact, Jay sent me.
He also sent me half a dozen.
I had the temerity and stupidity to mention this to him on a Sunday morning by literally tea time that afternoon.
He found me sick.
You found your power, right?
No, I mean, I think it's very, very second nature to him.
And I was telling him that I don't mind doing a bit of, you know, doing a bit of almost a complete restoration we find exactly the right one.
No, just buy a decent one.
I mean, the 190, the 190 did it in spades, didn't it?
Because then the 190 became that 190E 2.6.
6, yeah.
I never really understood, but I suppose it's a six cylinder car.
Six cylinder.
It's a lovely, I nearly bought one of those years ago and they were like.
And how was it most commonly specified?
In that, is that, what's that red color it's in?
The sport line with the, was it 13 whole alloys?
And the little blue.
I love that sport line badge.
Yeah.
They've got that badge on this lovely 300 CE at Edward Hall.
Yeah.
Monaco car, navy blue, sport line, air conditioning.
What a gorgeous car.
I quite like to see, I'm sure the people at home would like to see.
I'm going to buy it.
Some sort of Edward Hall and Neil Dickens sort of head to head.
Yes.
Standing on a stepladder together somewhere.
I've seen someone else do that on social media,
but I have a slightly different version of that in mind where the two of them
stand on a stepladder somewhere in equidistant in the Cotswolds
or Buckinghamshire where they're too important.
And they have their two cars nose to nose at the bottom of the stepladder
and they make their case on this stepladder for their respective cars.
I think we'd all go and watch that.
Look at that sport line badge.
It's really annoying just trying to show you.
Just bring the present.
There we go.
There you go.
Look at that.
Lovely.
Great.
Fabulous.
Little blue.
It's a lovely blue.
The little indentations on that sport line.
I think what Manisha said there is true though.
It demonstrates a lot of confidence in the reasons why you're buying a car
if you're immune from the badge issue.
Yeah.
It means you're confident in what you're buying and why you're buying it.
And all I can add to this subject is I am shamefully,
I've always been addicted to the badge.
So I would, I can remember there being periods of time when you could absolutely
prove in my working life that the left of car was the better car.
Yeah.
Really fancy one road like shit.
But I'd always want to get the one that road like shit in for Christmas
so that I would, so that I'd be in the RS4 and I, you know,
I get to drive it around Bristol in the Christmas holidays or like just,
I was always thrilled by that.
And I think, I think it's a bit childish and maybe one to grow out of it.
But maybe it's quite nice.
It's, it's the same bug that means that when you open the car magazine,
you go straight to the acceleration bit.
It's all part of the same virus.
We are trapped in it.
I think you're, if you're managed, you're much freer.
You're letting up buying a better car because you're not constrained.
But I've got to get, if I'm going to get a one, two, three coupe,
it's got to be the 280.
So actually what we're saying is managed hasn't got the virus, which is really good.
Yes.
Speaking of viruses, I know we'll come to our, our car and classic section soon.
But I was, I couldn't sleep too well last night, the old head cold and everything else.
And I, the cricket was quite stressful.
So I went on to car and classic and I looked around.
Has anyone else any found anything as silly as this?
Is that an original showroom?
It's 77,000 miles.
It's an RS 1800 and the asking price is 210,000.
I think we saw the number, yeah.
That's a lot more than a Ferrari F12.
Yes.
I think that's, I think that's what engineers might and scientists might call optimistic.
I think it's about rarity.
Find me another, sir.
I think there aren't many people asking, find me another.
You only need one.
You only need one.
Amazing.
My dad's had the 1.6.
But he had the 1.6 mark two as a GP with cloth seats and had a black vinyl riff.
It was, I love that car.
He got it.
They are.
They're talking about.
Yes.
We went to the, the lovely Sarat green, which is sort of not million miles from where Neil
is or where I live in sort of Hartfordshire, Buckinghamshire border.
And they have a boxing day car, classic car.
People bring old tractors, Land Rover.
We went in our green Defender, lots of Land Rovers, almost everything else.
And there were quite a few mark two Ford Escorts.
Great car.
And they just look so good.
Don't they?
And the size again.
When you see them, they're small, but there's plenty of room.
Small side.
Buy one of those MSTs, whatever they're called.
You could buy one of them for half the money and it'll have 300 horsepower and drive well.
I don't get it.
No, but that's not a real car though, is it?
I mean, it's not an original.
No.
No, but it's not a model.
If you're talking about that, is someone speculating that one day that will be worth 350,000 in
ten years time, aren't they?
Well, I know.
I'm deliberately being opposite because I just don't see it.
Not all objects can assume vast values because they're rare.
Otherwise, you know, let's say the odd dictator might be quite valuable.
No, but that's where things like watches come in.
Oh, don't start on that one.
You know how triggering that is.
We're going to launch our sub-podcast.
I'll do a podcast on G-Shops.
I'll do a show.
I love a G-Shop.
And that Banford G-Shop, Georgie Reginius.
Love that watch.
Yes, it's a good watch.
So here we go.
Rear of the Year Award.
What's the best looking arts you've seen on a – no, sorry.
Rear of the Year, your favourite back of a car.
I mean, how do you answer that?
It's tricky, isn't it?
There's just too many and it will change every five years.
Is it a car that's been built this year or just something like that?
Any car.
Any car you've seen this year that had a great arse.
I saw – I'm going to start here very quickly.
So I've seen two of these that are quite rare,
but they were what they call that low-roof coontash, right?
And they both had the really wide Pirelli P7 fitted to them at the rear
with the extended arch, which actually worked without the wing.
There was one I saw in a showroom in Holland
and I saw another one at the Peterson Museum.
That, from low down, because you can see so much of the tyre
and just how big that boot is in the wheel arch.
Is that the original P7?
No, no, no.
It's the later car.
No, was it the original P7 tyre?
Yes.
I can't answer that.
I thought the original P7 tyre was actually quite narrow.
The later one was the really wide one.
Three, two, five.
It was mega.
Just, I think, that's that from the rear.
Not sure you can beat that.
Over you go.
Let's go to Chris Cooper.
I've got 997 RS Gen 1.
And if you ask me next week, it will change again.
But the reason why that's got in my head,
I actually saw one yesterday.
It was black with the green decals and stripes, silver wheels.
I think green end caps on the rear wing.
And it just sort of burble past.
And as it went past, it saw from the rear three quarters.
It was so different that that car felt
just such a big step on from the 996 RS.
And it won all those tests back in 2007.
It was that car that just, apart from, I think, the Audi R8 one.
But just the stance.
And it all looked, I put it on the list of things we can talk about.
When does function become form?
In other words, when does the way, it looks the way that it does
because of what it's got to do.
When does it actually sort of accidentally end up creating
the most extraordinary form which it just left after?
Because the way it looks, not because of what you know what it does.
And there's a bit about that.
You know what it does, and it looks amazing.
And it just looks in 2007 and now.
It was overlooked for quite a long time.
Wasn't it the Gen 1 RS 3.0?
And the Gen 2.
I remember being offered a Gen 2
by a Porsche dealer that was unsold.
They couldn't sell them.
The 3.8?
Yeah, 3.8.
In 2010.
That's for clever.
If you're listening to this and you want one of those little cheeky tips,
the 3.8 Gen 2 is the one.
Because it's 9.99999999999% of a 4L
and it's about one fifth of the money.
You do the Pepsi challenge, you won't be able to tell the difference really.
They're that good, the 3.8.
They're lovely cars.
So I think that the Gen 1 though,
because it was the first of that when the 997 took everything
and that RS came out, we thought, wow, this is just extraordinary
and it's got all that sort of stuff.
So ask me next week and we'll have a different answer.
It'll be 205 GTI 1.9.
Yes.
Oh, yeah.
This week it's a 997 RS Gen 1.
No, Clifford.
Such a great one, this.
We could just do this for two hours.
If I had to choose one,
and I think Porsche,
Porsche are really good at arses.
Aren't they?
I think they do the best.
928 GTS.
Yeah.
I just love the extravagantness of that.
There's a debate whether it's really the non-GTS,
the pura model,
but the complete ridiculousness of the rear of that car
had a bloody guard's red manual.
What a twat selling it, honestly.
But the problem is, if you own that car in a 911,
you always get in the 911
because basically it's not as nice to drive,
but it's much better to look at.
There's a subject that can be for hours
about cars that are only good to look at
and are actually disappointing to drive.
Let's come back to that.
We'll add it to the list,
but look at 928 GTS rear.
I think it's just...
I mean, it's 30 years old or whatever it is,
and it could be designed yesterday,
and I think that is just a great example
of fantastic design, isn't it?
It was so modern, wasn't it?
76 car of the year.
I remember that car thinking,
oh, my God, that's come from Mars.
I mean, the fact that it won a competition
usually won by a Simca Horizon
or a Simca 1100,
I'm going to show my age there,
was just so cool.
Yeah, so that to me is just
an incredible back-end of a car.
So I'm going to ask Manish here,
but I'm going to preface it with the fact
that if I hadn't chosen the Coonshash,
I'd have chosen Lola.
So, because I think that is...
It's just... Look at that.
I think the Ferrari 456 M,
or not even the M, the GT,
they've got basically identical rims.
I don't think there's anything more beautiful than that.
The three-quarter view, that's it.
That's what sold it for me.
I'll tell you one thing,
I did have a little bit of a troll on this subject,
and I was looking at cars from 2026,
performance cars, you know,
supercars from 2026.
And I made a little list.
I looked at the 33 Stradale,
the Maserati Fogliore,
the Range Rover,
the newest 911,
the Lambo Temerario.
I really looked at the rears of these cars
and the three-quarter views,
and I have to say,
there's something model kit
about the way these cars are put together.
It's almost as if...
You know when you used to build models,
you'd get the chassis and you'd put the engine on it
and you'd put the cockpit in
and you'd snap the body around it.
They really have this almost...
I want to use words schizophrenic.
I don't think I mean that,
but it almost feels like two cars
when you look at the back of these.
What Neil was alluding to,
and Chris was alluding to with the Porsche,
what you're alluding to with the other Porsches,
there's something very integrated
about the chassis and the body.
And when you look at the rear,
you know, they're trying to make this
a very beautiful statement.
What I found is these cars look like two cars to me.
It looks like a car that's been stuck
on top of another car.
That was actually my only criticism
of the Ferrari 288 GTO.
There's something about the size of the box
and the way that the body sits at the back,
almost too high,
almost as if the body is a little bit of an afterthought
and plonked on top of a chassis.
I mean, look at this Temerario at the back.
See, that just doesn't look very integrated to me.
It just looks like this.
Yeah, now you pointed out, I agree.
There's something odd about the way
that they build this black thing
and then they plonk on your coloured body.
And I think cars from 30 years ago,
40 years ago, 25 years ago,
the Porsches that you point out,
they're so gorgeously integrated.
Someone sat down and just designed the whole car,
not done a kind of Ferrari in the 50s
where they're quite happy to build a chassis,
stick a cockpit into it, the engine,
and say to pin in Farina,
go on then, give us the best body you've got.
There was something very integrated,
almost as if Enzo knew what Sergio was going to do
or almost as if Colin Chapman kind of knew
what Giugiaro would do.
There was a very integrated way of thinking about it.
Ironically, it's probably much more integrated now,
but I find the bodies and the pans
don't match quite so well.
I think four, five, six rear lights
and how they're integrated with the shape of that body
is genius.
Those rear lights are really good.
I also totally get Managee's points about this.
There's this self-conscious overcomplication
to the rear of a lot of cars.
Yes, yes.
I think actually, and it would be interesting
if one of our clever designers that listens to this
might confirm, with the front of the car,
you're so restricted by what you can do
just in case you're here to pedestrian.
I suspect you've got some more freedom
with the rear of the car to express yourself.
I have to say, modern Lamborghinis
really do leave me quite cold
and I don't get the whole thing,
but the Temerario rear,
I love the way that so much of the tyre is visible.
It's a bit like that,
hearts back to the Countach.
I've seen one on the road
and it just looks like someone's carved out
and the race cars lost its rear valance
or something in a car.
I think that's really cool.
I'll give them that.
The one I could never unsee was,
of course, the BMW,
was it the i8?
If someone said to me, the i8 looks like
a 991 Carrera has just been driven
straight up its arse.
If you look at it,
you can never unsee it.
You can never unsee it.
I suppose birthing is the wrong verb.
Let's move on.
Has everyone had a go at that?
Let's move on
to some F1 predictions,
which, of course, are based on nothing but hearsay.
Here we go.
Let's start with Chris Cooper,
who has got man flu
and is sitting this one out for you.
Go on.
Yeah.
I think it's clearly going to be
something about engines, isn't it?
And there's a rumour going
around in some of the specialist press
and some of the chitter-chatter elsewhere
that the Red Bull
Ford project
and the Mercedes project
have somehow found a way
of
increasing the compression ratio
and therefore the likelihood of making more power
when the engine is hot.
I have a theory
as to how this has happened.
I haven't read this anywhere.
So I'm going to share it with you now
to see what you think.
I think it's to do
with
the fact that Toto
Toto Wolf
is actually the terminator.
Way back
when he started at Mercedes,
so sort of in summer 2013
I had
a curry one evening
just outside Bista
with a bunch of blokes
who were then, some of them still now,
senior engineering figures
in Formula 1 tips. I won't embarrass any of them
by recording the conversation we had.
But it was the point when Toto
had first come to public prominence
and he did have that
I'll be back
sort of
thing about him.
And being motor racing
and being British motor racing teams,
when he appeared in Mercedes
all anybody wanted to do
was to get him to say
I'll be back.
They would say Toto
we're going for lunch now.
Are you going to go for lunch
and will you return after that?
You probably had to be at the curry
in 2013
but you get the gist of it.
So I have a theory that actually
Toto is the terminator
and he's been to
100 years hence
and he's brought back some of that
shape shifting metal stuff
that they had in the
second terminator film
judgment day
with the sort of the guy
who changed shape
and was liquid metal and so forth.
Liquid metal man
Yes, I think
what's happened is
they've discovered that Toto is the terminator
and he's been to the future
and he's brought back
some of the base elements of the T2000
terminator unit
and they've made their engine out of all that
clever ship. Yes Clifford.
May I ask a question
as I do not read any of these car magazines
because the fonts are too small
and the stories are too long
What are the changes
for 2026
summarised into
a little period of time?
There are lots of changes but I don't know what they are.
Doctor Pandy can summarise for us.
So in a nutshell Neil
the engines
are being simplified
but they have to produce
half the
power from electricity
so that's the really big change
and the other really big change
is that there's going to be much more
controllable aerodynamics
on this. So DRS
has gone because they're going to have
funny wings
especially at the front that we're able to control them.
They are the two fundamental big changes
so it's effectively
it's a brand new engine formula
and it's a brand new chassis formula
all at the same time.
I've never seen one get within a second of someone
and you can open your flap.
It's not going to be DRS based anymore.
That's all gone.
You will be controlling
your car where you want to
there won't be DRS detector zones.
I think it's going to be
Isn't it going to be a push-to-pass type thing
when you get within a second?
You can press the button
but there's not going to be a DRS zone though
that's what I'm saying.
But the performance opportunity
when you get within a second
the aerodynamic one
reducing drag
has been replaced by
a horsepower version
to do with releasing more energy from the battery
blah blah blah blah blah.
Right.
So there is a one
set of a one-secondy gap
thing.
I think so, yeah.
But it's not a DRS detector.
You're right.
But remember in the 80s
they used to have a turbo boost button
and if you happen to be driving a Williams
and your name was Nigel Mansell
you could just press that button
and you would always press that button
you'd go whizzing past anything else
that was on a straight.
My big
I would just not
I think it's very difficult to predict
I was over-complicate these things
probably the simplest thing to say is
look at who were the top three teams this year
do they have really good personnel
going into next year?
I think Red Bull have lost
quite a few good people
I think Ferrari have lost
quite a few good people
you know you would put some big money
on McLaren doing
very well next year
and you'd probably put some big money on Mercedes
doing pretty well next year
that would be my
really my only prediction. I think I would
predict that Max Verstappen
no matter what he's driving will be the best driver
next year.
They will be my three predictions.
I've got a friend
who
Chris knows well Italian
sort of super connected
cool Italian dude
and he says that Ferrari
is in all sorts of muddle
it's not in a good place at all
it looks like that doesn't it
because really the anything I would want
predictable is Ferrari to be much
better and therefore Lewis has
one more year shot at the 8th
but
not as if I know anything but it doesn't sound
that positive that what I hear
in that regard but correct
Chris Cooper
yes
he's had a go
I'll just explain to you
Terminator
I suppose what we
really saying is going to be bloody red
bull and max again are we that's what
we're saying is the most like
if we had to predict
we had to make a bet
stick a tenner on
no we're going to put a tenner on
well
we've sort of been here before
in 2012
when
was it 12 or was it 14
14 so it's 13
14 sorry
you know whoever's got the biggest
checkbook and the best resources
tends to win the powertrain race
aerodynamics chassis
they can be brilliant ideas
can't they they can be a new
or something like that but
if you've got money and you've got Bricksworth
who've been probably developing this powertrain
from Mercedes for two or three years
now you'd have to wait
their dog's shouting at me come here
I think it's
it's lightly that's the case but I've heard
quite good things you know about the
Red Bull Ford thing and you know
I think there's a lot of shard and Florida
people kind of want that to go wrong
but it sounds like they're doing
a good job
I've got this overarching issue
I think the sport is in danger
of
looking a bit silly
because
quite often
motorsport for one reflects
the madness of the road car business
the two are so interconnected
what happened when the road car
decided it was going to electrify itself
more and more and more
it created
products no one wanted
and it created complexities that
just couldn't be fixed
and I just think you can easily see
in round four
seven retirements in Q2 of qualifying
and I'm not sure that's what anyone needs
I think this rule
about producing half
your power from electricity
is the craziest one
I mean in theory
because where does the energy come from
to produce electricity
it's not like the cars have been mandated to have solar panels
so what they do is they have another
form of electricity coming in
they've got to get a petrol engine
to charge up a battery
now of course they can use their braking
they can use this stuff but what if some clever clogs
finds out that
we've got a very efficient engine so this is what we're going to do
when max breaks going into the corner
we're going to of course decouple the engine
but the car's going to rev higher
so it can charge the battery
so you get this absolutely
paradox of as you go into a corner
this is exactly what's going to happen
this is should it
come back to the age-old argument is it a technology
formula or is it a racing formula
but really
I want whoever wins next year's championship
to be a worthy world champion that race the best
I don't want them to be the best harvester
because harvester is the people
who gather fruit there where I live
and I just get a funny feeling
we're about to is this a bit like a Vettel
with the first blown diffuser someone's going to get
a little Mac that gives them the advantages
and by the time we get to the 18th
race no one else can catch up with them
not the engine of Aston got
because you have to
you have to assume
that Adrian's going to come up with something
very clever
from an aerodynamic perspective
let's say
but Honda are coming in
for the first time
no they've basically been behind
the Red Bull engine project for the last
Honda have been in and out in and out
but they've basically powered
Max's world championships
that's what I wouldn't count them out at all
I think that's the thing they've been
continuous parts of Formula 1 now
since they actually supplied
McLaren back in the
I think it's 2015 was the first
Honda engine McLaren so they've been
in and even though they were
out of Red Bull this partnership
with Aston Martin
I think could be very potent
the other thing I mean I would wager is
no matter where Aston start next year
I think it's almost certainly going to be the most
improved team by the end of the year
because they've got this very very very clever
designer who understands
I think it's a fallacy that Adrian's just
Mr Aero
I don't think he's at all I think he's Mr
Complete Package
he's been playing this game
he's been playing this game since 1988
he's been building the best cars
that's a hell of a
chip to have in your brand just as a bit of a joke
he goes off and builds America's Cup Boats
and back he comes and I think
I think you're looking at the cars can be the most
improved the other thing is in terms of
high IQ drivers
he's got Alonso Alonso's been driving
can we run I think
is it 1999 his first season
or 2000? 2000
yeah 2000 this man is
going to go into his 27th season of Formula
1 with a couple of years off
he has got a chip in his brain which is
extraordinary I think the other brilliant
test driver is Carlos Sainz
I think you're going to see the Williams is going
to do some very clever I think this could be the kind
of unless someone's
you know absolutely got the key
and got the car that's 2.5 seconds
faster I think this could be a brilliant
development yeah because you will
are they allowed to test the cars
on circuit yet when does the
when does end of January
they have a behind closed doors
because it's you know there could be
some real shitters in when they put them on
track that's very cynical
there's a first test
behind closed doors in Barcelona
end of January then
they have two
open tests in Bahrain
before the first
race so I suspect even
though the end of January one is meant to be
closed in the modern world
there's no such thing I think we should
all go shouldn't we we should just all go
and get those
you'll be some sort of no fly on
GPS blocking and anyway
so um Cadillac
enter yes
and be interesting to see
if they don't finish last
I think they'll have done
unbelievably well yeah
but I'd better have better ride
comfort than the others
do you think
the longest running engine in Formula 1
do you think they
and they have got two
more mature drivers
yes so maybe
there's a happy coming together of
the comfort that the more mature driver might
seek from their automobile
of the racing kind
and the brand values that we might
see in a 1978
Cadillac
Fleetwood Brawn or whatever
it is called I would love it if they actually
if they if they
their first car was
the Cadillac
FB01
and the FB was for Fleetwood Brawn
or have we pronounced it
and obviously
Mr Wheatley
now have four rings on his shirt
rather than that rather
I hope you will rather than that
awful kit they've had to wear the last
green and looks like chewing gum
or whatever it is they've been walking around
wearing
um
we tend to see
massive steaks
haven't Audi been the naughty ones
in terms of really enforcing the engine
rule because I think there was a lot of
being sensible that was breaking out and they said
no we spent all this money you're not changing a thing
and it sort of slightly reminds me
of you remember when diesel Le Mans
engines were the ones to have and what Audi did
to kind of make sure that
they were advantaged
so none of the none of the car
has any electric power when it starts
it's not like a battery that they
put 50 miles in like an i3
the
only electricity is generated
from the engine as it's going along
that's the irony is that the
you can't create
universally you can't create
energy it just you change it from one
form to the other they're not plugging
hybrid these cars I think I'm right in saying
man you should not plug in hybrids
they will have charge in the battery
when the car starts
they will have charge that will last about
two yards the way that these guys
operate they're going to have to keep charging
the batteries they're going to have to discharge
they're going to keep charging about and the charging
can only come from hitting your brakes
and that petrol thing
the other thing we should have mentioned synthetic fuel
at 200 pounds a litre
that other green
kind of credential that's what they're saying
that synthetic fuel is going to be
imagine a hundred litre engines
20,000 pounds
that is what it cost to fill up your car
for a Grand Prix
that other
better off just giving us normally
aspirated V10
recycling the food scraps
that happen in the paddock club wouldn't they
that's really what they should be doing
of course
New Year's resolutions
good god
let's try and keep it down to one or two
my friends
all coupers disappeared off
let's start with
let's start with Neil
I want to
really replicate what I've just
achieved in 25
I'm like Christ
if I can stay healthy
stay positive and do that
same shit that I did in 25
if that would be really
bloody good definitely want to go to TT
Classic Le Mans
now every year for everybody
so definitely try and make that
it's really good my first little goal
is Retromobile
so I try to
break down my little
into quarters Retromobile in Paris
little Thursday into there
lovely little car show
loads of weird French shit going on
and then if you really
can get your shit together drive down to the ice
in Samarits for the last week
in January so that's what I'm trying to do
replicate 25
be really good
I'll answer that now so
yes replicate the year before
I start off
with the first quarter of the year
I think I'm going to do Retromobile because I've never been
I'm going to try and be more
open minded about events this year I struggle with them so
I'm going to do that
we're going to the fat ice race
in Zalamse as well I'm doing that
that's on the Sunday it's all in the same weekend
Retromobile
Samarits
and the fat in Austria is all
that's three or four days
you can try it all
jump in something comfortable
we're going to finish some of the cars
that I started last year
that's quite important
I'm not saying it's entirely
my fault
there will be people that will help me
so I'm going to finish some of those cars
I'm going to
aim towards one big
motorsport event that I'm going to take part in
it's not going to be a track event
I want to do the Silver Fern
rally in New Zealand
in November next year
as the Oracle himself
said Francis Tuttle said
that is the best event
of them all
so I want to do that Silver Fern in November
I don't know what a car will be in
but I'm going to work towards that
I'd like to do it in a BMW E30 M3
really that would be lovely
so
and then other than that
I want to try and do as many scrambles as I can
and I want to
I want to write a bit more
as in tap tap tap
that's really my first love
actually I like making films and other stuff
but I think
it's difficult to disassociate yourself where you came from
and I came from a world of still photography
and written word
and my heroes were the photographers
and I love it when Neil says that Alex Penfold
is the greatest living car photographer
but obviously he's a very talented boy
but I'm not sure that respects the generations
of
still photographers that worked on magazines
and took film
I used to stand out in the rain with them
and they didn't have any digital stuff
they just had a Polaroid back
on a medium format camera
they had no idea of what they took was any good or not
and you'd go to the light box two days later
and go you're a genius how on earth
did you manage this
we definitely need to get a few photographers
on here to tell us all about it
because I love
that's such a great idea
that's a great idea
the Stan Papuels
and the Gus Gregory's
and the Charlie McGee's
and the Amy Lipmans
they're stunning so
my part of that world was writing the stories
and I wrote September for Roadwrap a couple of weeks ago
and I really enjoyed it
I mean you can't make a living out of it
but that's not the problem
it should be a bit beyond that now
so I think
yeah, writing, a bit more writing in 2026
Chris Cooper
I'd like to replicate
Mr Clifford and Mr Harris's
years from 25 and 20 is even half of it
I'd like to go to the
I know we all say this
we must all go to TT, that will be mega
because I've never been
I'd like to do
a motor racing event
with my two boys where the three of us
share the same car at some point in some way
don't know how we're going to do that or afford that
put that on the list somewhere
otherwise a ridiculously busy year
my wife bought me
for Christmas
this book
oh, I wrote that
I've seen this on social media
and the internet and lots of other
I must get that book and Lynn, bless her
she bought it for me
so in the spring
we're definitely going to do this
in the spring
she and I will go up to the west coast
when
the Sky Glen Elg ferry
reopens in the spring, I think it's March, April
I'm sure they'll tell us whatever it is
when the weather gets a bit
sort of less horrible
and
drive around the sky
and not the whole of the north coast 500
because you do that probably takes probably longer than we have time to do
in ridiculously busy lives
so
the most important thing is that Lynn and I go on a road trip together
in the west coast of Scotland
and all the things I've said we'll do in the last 20 years we haven't done
and
go out and check the tyre pressures on cars
and check the oil level
and vacuum them out
and clean the inside of the windscreens because
clean cars that are looked after
are nicer and better to drive
that is a fact
come on man, it's what you do in
2026
I want to extend my car
collection to three
that's the first thing
so we've got to really make up
is it the R107
or is it
something else
with the X-Share
well this is the mega schizophrenia now
isn't it but I think we've got to do that
and then the thing I'd love to do
of course it'd be wonderful to do another
2025
and make a movie and do a bit of writing in this
I think we should go
on a really cool
at least two night
road adventure
and I think we should film a bit of it
I think that's the
it would be lovely to have a little five minute film
at the end of one of these pods
basically showing my newest car breaking down
you guys on the phone
me standing there
with all this angst but knowing deep down
it is a first world problem
but
I'd be very very happy
to replicate 2025
with a new car
I think your three decisions are
Alpine 110, R107
or XJS V12 camera
I'm telling you my sphere about the Alpine 110
this is my fear I've really managed to work it out
because Ashley
Devonche Ashley sent me a text
yesterday with a beautiful picture of his
which is very sort of saying go on
you know you want one of these
I just heard the pod with Gordon Murray
and you've just got to get one
and I pinged him back and I said
I'll tell you what my fear would be
it's so bloody good I wouldn't want to drive Lola again
you need to 900
300 horsepower 900 whatever
one ton car
with an automatic that's just super comfortable
that rides
cheapest can you imagine
you get addicted to that
everything else seems like a
you know
I don't think you can
you can't
even if you have an amazing
spaghetti bolognese
you're not going to have it every night are you
and also you get used to
Michelin staff rosette food daily
if you drive across to McDonald's
you'll still have one
how does that work with women guys
more complicated
very very difficult
can prove expensive
so let's move on to
now
brevity is something I want to embrace in
2026
what does that mean
explain that
so here we go
this is the best
and briefest two car cars we've ever had
I chose it for precisely that reason
very good
there's so much irony in that
I don't know where to begin
let's start with Craig
Purvis
20k budget
performance of state
for work
and a cabriolet
that's your lot
we love you you're going first
so cabrio I think
you get an R129
this is a 320 but it's quite low mileage
and I think when your budget is 20k
I think that would just about squeak in
to that 20k budget
I think that goes
on sale
starts on 5th of January
so just after this comes out
on car and plastic
and the performance of state
I think I've been quite smart
here
and I know some of us quite like this
it is
a
to BMW X5
1.6S
the X5
that has been your engine
yes
currently
it's currently on sale
it actually ends at the end of December
4.8
yes
no the first one was a 4.6
the second one was a 4.8
which one was the Alpina engine
4.8 isn't it
I don't know
I always fancy the 4.8
the wheels on that car are just tremendous
aren't the wheels
this is a lesson BMW
this car
as to how
that was the absolute
performance version of that car
brilliant car
clear glass, not over the top
not trying too hard
wow what a machine
why have I got those cars for 20k
I think you can get those two cars
maybe you have to squeeze it a bit
okay
someone go in the comments
I always seem to remember there being two
there was a 4.6
and then there was a 4.8
there was a 4.8
IS
if we're talking about Brad Schnobbery
you always wanted that last
4.8 IS thing
okay Neil Kevin you go next
right I'm going
simple
simple as the question
I'm going a little
996
Carrera 4
Cabriolet
it's not in the auctions
but it's an asking price of only
14 grand
I mean
a Porsche
Cabriolet you're going to bid him
because it's Christmas and he's probably potless
you probably get it for 13
look at that
Compolt Blue
4WD
put some winter tyres on
you don't need another car unless you've got
like a dog or wife or whatever
and then
330 from our friends at
Hill & Toe
it's obviously on-car and classics
look at that a BMW
330
M
Sport Petrol
Touring
I E91
Estate
it's even not
Cat D
and it's
5 grand
and it's supplied with
two original keys
good mileage of only 106,000 recorded
just 5 previous owners from New
and approved used booklet
present and the interior
is actually relatively tidy
for an 18 year old family car
with no major rips, tears or
stains that we are aware of
it's a winner
but these stains that we're not
aware of are the headlining
the X5S
it started out as a 4.6
and in 2004 it was replaced by the 4.8
the one
on-car and classic is a 4.8
so yeah I think we were all right
there was 4.6 and 4.8
great car that is
for my estate
I found this
and it is the 98
Impretza
Turbo
Estate
it's a great car
I read about them
they just sound like great cars
full stop
and this is what I found
rather predictably
an E36
328 cabriolet
4 seats
98
98
what engine?
2.8
1.5
328
but it actually wasn't a 328
it was still a 325
there were some sort of shenanigans going on
there was a 323
that had a 2.5
that's fine
they kept the 2.5 engine
and after that
it all went
that's telling
when you allow your bad strategy
discipline to drop once
you can never recover
because some of the marketing goes
well it doesn't matter if it's 2.4
we said it was a 240
and then the lunatics run
the asylum then
in fact civilization ends
I thought BMW
and we all love BMW much more than all the other ones
but the thing they got really wrong
is when they moved it
when they introduced the 4 series
in what meeting
were they at
where they said the 4 series
we're going to choose the 2 door
and then we're going to have the 3 series
or whatever it was
the 4 door series
should have been the 4 door
because they wanted to be large more
because the 4 series
sounds more expensive
because it's going up
and we can more easily apply a premium
to the 2 door sporty model
the 328
the 328 of the E90
was actually a 2 litre
4 cylinder turbocharged engine
I remember seeing one
at the Frankfurt show
I went with some mates in 2000
I was thinking it was a 328
I remember the 328
we opened the bonnet up
and it's a force that was
BMW died that day for me
yes
that must have been a strong day out
I have to say
I might have to eat her
at the end of that
yeah
I can remember
my favourite motor show stories
I can't share them with you but
Neil Kerry and I got so bored
at one Frankfurt motor show
we identified one bloke that we never liked
and we followed him all day long
filming him and made our own film of him
being a cock in nature
we did it for about 3 hours
I was
oh dear
right here we go
so obviously I won this because
I didn't think about it and I've been scurrying around
when I was looking at my computer
so first of all I'm back for that old chestnut
the 944 cab
there's one there for 10 grand
you're a big fan of that
you're rightly so
they're great cars
it's got a lower roof line
when Porsche does that on a 911
it charges you 300 grand
on a 944 it doesn't
so now this one
Manage is going to kick himself here
it says here
where are we
Mercedes
C55 AMG
estate the rare one
a C
a CV8
first owner
B Eccleston
no
all that
last week
I love it
so it has to be bought doesn't it
we'll put it up on here now
you'll see the description base
first register keeper was Mr Bernard Eccleston
so I presume he put his dog in the back
or whoever he had kidnapped that week
as I asked him right at the end of the series
Bernie why is everyone so frightened of you
he said I don't know
I've never actually had anyone killed
I thought that was a great way to
that's a great way to end the series
not completely killed
yeah
actually
that is amazing
2004 at Bernie Eccleston
1000 miles there's anything about Bernie in here
let's see
absolutely nothing
it's got a bit of Bollesteries blood on the headlining
other than that
let's move on to some music
and we'll go to Chris Cooper first
well it's episode 68
and there is no way I could walk past
68 guns by the alarm
oh
the alarm
it was slightly associated if not
exceptionally associated with
Glasgow gangland fighting
it was Scottish weren't they the alarm
so we'll put all the fighty
stabby stuff aside
68 guns is a brilliant track for the car
yeah
manage
I was walking through a market I hope I haven't
said this already I don't know if I have
but I heard a piece of music and I actually
had to shazam it
because I'd never heard it before and I thought it was absolutely fantastic
and it's a song called
Some People by a band called Spectre
and it's just a great
car song
nice
like it
so my other half is trying to call me
it's just dodge her quickly or just tell her I'll be
minute
let's go to Neil Clifford
even though
I don't like Christmas and I you know
because it's work and blah blah blah blah
it is a nice time when you don't know
what day it is it's that weird
you know I don't know is it Friday
today Saturday should I be at work
should I not be at work it's all a bit weird
you do disappear
because you can go and sit in
a part of the house and be left alone
and it's very nice and you disappear
into these YouTube
wormholes of craziness
and I ended up last night
because I don't really like television either
Ask Aspel
do you remember that? Oh yes
fucking why am I watching Ask Aspel
on YouTube
anyway an interview
Google it if you're as weird as me
Ask Aspel with Kate Bush
this was in 1979
and she was
20 years old I know I bang
on about Kate Bush but I think she is
genius musician and
anyway I think she sung
wow or is that a second album
but anyway Ask Aspel, Kate Bush
bit of Kate Bush wow
fantastic good
so
I'm knocking around
as I will do for a bit now in an M3
CS touring
which predictably is about as good
and modern cars if you like fast cars it's just
sensational would you choose the CS
over the non CS badge
that's a debate the car I would but why they've
removed the cup holder I do not know
there's nowhere to put your cup I mean that's
it's madness
it's lighter though
yeah but it's dark green
it's cool out anyhow we had some
towels over and we all went down in Dorset
we went for a walk down on the cobbly bits
near where they filmed Broadchurch
you know that's what slightly sinister bit
if you've not been there before you go oh that's where
that was filmed for a bit creepy but it's
a beautiful part of the world on the way back
I was just put in some music on
and I put on
Graceland and
Islands on the Souls of Earth Shoes
is
the intro to that is so beautifully
produced and I think everyone gets a slightly warm feeling
in their tummy when they hear that because
it's comfort music's bread and butter
putting music it's lovely
you know what Paul Simon said about that was quite funny
when he invited the South African music
musicians to come to New York
after they made the album
he said that they got off the plane
they had to obviously apply
to the then apartheid government
for permission to fly them out and they all got off the plane
in New York they went
okay where are we going
he said you can go where you want
he said well have you got our permits
so that we can go where we want
he said you don't need permits
you're in New York you can just go where you want
and they were completely freaked out by the fact
that they could go where they want
a seminal album
a seminal album
well I'm very glad that we've
managed to get through this
Chris Cooper has endured a head cold
and some extreme banter from me
so I do apologise for that Chris
because I'm wearing my gilet
my charsen car gilet I feel much better
if you're feeling poorly in the new year
you may also purchase one
may I say one thing
tell me you got someone
that sells dog food
no I'm not doing a manage
I'm
I'm recommend
a small company
you've got a CEO
we need help
because we're a little bit useless
I have been given the job
as part of my 2026
responsibilities on this podcast
to enlarge
our strategy on merchandise
and one of the things we are going to be doing
is producing limited edition
hopefully funny
good quality, valuable
or value, good value, t-shirts
but what we can't remember
is all of our quotations
of what our t-shirts
should say
because none of us can go back
and listen to all the podcasts
so it would be wonderful
if anyone listening to this podcast
can remember what wonderful funny
slogans we came up with
in the comments
that would really help me
build a little strategy of t-shirts
I'm going to have the first comment
I think we should go back
to the one I mentioned
in a previous incarnation show
I think the first one should be Dermendios Fantas
that should be our first t-shirt
Dermendios Fantas
if anyone can remember
our weirdness around t-shirts
would be really bloody helpful
for me, thank you very much
and we may even do
mugs
and other merchandise
and other things
we do vitamin supplements
why don't we do that, man flu
chris harris's man few
there's no regulatory
worries in there at all
we could say it makes you faster
couldn't we
exactly
manish's magic motion tablets
manish, he make the flu vanish
on that note
love to all of my three co-hosts
we'll see you next week, bye bye
trust, not trends
About this episode
Predictions for the 2026 Formula 1 season take center stage as Chris Harris and friends reflect on their highlights from 2025. The discussion covers memorable experiences at various Grand Prix events, personal car purchases, and the evolution of F1 regulations. The team debates the implications of new engine formulas and the potential for teams like Red Bull and Aston Martin to excel. With a mix of humor and insight, they explore the importance of experiences over mere specifications, and share their hopes for the upcoming year in motorsport.
30,000 miles
323i
50 grand
air scarf
car week
Classic Le Mans
engine
Formula One
four wheel drive
Goodwood Members Meeting
Alpine A110
Audi R8
Audi RS4
Audi S5
BMW 3 Series
BMW 6 Series
BMW M3
BMW M5
BMW X5
Cadillac Fleetwood
Citroen AX 5 Doors
Daimler Super V8
Ferrari 288 GTO
Ferrari 456 M GT
Ferrari 458
Ferrari F12 Berlinetta
Fiat Panda
Ford Escort
Honda S500
Lamborghini Countach
Lancia Delta
Land Rover Defender
Land Rover Range Rover
Mercedes-Benz 190E
Mercedes-Benz 420 SEL
Mercedes-Benz SL
Peugeot 205 GTI
Pontiac Solstice
Porsche 911
Porsche 928
Porsche 944
Volkswagen Golf
Original notes
Download Car & Classic’s app today to see our 2CG’s, and our weekly pick of our favourite listings: https://candc.li/App_Download_
This week, we have a lovely long episode for you all – with a great mix of topics. We hope you enjoy.
(00:00) Intro
(00:06) Highlights of 2025 - Best things you did in a car
(25:28) Is the badge always really worth it? i.e. 560 SEC vs 500 SEC
(47:30) Rear of the year award - your favourite back of a car
(58:00) F1 - 2026 predictions
(1:13:11) New year’s car resolutions for 2026
(1:21:18) 2CG with Car & Classic
(1:30:07) Music
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The Car Podcast with Chris Harris & Friends
Chris Harris
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