The Car Podcast with Chris Harris & Friends Apr 17, 2026

Favourite Ugly Car? | The Car Podcast #83

Annotations will appear as you listen

0:00

69:11

Concept

F1 championship

F1 is the highest level of race car series in the world. The championship is like a season-long contest where drivers earn points at each race, and the top points total wins.

Car

The Fiat Uno is a little Fiat hatchback from the early 1980s. People often remember it as a simple, practical car that was popular in Europe. Here, it’s mentioned as one of the cars someone might pick as their “ugly” favorite.

Concept

European Car of the Year

“European Car of the Year” is a yearly award given by car journalists across Europe. It’s basically a way of saying a new car impressed people when it came out. The speaker is using it as a clue that the Uno was really good for its time.

Term

jet black

“Jet black” is just a very dark black paint color. The speaker is saying they bought one in jet black and didn’t like the alternative color mentioned. Paint color can affect how desirable a car feels to buyers.

Brand

Ferrari

Ferrari is a famous Italian car brand that makes high-end supercars. Here, they’re talking about Ferrari as one of the top-tier brands people compare other cars to.

Car

Lexus LS400

The Lexus LS400 is a luxury car that was a big deal when it came out. People liked it because it felt expensive and smooth, but it was also built well and generally dependable.

Car

Ford Focus

The Ford Focus is a Ford model the speaker thinks marked a turning point. They’re basically saying it drove and felt better than the earlier cars they’re comparing it to.

Concept

group test

A “group test” is when reviewers test several cars as a set, so they can compare them fairly. It often includes driving them when they’re new, and sometimes later after changes.

Concept

refreshed it

“Refreshed it” means the manufacturer updated the car partway through its life—usually small changes to keep it current. If a test runs for years, the cars being tested might get updated too.

Brand

Audi

Audi is a German automaker known for performance and engineering, and it’s often mentioned alongside other European brands in enthusiast debates. Here, the speaker pairs Audi with Mercedes to describe how those cars felt unbeatable when they appeared.

Concept

badge involved

“Badge involved” refers to brand reputation and the status/identity that comes with a manufacturer’s emblem. In car culture, badge appeal can matter as much as (or more than) the underlying spec sheet, influencing what people choose to buy.

Term

CarPlay

CarPlay is Apple’s system that connects your iPhone to the car’s screen. It lets you use things like maps and music right from the dashboard.

Term

snow foam

Snow foam is a special car-wash soap that comes out thick and foamy. You spray it on the car so it loosens dirt before you rinse it off, which can help protect the paint.

Term

air compressor

An air compressor is a machine that blows pressurized air. In car terms, it’s used to fill your tires at home so you can keep them properly inflated.

Term

spare set of wheels

A spare set of wheels means you keep another set of tires and rims ready to use. Instead of changing tires every time, you can swap the whole set quickly.

Term

options on the car

“Options” are extra features you can choose when you buy a car. Some are fun to have, but you might not end up using them much day to day.

Term

cooled seats

Cooled seats are car seats that blow air through them to help you stay cooler. Some people love them in summer, but if you don’t feel much airflow (or you’re wearing warm layers), they might not seem useful.

Part

rear centre armrest

That’s the little padded armrest in the middle of the back seat. It usually folds down so rear passengers can rest their arm, and it can be left up when nobody’s using it.

Concept

selling a dream

“Selling a dream” means you’re promoting an exciting fantasy, not just the car itself. The speaker is saying they helped create the image of what owning and driving a performance car feels like.

Concept

0-60 time

That “0-60” number is how fast a car gets from a standstill to 60 mph. People use it because it’s an easy way to compare how quick cars feel.

Company

Halfords

Halfords is a store in the UK where you can buy car stuff like batteries and tools. The joke here is that they buy things just because they look good, not because they’re actually needed.

Concept

McLaren

McLaren is a well-known F1 racing team. Here they’re talking about how drivers and staff are ranked inside the team.

Term

service history file

A service history file is the paperwork showing what work has been done on the car. It helps you tell whether the car was maintained properly.

Concept

favourite ugly car

They’re talking about cars that some people think look bad, but the hosts still love. It’s basically about how personal taste is—what looks “ugly” to one person can be awesome to another.

Term

V8

A V8 is an engine with eight cylinders. It’s a common layout for powerful, smooth-running performance cars.

Brand

Bristol aircraft company

This is a different “Bristol” from the car brand—an aircraft company. The speaker is saying the Bristol name had a strong reputation because of aviation history, which made people view it as prestigious.

Concept

Concorde

Concorde was the Anglo-French supersonic passenger aircraft that flew in the 1970s–2000s. The speaker’s point is that Tony Ben supported Concorde-era aerospace work, highlighting how aerospace engineering can shape broader technology and public support.

Concept

two car garage

It means having two cars: one you can live with every day, and another that’s more fun for weekends. The goal is to cover both needs without making either car feel like a compromise.

Concept

B roads

B roads are the smaller country roads with curves. They’re saying the car shouldn’t feel dull when you take it on twisty routes.

Term

azuki engineed catering

This part of the transcript sounds like it got misheard. It seems like they’re describing a small 3-cylinder engine and calling it something clever, but the exact name isn’t clear.

Concept

60,000 miles

“60,000 miles” is a mileage benchmark used to argue the car is relatively lightly used for its age. In used-car evaluation, lower mileage plus good service history can be a major reason a specific example is considered “the best one.”

Brand

Toyota

Toyota is a car company that makes lots of different models. Here, they’re just advertising their website and saying you can find a car with all-wheel drive.

LIVE

A better help ad.

Hold on.

One second.

I just need to...

What if you had a room where no one interrupts?

No notifications. No expectations.

Just space to talk.

With better help, therapy happens in a space that's yours.

Visit BetterHELP.com

slash Random Podcast

for 10% off your first month of online therapy.

Hello, hello, it's Brooke DeVard from Naked Beauty.

Join me each week for unfiltered discussion

about beauty trends, self-care journeys, wellness tips,

and the products we absolutely love and cannot get enough of.

If you are a skincare obsessive

and you spend 20 plus minutes on your skincare routine,

this podcast is for you.

Or if you're a newbie at the beginning of your skincare journey,

you'll love this podcast as well,

because we go so much deeper than beauty.

I talk to incredible and inspiring people from across industries

about their relationship with beauty.

You'll also hear from skincare experts.

We break down lots of myths in the beauty industry.

If this sounds like your thing, search for Naked Beauty

on your podcast app and listen along.

I hope you'll join us.

We'll be right back.

No affiliation with Novo Nordisk, Inc.

the only US source of FDA-approved semi-glutide,

not available in all 50 US states.

Hello, and welcome to the car podcast

with Chris Harrison and his friends.

We've all been on record for nine minutes

because Manages Ruta has been playing up.

So whoever supplies Manages Ruta can go do one

because it really does let us down most weeks.

He lives in North London as well. It's unbelievable.

Who makes your Ruta, Manages?

It's three Ruta.

There we go.

Anyhow, this is episode number 83

and Chris Cooper wants to interrupt with a fact.

83 is the year in which Nelson Piquet won

his first F1 championship, Manages?

Second F1 championship, yes.

In South Africa, it came third.

Ricardo Petrazi won the race.

Thank you.

Moving on.

It's also the number in that

fantastic German language,

Cold War thriller thing,

Deutschland 83.

That's it.

It's not 14 more than anything else.

No, we're going to avoid that.

Don't you worry, we're going to avoid that.

Here's a factoid for you.

I was reading up about

the, not the current Porsche Panamera,

but the previous Porsche Panamera,

the one that might have

a very powerful diesel engine.

Again, one of my,

when I can't sleep properly and I'm looking at car and classic,

did you know

that to make sure that the ingress

and AEgress of the rear seat occupants

was as good as possible,

they took development cars

to old people's homes in Germany

and offered the door

up to old folk to see how they got in and out.

Did you know that?

I thought you didn't know that.

How good is that?

Neil Clifford's not even smiling,

because he's got his CEO face on.

No, no, no, I was just thinking,

we're the 90s.

No, I was thinking,

we're the car of the year,

the European car of the year in 83 or 84.

That's where I was.

This is a disconnected

bunch of people. It's incredible.

This is absolutely incredible.

Anyhow, welcome back in the room, Neil.

Let's do...

Hello.

Let's do...

83.

ADHD is a skill, isn't it?

Times.

Absolutely is.

How many windows have you lit this week?

No, I'm joking. What car

that were launched

and then the rest of the

composition just knew they had to give up?

The car was good.

So, I think, roughly translated,

that is, what car when it was launched

was so good, the competition thought

they might as well just give up.

I think this is a really, really good one.

Neil Clifford can go first.

What was he stop thinking of Fiat Uno's?

Well, I was considering the Uno

because it was a big

A, I always believed

those European car of the year,

but it was also the year that I started

in that Fiat garage in 83.

So, I think it was 83.

Which road was that on in South Sea?

Is that Albert Road?

No, it was on Copner Road, Cannons.

No, yeah, yeah.

As you were.

But I won't choose the Uno.

There are so many, but I'm only going to talk about one

because you're all going to be annoyed

because this is about

those iconic

generational cars, isn't it,

that just blow away the competition

and we basically all want to

own all of them, don't we?

Because even if they're 20 years ago,

they're still magnificent.

The one I'm going to choose

and I know Harris is going to be

a little bit

chippy about this

because he's always chippy about this car

is the 996

Gen 1

GT3

because

even though his friend Andy

fucking whatever his name is

didn't do it and it's really

about the Gen 2

and the fucking gearbox is a bit shit

and the brakes need to be better

and the body kit you could have ordered

it for a standard career.

We know all of Harris's

foibles about the Gen 1

996 GT3

but it basically

started

the GT3 generation.

And I remember

was it 99?

When was it

Harris? 99.

99.

It was your

guards red with the fake number play

and all that. I remember

that auto car

and I remember

that car and obviously I didn't

I couldn't afford one, I'd never driven one

it took me two or three years

and actually they went down in value

because I bought a jet black

not Balsall, because Balsall

is a crap color. Jet black

on a V

two or three years later

for like 40 grand

so they depreciated

cars used to depreciate them didn't they?

They should do.

And I looked

a bit of a twat driving around in Muzzle

Hill with that car because there's like a billion

speed bumps and that car is not great

on speed bumps but

I was so chuffed with it

black with black

leather, it had the elephant ear seats

it was magnificent thing

I think that started such a genre

of cars that really were

not

had no rivals for probably 15 or 20 years

so it was a magnificent

the GT3

2996, Gen 1 because obviously that was

the beginning. I think that car has to be

if you were Aston or if you

were frankly even Ferrari, I know

Ferrari is a bit different. If you were

who else can I say

Alfa Romeo, you looked

to that car and went oh

shit

we are a bit buggered here

so that's my choice. I think

actually I've got no

objections to that at all because

even though the one you've chosen

I don't think is it's actually

the weakest one. It started

the movement and therefore it's the

right one to choose because

I suspect

that the opposition such as it was

looked at that and thought oh my god

that's their first attempt. They can sell it for

15% more than a normal 911

and you know the only person

people that come close with Ferrari and they had

a thing called the 360 which is already

one and a half times the money and the

challenge to Dali was really no quicker round

and track and that was two times the money

so yeah you're quite right I agree

completely. Let's go to

Manish

I had a good think about this. We talked

about one which one or the other

you may pick so I won't mention it but

I actually think

the car that

just made me stop and I think

made the opposition stop at the time

and really look at what they were

producing was a car that

it was better than

the thing that came before it which was

better than the thing that came before it

and

redefined

Ferrari and I think for me that's

the 458.

I think

people are just thinking because

I know Neil you love the 360 and I think

the 430 and I do get

your aesthetic. I don't think you're on

I do think the 355 was kind of

just an amazing

car.

It was for me but I don't think you could scream

and shout as Chris has

said many times it wasn't

a paradigm shift from the

348. There were lots of things about

the 348 that were wrong and 355

got right and I think

removing those test or also strikes

just the improved back lots of bits

and pieces obviously a better engine

the car was incrementally

better then to have the kind of

whatever you want to call it

to create the 360 and then the

430 after that. It's just such an amazing

escalate and you wonder

well what's going to come after that

and surely the only way is either plateau

or slightly down and

I think to produce the 458

and it's

so I think aesthetically

ahead of its time

we know Ferrari were doing technical things that

other people weren't doing at the time anyway

but I remember

the and I did a couple of

things with McLaren the MP412C

which was its contemporary

and people just going

yeah if that

458 hadn't existed

I think this MP412C

would be the most exciting car out there

and I think also the Gallardo

had been out there for four years

and we know that was a massive success

for Lamborghini but

the 458 arrived

and I think it just made it look boxy

square bit dull I know it

had a V10 but

I have to say that

the 458 and if you look at the very last ones

and I know Mr Clifford has got

a very particularly beautiful last ones

they just again just got better

and better I mean how do you make

a car that's that good

that you can then just continue to improve

and I think

when people look back at that kind of

Montenegro and I know you guys are real purists

front engine V12

F12 fans but I think

that 458 a little bit like the modern

Fiat 500 I think it's a masterpiece

and that platform

what you could do with it

where it was coming from

where they took it to

that's it for me

agreed

I think the working

title for this subject was actually

cars that made

the opposition want to give up

and actually the 458

when I first tested it thinking oh dear

they're all a long way behind this

it was the biggest single step of a sports car

I think in the history of the genre

DCT gearbox that incredible

normal aspirated engine that seemed to have

talk from low down and rev to God knows what

and of course Ferrari was offering a

seven year warranty and servicing

and they didn't break

you know you were used to them breaking

they didn't break those cars

it's probably a bit different at the moment

but those cars did not break

Chris Cooper

I was one just listening to you guys so far

because I'm going to choose

there's a couple of things I've got in my mind

and they're kind of all in the 90s

although the 458 is clearly lighter

later

are we likely to see this kind of car again

I hope so I kind of think

because I'm positive about the future

I do think ironically

there is a greater opportunity

now for somebody to do this now

when everyone thinks well that's it the car's done

it's all EV

everyone's cars are pretty good

that is just

the circumstances where somebody can say

I think that's right

better is definitely available

are we here for

drill or are we here to make

the world better and feel better

that's our call to action

before I get to that

and change the world having taken up car manufacturing

God help everybody

I think

I got two

one is the original

Lexus LS400

yep

I think

a mate of mine

the boss's boss

had one when they first came out

and it was at the time when

I was a pop consultant

working at

it came out in 1990, 8990

that car

and I worked

at the time I was a very very junior

junior

understudy deputy

interim consultant

at Tush Ross what's now Deloitte's

and the partner's

cars that took them off to lunch

at Simpson's or wherever it was

and brought them back three days later

they had some XJ40s

they had three XJ40s

six cylinders

and then one of the partners

turned up in one of these

and everyone was a God thinking

that Jag was not very good anymore

this is actually really

it's a spaceship

compared to those

the other one the one I kind of

my second one that's very interesting here

because I'm just going back to the original question

and it said what car, not what cars

can anybody

hear some droning noise somewhere

it's that

whining that I often hear

maybe it's because of what I'm speaking

carry on I'll just

I'll amend

that's very good

what cars

okay

the other one

which I remember did thinking driving

when I very first drove it

because the Land Rover Discovery

that I've been driving that day

had shed a wheel on the M40

and the AA

turned up with a higher car

and the higher car was a very very early

this was in 99

higher car they turned up with

was a Ford Focus

yeah

Jesus Christ

particularly because the car

that preceded it the Mk5 Escort

you could have said well that's it

Ford had done

it's just dead

so I think the Ford Focus

everything changed after that

and bless him Richard Parry Jones

who very sadly died a few years ago

in that very very awful accident

he had on his farm

but he was

he was a god

I've never driven one of those

they're probably

they're all baggy now but when they were new

they were so tight

just the way it steered

the ride comfort

the handling like all those things for me

the seat was slightly too high

but even for me I forgot about all that

so if it is to and I read it as to

Lexus LS400

and Ford Focus

I'm currently looking at you

I've amended the question for you then

but I'm now amending it back for me

so I'm going to choose one like the others

because you're the one at the

back of the classroom that's allowed to bring his toys in

to play with him at the back

to stop him eating all the

plasticine

and you want to be a fire engine at break time

it's nine you were a fire engine

Nina Nina

give him his milk

sit him in the corner

I found this really interesting

because I mentioned it in the context

of the E39 B&W that I've been

writing about recently

and I remember

just feeling

sorry for the people that were having their cars

delivered to the group test which went on

for a few years when the car was fresh

then they refreshed it

and it was just

every time the new Merc would turn up

and the Audi would turn up you're like

oh god just stay at home lads

it's a bit like playing against one of those

incredible Springbok rugby teams

when you'd sit there you'd get your pint

you'd sit in the pub to watch it

but really you just knew we were going to get an absolute shooing

or maybe all black

maybe sort of 1994-95

when Lomu was playing for New Zealand

you'd watch another Underwood just being sort of splatted by him

I thought about that car

then I thought about the Focus

which really did

redefine things

but I still think people bought

Golfs as they did

they bought lots of Golfs because there was a badge involved

the car that I genuinely thought

when I first I didn't even have to drive it

I just saw it

and I looked around it and I opened the door

and I thought they're all

bugged

it was the 2001 Frank Stevenson Mini

because

that entered the class

look at that

that entered

it sort of created its own class

this sort of prestige

beautifully built city car

and I just thought to myself

anyone that sees one of these is going to want one

they're not going to want a Corsa

they're not going to want a Polo

there's nothing else that matches this

and actually, conversely

I bought one last week

a 2007 plate

done 70,000 miles

couple of owner Mini

one convertible for the summer

because it's got a years MOT

and it was £1,500

and I just thought we'd have lots of fun in it

it'd be a dog car, use it around town

and I sat in it and I just looked at the dashboard layout

and I just thought

this car had a profound

effect on people when it was launched

there's a bit of a cult symbol now

because it was just high quality

BMW high quality materials

for the cost of a well-specced fiesta

and why would you buy a fiesta

if you could have one of those

that is a very good call

and it's a very good call

it's slightly feminine

yeah but then they did the Cooper S didn't they

they did

yeah

and I remember doing

the group

the sort of twin test on that launch

with the Peugeot 206

not their finest work

and just thinking, good God

on every level

Peugeot has done a chance here

and sure enough, look at the sales figures for that car initially

they were through the roof

they didn't make enough of them

I own the little Goodwood one

the Rolls Royce one

with the Rolls Royce leather

and the Rolls Royce font in the dash

I just put car play in it

I've just put car play in it

which basically eradicates

any reasons by any new cars

ever again

here we go, I won't use it

but I love the fact that it's there

now we all know

what this is about

and before anyone starts telling

FNAF FNAF style jokes, we're not having any of those

we're grown up about that kind of thing

14 inch Chris, do you go first?

this is one of Neil's suggestions

I suspect in Neil's case it's going to be whole cars

no, it's not

actually

to me

this question

is the generation game

conveyor

for car addicts

yep

I could do with that

it's the fondue set

for car addicts

fondue set, very good Chris Cooper

very good

on my

conveyor belt

I won't use it but I love it's there

and I've got all of these

yep

one of those Karsha hot jet washes

yep

love the idea of that

I've used it about once

that water filter

you put in line with your tap

so when you wash your car

the water all beads and there's no like

stains or lime and stuff

use that once

snow foam, never use that

oh that's quite good

I know it is, I know it is

but I just you know where is it

and you put it in for always too complicated

yep

I really wanted one of these

and I'm really glad I've got it

I know it's useful

an air compressor

properly pumping up your tyres

like garage style

rather than just

you know

spare set of wheels

I've got spare set of wheels

for three cars

you never change them

I never change them

that

the pièce de résistance though

was

one of those

if you've got like a big

drum of petrol

like the big drums you see like

exactly

one of those, one of the mechanical pumps

that you can pump petrol out of a drum

I've got one of those

and it sits in the garage

I think

obviously there's lots of regulations about

storing petrol boys and girls

so you have to observe all of those

and you know we do

because we're sort of blah blah blah

but

I won't use it but I love the fact

that I'm sort of

semi-commercial

in my regard to how I'm going to look after my car

so it's the generation game conveyor

it's the fondue set for car addicts

he's only chosen 10 there

Manish what would you go next?

well I will just read this out

Lola

the R107 that I don't have yet

and

the Bentayga

there you go

it's here

I've nicked all the windows

and I'm just so dumb

I didn't check

Manish wins

he did

you know this was my question

and actually

I'd written it in my head

which clearly is not in reality

because I'm not very good at writing things

I wrote it in my head

these are things that are

on the car

I agree

as opposed to accessorisation

but of course

all the answers are correct that we're giving

this was

all those little things

that are very exciting that are on your car

even if they are

options on the car or the car

the genre of the car just means

that it has these types of things

but you never actually use them

I would

maybe mention a couple of them but

I've only got one car with this

and actually two cars

cooled seats

what the fuck are cooled seats

I've never

I use them

tell us what you use them for

because I can't feel it

I tell you why because I get

I often wear a gillet as people sometimes

observe on the internet

sometimes they're quite effective these gillets

and I like having the air cooled on my back

because it means that when I get out from a drive

I don't have a sweaty back

when I'm wearing a gillet

alright boss

I've never

I'm going to try it

because I sort of thought it was

some sort of Los Angeles thing

where you're driving along and you've got your AC on

but it's still a bit sticky

so you put your ICC

you do they really work

they do

the only downside was the early ones

I think I've told this story here

at this point I have to apologise to my wonderful daughter

whose birthday it was yesterday

when she was younger

had a Jaguar, a red Jaguar XKRS

as a long term Evo magazine

and I had an especially

lively Vindaloo

and she was sitting behind me on the way to school

and I let's just say

couldn't control myself but I had the cooled seat on

and now I realise that that

vents on the back of the seat

and bless her

she didn't appreciate it

so there you go

don't do that in that generation of Jaguar

carry on

the other one that really

harks back to 2005 Evo

and probably Richard Mead

and in fact Chris Harris

was this amazing car

which was the Subaru T25

Lichfield

and I know this is not just the Lichfield thing

this was like a Subaru

whatever those posh Subarus were

ProDrop

yeah exactly, C-Type

or C-Spec

or whatever it was

I never really understand all of it

was the cold water sprayer

and the fact that

whatever that was doing

when the engine was getting very hot

or the brakes or somewhere was getting really hot

and you had this special little

button where you could spray water

on something

I thought that was just so fucking cool

What did it spray on?

Was it brakes or turbo or

intercooler

and you know I've got one of those cars now

the man

that's around the corner in Princes Risba

that sort of looks after it

because it's always bloody braking

because that engine

only lasted about 5 miles

before it blew up

is that when it was up on the

thing in the garage

I said just show me where

that very technical sprayer

thing and he's like oh it's just a little

it's just a little hose that comes down

and you go up in the car

and press it and it's like the most

crap thing actually

it's just this little

onto the turbo

so my bubble was slightly burst

but I did think it was

quite exciting when I was

it was a 5-star

it was almost one of those generational

special cars

I remember that T25

425 horsepower

going round Millbrook you know as fast as a

996 turbo

it was a big article that for me

I've read it about 100 times on the bog

Was that a separate tank?

Is there a completely separate tank for that?

Are you from a water tank?

GT2 RS has got water cooled

that's right

and the M4 GTS has the same

thing as well

When I read this

it's both the way that Neil

and the way that Chris did

I think

I won't use it but I love the fact it's there

within a car

it's just brilliant because

I think it harks back

sometimes to our childhood

because a bit like

anything in life

we want the things that we couldn't have

when we were younger

and so I'm a bit fixated on

rear centre armrests

for example

I never sit in the back of my own cars

really

but they have to have a rear centre armrest

and do you unfold it?

so it's down

if I have people in the back seat

I'll lean in beforehand and put it down

just so they know I've got one

I'll never use it myself

rear centre armrest is everything

I can't see myself

and I would reject

a car on the grounds that it didn't have one

even if someone said to me

you realise you'll never put your elbow on that

I'd say it doesn't matter it has to be there

because if I haven't got one I've not made it

I'm still L trim

I'm not GL or gear

another one

I think you find that this

isn't the case later in life

but

when I had these cars when they were new

the full BMW toolkit in the boot

I never used

but my god

when they stopped putting them in the car

I remember writing

three paragraphs

in the road test of the E60

530i

in order car

you've written more about the lack

of a toolkit than you have the steering

get your priorities right

but I was so incensed

that this toolkit wasn't there

not that I was ever going to use it

I just thought

as I say this I realised that sometimes

these

additional features

feed to our childhood

but they're a metaphor for where you think that car company is heading

and you can be uncomfortable

with the message it's sending

for example

when Porsche took

the twin

cup holders out of the 991

on the dashboard and gave us that thing by the gear lever

I've winched about that so many times

but I think

my worry is that a car company that does that

has it lost sight of what it's doing

because it either doesn't know

that most of the people that buy the car

will be pissed off by that or it doesn't care

both of which

eventualities I struggle with

so rear head restraints

for one I just

for me

if I never sit in the back

I just want to know it's there

I want to know they're there

and they disrupt your view out of the rear window

they're utterly pointless

have you ever taken the centre

rear headrest

out

in the days when you could like

push that little thing

and pull them out leave the outer ones

because that looks quite cool

but take the centre one out because

I had an original A-class Merc

and I would take the centre one out

because I wanted the rear headrest

I also wanted to be able to see something

they were a sign of status

they were

so I think

just knowing it's there

was also

in a broader way

one of the reasons I justified a lot of my behaviour

in the car magazine

early in the day because I'd sit there

and I'd get a fair amount of posts

in those days it was written letters

saying why do you have to drive like a child

and you're always sideways

and I realised that

actually I was just selling a dream

people didn't buy M3

E46 because I said they were good

they knew the car was good

but just seeing one fully sideways

on the cover magazine

tipped them over the edge to make that purchase

I do believe

it was all part of the myth

and I think

if you talk about I just like

I don't use it but I love the fact it's there

that applies to all

performance cars on the road

because you can't use all that performance

but you love the fact that

someone did 0-60 in 2.1 seconds

and it does impact you

but you just like the fact it's there

there's nothing better than being at the traffic lights

and having some bloke come up to you

or a woman next to you and you know

you can take them down unless they're in a sharon

per sport motherfucker

you've got it covered

you don't need to use it

that's another discussion

and maybe

you realise you've finally matured when you

don't use it

I've yet to reach that point if I'm honest with you

but it's all under the same heading

in terms of the

sort of paraphernalia of motoring

as Chris was describing

I mean so much shit I pour

it's quite a joyous thing

I did the usual thing you do

when the spring comes up

you wait for the crocuses to come through the ground

and you

the equinox has changed

and you always head down to Halfords to buy the 7 batteries

for the cars that aren't working

and as you're walking on Halfords

you just buy shit that you don't need

but it's lovely isn't it

I'll never use it but I love the look of it

there's lots of love in that question

now we're going to move on to Neil Clifford's

Quick Fire Supercar Quiz

I apologise to anyone

that is a fan of this podcast

and will say

you had that one before on your other list

because of course the other list I've lost

it's still fun

please don't complain I've done this on my day off

right

here we go

he only has three a year

no that's Chris Cooper

very good

I'm doing

I've changed his hub a bit

because I'm going up and down

you understand what I mean

F40

Supercar

are you sure it's not at the level above

no because the level above didn't exist

when the car was made

I've got one of those coming too

DB7

manual V12

I think that's a supercar

it's not a supercar

very very interesting question it's not a supercar

that's a really good one okay

it's a GT

yeah

in my head it's a casual

when it was new it was the only car

that people tested against the 550 Maranello

and the 550 Maranello

was when it was launched

considered to be a supercar

was it

V12 manual

this is V12 manual

because by any condition

it's not a supercar

but I think it might have been

considered one when it was new

is it a hot hatch right

Lee managed the way

and that's bullying

okay

it's a coupe

career GT

supercar

okay

Audi R8 V8 manual

supercar

not a supercar

it's on the cusp

I've just lost my calibration

manual

can someone plug

into coupe's OBD

press reset

hard reset

I've got three or four more

okay Jaguar

E-Type V12 manual

commemorative edition

the last of the E-Type V12

not a supercar

supercar at the time

absolutely a supercar

what was faster than it at the time

yeah nothing

I think it was a British supercar

yeah a British supercar

you might be honest with that

I might have completely lost my

polarity

I think you have

okay

a few more

Lamborghini Espada

oh that's good

hatchback

I fucking haven't got a cleaner

it's gone

why do you think it is a supercar

it's a supercar

just because it's got two seats in the back

it's a supercar

I think it is a supercar

because it's absurd

it's absurd

and absurdity is supercar

okay couple more

here you go

these are on-car and classics aren't they

we're always tempted by these

and the only excitement we'll be buying it

and then the day after will be shit

TVR, Sabira, Silver, Red, Rose

4.2 SE lightweight

Cerbera

is a

no it's a sports car

yeah it can't be a supercar

I mean it had supercar performance

why though just because of price

are we being sort of

egotistical here

it doesn't have supercar performance

doesn't mean it's a supercar

it was a supercar killer

I think actually it was a supercar slayer

and that's why we loved it

so to go around slaying supercars

it couldn't be a supercar itself

doesn't make it one you're right

okay two more

Mercedes SLS GT

final edition

no sports car

I think that's a supercar

I think that is a supercar

sports car

it's not fast enough

so it's not

fast enough

it's just got an M15

it's got an M157

it's got a drive sump

156 in it with a different designation

so it's not that powerful

525 horsepower maybe

GT is the final edition anyway

it's just camouflage

I was just camouflaging a normal SLS

last one

Honda

Gen 2

NSX R

all

by the time it got to gen 2 no it can't be a supercar

there were lots of things that were more super

the gen 1 of course

I get it it's a bit lighter

I'll just light it

I think this is

a very interesting question

because

someone and I can't say who

someone

on this podcast might

have just invested in a NSX

and they might just be trying to create

a bit more headroom for the value

of ordinary NSXs by proclaiming

or having experts such as

Managed Pandy and Chris Cooper

declare the fact the NSX R is a supercar

and that will then drag up values

of the normal car

I don't know who that person could be

having thought about the imaginary

circumstances you've described

I think that NSX R is

totally a supercar

I tell you what, that NSX R is a hypercar

he's right

and last but not least

918

hypercar

that's the beginning of hypercar

which was the first hypercar

Chiron

Veron

yeah

next week we will be doing

supercar or hypercar

supercar

Chris Cooper will be doing

Grand National Winner

or Goodwood Winner

and we've also got to do

which cheese is a car

I'll do some cheese and cars

do some cheese and cars

right we could do a bit of

F1 newsy stuff

yeah we'll have to do that

Manage anything there for you?

just one small thing caught my eye

Max Verstappen's race engineer

who's also director of engineering

at Red Bull

Jampaleo Lambiasi

is going to McLaren

what's very weird about this

announcement is he'll be going to McLaren

in 2028

exactly

they're negotiating garden leave

I did sort of get that

but I just wonder

I was just going to make

a slightly bigger Red Bull conversation

they've obviously not had

the start that they were

looking for

I don't think the problem is just

the chassis I think

they've created their own power unit

before the season we were all like oh my god

how amazing

three races in were like

if in Max's hands

it's struggling to kind of come

seventh or eighth

and there is something interesting about his driving

he kind of has worked out

how not to overtake someone and then get overtaken

he doesn't like it

so his positions have been fantastically static

in the last couple of races

he won't be overtaking and he will not overtake someone

and I just wondered whether this

Lambiasi will end up

basically

just underneath Andrea Stella

in the pecking order

at McLaren

and

you know

you do wonder whether you're looking at a future

McLaren team principle there

and that is

that's an extraordinary thing

because I remember him as a

race engineer for Daniel Kviat

back in the day

and you know

he's an incredibly impressive

human being

impressively capable

and imagine the scariest job in the world

I think to be

Max Verstappen's race engineer

having Max talk to you in a race

and being cool

and being able to sort of parry him

corner after corner lap after lap

give him a bit of advice

because you never hear or very rarely do you hear Max

sort of tearing up, shout out I know how to drive the car

you know he has a little moments

mostly actually having a go at someone on the road

but

I think he's an incredibly impressive man

I think it's incredibly impressive

of McLaren to tempt him

and I also just wonder on the other side

whether you know teams

have their cycles in Formula 1

and I wonder whether this is a very big deal

because I always wondered

what would happen post-D-Trick

Matterships

and you do wonder

whether sometimes you need somebody who's that powerful

ride at the top

to be able to expedite decisions

keep the whole team together

Adrian's gone

they've lost John Wheatley, they've lost quite a few people

and now Lambiasse feels like

quite a big other piece to lose

but Christian was the one that

won it all

It's interesting actually

Joss has responded to this news

did you hear what Joss said

incredibly kind statement from Joss

who was at rallies we can

here we go

we've known it for a while and we also knew

when it was going to happen he added

so we have another year and a half let's say two years

to work with him it's a huge opportunity

for him and we understand it

we also said you have to do it

you have to see it with both hands

and the rest is up to Red Bull to replace him

oh that's good

it's a good response

growing up and mature

it just shows you know

I think people forget

in the fog of

Joss behaviour

and people do struggle with Joss

I get along well with him

he was a father of a kid

that went into the most cutthroat sport in the world

when he was 17 years old

and this Lambiasse bloke

basically helped his son grow into a young man

so it would have had an incredible impact

on his life I think

so you can imagine the bond is strong

so we don't think this is anything

to do with those I think quite

silly rumours of Max maybe

not staying

I think

I think there's nothing

you're certain at the moment

I think Max is just biding his time

having a look round

and genuinely the bit I do believe

is he doesn't want to do it he won't do it

100%

just don't think he gives a shit

he'll do what he wants to do

question actually

there were a few articles about

you know Max

do you regret

not having taken the opportunity

to go to Mercedes with both hands

had he gone

and had he been at Mercedes this year

do you think he would have been happy

he probably would be winning but I wonder

whether he'd be just as unhappy

or almost as unhappy

he couldn't have gone to Mercedes this year

because he didn't have

yes they could have bought him out of a release

but it wouldn't have been easy

I think there was a spot film this year

this was all being negotiated

14 months ago

do you remember that's why

Russell's contract just kept getting

pushed back

he total left the door open for him

very much

he did

until it became clear that

it wasn't going to be a release

but who knows anything's possible for money

but I think your question is a good one

I don't know

but my sense is

it's entirely possible he just wouldn't be

enjoying it because he doesn't like

to him he doesn't like these cars

but then again

they love winning and Max loves winning

so never underestimate how much racing drivers

love winning

so this job he's gone to in McLaren

he's gone as chief racing officer

which is sort of a new one on me

what's that mean

it creates a job for him haven't they

what does it mean chief racing officer

he's literally subordinate to Andrea

what's the job mean

he's chief of racing

okay

at the track presumably he makes every

single decision

at the track

along with other people that make every single decision

he only decides what to do with racing though

that's how it is

I have to say I do love the way that

we've adopted this sort of

nomenclature of the Americans

we've ever seen

I'll leave this with you

what would the thing you'd be

between the C and the O

chief spreadsheet officer

Mr Cooper or chief

chief hat bag officer

chief creative officer

that's the best one

chief onion barge officer up there

no it's mango and

something quiche

quiche

I would be

chief chaos officer I think

I can't imagine

cco

right let's move on

news

has anyone else got any news

news Neil go on

have we noticed

that ncp has gone bust

yes good shout

I thought that was quite

a big thing because

I should have done the research but I haven't

but wasn't this thing created like

before the war

after the war

when all the

bombs and they bought all this thing

and whatever and I think it's a

little bit of our

our card jigsaw

ncp it is

we like that sign

it was a sign of comfort when you

shit it's a cup I can space I'm late

for a meeting and you see a little

ncp and the reason why

I noticed it because I

did see it I think in the ft

or something but I'd sort of forgotten

and I was rushing to a meeting I had to be

in a meeting in central

London and it was going to be longer than

two hours I couldn't park on the bloody street

because the part of London where there's any two hours

and I thought I'd go to the ncp

on Sloan Square

no just on Sloan Street

it's really cool one bloody expensive but

really great little location zipped

in there

got new shutters and men working

on the shutters the shutters went up went

in and normally you press that button

and get the ticket all those machines

have been taking away

and I drive in and a lovely parking guy came

up and said look we're taking over we've only

taken over from today

you've got to pay on that there's the location

go on your park and

your app and pay

but then when you've coming back in

there's no buzzer so just

knock on the door and I'm like what if

you're not there I need to go home

he's like mate

I'm working here 24 hours a day I'll still

be there and he was I came back

three hours later knocked on the door

and got away and I thought that's very sad

ncp have gone

the other the other bit of news which is

sort of very Neil Clifford specific

news is someone

which I noticed on piston heads

which is brilliant

has bought my written off

Bristol fighter yes

yes so

it's like amazing and I wish the guy

all the luck and I've had a little chat

with him and it's all very exciting and they're going to

recreate frankly every bloody

panel was knackered in carbon

fiber wow and they're going

to redesign the front and I said please don't

really design the front that much

because the ugliness was part of its charm

and

actually it was only ugly in photos

a bit like me in real life

I'm not as ugly

I'm sort of the reverse of

a good looking person but so

is a Bristol fighter

so I think we need to give

them all the motivation and help

we do to rebuild that

then there is another one on car and classic

actually the only automatic

just to make even shitter

is put an automatic gearbox in it

but it is in Bristol red metallic

red and by the way

I do have the service history file for sale

I can't believe you're going to try to sell it now

it's unbelievable

you're brutal you are

it'll be like nothing it's a joke

it's like those bastards

that when you get to sort of 20 miles

out of London you're on the London to

ride some bike ride and they're selling

those cooled gel packs

for seats and everyone else's ass is

on fire and they've only got two left

people fighting 50 quid for this gel pack

it should have cooled seats

that should be with the car

that service history of course

good

all right let's move on to our

two car garage

we missed out favourite ugly car

favourite ugly car

bloody hell favourite one

what's your favourite ugly car

he says knowing full well that that was asked

or not

I'm going to go first this time

there's really two

I know what you're going to pick

they both come from the same styling house

I know he's going to

because the wind is in this direction today

I'm going to choose the Aston Martin

V8 Zagato

because I just think it's

utterly magnificent

and I still lust after them now

but whenever I show a picture of one to a friend

that doesn't like cars they go what is that

it looks horrible but I don't think so

I think it's not ugly

it's only ugly to non-car people

we want to understand

my understanding of aesthetics see my dog

I think my dog is the most beautiful dog ever born

but a lot of people don't see it that way

right Chris Cooper

mine comes from a similar place

really

when I

show people the pictures of a car

or explain I've got one

they say oh isn't that quite ugly

I think what's ugly about the

LPN A110

what

people think it's ugly

they do

I do think they do actually I do think so

I don't get it

I don't see it

my favourite ugly car

in the eyes of others because I don't think it's ugly at all

I think it's beautifully proportioned

it looks lovely from every angle

doesn't photograph terribly well a bit like Neil

yes

and a Bristol fighter

it's stunning like Neil

and a Bristol fighter

in real life

manage

I think

it would have to be for me

the how fair said

yeah

the monster

it's the one

it shouldn't

it should be ugly

that's what I'm trying to say

every box is there

should be slightly under wheel

the back is

it's almost bust like

look at the proportions I haven't scratched that

but it's not ugly is it

it's just not ugly

it's a hell of a car

well it is ugly exactly

I didn't understand until I did some research

last year into these things

it was built by Zegato

but it wasn't styled by Zegato

it was styled in house was it

is that okay

the story is

it's like

fag packets behind the dashboards

they had a right laugh making them

okay so Neil Clifford

we've not left you with many places to go have we

oh you've left me with plenty of places to go

thank you

no I'm going to trump a lot of you

obviously it links

into my Bristol fighter story

the Bristol because actually

most Bristol's certainly V8

that's not true actually

409, 1011 were decent

they got uglier in 11

and the 603

was terrible 412

yeah

that really is it's ugly

in the photo it's ugly

in real life

but I think it's absolutely

magnificent and I'm desperate

to find

a good one that's cheap

and I look there isn't such a thing obviously

there are good ones rare

and cheap ones not rare

and cheap ones

very not rare

but I love a Zagato car

you know Anthony Crook

had a lovely relationship with Zagato

right the way back to sort of 403

404 so and he actually

was the concessionaire for Zagato

before he bought Bristol

but I think that car

the roof's a bit

you know the roof bit

is a bit tricky

but I love that square brick

front

and

the dash is

a little bit tricky

most Bristol's

from 411 onwards

I mean

the Britannia and all that

they were really shocking they were like giant Skodas

but to me

when I see one in London

and actually Merlin's got a good

I think 411 or 410

when I see them I'm like

that guy

he's got four aces in his hand

he's trumping everyone

if you're

pooling around in a Bristol

and it hasn't broken down

I think you're a player

I think

I still mesmerised by them because there was a

it's sort of disappeared now but when I was younger

there was a weird

Bristol fraternity in this city where I'm now sitting

and people did have them

and there was a sort of belligerence about

some of the moneyed

areas of society

around Clifton where people would have a Bristol

because they were proud of the name

so I told you guys here

my father's ENT surgeon

had a Bristol and you know there were several parks out here

near where I am right now

they'd be on the street and they'd be massive

and I thought they were normal

it was only when I went I'd go somewhere else

and I'd say well there's none of those funny cars daddy

you go well no one buys them really outside Bristol

because

because they were just proud they were called a Bristol

you can see why in the 70s

even by the 70s or even in the 80s

the Bristol aircraft company

was still

must have been in Bristol

totally revered

and sort of worship because of

the Brabazan

and all those Bristol things and aero engines

and obviously...

I can't go into it now but this city

is a little bit

intent on going back through its history

and ripping itself apart

but the Bristol bit is a really good

point of agreement between all citizens

so there's a whole new railway area

which is called the Brabazan

in fact Brabazan is a safe space word

for everyone because it involves

the people engineering and of course

regardless of your polarity of politics

the one person that really championed

aerospace in Bristol was Tony Ben

so the most left leaning MP

was a huge supporter of Concord ironically

he was, yeah

so actually that's quite a safe

space for Bristolians now it's very interesting

he was the minister

leading that white hot

technology in the 60s

he was, yeah

yeah, yeah

GSL1 as well

here we go

this is a really good two car garage

I really like this two car garage

this is from someone called Charlie

interesting

two car garage suggestion

I know Finley wrote that

two car garage but the budget is in cylinders

you need a day-to-day cruiser

not boring but not scintillating

unless things you wanted to be

room in the boot from Aberdeen, smooth and compliant on the motorway

but not lifeless in the B roads

this should be paired

with a coupe or cab that's fun

for a weekend blast turns the knowing head

to the cars and coffee

and attracts old blokes at petrol stations

performance should be sprightly

but doesn't need to be stratospheric

the budget, this is good

is nine cylinders between the two

carte blanche on the check

very good

it's very good this, Cooper you can go first

so, because I usually cheat

I thought how much of a cheat

compared to my usual standards to say

well I thought it was ten cylinders

and I thought no that completely ruins

the principle of Charlie's

fantastic suggestion

well done sir

so, ignoring a bit about the Labrador

I wonder whether I could choose

a one cylinder motorcycle

and then something eight cylinders

but I don't think the Labrador

would buy that

so, to the everyday cruiser

it said

not scintillating unless you really

want it to be

I think you'd go

for you

for a GR Yaris

that gets you

mathematically

you're in the right place but I'm not sure

everyday car, I think you've been sucked in there

you're putting a Labrador in that

say again

you're putting a Labrador in that

you can put the seat down

it's a Toyota Yaris, it's a family hatchback

it's going to be sick

well only if you drive it

so hold on

so just to be clear

you are referring to the Yaris GR

as a day to day cruiser

correct

I'd love to live in your world

and then the next one

a coupe or cab

it's fun for a weekend blast

turns the heads at cars and coffee

attracts old blokes at petrol stations

performance should be

sprightly but doesn't need to be stratospheric

and I think

in this year

of our great British Jaguar day

at Bister in May

it can only be

a Jaguar E-Type

Series 1.5

that's good

one of those is spot on

I wait to see everybody else's

9 cylinder arithmetic

let's go to Manish first

I'm not very

confident on this round generally

but this time

I have it

I really have it

so my run around

which my Labradoodle

would be very happy in

is a 2009

Alpha 159

black manual

2.4 diesel with 5 cylinders

this is interesting

do you see it

it's a beautiful car

I've got to tell you the interior

on this car

a Labradoodle would be very happy

in that

the interior

looks like this

this is basically

I think the car has been styled at a rock

look at that

tan leather

that would be my daily

with Labradoodle

5 cylinders leaving me 4 cylinders

and I found

the most beautiful

1956

Austin Healy

100x4

4 speed manual, the Le Mans edition

for a mere 220,000 euros

and I actually

don't think you're going to get

a cuter cabrio

than that

Neil Clifford

7004s had 6 cylinder engines

one didn't, it's not the 3.0

I knew you're going to do that

and it's not

and it's an inline 4

and I have photos of it

just check a bit of housekeeping

what are the coupes

in these particular areas

be very careful what you let through

so 9 cylinders used

very good

you're right to be confident

Neil Clifford

paired with a coupe cabriolet

it's fun for a weekend blast

turning heads with cars and coffee

I am going for the little

it's got a special name

I don't know what it's name is

the little 3 cylinders

azuki engineed catering

clever

clever clever

because

if I read the text

I can't really read the text

anyway it's all you need

in a catering frankly

as we know the littler engine ones

are the best

and it's a little azuki engine

3 cylinders, probably turbo charged

80 horsepower

you can have enormous fun in that

that leaves me

I've got a pretty open goal now

I've got all the money in the world

which is what you need

when you go and look at buying a car

bramley

and

even though he has the best cars

he's never knowingly unsold

but they're the best

and Simon only has brilliant cars

and he always has a magnificent

Mercedes

estate

and I think this one

E320

you know

it's a car you can rock

in monaco

you can rock up anywhere

it's one of those cars

there should be a little chat for us

that defies its value

its status

is royal

and it's got the seven seats

it's got the air conditioning

it's got every option

it's been super well looked after

down at Edward Douda's

spent 15 grand bill

it's only 25 grand actually

I know it's a lot of money for that car

cause you can get really shit ones for less

but this one's probably the best one

60,000 miles

and you can be in Mayfair

you can be in Milan

you can park at Buckingham Palace

you can park wherever you want

Salon Privet, Goodwood

everyone's going to be like

that man knows

so I think that actually

is a thinking man's solution

to that

two car garage

which is probably not going to get beaten

it's a lot of confidence in the panel

I'm saying it really is

you're all strutting about

in slightly tight fitting trousers

with semi-wrecked penises

it's really quite impressive

strutting about

and let me tell you now, it's a warm day

slightly confusingly here

I've gone for a car at Brownlee as well

now Simon we have no commercial going with the tool

but at some point you might have to write us a check

cause I'm always choosing cars of his

but I wanted to find

an M3 CS Touring

cause I've gone around in one

and I think it's the best car

really ever at the moment

but you have to have the ceramic brakes

so he's got one with ceramic brakes

so that's six of my cylinders as my everyday car

M3 CS Touring

if you don't choose that, you're a mug

now, I don't want three cylinders

I want two cylinders

sorry, that was your everyday cruiser

smooth and compliant

on the motorways

yes, I live with one

I can assure you, it's very smooth and compliant on motorways

just checking

my coupe

to turn heads, I've got three cylinders left

I only need two

so you basically failed the question then

no, no, I had a budget

of nine, didn't have to use them all

I've used eight

which means, if I need to

I've got one left over for a single cylinder

and the motorcycle, just in case

they want to rag around in the fields

the suggestion that I'm intimated earlier that you laughed at

that's the suggestion

no, no, no, no, because I've covered all bases here

you don't have to use all nine

I've chosen to use eight

I think that's quite

a good choice

those two cars

yeah, you see, ultimately

you know once again

I've just nipped in there at the last minute

BMW Touring

the XL one is what a car

I mean, it's mega

David Power turned up to one when I drove his Mini

I just want one, just a five of this car

right, let's do some music, it's Sunday night

and I want to watch my television program

here we go, so it's, yeah

I'd like a tune from Manish please

for some reason, I found myself

watching a very old

spy film, Billion Dollar Brain

Michael Caine as Harry Palmer

and it's about

a mad billionaire American

who wants to start an uprising

in a foreign country

and basically

almost provokes World War Three

and it's just such

a topical movie

I'd watch it, everything that needs to be said about the world

was said in 1967

when it came out, anyway

the theme tune

or the music was written by

somebody called Richard Rodney Bennett

and the piece of music that you need to listen to

from Billion Dollar Brain is about the girl

it's called Anya

and it's such a haunting

piece of music

like it, like it, are we looking into that

Neil Clifford

Chuck O'Cahn

ain't nobody

if you weren't walking

into a pub in about 85

thinking you were basically

simply red

and just feeling the bollocks

and Chuck O'Cahn came on

and you ordered, I don't know what you ordered

snakebite and black

just it was

the 80s for me were brilliant

yeah

also go watch some early Chuck O'Cahn

she watched

yeah

Chris Cooper

I might have chosen this before but I don't care

because I listened to it a bit over the last few days

driving battles of Orthogormul a million times

Heaven 17

temptation

it's just pretty good

good tune

it's good that

I've got, I hate to say it

I'm going to share a piece of popular music

that I listened to in the car the other day

came on the radio and it just made me bop out

and I think this bloke is so talented

he's in the news of it

Bruno Mars

Locked Out of Heaven I just think it's a really

really great pop song

and

his story is quite fascinating but my god is he

talented whatever he does seems to be brilliant

now before we finish Chris Cooper's got a bit

housekeeping to deliver

so we need to say a very very big

thank you

to the very nice Matthew at Penn 9 Cars

based at Bista and the equally

very nice Dan Fiskins

because on Wednesday this week

just gone we had a lovely

day filming I had to pretend to be Chris Harris

it's unfucking

believably difficult to do what Chris does

it is really really hard

I had a 3 second piece to camera

to speak to and I had to do it about 3 million times

so deep

in more respect to Mr Harris

but it was a piece of film we did

to start to showcase the cars

that are coming to the Great British Jaguar Day

at the end of May

beautiful day, lovely weather

and Fiskins brought along one of two

original red

D type short noses

originally told to Peter Flood

all the articles

managed to say it was

sold on by Bernard Charles Eccleton

he might deny it but that's what's in

all the paperwork

I've seen the history file and it's in there

Matthew

from Penn 9

apart from having a wonderful treasure trove of things

in their locker

he brought along an XK120

that's got proper

racing pedal box

limited slip diff

3.8 engine

300 horsepower

it just reminds you why

these cars are fantastic

they said you can't have any tyre squeal

on the bister track

I think I did a lap apart from a little bit in the middle

of the street where all it did was squeal

its tyres

it is just so mega

so to Dan Fiskins who's going to bring along

that Jag and a few other things

Great British Jaguar Day and to Matthew as well

who's going to bring on one of the XJR15s

and some other lovely stuff

thank you very much both of you and to Pip

and to Jack

and Liz and others at Bistermotion for having us

up there on Wednesday, it was wonderful

so we'll show some little snippets of that

in the next few days, so thank you to all of you

We're also

bringing the

one owner from new

Alan Clarke 120

that's still in the family

I think they probably are

so we'll start feeding some of these in

Last piece of housekeeping here

6th of June

is what we're calling the Howl

at Thruxton

live podcast Good Cars

it's a no noise restriction day

these are rare in the UK

so I'll be pushing this a bit harder on the socials

if you've got something loud

if you want to come and bring your GT3

with your fancy open exhaust this is one of the few days

of the year when you can do it

so that's all Ferraris

all Porsches, all Lamborghinis

all Paganes, all this shit that you can't use

when you get black black

you can bring to this day

6th of June

with a live podcast

and some Coleslaw

so have a great week

and we will come and annoy you again

next week, bye bye

this podcast is for you

you'll also hear from skincare experts

we break down lots of myths in the beauty industry

if this sounds like your thing

search for Naked Beauty on your podcast app

and listen along, I hope you'll join us

we have 4 with available all-wheel drive

and let's go

Toyota

find yours at Toyota.com

Toyota

let's go places

A-Cast powers the world's best podcast

here's a show that we recommend

A-Cast helps creators launch, grow

and monetize their podcast

everywhere

A-Cast.com

About this episode

A chaotic, nostalgia-heavy roundtable on “cars that made the competition give up,” with each host picking a generational benchmark. Neil argues for the Porsche 996 Gen 1 GT3 as the start of the GT3 era; Manish counters with the Ferrari 458 as the biggest leap forward; Chris picks the Lexus LS400 and Ford Focus for redefining expectations. The conversation then pivots to “favorite ugly cars” (Aston V8 Zagato, Lamborghini Miura/others, Bristol Fighter, Mini) and ends with a quick-fire supercar-vs-hypercar quiz, plus F1 team-staff news (Lambiasi to McLaren) and a “two-car garage” cylinder-count challenge.

0-60 time 60,000 miles air compressor Audi badge involved Bristol aircraft company B roads CarPlay Concorde cooled seats

Fiat Uno Ford Focus