Christmas Special with Gordon Murray! | The Car Podcast #67
The Car Podcast with Chris Harris & Friends
Christmas Special with Gordon Murray! | The Car Podcast #67
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Term
winter tires
Winter tires help cars grip the road when it’s cold and snowy, making driving safer in winter weather.
Term
summer tires
Summer tires are best for hot or mild weather; they give good handling on dry roads but aren’t safe in snow or ice.
Car
Porsche 911 Stratos
The 911 Stratos is a special version of Porsche’s famous 911 sports car. It was made for racing and has a shorter wheelbase, which makes it quicker to turn around corners. It’s famous among car fans for its speed and racing history.
Car
Range Rover L322
The Range Rover L322 is a big, comfortable SUV made by Land Rover in the 1990s. It’s known for being good on rough roads and having a fancy interior.
Car
Mini Cooper
The Mini Cooper is a small, fun‑to‑drive car from the UK that’s famous for its quirky look and good handling.
Term
four by four
A 4×4 car can drive on all four wheels at the same time, which helps it go better in slippery or rough places like mud or snow.
Car
Mercedes-Benz G-Class G 63 AMG
The G 63 is a big, strong SUV that can go off-road and still feel fancy inside. It’s expensive but very capable.
Term
MST Mark II S-Court studs
These are special tires with metal studs that help cars grip snowy roads better. They’re used when it’s very cold and icy.
Car
Audi RS6
The Audi RS6 is a sporty version of the regular Audi A6 car. It has a big engine that makes it go fast and looks very flashy.
Car
Land Rover Defender
The Defender is a tough, off‑road vehicle that many people love. It’s famous for being able to handle rough terrain and has a long history of reliable performance.
Concept
Silverstone Circuit
Silverstone is a famous race track in the UK where cars and bikes compete in big races like Formula 1. It’s a popular spot for racing fans and drivers.
Part
chrome pedals
Chrome pedals are the metal foot switches in a car that look shiny. They can break and be dangerous.
Part
rubber pedals
Rubber pedals are the soft, rubbery parts you step on in a car. They’re easier to grip than metal ones.
Term
brake pedals
The brake pedal is the part of a car you push with your foot to make the car stop.
Term
automatic
An automatic car changes gears by itself, so you don't have to press a clutch or shift gears manually.
Company
G-Y-S Pack Pro 800
This is a charger you can plug into an outlet to recharge the battery in a bike, car, or motorhome. It also gives extra power if the engine is having trouble starting.
Company
QuadLock
QuadLock makes special holders that let you stick your phone or other gadgets to the car’s dashboard or cup holder with a magnet, so they stay in place while you drive.
Car
McLaren F1
The McLaren F1 is a very fast, expensive sports car that only a few people own. It’s famous for being one of the best cars ever made.
Term
secondary ride
Secondary ride is how well a car stays smooth when you hit bumps after the first shock absorber has already taken care of it. It makes driving feel more comfortable on rough roads.
Term
longitudinal compliance
Longitudinal compliance is how much the front and back of a car can move separately when going over bumps. More movement means better grip and a smoother ride.
Company
Zagato
Zagato is a company that makes special, custom cars with unique looks and performance features.
Term
emissions regulations
Cars must follow rules that keep the air cleaner. These rules say how much smoke and bad gases a car can produce, so makers have to change the engine or add parts to stay within limits.
Brand
Lotus
Lotus makes small, fast cars that are very good at turning and feel like a motorcycle on wheels. They’re popular among driving enthusiasts.
Part
S-core twin-cam
It’s a powerful engine that can make a car go faster, built by a company called Retro Power.
Concept
F1
F1 is a type of car racing where very fast, special cars race on tracks around the world. It’s known for being the most prestigious and competitive in motorsports.
Car
Ferrari 550 Maranello
The Ferrari 550 Maranello is a very fast, luxury sports car made by the Italian company Ferrari. It has a big V12 engine and is known for its beautiful design.
Term
tire pressures
The air inside your car’s tires needs to be at the right level. If it’s too low or too high, your car might not drive well and could wear out faster.
Company
Granger
Granger is a business that sells parts for cars and factories, helping them keep everything running smoothly.
Term
auto reordering
It’s a system that automatically orders car parts when they run low, so factories never run out of what they need.
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Hello and welcome to the Christmas edition of the car podcast.
Before we even start some housekeeping to manage, how do you survive the man flu in December? Tell me now.
Okay, I will take two grams of vitamin C a day. I take the magnesium supplements and I take some
vitamin D supplements. That will help you. Will that help Chris put his reindeer up behind him?
My day. He's just done a PR on that reindeer. He's all the medical man without the man flu,
but no, the two of us have the man flu, two of you don't, but he's about to, he's sort of abusing
his reindeer behind him. You know, if that time of year, if you're a reindeer,
for those who use the Cooper laborers, Cooper is wrestling with a line drawing reindeer
that he can't establish in his rub. And take one aspirin a day.
Always do that anyway. Okay, I'm going to find some energy. We're going to kick it off with
first point. I love this. You're a very successful Scottish racing driver having a family
Christmas that you'll verbally ski lodge. You can just be Neil. You also have fantastic hair.
What is parked in the five car underground garage? Oh, Neil goes first. He posed the question.
Okay, I know a few of these very successful Scottish racing car drivers with homes of VBA.
Some of them are taller than others. Some of them have more hair than others. Some of them
are faster than others. Some of them are more intelligent than others. But they're all wonderful people.
The one thing they have all in common, and this is true story, is they all of them have an
integrale. That is the Scottish racing car drivers, VBA car of choice. One is white, one is red,
but my favourite, and I shouldn't have sold it, obviously, is Lord Blue.
A Lord Blue integrale, I would then have, you have to have one four by four,
for the family, for picking up your mom at the airport, for errands, for winter tires,
all that shit. They normally, these people, these friends of mine, have Audi,
but I don't like Audi, so I would have Range Rover. I would have the new Range Rover.
Actually, one of them is swapped to the new Range Rover. I would then have to have a 911,
because in any garage, you have to have a 911. What do you have? You either have a 911,
Turbo S, or my choice is a DACA. I've got that wrong. I can't change mine.
I'm winter tires. It's the only 992. I really like it's fair to say.
Sorry, Neil. For a moment there, I thought I heard you say winter tires. That couldn't possibly
be the correct surely. This isn't my choice. This is my Scottish racing driver friend's choice,
and therefore he needs winter tires, because he's not... What would you need, Neil?
I would just keep them on summer tires, because what could go wrong?
I'd then, OK, you have to have some Italian, because when you're in Switzerland,
and what I know about my Swiss friends, it's very nice in summer,
but even in that company, I understand that. We have two Italian cars. One winter,
one winter, semi-winter car. I would have that Lamborghini Storato.
One of the cars, one of those. In Brown, mega cool. Probably the coolest car, the coolest
friend I've got. I'd have a Storato, and then I'd have one classic for the summer,
for striving down into Milan for lunch on a lovely spring morning.
Either a Stratos, or a 250 short wheelbase.
I don't know. That's quite tough to be if I put that out there as my choices.
Podcasts for the people. Well, this is race car driver,
who's obviously got a few bottles and has got a housing verbiage with the five car garage underneath
his house. Kind of shit cars, can you? No, can't fault it. Can't really fault it.
I've just realised I've made a big error here with mine, so I'm going to pass you over to
Manage, whilst I try and correct it. In true Christmas spirit, I decided to ignore the first part
of this question and not make him Scottish, not make him a rally driver. I just decided to make
him Bernie Eccleston. I've also changed this to start. These are the five cars I would get
Bernie, partly based on now, and not dissimilar thinking to yours, Neil. I think these are a bit
a bit 360, summer winter, summer autumn. I think a Range Rover L322, because I just love those.
A really minty, but I'd get it in white with navy blue and hiria, because that's just so Swiss.
You see those things coming down? It's just a great. The other thing I would get is the Mercedes
300 SL-Gullwing door. You get that gun metal with ox blood interior. That is a hell of a start car.
Brackets, he has one. Close brackets. Then I think, because I love you guys so much, you've
so converted me, it would have to be a Ferrari FF. That's your all-wheel drive. All four of you
going out for lunch. That would be dark metallic green. I always forget what it's called. That Verde
Metallisato, whatever it's called. Beautiful. What's it called? It's a Zeltveg. It's a Zeltveg. I'd
have that with a tan interior. A nice low mileage version, one of those. I think just a stunning car.
You'd have to have a mini-cooper, navy blue. I would getholstered with Kuyio inside. I think that
just the coolest summer car. My final one for the summer drive would be an e-type Jaguar convertible.
You want it in British racing green with black leather interior. That's your summer drive up
to the olden park at Beside. Anywhere, make you move it on. Going for a coffee or perhaps that
brilliant sausage that they make there and at the chalet eagle and have a lovely afternoon drinking hot
chocolate, watching the people skating in the little park. Lovely stuff. Chris Cooper.
Well, I haven't actually once met the very successful Scottish race. I have met him at the
Joe McCarrie thing, but otherwise I don't really know him. He's a very charming. His hair does do
good hair. L'Oreal needs to buy one of his follicles and replicate them in some way. I don't know
Bernie. Well, I don't really know what I'm doing here kind of thing, but I think I've done this
properly. I would say my pal Roger, who does listen to this podcast, also has a little
residence in Verbia and is acquainted with your your your chum and he was I should have asked him
actually, well, what is in the garage, but I thought that was rather too, well, that's rather too
prying. So I've come up with my own answers. Some of them overlap. You definitely have an FF
Ferrari, because it's not a pure age sandwich. I don't think you could do that
be seen in daylight in the pure age sandwich. Even though I think technically it's probably
very impressive and I think secretly it would all quite like driving it. It's probably quite good.
The Lusso thing is a good example of it's trying too hard. We said this last week, I think
the boundary of cool is has it trying too hard and Lusso just slightly does. I also would have a
911 Dakar. I'd also have a 911 Dakar. And I think the aforementioned Scottish racing driver
had one kneel. You'll know this, but did you have a green one at some point?
I think so. I think it was at Bister, at Bramble in January, and it was even I could tell it was
the coolest car. They're clear glass. Yeah, beautiful wheels. None of the silly accoutre
more. You could specify none of that badging and stuff. It was really, really cool.
Come for seats. Come, yeah. Then I got serious. Then I got serious, because this is
Verbier and it could be very, very snowy. And you know, there may be a moment where only that would do.
It's a Unimog. Oh, yes. It's a Unimog with people carrying. It's a Luxobage Unimog. I think
Unimog's just, there's no way I could justify the functionality of a Unimog. I just want, it's
that Tonka thing. It's that we grew up with it. A Unimog with big chains, not studded tires.
If you're serious, you need chains. I was an underbitter on one of them once, and thank God,
because you actually need a H2V license. I think some of them you probably do. Yeah. That's
how you do it. So I think a proper Unimog, if an Armageddon of snow and avalanche, Biffel Verbier,
God forbid, you'd be the coolest man in town, because you could get everybody out. I thought about
the Italian thing, because I thought about a panda four by four. And I thought, no, everyone's
going to do that. So I'd have a 20 year old Renault Scenic RX 4. The four by four one,
slightly lifted. I just think that would be so cool. So cool. Okay. And then I think you've
got to have a Range Rover. How many cars do you have in? It's fine. This is the fifth one.
And the other one I'd have would be one of those. It's a Kingsley improved Range Rover LSE.
So the normal wheelbase one, hard dash, lots of lovely stuff done to it. It could let you down that.
I think it's been Kingsley Fide. Yeah, it's okay. All of the stuff that could let you down has been
fixed. That would be nice. I don't know whether our particular Scottish racing driver would like
that, but this Scotch is not quite a racing driver. Would love that as my five car garage.
If I had a Shelley in Verbier, which I don't with the garage, which I haven't got, I would love that.
Pretty comprehensive eight car list there. So I've got some doubling up here.
Integrally, yes. Yeah. The obvious panda four by four. Sorry, cliche, but you'd have that.
It's a good car. Good choice. You're going in the original. Yes. You're going there and back
in a G63 sadly, because that's what you go there and back in, isn't it? Now, I read this as a winter
only. So did I? I think that's fine. It doesn't say that though. It doesn't say that at all.
So I've made assumptions. I mean, know what they are. They're the mother of everything.
So I've gone for an MST mark two S-court on studs. One of those. That's okay. They make a sort of
RESTO mod style. They're beautiful things. Look on their website. MST mark two S-court,
Banzai engine studs. And also, you need a 911. You're right, but I've gone for a tattel
safari car on studs because I'm a bit familiar with them. That's good idea. I think that would
be good for me. So those are my five cars, rather unimaginative. I'm afraid, but I hate to say,
I didn't, I'm not sure I read the question correctly. So I've got no, basically when it gets the
summertime, I'm a bit goose, aren't I? Yeah. Can I borrow your 250 short wheelbospeed now?
Yes, you can. Next up, here we go. This is, this is brilliant. This is name the car equivalent
of a Brussels Sprout. I mean, perfect. What's it going to be? Manish.
Do people like Brussels Sprouts? Can you just do it quick? Yes. So this is a good car then.
Is this a good car? That's why this is a good question. I'm, I think when it comes to actually
eating them, I don't mind, but the idea of a Brussels Sprout, they just smell so dreadful
when they're being bought. I mean, they literally, I think they stink out of house when they're being
boiled. I think it kind of, there is, you know, that kind of cabbage water thing. It's just, it
is, it's one of those nauseating things at Christmas. I think if you can dollop enough butter on
it and fill you ask with other aromas, basically cinnamon based, I think you're okay, but just the idea
of a Brussels Sprout. Anyway, Brussels Sprout is sort of on a matter of egg for a bit crap, a bit
blah, a bit sort of whatever. And I think there is only one car for me. And it is the all-wheel-drive
modern Ford Capri. I just think that is a Brussels Sprout. Yes. For car, was it Brussels Sprout? That
is it. You can't get them in green. I had a quick look on the configurator, which is such a pity
because I think that car in green, it is, it is the global Brussels Sprout car. Electric four-wheel
drive, blah. I mean, I can't argue. I interpreted this slightly differently, Chris Cooper.
I actually forgot when we were doing this question, so I just wanted to think about it while
Manage is talking. I, I love Brussels Sprouts. Brussels Sprouts, I'm going to say something now,
which, which might convey the impression that I know how to cook and I do cooking on Christmas
day, neither of which is true. Lynn, I'm, you know, sorry, if anybody takes away from this,
that I do anything on Christmas day, other than put the crackers out and open a bottle of wine.
But I think if you steam them, help me here, guys. If you steam them, so they're not very, very mushy,
and they're quite crunchy, and you do them with lardons and bacon and chestnuts and stuff.
It's just the nicest little, little thing to have. So I think, I think it's the aerial no-mad
of the Christmas lunch. I think it's the aerial no-mad of the Christmas lunch. I just think it's,
it's not for everyone. It's little. I know that's a bit, I just think it's just, I think
Brussels Sprouts have bit of bacon, add on some chestnuts, not overcooked. It's when you overcook them,
put them in water in this sort of like gaseous soup of nuts. No, that's not what Brussels Sprouts
should be. So I think they're lovely, and I think an aerial no-mad, which is not for everybody,
it's an amazing thing, and it just works. They'll love them. Aerial no-mad, no Clifford.
Brussels Sprouts for me, I think they're so overrated, they smell,
they are required and needed, because it's a visual merchandising thing for me.
A Christmas dinner? Yes, and we mask them with cream and bacon and nuts and all to get rid of
this disgusting taste of the Brussels Sprout, and then you're busy picking out the nuts and picking
out the bacon, and it's the only thing that gets left, because obviously it then gets moved
to the Boxing Day bubble and squeak strategy. So I think they're totally overrated, no one really
likes them. I like them, I think they're underrated. I think they're fake, I think people fake
their love. No, I really like it. It's about to be a tradition of this. That might be true,
and they're cool in green, and everyone's like, oh, I really, I love those, I love those.
It's to me, it's the Audi RS6, because I've owned a number of these cars, and they stink
like a Brussels Sprout inside. I think you've spilt milk in your car. Everyone I've bought,
admittedly, I've never bought a new one obviously. They smell of farts and cigars and dogs,
and I think that's, to me, the equivalent of a Brussels Sprout, and actually their crap,
the BMW or a Mercedes is so much better, so I think it's such an overrated,
bloody thing, and we all fake our love for them, and they're shit.
Wow, Rudolph is not hurting. He's gone for it, right? I've never heard the Brussels Sprout
referred to as overrated. Yeah, exactly. It's the ultimate underdog vegetable. Most people hate
them. They do. I love them, and to prove that, I eat them year round, and I really do love them.
Yes, I do. I viewed this question this way. I think it's a Christmas version of Marmite.
In other words, it's a Marmite car. It's a Marmite vegetable. You either love them or you hate them.
No one's ambivalent about the Brussels Sprout. No one goes, I'll take it or leave it. Most people
either hate them. They hate them because they've prepared it at school in that awful, overcooked way.
I get that and sit in their own juices. It's done correctly. They're wonderful. I love them.
So for me, the ultimate Marmite car, and if a fish could come out of the screen and punch me,
it would now. It's the Land Rover Defender because so many people love the defender, that they
actually go to London where they shouldn't be and have a meeting where Cooper goes. A lot of
people like me and most of the farming population in the UK aren't that keen on them because your elbow
is hit stuff and I've gone into the reasons why I don't like defenders but there we go.
For me, it's the defender, but I don't feel strongly about the defender as Neil Clippet does
about the RS6. That's interesting because you don't like the defender,
but you do like Brussels Sprouts. Well, you asked the car equivalent of a Brussels Sprout.
Yeah. That's my opinion. It just said what? It's a good one. I think that's actually the best.
I think that's the best analogy.
Cool.
Of a mine.
Obviously, apart from everybody else's, they're all equally brilliant.
Yeah, that's right. We can squeeze one more in here. So let's go for,
I like this. Name one after market car accessory that you would like as a person that is for sale right now.
Chris Cooper. I have to say I've gone quite large. I've gone quite large.
And you know, everything's for sale, isn't it? Really?
So I've gone for Silverstone Circuit. Oh.
It's definitely after market. You buy it after you bought the car
and I think it accessorises the car nicely. So honestly, I did think about, you know,
I've got lots of other things that you could do, but I thought, no, it's Christmas.
I've brought a spirit of Christmas to the remaining questions in here.
And I think Silverstone Circuit would be the after market accessory that if it was for sale
and everything's for sale really, that's what I would like.
Well, I mean, this is the most aerial no math Silverstone circuit.
It's been a long year. Yes, it has. Wonderful. Manage, what would you have?
Go on on that basis. I'd quite like to have Suzuki, if I was sourced.
That would be a nice circuit. You could have done. It's Christmas.
I really thought about this and there is something that I love to put into Lola,
but it's very after market, but I've been given a bit of advice not to do this.
I mean, it is no, no, no. I just love chrome pedals and that's one thing I don't have.
I don't have chrome pedals in the car. And I was told that they're potentially very dangerous
because they're, you know, you can slip. And I didn't know this.
Nuvilar, not Nuvilaria, Scari apparently spent all his time because he'd seen several drivers
killed slipping on accelerators and more importantly brake pedals. He used to spend his time
sanding down his chrome pedals. I mean, literally sit there and just try to try to make them
a little bit rougher and buffer so that he wouldn't lose his grip. But that is what I was thinking
about as the ultimate aftermarket 456 accessory, just getting some chrome pedals, little chrome rest.
I thought they were. I thought 456 did come with chrome pedals. No, they didn't. They're rubber.
They are rubber. I had new rubber ones put in, but I just think just it will look great. I am now
a little bit worried about the idea that you put some chucker boots on start slipping or some
rokes and stuff. I mean, did it? Can I ask my learned friends? Have you had problems with slippage
in other brake pedals ever? My yellow car has metal pedals and yeah, it's fine.
Yeah, you can have the little sort of, the sort of the race bit will be rubber
but or some sort of synthetic thing, but then you have chrome around it for sort of aesthetic and
loveliness reasons. I think with an automatic, you're not a big risk.
No, you're not. I don't know. No, particularly if you've got the right tires on.
Right. We will find, we will find for you chrome pedals for 456. Thank you very much.
OMP must do a set. No, Clifford. I am known slightly for my love of charging and boost,
boosting cars. And I have all sorts of weekend dilemmas about C-Tech and what's that other one?
Ring and the numerous aftermarket, both boosters. What's that other one? What's the booster one?
Noco. Noco. Yeah, they're brilliant. They are. Noco is a good. Noco is a good. I'm not sure
about the C-Tech thing. We need to talk about that another day. But anyway, but I've had numerous
genuine recommendations from my fellow friends, Instagram friends, of course, not real friends,
but I see them as real friends. They are real friends. They are my new AI, Instagram friends,
for the best company that does charges professional professional quality and boosters is a company called
G-Y-S, which is a French company. The website is called something weird like G-Y-S welding. I think
they're there. G-Y-S. Go your shitter. Yeah, exactly. It's welding, professional welding stuff.
Okay. But you go on that website and I've no connection. This isn't a paid, this isn't a paid
speech. There's a lot of boosters and a lot of charges on there, and they all look very high quality
in French. So if my wife is listening to this, because of course she doesn't, because she gets
bored shitless by our podcast, because they're all the same, bless her. G-Y-S. Have a look. G-Y-S
welding looks really great. It's one of those ship websites where everything's really, really
tiny because it was done in 1998 as a website. But I think it looks very professional and
high quality. So if anyone is listening to welding, the G-Y-S pack pro 800. Chargers, boosters. Yeah.
Oh my lord. Doesn't it look good? But these have got wheels, Neil. They're a bit big on,
they've got that. Yes, look at that. Look at that. That could really help my weekends. I have to say,
I quite like one of those as well. Can you read that out to me please, what that product's called?
It's the G-Y-S pack pro 700. There is 800. Read it out. Read the letters together please.
So it says it's a G-Y-S, go your shitter. G-Y-S pack. No, it's a G-Y-S pack. It's a G-Y-S pack.
Oh, sorry, because my brain, I don't have that half of my brain. I don't think that doesn't
translate in French, the G-Y-S pack. Do you know what? It starts motorbikes, cars, motorhomes,
petrol and diesel engines instantly. And air buses, buses.
I've had a proper Christmas presents, A, buying them, a B. I don't even like receiving them
was such a miserable bastard. But I'm going to get this myself or give the link to my wife
for my birthday in February. I think you should ask for, go high.
There's the G-Y-S pack. I'm not going to say it the other way. The G-Y-S pack pro 800
open brackets, UK closed brackets. I think that one has been designed for that particular
specialization we have in those cold, clammy damp mornings, when any other kind of G-Y-S pack
alternative won't do. I have been recommended this by lots of people as well. If you want the best
boosters and the best trickle-charging machines, that is the company.
Okay. You just imagine the logline G-Y-S pack trickle-charger.
Anyone in France who had doubt listens to this podcast and they want to sponsor us for a numerous
amount of booster packs, we are available. Actually, in France, the G-Y-S pack trickle-charging
to boost you. I have to say, we're not a commercial bunch. We've just said we've given a massive
shout out and it's at last was, do you France is giving us some money? Isn't that how it works?
I thought that's the other way round. Oh shit. In my CEO book. Oh shit. We bugged that up.
This one is very easy for me. It's a little bit shameful. I've had a few, you'll see on the back
of my telephone, I've got a quadlock case. Now, I've seen these on the visors of certain racing
drivers. I've seen them in the shops and they kindly sent me a couple of bits and bobs. And I have
to say, it's game changing. It's a motorcycle and you have cars and other stuff. It's so good.
It really is. It's sort of you click in place, but the best one of all they do is they do a thing
that goes into a cup holder with a sort of wand that comes out of it that you can then click into.
And it stays down here and it's stable and it works and it doesn't break. It's such good quality.
And when I got to co-drive on the Safari rally the other week, I got there and I realized I didn't
have anything on my phone in the car and two people had quad locks in their rally cars.
And I was so immensely jealous because they didn't move and they were brilliant.
So I'm probably doing myself out of some sponsorship here. But honestly, the quadlock stuff,
if you've seen it and thought I might have a go, the only downside is the case is quite heavy
because it's got a magnet in it. But other than that, it's honestly the stuff is so so good.
May I ask a question, sir? Yeah. I'd also love quadlock and I use them, particularly this lovely
little wallet thing that clicks on the back like that. Yeah. So what is that, Neil? Just explain to us.
That is a little wallet thing that I keep my credit card in and my past for my office thing
and it goes on the back there like that. And I don't carry wallet anymore.
Doesn't it bugger up all the magnetic stripes on it and stuff like that?
No, no. You're too negative. It doesn't spend all the money in your credit cards through some sort of
like, no, osmosis conspiracy of spending. No, no, no, but quadlock is really good. The one question,
if anyone is available for quadlock to answer me a question about their products,
the stickiness goes away on the, those the beautiful high quality plastic things with the
sticky round thing that goes on your windscreen. And it's amazing for the first month or two it works.
But if you start moving them around from car to car, the stickiness goes away and I've tried to
re-enhance or bring back to life the stickiness of the plastic thing by licking it. Obviously,
that's the first thing you always do. I lick everything. Yeah, you just lick the thing.
Yeah. But you've got to start there. How you get the stickiness back would be a bit,
if I could get that for Christmas, that would be lovely because it's sticky. Is it actually sticky
as in some sort of like adhesive style rather than a vacuum? Not a vacuum. Is it like this bit here?
No, no. On the product, you buy the old stick thing that goes on the windscreen of which this connects
to. It's all lovely. The quality is very good. I'm not being negative. Please don't upset,
don't be upset, quadlock. So the sticky round piece of clear, high quality flex number is
enough. It loses its stickiness and I can't figure out. I've got about four of the bloody things
and they will not stick to my windscreen anymore. Can I just sum up the situation? So this is now
the second manufacturer in the last 10 minutes that we have eulogized about, neither of whom we had
the foresight to think about any kind of commercial arrangement in advance. And we have pushed that boat
down that little... But it's now so far that we're now apologizing about asking them.
We're fucking good at this. But I've even been on to frequently asked questions on the quadlock
website to see whether there is a solution for the stickiness reinhancement.
It's fittingly in the background here. So if someone tries to ring in, he's able to,
there you are, boss. Hopefully we'll get a call in about two minutes. Yes. So quadlock, please help me
because I love you. Does Oscar Piastry enjoy quadlock products as well? Yes, he does.
Does he not? Or is it just land though? I think it's Oscar. No, it's Oscar.
Is it? No, is he sponsored by quadlock? Yes, he is. It's one. He's one. He's one.
Our esteemed producer is on the screen. Oh, is it? Oh, there you go. Brilliant product.
Two syllables, quadlock, yep. Australian. Yeah. Dick insider.
Here we go. We're not going to start with the next one yet because I'm hoping that some more
darling image will cut this out. Is that from the same marketing department that created the
the easy start little spray for cars called start your bastard? Yeah, YouTube, Dick insider.
Dick insider. It's really, it's really, it's really good. I didn't make any other kind of drinks.
Dick, it's not actually real. But if you YouTube, the fake advert for Dick insider, it's really good.
It's the cider from the Dick insider. I can't make it up, can you?
I still think that Australians just swear better than anyone else.
Such high quality when they sell. Yeah, did you imagine walking into Halford's or
another auto factor and motor factors suppliers are available? And going up to the
chap in the county thing, I can't see where it is on the shelves. And say, where's start your bastard?
You couldn't do that over here, could you? No. So I remember when motor magazine in Australia,
when the when the Impressor went to the bug-eyed look, it had that sort of round headlight in about
2000 and two or something. Yeah. We were all trying to understand how to express how
disappointed we were with this new starting direction. And motor just had on its headline,
what the fuck have they done to the Rex? We were all we were scrambling around for the words
and they just nailed it with a swear word. It was mad. Right. Okay, so I'm going to
preem this now. We've got a special Christmas two car garage guest coming up. Here he is.
On the button, Gordon Murray, the best person on the planet. Can I introduce you to my friends,
Neil Clifford, Manish Pandey and Chris Cooper. Hi, folks. Hi, Gordon. This is our Merry Christmas
podcast, Gordon. And I post to you a two car garage, but I'll read out what I wrote to you.
It is as follows. We want you to choose two cars, one for everyday use and one for weekends
and special days. Both must fit with his lightweight philosophy and neither can have been designed
or built by him, i.e. you. So you can't choose any cars you designed or built, which is a bit tricky
because I think we all like a McLaren F1 in there or your current supercar. So what will you be
choosing, Gordon? To all of you, all of you guys familiar with the Bentley Continental? Yes,
yes. Well, it's not that. Someone's seen my Instagram, yeah, yeah. This one was actually an easy
one for me because I've already got the car. I'm for 16, up until seven years ago, for 16 years,
my everyday car was a smart roadster. And who was that? That was my 10 o'clock Tuesday alarm.
I do apologise. Yes, so for 16 years, up until seven years ago, my everyday motor car was a smart
roadster. The little smart, with the Bravis chip in it. And I couldn't find anything else
that was equal parts like fun, small, and a challenge with the gear change. So it was something
that, the reason why I like things with the challenge is it makes you drive, you know, the little
Fiat Ciquitento, which was my everyday car for a while, it's got a crash box, for example. It
forces you to heel and toe. So that's the sort of thing I like. So to replace that, I've been waiting
and waiting to sort of find a lightweight fun alternative. And it just wasn't anything around.
I drove a Porsche. I thought it might be the rear engine Porsche, the, what's it, the
Cain? I borrowed one for a week, but it was sort of too good, really? If you know what I mean,
a little bit too big and too heavy, but also too good. So when the Alpine announced the A110,
the aluminium car, it was a complete no-brainer. And that's been my everyday car for,
well, there you go. That's a real car. 1100 kilos. Okay, it's not a manual, but actually,
for everyday driving and the traffic, it's quite good to have something that you can leave in
auto. I never thought I'd say that, but it is true. 100%. So that was quite an easy choice for me,
really. And I use the car literally every day. It's a magnificent car. So you've got two fellow
owners here, Neil and Chris have both got one tenths. We need a club. We do. Manage needs one.
I will, I will, you know, I will. It's there's so few cars that are small and light and just
fun these days. They all got ahead of themselves with the marketing guys every year seem to think
they need to be bigger, heavier, more, more kit on them. And every time they do that, it's a step
away from the driver involvement and the fun. How quickly, Gordon, when you got the cars,
did you realise, oh my god, this is great. I tell you what really bulge me over is I'm
the stickler for the balance, every designer on the planet has the balance ride and handling. Yeah.
I don't like nasty crashy secondary ride with all the fillings fall out your teeth. They have
potholes and things. German cars are terrible for that. The secondary ride of German cars is
just dreadful usually. And all the cars I do and I design have got a lot of attention paid to
the secondary ride, you know, the bumps and lumps sort of thing. And my initial holy, holy grail for
that was the Honda NSX when it came up. It had a fantastic amount of compliance with a very clever
system on the front suspension. I think it had over 20 millimeters of longitudinal compliance,
which is for a sports car is really a lot. And then the Lotus Evora took over from that. Yeah.
That was a very good balance between the A1 10s better than both those cars. In fact,
I benchmarked it for T50. Did you? Yeah. I think it's a great town car. I use it. It's the only
car I like driving in London where the roads are so hot for exactly the reasons you said.
Small footprint, a lovely compliance secondary ride is amazing. And I think do you have the
pure model or you've got one of them? No, I had the launch edition. I haven't driven one of the
stiffer ones. I don't think they're quite right. Although I'm about to because I had one of those,
you know Zagato just built 19 A1 10s with a long tail. Well, I ordered one of those and that's
just arrived. And that's based on the R chassis. Okay. I think the R or the S, I can't remember.
You used to come back and tell us what you think when you've driven it. Yeah. So next spring,
I'm going to take that out. The roads around here are filthy at the moment, so it's not worth it,
but it's an all-carbon car. I have to say the build quality is very good. The
carbon work, the shut gaps and things are very, very good on it. I'm impressed.
And I'll be driving that next spring. So do you think it's feasible to make a car of that
quality and that performance and make any money from it? I keep looking at that car and think,
how do they make any money from it? Answers are probably don't do they?
You're talking about the long tail? Yeah, I'm talking about just the A1 10 in general.
Yeah, I think with 19 cars, you must struggle. Yeah, yeah.
I'm 10 into the US. I don't know why, really, but you would have thought that it's sold a ton of
those in the US if they could. I think they would have, but probably they didn't have the budget to
make it federal compliant. It adds, for example, even on our supercars, it adds 40 million to the
budget to go to the US. 40 million. Wow. It's a lot of a key difference,
is Gordon. What is it? Mainly a different emissions. So you've got to remap the engine completely,
but the big one is believe it or not, well, you can because it's America. You've got to do all
the crashes with unbelted occupants. It's legal. It estates to where seat belts everywhere,
but evidently 50% of the population don't. So you've got to do all the crash tests again
with more dynamite than the airbags and unbelted occupants, which means we do something like
30 crash tests to make a 100 cars a year. Wow. Wow. That's not a good example.
Gordon, does the A1 10 count for your special car? No. What's your special car going to be?
The special car, I did ask you, if you remember, if I could have a classic car, and normally my absolute
go-to car for taking out on special days, holidays and high days would be a series three or four
Lotus Alain fixed head coupe without a doubt. It's still the best sports car I've ever driven.
However, I am getting a little bit tied. I drive classic cars all summer, and then I go back
to the Alpine when the weather gets a bit mucky and stuff. So I rotate my cars every year. I
rotate 10 cars every year. So I drive different classic cars all motorbikes. You do get a little bit
tied of the missing fifth gear, the missing up of the windscreen and the rear windows and even the
side windows, lack of proper heating, lack of aircon when it gets hot, and those things actually
start detracting. It's fun for one day, but what saved the day, loved and more hate them, are
Ristamods. And my choice for that is absolutely categorically my alpha, alpha holics. It's essentially
a GTA R, but in a Zagato junior body. And that is the most fun. It's got electric windows,
it's got aircon, it's got proper heating, and it's it's comfortable, usable every day,
but it is fun with a capital F. It was a toss-up to be really honest. It was a toss-up between
that and the S-core twin-cam that Retro Power built me. But the alpha, I've always loved that shape.
It was a bit of a momma shape when it came out. Some people hated the wedge, some people loved it.
I was on the love side. And I just loved that little car. I've done a couple of track days in it
already. And yeah, okay, the secondary ride is a bit harsh, but you can put up with that for fun,
you know, for taking it out on a weekend or driving it to Goodwood, or I've rallied it twice
on historic rallies. It's just my go-to car, it's 910 kilos, 230 horsepower, and it's so well
sorted, the balance, you know, you can drive it, you don't need a steering wheel, you can drive it
on the throttle once you get a loose, you know. And it's built 10 miles from where I'm sitting,
the bank's boys should be very proud of their work, they really do. I'm doing another little
project with them at the moment, actually. Yes, I've heard about this. I'm not going to say anything,
it's special. In your, with your own land, Gordon, the thing you must say about the 4-speed gearbox
is really interesting. Have you ever, no one's listening, just between us, have you ever found yourself
changing into the imaginary fifth gear, which isn't there? All the time. Yeah. All the time. And
they were all the same. And because, and because they didn't have the luxury of fifth gear,
fourth gear has to do top speed. So what you've ended up with is a fairly evenly spaced ratio
gearbox, which means that you're revving the nuts of it at 80 miles an hour. Sorry, 70 miles an hour.
I suppose I did the retro mod off the land, didn't they, really? Because if you want,
if you want a modern land, and we can talk about at least as well, I suppose, but it's really MX-5,
isn't it? Well, yeah, they took half a dozen of them over to Japan when they were designing that.
Did they? Yeah, it is, it is sort of a high volume version of an land, really, with the weight
distribution and the layout and stuff. Unfortunately, it's just not built for grown-ups. I can't fit in
it. How do we campaign to make smaller motor vehicles? That's the thing gets me good. I had a ride
in your amazing T-50 and it's so little, that's what strikes me, is it's a small car,
is you options on the road, you can place it on a road, you're not, you don't just sit there,
you can find it by white lines. It's smaller cars, don't we? I know, I know. Well, actually,
funny, you should say that, because the last week I bought two, they literally got delivered
last week and I've only driven one of them so far and I'm driving the second one today, fun
enough, going to sheltered in it, and I wondered about whether I should mention them because I've
bought them as an alternative occasionally to the A110 to go to work in. And when I go to
a windscreen, I've got a lot of little narrow back roads and a smaller and more fun, the better.
But I'm not sure you guys aren't going to laugh at me when I tell you what they are.
Go on. One is a, excuse me, a fair pander, 100 HP. Yeah, brilliant. It's great.
Good. I said, you'd laugh. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. And the other one is a car that's always
fascinated me to the point where nearly bought one when they came out, it's the original aluminium
Honda insight. Yes, yes. 840 kilos, 60 miles to the gallon. And they've always looked fascinating
to me. So I've got one of those with about 60,000 on the clock, which is low mileage. That is
really good. Yeah. And the fair pander is, I've already been on internet looking for how you can chip
the engine. And how much is that way that fair pander, 100? I think it's about 900 from memory.
It's 870 or 900. The Honda's with air conners, 838. Really?
It's a lovely shape. And that shape of that Honda looks slightly odd at the time, but now
it just, it looks, it looks cool. It looks cool when it came out. I've been staring at them
for years. And I just thought this one to make to make it even more interesting. This one was
being sold at auction for breast cancer. So, you know, there were a lot of people bidding on it.
So it went to a good cause as well. So it was great buy, actually.
Good. I'm going to have a big search on. Yeah, they really are. What other small cars interest you
Gordon? Let's talk about that. I just had a add up actually. My collection, I've got, I've got 55 cars
under 800 kilos. You've got all of them. Pretty much. I mean, you've had, I think you've been
down to Gordon's garage. Haven't you, Chris? Yeah. What's the first iteration? Oh, okay. You
must come back and have a look at the current one because it's grown a bit since then. But they're
all small, yeah, they're all small, pretty and light, basically, and interesting. Yeah,
yeah, sort of 55 cars under 800. Yeah, fascinating. Gordon, Mary, thank you so much for joining us.
So good to you, looking so healthy and smiley. It's a difficult couple of years, but it's great
to have you fighting fit again. And we can't wait for samples to more of your products. Thank you
for joining us, Gordon. Have a great Christmas. Have a great Christmas.
Bye-bye, Gordon. Cheers, guys. Cheers. Bye. Perfect. Wow. Fantastic. Who was that? How
are you? I love that. 55 cars under no, I mean, that's, we have to go and see that. That'd be
lovely. I wanted to ask him how many of those were Brabans from the 80s. There's a lot of
Zagato's. Alpha Zagato's. Yeah. Yeah. It's not refreshing to have someone that that lives by
a philosophy and absolutely hears to it. You know, that's what he does. First of all, I went to
GMA. His Alpine is right outside, parked outside the door. It's always there because he loves these
small lightweight sports cars. He's got no interest in the big heavy stuff. I'm utterly ashamed
that he saw a picture of my Bentley Continental T. Obviously he thought that was really funny.
He actually nailed me there, didn't he? Sharp as a tank. Can I just ask a question to you two racing
drivers? Okay, two and a half. There are, there's concept of power to weight. But he's talking about
something completely different, which is just the concept of absolute weight. And there is a difference
isn't there? Yeah. I mean, it's to do with, you know, polar moment of inertia when you turn the
steering wheel. From where does it feel the cars turning and how quickly does it feel that it's
turning without artificial things like fast racks or silly suspension? And essentially,
you asked a really good question of him, which was when did you first think that's a really
wow car? And I think I immediately thought of when I went to, I know you don't do test drives
now, but I thought, I need to see whether this is all that is made out to be. And literally
turning out to show room entrance. Yeah, it was like, we can go back now. Yeah, it's 100 yards,
you can tell that car is definitely 100 yards. And that sort of, it floating, that sort of,
he's right. Second view, I was quite a technical sort of thing and I never quite sure I
describe it well. But you know, when you feel it, you're using a bigger heavier car.
The Alpeners, I'm so, I feel even prouder and happier at this Christmassy time to think,
you know, we've all we all like the Alpener 110, but he's not like Gordon describing
the way it does. It's fantastic. What a hero. Yeah. Well, the phrase, the Lotus engine is always
used to describe the way that a lightweight car works on a British road is it breathes with the
road. Yeah. I always thought that was a nice phrase. Yeah, just breathed with the road.
Yeah, there you go. Now, moving on. Yes. In your cracker, you can receive a set of keys for any
car to enjoy on Boxing Day. What would you choose? I'm going to go first to manage.
I have shared this with you guys in the past. I am when I'm walking in the West End, if you walk
up Clujest Street, any kind of random day in May fair, you will see a beautiful James Bond
DB5 in Silver. It's been perfectly restored. The registration plate, I think is DB1.
Is it B1? Sorry, B1. Yes. I mean, I think it's a million-quid plate, isn't it? Yeah.
So, if I had a Christmas cracker and I had the keys to that car for a day,
I would be extremely happy. It's a stunning car. When you see it with that background,
because Clujest Street looked like Clujest Street for, I don't know, 150 years. You can actually
imagine Sean Connery just getting out of that car, you know, popping into a club around the corner,
getting back, going to Trumpers, buying himself some grooming products, getting back into that car,
legging it at home. It's a stunning car. It's worth walking up Clujest Street to look at it
in context. I saw it last week and it absolutely immaculate. Yeah, it's like a brand new motor car,
probably, isn't it? Neil Clifford. This is tricky for me. Well, it's not tricky. I've had the
great pleasure of driving most sorts of cars. So, I was really racking my brain to say,
what have an eye experience that would be, that would be something that I really would like to.
And I concluded basically that I want the keys to a Sheeran.
Don't hold back. Well, there's lots of Sheerans around at the minute in line. I do it everywhere.
No, there is. It may not be in Cheshire, Morse and Albans, or where we, you know,
sleep. But if you go into Mount Stry, I was there last night working. There were three Sheerans,
there was, you know, and I think I've never experienced thereon. I've never experienced Sheeran
at all, both passenger or driving. I've experienced most other stuff, Laferari 918, not ownership,
but being in one, all the sort of Ferrari, Porsche, things. So, if I wanted a new experience,
just to feel the Sheer speed, but frankly, as much quality, you know, if I read about the Sheeran
or the thereon, I'd love to, yeah, I would love a navy blue Hermes Orange Leather,
Sheeran keys, where would I go? God knows, but I would just head north for two or three hours and
zoom around way I was and come back. I think it's a spectacularly good looking car.
So, that's what I'd have. Sheeran, we can have what we want managed, what do you
have? I've already stolen that. I was very little. It must have been
1970s. I just think to remember one, my father, I've said before, my parents were in that
Scottish generation that left Scotland. They were either doctors or engineers or racing drivers.
And a lot of them left the UK after the war to go be engineers and doctors or
other. My parents lived in parts of Africa. My dad was a mining engineer. And when he came back
to the UK when my brother and I came along, he worked for a French cement company running a cement
works on the North Kent coast. And I remember occasionally this French family,
must have been his boss, would come to our house, this little sort of little housing estate,
a little bit called Sean, graves end in Kent, North Kent. And that Christmas, one Christmas,
he'd given my parents this gift of a box of Christmas crackers. And in this Christmas cracker
was just the, it's still one of those most amazing extraordinary Christmas memories.
In this Christmas cracker, there was a match box, Silver Shadow came out of the cracker.
So cracker like this. And when you opened it, I can't tell you how exciting that was because
it was a Rolls Royce. And we've said this before, you know, Rolls Royce is the metaphor,
is a sort of, you know, are they rich? Have they got a Rolls Royce?
They got a Rolls Royce there. And it was like, it couldn't, so, and it just, it was extraordinary
sense of excitement because it was so utterly beyond our world. And I thought the match box version
was really, really cool. So in memory of that this year, I'm going to put this,
ah, it's that little match box size. It's a Bentley, which our lovely friend Ben, we had
from Bentley gave us each one of these that we had dinner with him a while ago. I'm going to put
this in one of the crackers, this is going to go away because it'll rattle a bit heavier than the other
ones. And it won't have plastic spoon in it, it'll have one of these. I'm going to put one of these
in the crackers that Christmas round our table, just to see the look of excitement when that pops out.
So, I guess the answer to the question is, the keys that I would love to see
in a cracker on Christmas Day would either be a 1970-something Phil Vashado
or if Ben is listening to this and he has the time to arrange it in time,
the keys to that. I think this is one 75th scale. Is that the, because they're all sort of
the same scale, I think there might even be smaller than 175th, I don't know. Matchbox Lesney
was the the manufacture of those things. I think it was bought by Mattel in the late 90s and
then all went to Macau anyway, so that's what I would look for in my Christmas cracker.
Wouldn't it be great if Ben's second surname was Tlee?
Benjamin Terence Lee.
I think I'd just like to have a early 70s 911 to go for a driving. I just, I like the idea of
trying to start it, making sure I didn't flood it. We just all six to pick up and just go for a drive.
I've not driven a basic one for a long, long time. I don't care if it's an S, a T, an E,
I don't really give a monkey's, but just to hear that engine and just to go for a recreational
steer on Boxing Day, the way from arguing families and all that sort of nonsense, just to clear the
head. I think just for me an early long bonnet 911 is being too long and I want to drive one.
Yeah. Next thing. Now you have to drive to Rome, nonstop next week for New Year's Eve party
with Luca, that's Montezemolo. Choose a new Italian car to take you and your partner in comfort
with enough luggage space for a week's holiday. I'm going to go first. I don't normally go first
because I need to get this out the way because there's only one Italian car.
There is. Who's? So I'm going to say it first. It's an Al from a Julia quadriffolio.
Oh, it is just the sexiest saloon car on the planet and we all have to own one at some point.
Yes. I've ruined it for the rest of you. Neil Clefford, what colour is your quadriffolio going to be?
No, I genuinely haven't gone quadriffolio. Oh, I've gone quadriffolio, but not Julia.
I suppose you. Yeah. Yeah. Well, I said this challenge deliberately, but just to show
how difficult it is to buy, unfortunately, a good Italian car. That's really tricky. And I started
on the YTS scheme 1983 in the Fiat garage in Portsmouth, Cannons, in the parts department.
My first day there was the Fiat Uno car of the year with the flags outside and the X19 finale
dark green with the five speed 1500 in the corner. And I'm like, this is the fucking best job ever.
And now it's difficult to buy a good Italian car. They almost don't exist anymore.
Well, certainly it's a bit of a challenge. So I was either, of course, you can go super car.
And I did think about going the new, what's it called? A mouth fee.
Yeah. So good reviews. And I'm warming to the looks of it. I'm not totally convinced.
Frankly, everyone else that I know thinks it's the best looking Ferrari of all times. And maybe,
you know, you start best looking Ferrari of all time. There we go.
A lot of people say it's a very attractive car. Both Roma,
it's a, everyone says it's a pretty car. I don't quite see that, but I struggle with, you know,
maybe I'm wrong. Maybe it is a pretty looking thing. But then obviously I set the challenge
of the luggage. Now, of course, a man can travel for a week's holiday with his wallet and a pair of pants.
But if you decide to take someone else, maybe the amount he's a bit of a challenge, I think actually,
if he's a decent looking car, it sounds like shit, though, is the problem. But most cars do sound like
shit now. So I'm going, the Stelvio. And it's still available. I went on the website last night to
think maybe it maybe that car, maybe that's another car that's disappeared. You can actually order one.
I know it's not the Julia, but I think it's actually as a four by four thing. It's quite a pretty
bloody thing, actually, I think. So I'm just like stink as well. Yeah. It's interesting. I saw,
was it on Instagram, one of the magazine's car magazines saying that the amount he might be the best
Ferrari the company, the car that the company makes at the moment. I remember. Yeah. Yeah. I read that. Yeah.
Um, uh, man, I'm afraid I have gone for the quadrifoli, oh, black, black. I just think with that little
clover on the side when you see them in black, that just one little green detail. I see. You see
the monster? They're not that common. But what they do make me stop and look, the proportions are
just exactly right, aren't they? The only thing I would say is they're a bit bigger than you
imagine when you see them in real life. I think you'd have no problem at all with the luggage.
And I'd say I've never traveled anywhere with just a wallet and a pair of pants. I'm sorry. I mean,
Tariya overnight bag and we're talking about just an afternoon tea somewhere. I cannot travel light.
Well, um, uh, Chris Keeper. I read this a bit differently. Of course.
I read this a bit differently. I'm not sure I've read it correctly. In fact, I'm sure I've written
read it wrongly. Um, so I read it to say, and I saw it, I did like you, Neil.
I saw it as an important celebration of Italian automotive capability.
Um, so I went down the wormhole of Italian coach builders.
Ah. Um, and uh, I then took a wrong turn and ended up with Dutch coach builders, but I thought
ah, um, I think you would go to a, a touring or one of those businesses. And you'd say
I'd like you to build me one of those. Yep. It's not fucking Italian though, is it? Well,
if it was made by touring with Italian love and passion, Neil, all the things that you, you sort of
were behind the question when you asked it. I think even though it's, and I forget the name of the
Dutch business that actually did this, this one of this thing and it's sort of a corniche underneath.
Beautiful. But, but there's something beautifully Italian about the ambition and the beauty and
the passion of that. So it's Christmas. We can all make a wish. Um, and you know, we all, we all have
our, we all come to Christmas with our own perspectives and questions and challenges about
how happy or otherwise time to do it. So I thought bollocks. If I'm going to have a Christmas wish
and I've been invited to Lucas New Year's Eve party, I'm going to say to touring with the
kind permission of the Dutch chap who built this thing as name I can't remember my apologies.
Um, there'll be one of those corniche shooting breaks with the luggage in it and everything
about it was just lovely. So I did, I'd be really happy with the quadrufolio if that's what they're all
say. To lovely summary, little moral message for the times, but you still can't read the question.
No. No. So we love you dearly. Let's move on to our two car garage. I wonder if you read this one.
Have read this one. Here we go. Santa Claus has been deregulated
the help. Yeah, I wrote this one. I have read it. Yeah.
To help good Santa fight off the bad Santa, you must choose two cars. One that's fast and
commodious enough to get him and his costume through the snow first on Christmas Eve. The second
is for fun to remind him of flying like Dasha, comments and Rudolph. Budget commensurate with being
good podcaster this year. So spend what you want. Something big to put all the president,
something fast to put the wind through your hair. Let's go to manage first.
Well, this is big enough, but this is Santa's car. I think it light weight, because the light
weight was to keep it, but it is the Bentley Super Sport. I love this beast. It is the beast.
Is that on car garage? No, it may not be. It may not be. It may not be. I don't think there's one.
I don't think there's one there, but since it was Christmas, it will be one one day there.
Exactly. I think since it was Christmas, I think if you go on the wish list on car and
classic and put that in, you'll get the first one. But can you just see Santa in one of those?
Can you imagine? Sack in the passenger seat. He is going to be carving through the traffic,
but I think most traffic's just going to stop and stare, because that car is so sexy.
I have gone car and classic with the next one, and it is not a car. It is the Ducati 959. I think it's
plus Paginale. Paginale. Now, it's sort of Santa-beared YT Silver with Santa Red Wheels. I think that
is going to make you feel as if you are flying through the sky pulled by some turbocharged reindeer.
I think they are my two, and that is on car and classic. It's actually available on December
the 30th. That's the kind of thing that I would almost buy just to put in the living room.
You just keep it in. It's just so good. Who would buy a sculpture over that?
I almost did that. If I had done that, the only place it would have been safe for me to put
it in the living room. It is a living sculpture, isn't it? It's a little Michelangelo, but it
works. 100%. It's so pretty. Little Clifford. Right, here we go. I am buying. I am buying two
lightweight, lovely, lovely little cars. One, which I used as a two-car garage, 7, 6 weeks ago,
actually went and bought. There's a whole story to this car, which I won't bore everyone,
but the Lotus Elise in purple. The story of this car is, I was spoken to the owner. I was spoken
to the guy that originally ordered it. He did go to Lamborghini and got the paint and went to
Lamborghini and got the Blue Interior to match his SE30. This is the amazing thing about
car and classics. Tom, we need more money, is that this website is Bloody Brilliant because you
can find these amazing cars on there that suddenly I'm such an entrepreneur. It's going to be
worth a bloody fortune once I've spent a fortune making it work. That's the one car I've already
actually bought. We are putting our actions where our mouths are. Then, clearly I can't
bloody find it, I'm buying a Lotus Cortina. You know what, I've never owned one. I think
they're so cool. The bizarre thing about the Lotus Cortina is you can go on car and classic,
which I've done. You can find one for 30 grand, 40 grand, 50 grand, 60 grand, 70 grand, 80 grand
because it's such a difficult car to buy because once you start reading up all, it's the very early,
the first 100 with the why suspension on the back with the special type of connectors between
the navigation special. Don't miss shit that I don't understand, but obviously I've chosen the
most expensive one because if you don't know what you're talking about, probably buying the most
expensive one is the good art from the top and work down. What could go wrong by buying the most
expensive one? I've bought a Lotus Cortina because that paint work. Look at that, look at the back of
that. It's so fucking cool. That green, whatever it is, and this is the 88th car like who cares,
the 88th very early car, number 88th on the production line and therefore it's 95,000 pound
as opposed to the other one right next door to it on the website. It's 49,000 pounds because I don't
know. Who's that Scottish racing car driver that unfortunately died this? Jim Clark. Jim Clark,
Jim Clark farted in this one. That's why it's where double the price. That's what I'm buying.
Open the doors and we'll lose half its value. There's a photograph of Jim Clark walking past his
car in the west end. How many prezzies can he get in the boot? Loads. Quite a lot. It's in some
Europe's family car of choice. It's actually a big car isn't it? Named after one of the coolest
ski resorts. You can have a sat in one of those cars. It's a gorgeous thing for their
lovers. It bequeathed its tail lights to a wonderful TBR. The 400. Chris Cooper.
So I think on a rare occasion today I might have done this properly. So the commodeous but quick
car would be, and there's only one, I was thinking about Gordon when we were thinking about
doing this. It will be this. It's a mini 1380 rally or replica. We all know that the mini blitzed
everybody in the Monaco Alpine snowy rallies in the 60s. Don't need a four wheel drive. You just
need a mini like that sort of bloody French disqualified it. So I think that will be the commodeous
because they're just, they are tardists. I've got a mini. My first car when I was a student was a
mini. And you look at me staying next to the mini thinking which orifice are you going to enter
that car to get into it? That's never been said out loud before. So I think mini would be great.
And then, then, and actually Gordon sort of said this.
You know, where is it? There is on car and classic. Here we go.
We might have chosen this before. It's an Alane S4. Yeah.
And I think four speed. So both of these start, what the land starts on the auction 31st December,
the mini on 1st of January. I'm going to ask Gordon so many questions.
Yeah. Yeah. That land. It actually looks really really nice. Why would you choose the coupé,
not the soft top? You can, Gordon, you could ask him a thousand questions. Couldn't you?
Such a good. Well, he's getting back when he's tried his, yeah, his thing. That's what I would do.
Um, I've got, I think I read this correctly. I think I've won this. I don't often win these,
but I think I won this. First of all, fast with space,
760 kilogram payload. One of those crazy CXs that was made.
Well, those think the newspapers. This one was actually for something else,
but it's made by the totally unpronounceable pitch, they're called, was it? There we go.
Pitch pops. Yeah, it's a Dutch thing. Yeah, it's pops. But they're fabulous cars with such history.
So one of those, because Santa can fit all the president there and go as far as he wants,
because they used to do 180 comes right in there. And now I get a funny feeling that Mr.
Claus was a Cosworth fan, because he liked that turbo boost. If you want to feel speed boost
is the way forward, because it loves you in and then it just surges. So for Mr.
Claus, white, RS Cosworth, wing, everything. I mean, what would I've, I can't tell you,
Rudolph is quivering at that suggestion. The prices of these things are just gone nuts.
Car and class has got loads of stuff. There is a range, but some of them are over £100,000
pounds. Wow. Yeah. But I suppose they are poster cars on it. There's a whole generation
that's just one of these. I would have, I still think they look the absolute balls. They're wonderful
cars. So for me, crazy CX and a cosy. Do you mean nice? I think you might have won that.
Okay, okay. Right. Moving on to the music. So yesterday, everyone read the very sad news that Chris
Rhea had passed away. I'll be open on it with you. I tried to get him on the podcast for Christmas
this year, because Chris has always been the great supporter of all automotive media. In fact,
he's often quoted saying he wanted to be an F1 journalist, I'm a motorsport journalist
before he became a musician. I only met him a handful of times, but he was always funny,
up to speed, love the detail and a true obsessive like us lot. If he had a, you know,
two pounds in his pocket, he'd spent two pounds buying a car. He was like us. He was
an absolute addict. And so we're all really, really sad that he's passed away and that we never
got to share a laugh with him. I was really sad when I read the news because I just recall him telling
me a brilliant story about driving his 550 Maranello when Princess dies, she was on because he said,
well, the road's required. So I thought I'd go for a good old drive. It wasn't anti monarchy. He just
said, well, when are the roads ever going to be quieter? And he went for a long drive in his 550.
It's a great loss. And I think there's going to be an obvious music choice in a minute. So I'll
move across to the other three. I'm going to choose that one, Naz. You can choose another one, all right?
Let's go first to Neil.
I'm resting piece, Chris. Last Christmas is my, I chose my favorite Christmas song last week,
which was E17. So my second favorite is Last Christmas by Wham. Same here. Yeah, it's great,
I love it. Manage. I was going to go classical and say something like, should we have a nutcracker
by Chakowski, but I think Christmas has to be a little bit schmaltz-y. I think it really does.
And I think the ultimate schmaltz-y, it is actually, Schmaltz-y, but emotional song is,
when a child is born sung by Johnny Mathis, I think that really makes me think of Christmas.
That's a Christmas paper. So I had driving home for Christmas. And very well said, Chris,
it was all really genuinely sad and, you know, resting piece and all best wishes to his family.
I didn't know him, but I met him a couple of times, quite 25 years ago, when he was quite close,
he was a big catering fan, some of you know, he'd really race them, probably just before I started
racing them. And so he was always in the catering sales office, down in catering. Andy Noble,
who now runs, classic and sevens at Brandt Hatch, would have known him really, really well.
And he was such a fan of the car generally. I put on my Instagram today, a little clip that I saw
this morning that Goodwood had put up. It was a film of him revealing his, the replica sharpness
for Ari, he had made for the film, the Pacione, the Phil Hill, well, F1, Championship winning car.
And they had Phil there, blessed him as well, God rest his soul. And just the humbleness and the
slight sort of, you know, awkward sort of, well, I've done this thing and, you know, and, you know,
this is how I've done it. And it was lovely. So, um, yeah, bless him. So I think the only
one I would choose would be, and I read yesterday about where it came from. I think we all knew
road to hell. It's about the M25. It's specifically, if I read it correctly, the bit driving out
of London on the M4, you go past the Heathrow junction, and then you have to bear to the left because
the M25 is always horrible. And I did that on Saturday. And so, yeah, I'll have those two. Rest in
peace. And I'll go with driving home for Christmas, because it's a great tune. When you hear it on
the radio, you do tap along, don't you? He just, he knew how to ride a lovely tune. So, um, a sad
note, but on a more uplifting note, thank you so much for sticking with us, um, this year.
Manage wants to say something. Well, I just wondered if we could do a completely shameless plug
because it's Christmas. Yes, you can't go on. Can I do that? Um,
Rostolian, a fellow Rostolian of Mr Harris, um, really old friend of mine loves dogs, and we all
really love dogs. So she's got a little online business. She's not sponsoring us, but it's called
the Honeypop collection. And she does all kinds of things from dog champions to bombs if they hurt
their paws or noses. It's all completely vegan. It's not tested on animals. It's really, really
wonderful stuff. And, um, it's called the Honeypop collection. And if you want to log onto it,
and you put in CHF 15, there's a little discount code for you. And just trying to drum up a little
support for a small online Rostol business. Well, I've got some somewhere and we've been putting it
on my dog's paws and he loves it. So there you go, fully endorsed. Thank you.
Anyone else want to plug a local business while we're here?
French boosters.
So general message, thank you so much for sticking with us this year. We've loved having you along.
So we're all a bit sort of under the weather and lacking energy. It does feel a bit like that,
but it wasn't gone wonderful. Enjoy time with your loved ones and your not so loved ones. Go out,
have a drive, get in the garage, get the charges out, do car stuff, watch car films,
go and check your tire pressures, go and do stuff that you don't normally do, interact with your motor
vehicles, read car magazines, just indulge in your passion because we love you for it. And we'll
hopefully see you again next week.
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About this episode
The Christmas Special features a lively discussion with automotive legend Gordon Murray, who shares insights on his favorite lightweight cars and his philosophy on driving. The hosts engage in a fun debate about their dream car garages, with a mix of classic and modern vehicles, while also reminiscing about the late Chris Rea and his love for cars. The episode is filled with humor, personal anecdotes, and a heartfelt tribute to the automotive community, making it a festive and engaging listen.
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_
Manish’s friend: https://www.instagram.com/honeypupcollection?igsh=MXN6eWw4cXF6bnM0Mg%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
This week, we have very special Xmas guest and special Xmas bonuses! We hope you enjoy.
(00:00) Intro
(00:06) You’re a very successful Scottish racing driver having family Xmas at your Verbier ski lodge - what is parked in 5 car underground garage
(12:37) Name the car equivalent of a Brussels sprout
(19:38) Name one aftermarket car accessory that you would like as a Christmas present that is for sale right now
(34:22) Special Xmas 2CG with Special Guest!
(52:10) You have to drive to Rome non-stop next week for New Year’s Eve party with Luca - choose a new Italian car to take you and your partner in comfort with enough luggage space for a week’s holiday
(1:06:29) 2CG by Car & Classic
(1:16:08) Music
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The Car Podcast with Chris Harris & Friends
Chris Harris
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