0:00
/
0:00
Jonny Smith 'That time we did a Somerset Ferris Bueller's day off'
Jonny Smith 'That time we did a Somerset Ferris Bueller's day off'
0:00
0:00
0:00
0:00
About this episode
A lively conversation with automotive journalist Jonny Smith, known for his work on 'Fifth Gear' and 'The Late Brake Show.' The hosts discuss Jonny's early car experiences, including a humorous story about a teenage joyride in a Porsche. They delve into the appeal of classic cars, the simplicity of older models like the Boxster, and the emotional connections people have with their vehicles. The episode also touches on the evolution of car journalism, the impact of social media, and the importance of sharing car culture with future generations.
Topics:
teenage joyrides
classic cars
boxster ownership
car journalism
emotional connections
social media impact
car culture
The ‘Car Pervert’ Jonny Smith joins Andy & Max to recall his First, Best, Worst and Next cars including the tail of the borrowed 1989 911 Targa that reenacted the 80’s teen film along with numerous interesting and funny stories from his long career in automotive journalism.
Jonny has his own YouTube channel ‘The Late Brake Show’ and the Podcast that he cohosts with Richard Porter ‘Smith and Sniff’.
Find your dream Porsche on the 9WERKS Marketplace: 9werks.co.uk/marketplace
Thanks to our friends heritagepartscentre.com for sponsoring this podcast, get up to 10% off your basket by entering the code ‘9WERKS10’ at the checkout on heritagepartscentre.com
‘9WERKS Radio’ @9werks.radio is your dedicated Porsche and car podcast, taking you closer than ever to the world’s finest sports cars and the culture and history behind them.
The show is brought to you by 9werks.co.uk, the innovative online platform for Porsche enthusiasts. Hosted by Porsche Journalist Lee Sibley @9werks_lee, 911 owner and engineer Andy Brookes @993andy and obsessive Porsche enthusiast & magazine junkie Max Newman @maxripcor, with special input from friends and experts around the industry, including you, our valued listeners.
If you enjoy the podcast and would like to support us by joining the 9WERKS Driven Not Hidden Collective you can do so by hitting the link below, your support would be greatly appreciated.
Filter:
|
Technical
Too Afraid to Ask
Car
Porsche 911
"It'sjust,youknow,Idon'tknowwhattheequivalenttoseeisthe67beetle,theequivalenttolikethe197367. 9-11? The72,I'dsay."
Car
Volkswagen Passat
"Thattimeinthebloody... Passat. No,no,Phaeton,VWPhaetononthebowl,thehigh-speedbo..."
Select text to request an explanation
ThisisNineworksRadio,broughttoyoubytheNineworksMarketplaceandpoweredbytheDrivenNotHiddenCollective.
Mr.
MaxNewman.
Hello.
Goodafternoon.
Goodafternoon.
Howareyou?
Yeah,good.
Reallygood.
Justthetwoofus.
Ifinished,well,IhelpedMr.
SibleymovehouseonMonday.
Soheissettled,but,well,notquitesettled.
He'sgotlotstodoinhisnewplace,sohe'snotwithustoday.
Yeah,unpackingboxes,paintingwalls,settingupWi-Fi.
Oh,justthethoughtofit.
Oh,blimey.
Soundslikeyou'regoingtobebackroundthere.
I'mnotgoinganywherenearit.
Wedidalotofhumpingyesterday,alotofboxhumping.
Yes.
Yeah,alotofmoving.
Soyeah,itwasallgood.
Itwasallgood.
Lovelytohavethegreatweather,ofcourse,tomovein.
I'vemovedbeforeinthewetweatherandit'snotbeengreat.
Sotohavegreatweatherwasfantastic.
Yeah,yeah,yeah,absolutely.
Yeah,youdon'tever...
Yeah,doingthatonacrappyday,doyou?
Definitelynot.
Definitelynot.
Butthat'sokay,youknow,wecancope,thetwoofustoday,becausewe'vegotanamazingguest.
Haven'twejust?
So,youknow,we'vegotplentytotalkabout.
He'stooksometrackingdowntonailhimtothemast,asitwere.
Hasheever?
Hasheever?
Yeah.
Mr.
Popular,asheis.
Busyman.
Indeed.
Worththewait,though,Iwouldsay.
Ithinkhewilldo.
Shallwetellthelistenerswhoitis?
yeahyeahyeahyou'dbepleasedtohearladiesandgentlementhatourguestthisweekon9xradioistheoneandonlymrjohnnysmithofiwasgoingtosaywhatfamesomanyfamesmostrecentlysmithandsniffonthepodcastandthelatebreakshowonyoutubebuthistoricallyfifthgearyeahumanduhPress,CarMagazine,MaxPowerMagazine.
Ithinkthat'sprobablyhismostfamoustenure,isn'tit?
MaxPower.
ButIthinkhedidotherthingslike,wasitVintageVolkswagenMagazine?
Ithinkitwasthefirstonethathewrotefor.
Yeah.
AlsowroteforCarMagazine.
Yeah.
Whatelse?
Numerous,Ibelieve.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Allsortsofstuff.
Andyeah,ofcourse,youknow,FifthGear,youknow,seriousnetworktelevisionstuff,proper,properstuff.
Andonthatforalong,longtimeaswell.
Yeah,yeah,yeah,yeah.
Longtime.
Longtime.
Ithinkitcouldbesortof15oddyears,maybemore.
I'msurewe'llfindoutwhenwespeaktohim.
Yeah,yeah.
Soquite,quiteexciting.
Proper,youknow,Interestingly,becauseIsupposesomeofthestuffonhisownchannel,LateBreakShow,arehisowncars.
Yes.
Andbecausehe'sbeenonthetelly,he'soneofthosepeoplewherefolkmightthink,actually,Iknowthisguy.
Youknow,Iknowallabouthimalready.
Yeah.
So,youknow,let'sseewhatsortofconversationwecanhavewithhimandgettoknowhimandseewhatwelearn.
Absolutely.
Beforewedothat,let'sgiveamentiontooursponsors,HeritageCarParts.
Ifyougoontotheirwebsite,fillyourbasketwithallyourgoodies.
Thenyouneedtoactuallylogin.
Onceyou'reloggedinorregistered,youcanputinadiscountcode,whichis9works10.
Thatwillgiveyouupto10%offyourbasketbeforeyoucheckout.
OnloadsofPorschepartsandalsotopicallybecauseitwasWorldLandRoverDaythisweek.
AlsoaloadofLandRoverbits.
Yeah,IthinkitwasWorldLandRoverDayyesterday.
Idon'tthinkitwastoday,Ithinkitwasyesterday.
Certainlythisweek.
So,yeah,crackon.
Andofcourse,VWpartsaswell.
Oh,andVWpartsaswell.
Again,verypertinent.
Ithinkwe'llprobablybetoourconversationwithJohnny.
Ithinkitwill,butIbethe'sshoppedinheritagecarpartsbefore.
Ibet.
Ibet.
Excellent.
So,shallwetalktoJohnnyandfindoutwhatVWsandPorscheshe'shadovertheyears?
Yeah,let'sgethimon.
Well,JohnnySmith,welcometoNineworksRadio.
Pleasuretobehad,orwithyou,howeveryousayit,Iguess.
Thankyouforhavingme.
It'sgreattoseeyou.
We'vebeenthinkingaboutthisandtalkingaboutthisonandoff,Ithink,eversinceyouandRichardcrashedmyphotoatRensportReunion.
Iwascrouchingonthegroundtryingtogetsomekindofgreatshot,andsuddenlyyoutwohovedintoview.
LookinglikeacoupleofEnglishlumberjacks.
AndIwaslike,Richard,you'recrashingmyshot.
Andhereweare.
That'snearlytwoyearsago,isn'tit?
Yeah.
Isthatreallynearlytwoyearsago?
Yeah.
Howcrazyisthat?
Wow.
Yeah.
Thatwassuchagood,funevent.
Itwas,wasn'tit?
Itwasfantastic,wasn'tit?
Yeah.
Yeah,thatfeltspecial.
Well,sorryforruiningyourvideoorphotoshot.
Hey,don'tworry.
Don'tworry.
Itstartedaconversationthat'sledtothis.
Well,quite.
AndIneedtoapologisetoyouforbeingactuallysoshitattakingsolong.
Don'tyouworry.
Wehaveplentyofpatiencehere.
Yeah.
It'snoteasy,thesethingsorganising.
Iwaspleasedwhen...
relieved.
Notsurewhatthewordis.
WhenIwaswatchingyournewcontentwithDariotheotherday,andyouweretalkingabouthowlongit'stakenyoutogetthatgoing.
I'vebeenchattingtoDarioonandofffordonkeystoo.
Andyouknow,everyone'sbusyandit'shardtogetthesethingssorted,isn'tit?
Itis.
And,um,somestuff,there'sotherstuffthatothercarshavebeentryingtofeatureorpeoplehavewantedtotalkto.
Andyousometimeshavetoputtheironinthefireandleaveitforafewyearsandjustbepatient.
And,uh,That'sjustthewayitis.
Buttodayit'sfunnythatwe'redoingthistodaybecauseI'veactuallybeen,I'vebeenunderaPorscheallday,likeallday.
I'vestillgot,I'vestillgotsomeoilonmy,it'sabitofoilonme,scrapetherealittlebit.
Yeah.
It'sbeen,it'sbeenquite,it'sbeenquitetherapeutic.
It'sbeenenjoyable.
WhatPorschewasthat?
Wasityours?
Yours?
TheBoxster?
Yeah.
Yeah.
TheDirtBoxster,thebargainBoxster.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Ah,how'sthatgoing?
Yeah.
It'sgoingreallywell.
Thanks.
It's,It'sreallygotundermyskin.
Literally.
Well,ithas.
ButImean,IboughtitobviouslyataverylowpriceandapricewhereyoucouldaffordtoloseifitallwentcompletelyPeteTong.
Andit'sdonefarfromthat.
It'sbeenreallyenjoyabletothepointwhereI'mlike,I'mnevergettingridofthiscar,amI?
Idon'tthinkIam.
Ican'tbecausewhatwouldIgetthatwoulddoitformeonthislevelforthismoney?
Andit'sjustgreat.
AndI'veturnedintooneofthosepeoplewhowon'tstoptalkingabouthowgoodboxersare.
I'moneofthem.
Iamoneofthem.
Wegetabitboring.
You'reingoodcompanyatNineworks.
We'vegotalotofthat.
Yeah,Imean,IworrythatI'mboringmyselfattimes.
I'mwaxinglyricalsomuch.
Oh,yeah,you'vegottogeta986ora987.
Oh,yeah.
Yeah,you'vetotallygottogetoneofthose.
Butitturnedoutprettygood,though,didn'tit,intheearlycontent?
Yeah.
youdidonititwasitwaslikeyouknowtherewassometrepidationithinkforyouandforeveryonewatchingyeahlikeisthisgoingtobeanabsolutehowleryeahandit'sandit'sallrightit'swaybetterthanitshouldhavebeenactuallyininmanywaysbodilyit'sfrustratinglybetterthaniexpectedittobeasididwantabitofaghettoboxerwhichwasalwaystheongoingjokei'dloveaghettoboxerbutit'sit'sactuallygoodit'sreallygoodandYeah,itistoogoodforthat.
Andasaresult,I'veenjoyedspendingmoneyonitbecausesometimeswhencarsarebetterthanyouexpected,you'vegotthematagoodenoughprice.
Ialwaysthinkwhenyoustarttoinvestinthem,theygiveyoumorebackandyougo,well,thisisjustajoy.
I'menjoyingtheprocess.
Sowhatthehell?
Becausebasicallytodaywe'veputonsuspensionthat'scostmorethanthecar.
Yeah.
Soanynormalpersonwouldgo,well,that'sidioticwhatyou'redoing.
Butyougo,yeah,butonceI'vefittedit,thatsuspension'sgoodforanother100,000milesorwhateveritmightbe.
Soyougo,actually,youknow,Imightnotbedoingallthose100,000miles.
Whoknows?
Weshouldhookyouupwithoneofourcollectivemembers,Sakib.
He'sonasimilarjourneytoyou.
He'stryingtoturnoneofthecheapest986Boxersintothecountry,intothemostexpensive986Boxerinthecountry.
That'shisproject.
He'sdoingreallywell.
Ishe?
He'sdoingreallywell.
IfhewasmakingYouTubevideosofit,peoplewouldbelike,Sakib,thisisgenius.
Howareyoumanagingtospendsomuchmoneyonthiscar?
It'sbrilliant.
He'sreallydoingwell.
Andit'sa2.7
aswell.
It'snotanS,youknow,buthejustlovesitsomuch.
Likeyou,he'stotallyintoitandhejustcan'tstopplaying.
Can'tstopthrowingmoneyatitandpartsandjusttomakeitwonderful.
Iquiteenjoyworkingonthem.
Again,it'soneofthosethingswherewhenyouhaveanexoticcar,I'mgoingtocallitanexoticbecauseit'saPorsche,right?
Butpeoplearescaredbecausetheymightgo,there'sYouTubersnowwhoobviouslyplaywiththingslike...
30-year-oldFerrarisand25-year-oldFries.
Andonthefaceofit,youthink,whatareyoudoing?
You'reanamateurmechanicandyou'retouchingprestige,exoticcars.
Itcan'tgowell.
ButIthinktheeraofthecar,liketheBoxster986,it'sactuallyquiteamethodicallyputtogether,fairlyuncomplicatedcar.
Andbecausethere'ssomanyoutthere,certainlyintheUK,andyoucanbuyeithersecondhandpartsorThere'sreallygoodqualityrepropartsandthey'reclassedasaclassic.
Actually,youcangenuinelyrunoneonashoestringifyouwantedwithgoodknowledge,youknow,goodresearchandfriendshipgroups.
Oh,yeah.
Safespaces.
Safespaces.
So,yeah.
AndIwon'tjusttalkaboutmybargainboxbecausethatwouldbeboring,butI'mfortunateenoughtodrivealotofexpensivenewcars,right?
AndalotofPorschesovertheyears.
Andthatthingouttherethatcostmetwograndstillfeelsgood.
Itstillimpressesmeanditstillbringsabiggrin.
Andthat'snoteasytodowhensometimesyoucandriveacarthat'shalfamillionquidoramillionquid.
Andtogetbackintoit,it'sareallyinterestingreference,Ithink,becauseyougo,wow.
thisisstillprettygood.
AndIcouldgoout,ifIdidn'thavethatone,Icouldsaytopeople,infact,somebodytextsmetodaythatgoestothesamegymasme.
Theysaid,oh,I'vegotsixgrandtospendandIreallywantaconvertible.
WhatdoIdo?
AndIjustwent,hello.
It'sdefault.
Yeah.
Iwentlike,well,whatareyougoingtofindthat'sbetter?
Ijustdon'tknowifthereisabettercarforthemoney.
Iquiteagree.
It'sgreat.
ItjustsortofillustratesthefundamentaldifferencebrillianceofwhatPorschemadethere,isn'tit?
Youknow,thatevenatwograndonehastheabilitytoimpress.
Yeah,it'sexactlythat.
Andweirdly,sometimeswe'reallkindofdialedintothinkingthatdealerparts,youknow,originaldealerpartsaredefinitelythemostexpensiveparts.
Butweirdly,sometimeswhenyoujust...
youjustgetapriceforacertainthing,likeafootrest.
Somyplasticfootrestissnappedoff.
Someone'seitherover-tighteneditorsteppedonitreallyhard.
SoIwaslike,well,I'llwritedownthepartnumberandI'llseehowmuchitis.
Well,thecheapestplaceIcouldfinditwasPorsche.
Yeah,absolutely.
Alwayshavetocheck.
Therearesomestuffthatthere'snowaythey'rethecheapest,butothertimes,yeah.
Infact,I'dsayprobably...
50,60%ofthetime,youwillfindthatgoingtoaPorschedealerisactuallycheaperthanalloftheotherinternetprovidersandbuyingstuffsecondhandoffofeBay.
Yeah.
Yeah,exactly.
Soalwaystryit.
IswearthatmaybePorschethemselvesjustrollthediceandgo,shouldwepricethisoneludicrously?
Orshouldwejustlike,Justgivethemareallossleaderjusttogetthemin,likeadrugdealergivingyouafreehit.
Theyknowyou'llcomeback.
Itdoesfeellikethatsometimes.
Yougo,well,hangonaminute.
Thatboltwas80quid,butyetI'vejustboughtlikeawholecrankcasefor,youknow,12quid.
Idon'tunderstand.
Where'sthisgoing?
Yeah.
Yeah.
Youcannevertell.
Theydofeellikea...
relativelysimplecaraswell,don'tthey?
MyBoxsterisa981generationS,manual,lovely.
AndIwas991beforethatand997priortothat.
Andthisfeelslikeamoresimple...
straightforwardcartorunandtolookafter.
Imean,Idon'tdomuchtwirlingofspanners,asAndyknows.
Well,notwirlingofspanners,infact.
Youmighttwirlthem.
Doyouactually?
Yeah,Imighttwirlthem,thenIdropthem,andIjustleavethem.
Butyeah,I'vehaditfortwoyearsnow,andthere'sasimplicitytoitthatI'mreallyquiteenjoying.
Yeah,Iagree.
AndIthinkthat'smaybewhy...
Ithinkthefutureof,let'scallthemlikerewardcars,weekendcars,thatkindofthing,acarthatyouprobablydon'tuseeverydayislikerestomodtypestuff,whichisbaseduponusuallyoldercars.
AndobviouslythekingoftherestomodsisaPorschereally,andprobablyalwayswillbe.
Butit'sbecauseofthatfeelingofconnectionand,Carsnow,likenewcars,areallsocomplicated.
They'reasupercomputerandanengineandsometimesahighvoltage,allmarriedtogetherinthemostcomplicatedbox.
Andwhilstthey'reextremelycapableandimpressive,theydon'toftengetunderyourskin,Ifind.
Veryfewofthem...
sticktoyouandmakeyouthinkohdoyouknowwhatthisisthisisdoingthingsformeandandsowe'vegotsocaughtupinlikesheerfirepowerandstatsandcarsaresodamnfastnowbutspeedisnotsaidthistheotherdaytosomebodyandithoughtdoisoundlikejustanoldbastardidon'tknowbutlikethere'sspeedandthenthere'ssensationofspeedandthere'sandthere'sandthere'sdrivingfastandgoingaroundcornersandstufffastandthenthere'sactualfulfillment.
Andthat,andit'snot,it'snotthesamebecauseAudiprovedthatseveraldecadesago,youcanhaveanextremelygrippy,fastcarthatleavesyoucompletelynumbandyoudon'tgiveashit.
Yeah.
Youcouldbedoing160milesanhoureverywhere.
Andaslongasyourtiresarestillgripping,it'snotthatmuchfun.
You'rejustgoingtoeitherdie,killsomeoneorfallofftheroadand,orloseyourlicense.
Sothat'swhen,forme,themoreI,ofthesesortsofreallyludicrouslypowerfulcarsIdrive,themoreI'mgoingbackandgoing,Iwantanarrower,lightercarwithnarrowertyres,withlesspowerbecauseitdoesn'tneedmorepowerbecauseit'slighterandnarrower,thatmovesaroundabit,thatcommunicatesabit,andprobablyischeapertorunultimatelybecause,Idon'tknow,becauseI'mnotinapositiontospendhalfamillionpoundsonacaranyway,so...
Iwonderwhetherornotthat'swherewe'regoing.
Ireallydo.
Itotally,totallyagreewiththat.
Absolutely,yeah.
Youknow,andthat'swhyIkeepwonderinginmyhead,isPorschegoingtoremanufacturetheG-Bodyimminentlylikethat?
Becausewhywouldn'tyou?
Wouldn'tthatbespecial?
YoucanbuyabrandnewMGbody.
YoucanbuyabrandnewFordMustangbodyunderlicense.
YoucanbuyabrandnewMinibodyunderlicense.
WhythehellisPorschenotgoing,right,we'regoingtoremaketheGbody.
Youcaneitherbackdateit.
Youcanleaveitasa964,whateverthehellyouwanttodo.
Butwewillsellyouashell.
Here'stheshell.
Offyougo.
Dowhatyouwantwithit.
Andallthesecottageindustriesthatthriveonrestomodsandstuffcanlapitup.
It'sanofficialproduct.
AndpeoplelikeyouandI,whomightnotbeabletoaffordaturnkeyrestomod,butwecouldbuyashellandstartthejourneyanddoitoverfiveyearsorwhatever.
Youhearditherefirst.
IreckonJohnnySmithknowssomething,don'tyou,Max?
Ireckonhe'sintheknow.
Ibloodyloveit.
Ithinkitwouldbegreat.
Andalsoitmeansthatthe964intotallystandardformwouldn't,becometheautomotivepangolinwhichithinkit'sgoingtobecomeyeahyeahumwe'llseeyeahwe'llseeumyeahandyouarerightaboutthatbecauseisometimesiihaveanxietyaboutthe964thingyoudodidn'tyouandiknowthatishouldn'tandit'snotmyplacetoandthere'snovalueinmefeelinglikethatbutumeverytimeiseea964stillonflagmirrorsand
d90wheelsifeelimmensejoyandthenistarttoworrythatsomeone'sgoingtorestomoditandistarttopanicandithinkifihadlotsofmoneyi'dbewhichisjustasbadasrestomoddingi'dbebuyingthemallandjusttotryandprotectthemandi'dbeidon'tbeabletodrivethemallbecausei'dhavetoomanybuti'dfeellikeiwasdoingsomethinggoodbutactuallyitbegoodit'dbejustasbadasaswhatevermaybethat'smaybemaybeweshouldsetupacollectivebusinesswhichiscalledpangolinandyoudoitinthesamefont
astheporschefontonthelowerdoorsandthingsyeahbutitsayspangolinandthat'stheonlycustomtouchtothatcareverythingelseit'sjustasit'sjustas964aswasbutitsayspangolinonitbecauseitPeoplewhoknowwillgo,doyouknowwhat?
Thatisatotallyunmodified964.
It'shadnothingdone.
It'sjustbeenservicedandrenovatedandkeptontheroad.
Andthat'sit.
Youknow,thatisit.
Andthenwe'reliketheoppositetotheOutlaws.
Anddon'tgetmewrong.
IloveOutlawprojects.
Ithinkthey'rereallyinteresting.
AndIlovetherestaurantmodthing.
ThatTheondesigncarthatIdrovelastyear,whatastunningpieceofworkthatcaris.
Butatthesametime,maybethePangolincrew.
Itcouldbearisingvigilanteforcewherewe'relike,no,youleavethatcaralone.
Youleavethatpoor964alone.
Yeah,that'sathing.
That'sgoingtobeathing.
Ilikeit.
I'min.
Countmein.
Absolutely.
Now,wenormallystartourpodcastwithguestswithafewquestions.
IthoughtweshouldstilldothatandseehowtheBoxsterfitsintothat.
We'vegotourfirst,worst,bestandnextcar.
Yeah.
SoIthinkwe'llstartwithyoufirst.
Iknowwhatthatis,I'mprettysure,becauseit'sthesamecarthatIstartedwith,whichwasa...
I'llletyousaywhatyourfirstcaris.
Was.
Orstillhaveit.
Itis.
Itis.
Yeah.
Beetle.
1967Beetle1500.
Infact,it'soutsideinthecarport.
AndIranitonashoestring,boughtitat16,andjusthave...
Forsomereason,nevercouldgetridofitorwantedtoandmadequiteafewsacrificesnotto.
Andit'statty.
Andithasthesamesmellasitalwayshas.
IthasallthestickersIputonitin1997and96.
AndIshouldrestoreitatsomepoint.
Butmechanically,it'sreallygood.
AndIgotitbackontheroadin2020withmybrother.
Wesetasideaworkingweekbecausemybrotherkeptgoing,stopbeingatart.
andwaitingtorestoreit.
Hesaid,justgetitontheroad.
It'sMOTexempt,youfool.
Justgetitontheroad.
Wedid.
AndactuallyhewassorightbecauseI'vedonemoremilesinitsince2020thanIprobablyhaveintheprevious25yearsorwhatever.
Anditfeelslikeit'sdrivingbetterthaniteverhas.
SoI'veeven,Irewardedit.
IrewardeditthisChristmasjustgonebybuyingasetofrealPorschewheelsforit,whichI,wantedtobackinthe90s,butIcouldn'taffordthem.
I'veboughtsome914,whataretheycalled?
Marleygasburnerwheels.
Oh,yes.
Yeah,nice.
IneedtogetthosereallynicelyrestoredandI'mgoingtorewarditwiththose.
Sothat'sthissummer.
It'llbereadyforsummerwiththemon,Ithink.
fantastici'mveryjealousthatyou'vestillgotthatminemineumistartedtakingmineaparttodotherestorationbackin1986anddidn'tdidn'tgetitdoneandsolditoffintheendsoitwasashameididn'tkeepitsoi'mveryjealousofyoukeepingyouryourfirstcarthat'ssomesomeachievementiisoyoursandywasyoursa6750minewas6712001200.
Sowasthatdiscbrakedorwasthatjustthe1500?
The1500hasdiscbrakesonthefront,isn'tit?
Wherethe1200wasstillfivestudwiththedisc,withthedrumbrakes.
Yeah.
Itwasyoursixvolt.
Itwasstillsixvolt.
Yeah.
Itwasthelastsixvolts.
Yeah,itwas,itwas67.
It'sjust,youknow,Idon'tknowwhattheequivalenttoseeisthe67beetle,theequivalenttolikethe197367.
9-11?
The72,I'dsay.
72.
Sotheonethat'sgottheoilclapper,astheycallit.
Oh,yes.
Yes.
Theadditionaloil.
Yeah,yeah,goodpoint.
Sothat'stheone,isn'tit?
Ilovethe72forthefactthateveryonefillsitsoilupwithpetrol.
Ijust...
IjustthinktherewasonethatwentupforauctionafewmonthsbackandIwasdoinganauctionpreviewanditwasintheroomandIwaslookingatitgoing,God,I'dloveoneofthose.
Idon'tknowwhy.
Imean,it'sjust,it'ssilly,butit'sthatoneyearonlythingofitgoing,well,trythis.
Ohno,itdidn'twork.
Let'snotdothatagain.
Yeah.
Okay.
Thereisanothercarthat'ssimilartothat.
Ithinkitcouldbea68or69,whichoneofourcollectivehasgotoneofthem.
TobyDyer'sgotone.
Andapparentlythere'ssomanybitsonitthataretotallydifferenttootheryears.
The72isprobablyjustthatoilclapperthingthat'sspecialtoit,butthere'sthat68or69.
SoitreallysortofmarriesupwiththatBeetle,becausethat'ssomanyone-year-onlybitsonthat67Beetle,isn'tit?
There'sloads.
AndIthinkatthetime,weirdly,Iwasjusttryingtobuyapre-68Beetleofanytypethatmybudgetwouldcover.
Howmuchdidyoupayforyours?
Ipaid£900forit.
Itwasupforsalefor£1,400.
Yeah.
It'sbizarrethatyou'vebroughtthisupbecauseIwasactuallyspeakingto,whilstworkingonthisBoxstertoday,talkingtoJamesatTHRacing,becauseIsaid,InearlysoldtheBeetletobuyaPorscheinthe90s.
Andthiswaswhenyoucouldbuya912infullworkingorderthatwasalittletatty,butnottotallyshit,forthreeandahalfgrand.
Andyoucouldbuyamintone.
TheseareallCalifornianimports.
Andyoucouldbuyamintone,andImeanreallymint,forlikeseven.
Sevenandahalf.
AndIsaidtomydad...
CouldwegotoLondononthebus?
I'mgoingtodrivea912,testdrivea912atTowerBridgePorsche.
They'vegotoneintherethat'sfourandahalfandit'sgreenanditlooksgood.
Andwedid.
TheguyletmetestdriveitandIwas18.
Wow.
Yeah,Iwas18.
AndIvery,verynearlyputmyBeetleupforsalebecauseatthetimemyBeetlewasworthaboutthesameamount,ifnotabitmore,bizarrely.
Wow.
Andmydadtalkedmeoutofit.
And,andIknowwhy.
Andcausehewaslike,youwon'tbeabletoaffordtheparts.
Yeah.
You'llbeabletobuythecarandthenyouwon'tbeabletorunit.
Anditwaslike,yeah,butI'veneverowned,I'veneverownedanine11oranine12tothisday.
Hasitalwaysbeen,hasitalwaysbeenawishdoyouthink?
Ormaybewe'llcomeontothatlater.
Yeah.
Let'scomeontothatlater.
Um,sowe'vedonethefirst,um,Greatcar.
Worst.
Whathasbeenyourworstcar?
ThatI'veownedordriven?
Yes,thatyou'veowned.
Gosh.
Ofthe130-oddorwhatever.
Yeah.
Alotofcars.
Yeah,ithasbeenprobably140-somethingnow.
Jesus,mate.
WorstcarI'veeverowned.
There'sbeensomefairlycrapones.
Yeah.
Doyouknow,Iactuallycan'trememberthem.
Ineedtowritethemdown.
I'vewritten,Iwrotethemdownuptoabout120andthenlostthedatabasesheetorwhateveritwas.
Ican'tfindit.
Idon'tknowwhereitis.
TherewasanAstraMarkIIMerit,whichIownedandIboughtit.
Iknowthis.
IboughtitsimplybecausemyGranadalowriderthatIdroveeverydaylikeafool.
brokedownandneededquitealotofworkdoingonit,onthesuspension.
AndIneededastopgapcartogettoworkforaboutsixweeks.
SoIboughtanAstraMarkIIwithaveryshortMOT.
Ithinkithadabout15daysMOToffanightclubbouncerfor£120.
Anditwas,don'tgetmewrong,IquitelikeMarkIIAstrasbecausemyfriendshadGTEsgrowingupandIdohaveasoftspotforthose.
Butyeah,Whenithadaslippingclutch,soyoucouldn'treallyusemorethanaboutathirdofthethrottle,youhadtodriveitsodamncarefullybecauseitwouldjustspinupandyouwouldn'tgoanywhereanditwouldjustsmelllikemackerelbecausetheclutchwasjustslipping.
Thisishorrible.
Andthesunroofhadbeensiliconshutandithadthesereallyhorriblestainsallacrosstheupholsteryfrom,Iguess,watercominginonit.
Soit'sabitofasad,horriblecar,really.
Didithavepowersteering?
Oh,didit?
Hellno.
No,IremembermymumhavingaMarkIIAstra.
Itwasadieselone,ifIrememberrightly.
Andthesteeringwassobloodyheavy.
Youactuallybuiltmusclesfromdrivingitfortheyears,Ithink.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Imean,myfirstcarorthefirstcarthatwasboughtformetouse,youknow,asa17yearold,Iwasconvincedthatasafamily,weweregoingtogetaBeetle.
BecauseeveryonewasintoBeatlesinourfamily,evenmymum,mydadandmysister.
WewenttoBugJamandBeatleBashandBWSpringNationalsandeverything.
AndIwasreallyexcited.
AndthenmydadturnedupfromworkonedaywithaMarkIIAstro.
AndIwasmortified.
absolutelymortifiedifeltlikehe'dreallyletmedownyeahlikehe'dstitchedmeuplikehewasplayingsomekindofcruelprankonmeiwassoiwasreallyquiteupsetandtheniwroteitoffithinkwehaditforyeahiwroteitofffourweeksafteripassedmytestithinkitwasforthebestyouknowdidyouhaveabiglookingbackonityeahwellyeahyeahYeah,sortof,yeah.
Itdoesn'tlooklikehewantstorecallthatmemory.
Yeah.
Itwasamoment.
Itwasamoment.
Listen,theinsurancecompanyaren'tlistening.
Well,theymightbeactually.
Ijustdon'tknow.
No,yeah.
Ithink,ifI'mwondering,thissoundslikesuchastupidthingtosay,IwasonadifferentbitofroadthanwhatIthoughtIwas.
Okay.
That'soneofthebestracistexcusesI'veeverheard.
Ithink,Ithoughtthiswasahardleft,but...
Turnsoutitwasabigrightinstead.
Yeah.
Sothat's,that'sbasicallyhowitwentdown,Johnny.
Soitwasreallytheroadthatwaswrong.
Yeah.
Um,yeah.
So,butanyway,MarktoAstros.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Notmyfavoriteeither.
Johnny,I'mwithyou.
Ithinkwe'rewithyou.
Yeah.
It'sGTEornothing,right?
Yes.
Yeah,absolutely.
Yeah.
Oneofmy,oneofmyoldestfriendswhoIstill,Imean,stillintouchwith,we'veknownoneanothersinceweweretwo,hismomanddadhada,GTEconvertiblewhentheywerenew.
Whentheywerenew.
Itwaswhiteaswell.
Itwasso80s.
Itwaswhite.
Checkeredinterior,doyoureckon?
IthinkitdidwiththeRecarosandtheRollHoop.
AndIrememberwewenttothecinemaforhisbirthdaytowatchGhostbusters2.
AnditwasthemostexcitingthingbecauseIwassatbehindhisdaddrivingandIwatchedthedigitalrevcounter.
Iwaslike,thisisafriggingspaceship.
Isn'titamazinghowdifferenttheshittestAstrascanbetothebestAstra?
Yeah.
Iknow.
Iknow.
They'vegotthespectrumcovered.
Ilovethat.
Yeah.
Andalso,isn'titinterestinghowwenowhateadigitaldash?
We'relike,Goddamnyou,Porsche,andyourdigitaldash.
ButonthatmarkettoAstraGTE,itwasmega.
Itwas.
Itwas.
Itwasgreat.
Itwasgreat.
So,yeah,Iguessthat'sprobablytheworstcarI'veowned.
I'llthink,youknow,tonightI'llthinkofothercrap.
Ofcourse.
Yeah.
That'salonglist.
Sonextisbest.
Bestcareverthatyou'veowned.
BestcareverI'veowned.
Yeah.
Well,wellnow.
They'reall,thereareonesthatarebestfordifferentthings,aren'tthey,likebestOverallenjoyment,bestforlooks,bestforfeel.
SoIthinkprobablyI'dbeabigfatliarifIdidn'tsaymyDodgeCharger.
Becauseit's,Imean,I'veobviouslyhaditalotlongerthantheBoxster.
AndIboughtthatcarin2008.
SoIguessI'vehaditquitealongtimenow.
Wow,yeah.
Yeah,yeah.
Iputitontheroadin09.
Andeveryonesaiditwilldriveterribly.
I'downedafewAmericancarspriortothat.
IwasalwaysintoclassicAmericanstuff.
Andtheylied.
It'samanual,andit'sabigblock,andit'sgotnon-servodrumsandnopowersteering.
Andit'saphysicalcar.
ButA,tome,it'sthebest.
oneofthebestlookingcarsofalltimefromsomanyangles.
There'salotofreallybeautifulshapesonthatcar.
It'sgotmuscle,it'sgotsinewy.
Oh,it'sjustgreat.
Andit'sarealphysicalexperiencetodrive,butactuallyitdoesgoaroundcornersbecauseitdoesn'tweighasmuchasitlooksandthere'snoluxuryinitatall.
Thegearshiftisreallygood.
Everyonesaiditwasterrible.
It'snotterrible.
Brakesareterrible,sureenough.
Andthesteeringisterriblebelowabout20milesanhour.
Butabovethat,everythingfeelssogreat.
Thesteeringwheel'sabout,Idon'tknow,threefeetindepth.
Andyou'rejustsawingawayatit.
ButIthinkbecauseof,again,drivinglotsofnewcarsforaliving,Ilovehavingreferencepointsfromyesteryear.
Andgettinginthatcar,tome,feelslikesortofcosplayforoneofthem.
SoyoujustfeellikeI'mjustgoingtodisappearbackto1968.
I'mnothavingaradioinitthatworks.
I'mnotgoingtoanswermyphone.
I'mjustgoingtodriveandenjoythesheeranalogcommunicationwithamachineonaroadthatIlike.
AndI'dbelyingifloadsofpeoplelistening,I'msure,willknowthis.
Ofcourse,youloveitwhenpeopleadmireyourcarandyouseepeoplego,oh,theydothatmeerkatthingofgoing,wow,lookatthat,ortheytryandgettheirphoneout.
Andyougo,that'scool.
I'veworkedhardtogetthiscar.
It'sgreatifsomeoneelsewantstoenjoyitaswell.
Absolutely.
It'sgoodtospreadthelove.
Yeah,Ithinkso.
AndIthinksobecauseIrememberasakidbeingreallytakenabackbycertaincars.
Andiftheowner,ifitwasashoworitwasparked,andiftheownersaid,oh,doyouwanttositinit?
Ordoyouwanttohavealookattheenginebayorsomething?
Thosememoriescanabsolutelystaywithyouforever.
Andinfact,theymightbesomeofthereasonswhywe'resatheretoday,becauseyoujustbecamemildlyobsessed.
Yes,ofcourse.
AndIlovethat.
Weallhave.
Yes,massivelyaddictive.
AndIremembergoinginearly...
earlymemoriesofgoinginPorsches.
MyfriendwhoIjusttalkedabout,whoseparentshadtheAstraGTintheeighties.
Well,inthenineties,theyhada,theyhada911.
They,theyhadacoupleofcarsandthentheygotthis911.
ItwasawhiteTarga.
Whatyearwasit?
89.
Itwasan89Targa.
Yeah.
WhichwouldhavebeenaGbody.
Yeah.
3.2.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So,AndIrememberweactuallystolethatcar.
Icansayitnowbecauseit'sbeenmanyyears.
Theywentonholiday.
I'vesaidthisstorybeforesomewhere.
Sowedidaproper,wedidaSomersetFerrisBueller'sdayoff,butwithaPorsche,notaFerrari.
Andhisparentswentonholiday.
Wewere16.
Didweevenhavealicense?
No,wedidn't.
Wewere16.
Wewere16.
I'mnotproudofthis,soifyou'reachildlisteningtothis,thisisareallyawfulidea.
Andweweresatinhiskitchen,andhehadthenicesthouseoutofallofus.
Anditwasared-hotday,likeithadbeentoday.
Andweallsataround,andwewent,Luke,howlongareyourparentsonholidayfor?
Andhewent,oh,aboutthenextsortofweek.
Okay.
DidtheytakethePorsche?
Andhewent,no.
Andwealllookaroundlikethis,andthere'sakeyhookinthekitchen,arackofkeys.
AndIsawthecrestofthePorschebadgeglinting,andwealljustwent,no,thePorsche.
Soweallranaroundintothegarageandopeneditupandhadthatface.
Wewent,oh,mygosh,yourfolkshaveleftthePorsche.
We'vegottostartit.
Andhewent,no,no,we'renotdoingthat.
Andthenhepausedandhewent,ah,yeah,let'shaveago.
We,we,welethim,hegotinit.
Hegoes,nooneelseisdrivingthisapartfromme.
Wewent,okay,fair,fair.
We,hestruckitupandwealljuststoodtheregoing,ohmygosh,thisisamazing.
And,uh,wetookitout.
Wetookitout.
Wetookitoutforabouta10miledriveandwewent,wedid.
Wewereidiots.
Whodrove?
My,my,my,myfriendLukedid.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Oh,really?
Hewasn'tverygoodatdriving.
He'sdefinitelya16-year-oldtryingtodrive.
Weweredrivingaroundbacklaneswithblindcornersinsecondgear,maybethird.
Andwewenttocallonanotherfriendofours,becauseofcoursethisispre-mobilephones,tocallonhim,likeFerrisBueller,toprovethatwewereoutinthePorschetohim.
Andhewasn'tinthatdayfor10minutes.
Anditwasthe10minutesthatwecalledover.
Andgetthis,tothisday,he'spissedoffaboutit.
Tothisday,hesaid,doyouknowwhereIwas?
Hesaid,mymumanddadsaid,comeoutwithusbecausewewanttogooutandweneedtobuysomestamps.
Andhewent.
Heagreedtogooutwithhisparents,blesshim,becausetheyneededtobuysomestampsinaPeugeot405.
Wecameroundillegallydrivingablimmin'PorscheTarga.
That'smaybeforthebestthathewasn'tthere,becausethatwouldmeanhisparentswerethereaswell,andtheymightnothaveenjoyedthat.
Ithinkhewouldhaveopenedthecurtainsandgone,hangonaminute,theydon'thaveadrivinglicence,andthat'sawhitePorsche.
Whatthehell'sgoingon?
Yeah.
Yeah,you'reright.
Whatanexperienceasa16-year-old.
Thatcouldhavegonewrong,couldn'tit?
Butthat'scool.
Thatis.
That'scool.
Andhegotawaywithit,gotitbacksafely.
Yeah,hedroveitsafely,actually.
Hedroveitprettywell.
AxelStansputitinreverse?
Well...
Wedidmeasurewhereitwasinthegarageandweputtwigsdownonexactlywherethetyresweretoputitaway.
Andweneversaidanythingtohisparentsforyearsandyearsandyears.
Andlike15yearslater,Lukewasdrunkathiswork'sdue.
Himandhisparentsrunabusinesstogether.
Andheadmittedtohisfolks.
Hesaid,youknow,whenhewentonholidaythatyearandhisdadwent,Iknowwhatyoudid.
IknowyoutookthePorsche.
Yeah.
Andwe'relike,what?
Buthejustwent,ah,hesaid,Iknewyou'ddonesomethingwithit,butIlookedaroundit.
Therewasnoscratch.
Therewasnodamage.
Iwaslike,meh.
Hisdadwasverylaidback.
Andsowewerelike,wow.
Andtothisday,noneofus,yeah,noneofushaveownedaPorscheapartfrommeandtheBoxster,Idon'tthink.
AndIdon'tknowwherethatcarisnow.
Doyouknowwhat?
I'llfindouttheregistration.
Yeah.
Iwonderifanybodywholistenstothisknowswherethatcarisnow,becauseitwaslovely.
Itwasmint.
There'sachance.
It'dbenicetodriveitonedaywithadrivinglicenceratherthannotwithadrivinglicence.
Yeah.
Lovethatstory.
Maybeyoucouldaddittothefleet,Johnny.
Youcouldbuyit.
That'dbespecial.
That'dbecool,wouldn'tit?
Oneday.
A911isacarthatconstantlyeludesme.
Igetcloseandthen...
Igetcloseand,uh,IusedtoliveinLondonandworkinLondonforcarmagazineinabout2000and2001,maybeamillennium2000.
Yeah.
AndaguythatIknewfromanother,fromthepublishingworld,hehadabeautiful1967nine11totwolitercar.
Itwasblack.
Itwasabsolutelystunning.
Andhesaidtomeoneday,hesaid,I'min,mygirlfriend,we'regoingtobuyaflat.
Hesaid,I'mgoingtosellthePorsche.
Hesaid,Iknowyou'vealwaysreallyadmiredit.
SoI'llgiveyoufirstrefusal.
I'mlike,right,great.
Hesaid,Iwant12forit.
Ican'tgobelow12.
AndIwent,andatthetimeIwasearning,IknowIwasearning18grandayear.
Iwaslike,Icouldprobablytryandgetaloanorsomething.
AndIjustcouldn't.
AndIwent,I'msosorry.
I'dloveto.
Ijustcan't.
AndI,thatreallyhurtmebecauseIalwaysthinkbacktothatcar,how,howniceitwas.
Andthennow,becauseI'm,youknow,causeI'vebeeninthegamealittlewhile,therearecarsthatareclassedassortofmodernclassicsnow,likePorsches.
AndIgo,Idrovethatwhenitwaslaunched.
Yeah.
Anditwasreallygood.
Andtherearesomethatyoudo,youdrivetheminperiodandyougooneday,I'mgoingtofindoneofthemand,I'mgoingtogetone.
Andthe997GT3isoneofthem.
That'sforme.
CauseI,I,thatwasthefirstGTcarIeverdrovenewin,inperiod.
Andithadaveryprofoundeffectonme.
IrememberonenightI'djustbecomeadad.
MydaughterwasababyandIcouldn't,shecouldn'tgettosleep.
Andwhenshefinallygottosleep,itwaslikemidnightorsomething.
AndIjustwaswired.
AndI,mademyexcusestomyex-wife,andIwent,I'mjustgoingtogoout,justclearmyheadforadrive,becauseIhadaGT3997.
Itwasawhiteoneonthedrive.
Yeah,andIjustdisappearedinit.
AndIdrovethatcarforabout120milesthatnight.
Idroveitforhours.
Hours.
Anditwaswonderful.
Anditnever,havingdrivenfaster,bettercarssince,Istillgo,ooh.
Maxhasgotareallove,haven'tyou?
Stillmyfavourite911,John.
Imean,I'ma997guy.
AndsomyfirstPorschewasa997Gen1CarreraCoupe,BassartBlack,manual,lovely.
Didagazillionmilesinitover10yearsthatIownedit.
AndwhenIboughtit,whichwasin2012,Iwas36yearsold.
Ithoughtthisisgoingtobe,thisismyfirst911andit'sgoingtobeagatewaytoa997GT3.
That'smyplan.
Youknow,I'llhavethisforawhile.
I'llkeepworking.
I'llkeepdoingwell.
Andthat'llbeasensiblemove.
Andthen,youknow,themarketwentsillyandthepriceswentupand,anditsortofwentawayfromme.
AndIstartedtothinklatterly,maybeit'snotthe911formeanymore.
Youknow,maybethere'llbeotherthingsthatwouldfitbetterintomylife.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Youknow,thekindofthing.
AndthenafriendofoursfromthecollectiveGeordieBenn,who'sbeenonacarbuyingspree,heboughtonefromRPMTechnic,whichisclosetome.
IliveinBuckinghamshire,soit'sclosetome.
AndIpickedhimupfromthestationandwewenttogetitandhecamebacktomyhouseandhesaid,right,you'regoingtohavetodrivethiscar.
Isaid,why?
AndIwasallquitenervousaboutitandabitshyandcoy.
Andhesaid,no,I'veputyouontheinsurance.
Soitneedspetrol.
Soweneedtogotogetsomepetrol.
We'regoingoutfordinnerlater.
Youcandrivemetodinnerinit.
SooverthatheafternoonandeveningIdroveitIthinkcruciallyonfamiliarroadslikemyroadsgoingtomypetrolstationandmycurryhouseandintheendIactuallyfeltlikeitwasmycaryou'reasuccessfullocalbusinessmanaren'tyouowningthefuelstationandowningthecurryhouseohwowandIwasholdingontothekeystheywereinmypocketandbecauseitwasblackthesameasminewasIsortofthoughtitwasmineandIreallygotintoitI'mtotally
totallyenchantedandbewitchednow.
AndnowallIwantagainisa,isa0.1.
Idon'twanta0.2
997GT3.
I'mcompletelyobsessedwithit.
Amentothat.
Iwouldsay.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Incredible.
It's,it's,it'sjustagreatcar.
It'sjustagreatcarthatdoesalotofthingsreallywell.
Butagain,liketheperformanceofitonpapercomparedtoabasemodelCarrera2nowisnothingonpaper.
Butthat'snotwhatit'sabout.
It'sabouthowdoesitfeelthroughyourspineandyourbumcheeks,really.
It'sallaboutthefeel,isn'tit?
It'ssomuchaboutthefeel.
There'ssomuchaboutit.
Ireally,Idowonderwhetherornotweshouldjustbeputtingcarsonspacesavers,youknow,like135sorwhatever,145s.
SomaybeMichelincoulddoaCup2orsomethingina135,145section.
That'seffectivelywhattheToyotadid,isn'tit,withtheGT86?
IsitGT86?
Oh,yeah,that'sonthePriustyres,isn'tit?
Yeah,yeah.
Idowonder.
Idowonderifit'dbegreat.
Theotherweirdthingis,iscominghometonight,IsawaGT3,bea992,IpulledoveratthesideoftheroadintheoppositedirectionontheA1towhereIwasgoing.
Bywhatlookedlike,Iamsureitwasapolicedefender,LandRoverdefender,flashingalltheflashinglights.
AndIthought,well,A,howthehelldidthedefendercatchthe911?
Thisisassumingthe911wasgoingsome.
AndB,Ididn'tknowthepolicehad...
defendersthey'redoingallrightthat'sanexpensivecarexpensivecarnowit'sdefinitelynotaworkingclasscarlikeitusedtobeyeahsouhbutyeahandandofcoursethegtcarsnowaremassiveyeahhugeandthemysonwho'sgoingtobe14thisyearisreallyintoumHe'sgot,whenhewasyounger,hewasn'tsointocars.
Imockhimnowandsay,look,I'vebroughthomethiscarwhenitwasnewandthisandthis.
I'vegotphotosofyousittinginthis.
Andhe'slike,really?
Haveyou?
Iwent,yeah.
Andhedidn'tgiveatoss.
Andnowsuddenlyyou'relike,oh,daddy,whenyoubringhomeaGT3RS,I'mlike,well,Iwilldoatsomepoint.
Oh,comeon,comeon.
I'vedoneitloadsbefore.
Yeah.
Isaid,I'vehadalltheotheronesatsomepointandyoudidn'tevencare.
So,buthe's,he's,helovesthe,thewingsandthe,youknow,I'mmoreofatouringguyandhe'smoreofa,butit'sthat,Ithinkit's,yeah,helikestheventsandthewingsandIlikethe,thesubtlety,Ithink.
Yeah.
So,um,we'vedonebestcar.
Somehowwe'vegotontoPorschesagainfrom,fromDodgeChargers.
Um,what'sthenextcar?
Whathaveyougotlinedup?
What's,what's,what'sonthewishlist?
Thewishlistisa,isa,isaturbulentcar.
terribletemptressyeahumthatdoeschangesointhelastfourweeksyeahit'sgonesomethinglikethiscitroensmatleasttwiceatleasttwiceit'salmostafeverdreamiseeuhjethrowasoutdrivinghisdad'soneattheweekendlooksamazingisn'theSocool.
Whatacoolcar.
It'sanincrediblycoolcar.
Ithinkit'sprobablyavolatilerelationshipcar,butIfeellikemaybeit'smymidlifecrisis.
MaybeIshoulddoit.
Idon'tknow.
It'sthechallengeyouneedtoaccept,Johnny.
Imean,it'srightupyourstreet,isn'tit,Johnny?
Imean,allthethingsthatcouldhappeninaCitroenSM,thatwouldbejust,that'sgotyouwrittenonit.
Content,content,content.
Yeah,aseriousroadtripinwhatiswidelyregardedasthemosttemperamentalcarofalltimeprobablysoI'dloveonesoI'vedonethatI'vedoneHillmanAvengernumeroustimesTigerbecauseit'sacaronmylisthavinggrownuparoundAvengerstheTiger'stheonetohaveandthencompletelylikeaclicheMotoringJournalist911so993C2or
IfIcouldfinda997C2withabsolutelynooptions,Imeannooptions,forsomereasonIwouldreallydigthat.
I'mabitweirdwhenitcomestostufflikethat.
Hasn'tWilliamsCrawfordgotazerooptionone?
No,that'sactuallyafewbits.
It'sgotafewbitsonit.
It'sactuallyquitenicely.
Soitlookslikeanicecar.
I'llsendittoyou.
It'squitecool.
Itisquitecool.
Butyeah,that'sgotsomeniceoptionsonit,actually.
Iknowwhatyou'resayingwiththezerooption.
I'vealwayslikedaprettybasespecCarrera.
There'ssomethingaboutit,isn'tthere?
Doyouknowwhatitis?
It'slikeareallygoodqualityvanillaicecream.
Mostpeoplego,oh,vanillaicecream.
Like,that'stheobviouschoice.
Everyonejustgoesforvanilla.
Butit'slike,yeah,butthere'svanilla,andthenthere'svanilla.
Andareallygoodvanilla,likeareallygoodSundayroast,orifit'sdoneright,justgowithit.
It'sgreat.
Yeah,youdon'tneedthecordonbleu.
No,andIdoworrythatalotofpeoplenow,becausetheyspeccarsup,theytickalotofboxes,andtheybuycarsforthenextowneralmost.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Like,whatareyoudoing?
Straightinforthehardstuff.
You'reabsolutelyright.
Yeah,youknow,itisthough,isn'tit?
Imean,Idon'tdodrugs,butI'mjustusingthatasasortof,youknow.
Yeah,yeah,yeah.
No,you'reabsolutelyright.
I'vejokedonherebefore,exceptI'mnotjoking,ofcourse,thattherearepeoplewho,Ibelievetherearepeoplewhodon'tknowthatthere'sany911otherthanaGT3oraTurboS.
Theydon'tevenknowwhataCarrerais.
ACarrera?
Whatareyoutalkingabout?
Idon'tevenknowwhatthatis.
Andthey'remissingout.
They'remissingout.
Doyouknow,youguyswillknowPorschesbetterthanme,butdoyouknowifyoucan,canyoustilldeleteoptioncertainthings?
Yeah.
Canyou?
Howsimplecouldyoumakeanentry-level911now?
Idon'tevenknow.
Becauseit'ssoluxuriousinside.
Didn'tRichie,Andy,didn't–Imean,youmighthavedrivenit.
Richiehadthatred992,first-gen992.
Yeah,thatwasmybasic.
Thathad,Ithink,onlylike180quid'sworthofoptionsonit.
Yeah.
Andoneofthosewasachangingthebadgeonthebacktothatlittlenine11badge.
AndIcan'trememberwhattheotherthingwas.
Theotherthingwassomethingreallyinnocuousaswell.
Andotherthanthat,therewasnothing.
Andthatwasonthe,thatwasonthefleet.
Thatwasapressfleetcar.
Sothereare,thereare,youknow,thereare,butwhopeoplebuyingthoseprobablynotverymany,probablynotverymany,whichisashame.
Itisashame.
It'sthesamewaythatcolorslikenowwe,welook,Ithink,andit'sa,it's,quiteaPorschething,butyoulookoutforinterestinglycolouredsecondhandonesandgo,oh,wow,someonereallywenttotownonthisone.
Andweapplaudit.
Butyet,whenyoubuyacarnew,alotofpeople,they'requiteconservativeandtheygo,oh,whydidyoubuythatinsilver?
Youcouldhaveboughtthatinyellowor,youknow,achartreusegreenormyfavouritegreen,probably,Porschegreen.
Yeah.
MaybeanIrishgreen.
Imean,Porsche,Ilovegreencars.
Iwashavingthisconversationonmypodcasttheotherweekabout,Idon'tparticularlylikeredcars.
Whatever.
I'dbethelastpersontobuyaredFerrari.
Green.
Somanygoodgreensoutthere.
Doyouknow,therewasalwaysthatthing,wasn'tthere?
WhenIwasakidthatitwasthe,youwouldn't,Peoplewouldn'tbuygreencarsbecausetheywere...
Itwasunlucky,wasn'tit?
Ibelieveitwasunlucky,andIdon'tknowthereason.
Youdon'tknowthereasonforit.
No,Idon't.
Iheardsomebodytalkingaboutthattheotherday,andIwaslike,yeah,Idorememberthat.
Itwasahugething.
Itwas.
Greencarsdidn'thappenbackthen.
Well,it'sweird,though,isn'tit?
NobodycallsitBritishunluckyracinggreen.
Green,yeah.
Idon'tthinkweneedtolookintothis.
Myparentsboughtagreencarbrandnewandthat'swhatI'dlearnttodriveinandthat'swhatIremember.
AndIthinkmaybethat'swhyIlikegreencarsbecauseIrememberthisforestgreenmetalliccarallthetime.
I'mjustintoit.
Andalsoit'sthekindofnature.
Isn'tit?
Flourishingnature.
Soifyoubinitintoahedge,youcancoveritupandnoonewillsee.
God,IwishIcouldhavedonethat.
Whatcolourwasthat?
Itwaswhite.
Itwaswhite.
Iknewitcouldbewhite.
Here'saquestionforyou,John.
I'vegotaquestionforyou.
Soyou'vegotabitofmoneyinyour...
inyourbackburner.
It'sburningaholeinyourpocket.
Andyou'representedatthesamepricewithareally,reallynice993Carrera2manualcoupe.
Nicething.
Anda997.1
GT3.
They'rethesamemoney.
Sothey'relike80grandorsomething.
Acoupleofnicecars.
Whichonedoyoubuy?
Oh,bums.
You'reabadman.
CouldI...
Socouldthe997...
CouldtheGT3bethecomfortpackandIcouldputabackseatinit,backinit?
Yeah,yeah,yeah.
Okay,yeah.
Tonyisstrokinghisfaceinaratherstrangewayasyoulistentothis.
Thisisaconundrum,aconundrum.
I'dprobablygo997GT3.
However,however,however,Ithinkthe993isprobablyaprettiercar.
Ithinkthe997GT3isprobablyamorefuncarforme.
Andalso,the997GT3isamoremoderncar.
SocomparedtothecarsI'vegotthatIown,Iownalotof60s,70s,80scars.
Tohavea997,it'sanoughtiescar.
AndIthinkthereisabitofnostalgiainmewhogoes,Irememberdrivingthatwhenitwasnewandithadarealwowsound.
Yeah,Ilovethatstoryofyougoingoffatthemiddleofthenight.
That'sjustamazing.
Imean,dude,IcansaythisnowbecauseI'mdivorced,buttherewasanother9-11.
ItwasaTarga.
Itwasa997TargawhentheybroughtbacktheTargaafteralittlesabbatical.
Yeah,yeah,yeah.
SoIhadoneofthoseandmeandmythenwifehadamassiverowandIcan'trememberwhatitwasabout.
Itwouldhavebeenaboutbeingtiredparents.
Atthetimeshe,wehadarowandIstormedoutthehouseandallItook,Ididn'ttakeawallet.
IrememberIjusttookthekeytothenine11andIwentforalongdrivejusttocooloffandjustthinkabouttheworld.
Anditwasgreat.
Ienjoyedit.
ThenIcamebackandI'dbeenlockedoutandItriedtophone,Itriedtophoneandsheturnedherphoneoffanditwaslike,youain'tcomingbacktonight.
IhadallIhadwasa,wasanine11,apresscar.
withafulltankoffuelandtheclothesthatIwasin.
AndIwentforalongdrive,gotthecabinniceandhot.
AndthenIwentdownabacklane,reclinedtheseatandtriedtogotosleep.
Wasitacoldnight?
Howlongdidittake?
Itwasoneofthoseoneswhereaboutthreeorfourinthemorningwhenthetemperatureproperlydips,you'relike,thisisnotcomfortable.
Idon'tenjoythis.
Idon'twanttodothis.
ButIdidwanttosleeponmyowndriveinthecarbecausethatwouldlookextrasad.
SoIwasjustdownacountrylane,lookingabitweirdinabrandnewPorscheatthetime.
AndIjustthoughttomyself,whatamIdoing?
ButIrememberthat.
ItookmydaughteroutforseveraldrivesinthatwhenshewasveryyoungintoalittleRecarokiddieseat,andshewasinthebackoftheTarga.
Sotheglasshousegoesallthewayback,doesn'tit?
Andshelovedit.
Sheremembersittothisday.
AndI'vegotathingforTargas,Ihavetosay.
Foralongtime,theywereabitdismissed.
Yes,yeah.
Didn'tRichardhaveaTargaforalongtime?
No,hehada...
Ohno,itwasCoupe,wasn'tit?
Yeah,hehadanS.
HehadaBasaltBlack997.
Yeah,secondgen997,Ithink,wasn'tit?
Yes,andheverymuchloveditanduseditalot.
Butyeah,webothlikeTargas.
I'vegotathingforaTarga.
Infact,that997,yeah,whenitfirstcameout,Ithought,wow,they'vedonesuchagoodjobonthat.
Andthey'vekeptitup,Ithink.
They'vedonereallygoodTargassince.
SoI'mdownforaTarga.
Yeah,I'mdownforaTarga.
Iquitefancya997Targa,actually.
We'rejusttheseidiotsthatjustbuycarsinourhead.
We'rejustfantasybuying,aren'twe,allthetime?
Yeah,that'smylife.
Welcometomyworld.
There'ssomanycars.
Speakingofwhich...
Speakingofwhich,I'vegotaquestionaboutacarforyou,whichIknowyouknowallabout.
Okay.
AndI'mthinkingaboutitinthecontextof2025.
Isitagoodcartoownandtouse?
Right.
TheoriginalHondaInsight.
Oh,hellyeah.
God,yeah.
Hellyeah.
Okay,so...
They'recool.
ThethingabouttheHondaInsightisobviouslythelooksaredivisivebecauseit'squiteanunusuallookingalien.
Ilovethem.
Yeah,Ido.
Butevenifyoudon'tlikethat...
butyouappreciateengineering.
Asapieceofengineering,it'sanabsolutetourdeforce.
Andit'ssosatisfyingtodriveinthatwaythatwe'vetalkedabout,inthatit'sahybrid,soit'snot,andit'satinyengine.
It'sgotnotorque.
It'snotfast,butyoucancarryloadsofmomentumwithit.
It'llcornerreallywell.
Thesteering'sjustadelight.
Thedrivingpositionandthecomfort,Imean,I'vecanemilesonmine.
Andbecauseit'sallaluminiumandit'shandmade,itfeelslikeit'snotgoingtogoanywheresoon.
AndI've,yeah,likeIsaid,I'veownedittwice.
It'sdone,ithadits,ItookitbacktoHondatohaveitsservicetwoweeksago.
It'sdone335,000miles.
Bloodyhell.
Andit'sstillhottotrot.
It'samazing,isn'tit?
Everycarfanaticshoulddriveonebeforetheydoit.
It'soneofthosecarsyoushouldjusttryittounderstandwhatit'sabout.
I'vedrivenacouple.
I'vetest-driventhemacoupleoftimesandbeensoclosetobuyingbutjustdidn'tdoit.
Iseemtohavelotsofparallelswithyourdrivingcareerandyourcarownershipcareer,butthere'sonethingthatyoualwaysseemtohavedone,whichisbuythebloodythings,andI'vejusttest-driventhem.
butyeahIwasyeahthatinsightIlovedthatthingit'sjustIdon'tknowit'sjustsomethingdifferentaswellisn'titIthinkwe'vebothgottheloveforsomethingweirdthey'realsoincrediblygoodvalueformoneystillaretheystillyouknowthey'restillreallygoodvalueformoneylikeyoucanbuyanimmaculateoneforlikesevenoryoucanbuyreallyyeahyeahoryoucanbuyaleggyoneforthreeyouknowandandthere'sagain,there'sareally
stronglike,um,ownersforumandthere'sloadsofhacksyoucandotothemnow.
LikeIputsuspensiononmine,whichIfilmeditforavideoandIhaven'tputitoutyet,butIputadjustablecoiloversonthebackand,um,there'safewdifferentmodsyoucando,whichreallyimprovethem.
Yeah.
Uh,Imighthavetoscratchthatitchstill.
It'sstilldoing,mine'sstilldoing78tothegallon,likeregularly.
Yeah.
Thiswastheworld'sfirstmass-produced,definitely,100-mile-per-galloncar.
Yeah.
Anditwastheworld'sfirsthybridthatwassoldglobally.
SothePriusbeatitbyaboutninemonths,butthatwasJapanesedomesticmarketonly,thatGen1.
Also,theGen1Priuslooksshit.
Yes,absolutely.
Andit'sjustnevergoingtobecool,inmyeyes,whereastheHondadrivesreallywell.
LikeithasthesteeringofaLotus.
ItfeelslikeasortofecoLotus.
It'sgreat.
Honda'sarecool,aren'tthey?
Honda's,Hondaaresuchgreatengineers,aren'tthey?
Suchagreatengineeringbusiness.
Ithinkthey'rebrilliant.
I'veinadvertentlyownedalotofHondasoflateandit'snotbecauseof,theyhaven't,Ihaven'tsoughtthem.
They'vesoughtme.
That'smyexcuseanyway.
DidyouhaveaMarkICivic?
I'veneverhadaMarkICivic.
I'vetriedtobuyone.
I'vehad,I'vegot,IboughtaCivicformykidstolearntodrivein,whichistheEP2shapeorwhatevertheycallit.
Theonewiththegearstickcomingoutofthedashboard.
AndI'vegotanElement.
Yeah,they'recool.
IftheybroughttheElementback,pleasebringtheElementback.
Itwouldjustbeamazing.
I'veownedanS600Coupe1965.
Honda'sfirstsportscar.
Honda'sfirstpropercar.
Andthatthingwas,again,asapieceofengineering,oh,myword.
Imean,thatthingwouldrevto11.
Someoftheguysintheclubsaiditrevvedto12.
Jeez.
Thatwasa600cc,four-cylinder,four-carb,needleroller-bearingcrankcarthatwoulddo100milesanhourin1964.
Wow.
WhenwewerebuyingMGmidgets,youdecidewhichoneyou'dratherhave.
Yeah.
It'sanotherworld,isn'tit?
That'ssotrick.
That'satrick.
Honestly,thatcarwasunbelievable.
ThebacksuspensionalonewasascomplicatedasaSwisswatch.
Imean,IhadameltdowntryingtofindpartsforitandthenrealizedIcouldn'tfitinit.
SoIhadsoldit.
Oh,really?
Isthatwhyyousoldit?
Genuinely.
Tobehonestwithyou,Acombinationofcouldn'treallyfitinit,soIcouldn'tshutthedoormorethanoneclickbecausemykneewouldn'tgoanywhere,myrightknee.
AndCOVIDcamealong,andbeingself-employedanditbeingreallytricky,itwaslike,you'regoingtohavetosellsomecars.
AndtheHonda.
TheHondawasverycollectibleabroad.
ItsoldtoacollectorinSingapore,Ithink.
So,yeah,youknow,youcan'tkeepthemall.
No,no.
Weweresayingearlierthatyou'vehad130,140cars.
Yeah.
That'ssomelist.
Whathaveyoucurrentlygot?
What'sleft?
Okay,soI'veactuallybeenabadman.
I'vequiteabadmaninthelastyear.
I'vegotmorecarsratherthanlesscars.
I'vegottheAustinAllegroTypeRsleeperproject,whichcontinuestobechallenging.
Butwe'llgetthere.
I'vegottheDodgeCharger,theBeetle,Nissan,Cedric,TokyoTaxi.
That'scool.
Lovethat.
Yeah,Idolikethat.
Thatcar'ssosmooth.
I'vegottheBoxster,smartBrabusRoadster.
Brilliantcar.
TheHondaInsight,theHondaElement,theCivic.
sortofchildren'sfieldcarumohi'vegotamatraranchowhichiboughtonacompletewhimfromafieldincornwallthat'soneoftherarestcarscoolit'soneoftherarestcarsintheworldyeahyeahdoyouknowhowmanyareontheroadoneofmyfavoritemajorettetoycarsibetwickedyeahlovethemwhatlessthan10maybeontheroadreallyohIt'srarerthanaFerrari250GTObyacountrymile.
God.
Whatsortofstate'sthatin?
Terrible.
Isitreallyproperrotten?
Excusemylanguage.
Becausetheywererottenwhentheycameoutofthefactory,basically,weren'tthey?
WiththatrattlyoldTolbertengine.
Oh,yeah.
Itdeservestobesaved,though.
Well,Igotarealthingforthemasakidofthe80s.
Theylookedsoaheadoftheirtime.
Socool.
Theyweresoaheadoftheirtime.
So...
Yeah,Ihadtosavethat.
Johnny,whatenginewouldyouputinthatifyou'regoingtoresthimonitaspartofyoursavingit?
Whatwouldbetherightengineinthat?
Canyoukeepasecret?
Yeah,yeah,ofcourse.
I'mnotactuallydoingthisbecauseIdon'thavethemoney,butifIcoulddothis.
IjokedtoRobertSingeronce.
TheoneandonlytimeI'vemethim,wewereinabar.
Andafterafewdrinks,Isaid,I'mgoingtogiveyouaMataranchooneandyou'regoingtobloodySingerit.
Andhelaughedandhewent,yeah,yeah,maybe.
AndIwent,no,seriously,you'regoingtosingit.
AndIworkedoutonthosesillywebsiteswhereyoucandowheelbasecalculationswithothercars.
It'sgottheexactwheelbaseofaSubaruImprezaWRX.
Oh,perfect.
AndtheRanchowasneverfour-wheeldrive.
Italllookedgood,didn'tit?
So,hello,comeon.
Imagine,justimaginethat.
Brilliant.
I'min.
Yeah.
Imean,likeifIhadasparehundred,200grandinmybackpocketandIthought,let'sjustdosomethingdirty.
Yeah.
Weird.
AndthenyoucangiveittoTravistodothevideo.
Honestly,Ireallywould.
Ireallywould.
Soyeah,Iactuallydon'tknowwhatother,Oh,IknowanothercarthatI'veforgottenaboutthecarthatI'veownedfor20yearsthisyearandstillneverdrivenit.
Um,ChevroletImpalaSupersport,1964.
Thelowrider,whichthenever-endingstory,asmyfriendscallit,thatI'llprobablyneverfinish.
ButIwillfinishitbecauseIhaveto.
Bloodycool,thatis.
Well,I'vespentmoremoneyonthatcar,genuinely,thananyothercarI'veeverowned.
Andtheenginehasn'tevenrun.
I'veneverdrivenit.
It'sdespicable.
I'macompletecartragic.
Butdoyouloveit?
Doyouknowwhat?
WhenIseeit,whenIopenthedooroftheworkshopandIstandthereandIlookatit,Igo,wow,ithasareal,itisafantasticcarandIlovetheshapeofit.
Theworkthat'sbeendonetoithasbeendonetoareallyhighstandard.
It'sjust,it'soneofthoseprojectsthatinhindsight,Iwoulddoitinadifferentway.
IwouldtackleitinadifferentwayandIwouldplanitbetter.
I'mnotaplanner,unfortunately,anditbitesyouwhenyoudon'tplan.
Preparetofailorfailtoprepareorwhateverthesayingis.
It'strue.
Butthatcar,yeah,it'sstunning.
It'sstunningtolookat.
I'mkindofbuildingitformysonnowbecauseIcaughthimwatchingLowridervideosabouttwo,threeyearsagoonYouTube.
Ileantoverhisshoulderandwent,oh,it'sa64Impala.
I'vegotoneofthose.
Hegoes,no,youhaven't.
reallyandiandisaidisaiddarlingiihaveoneofthosecarsi'veactuallyownedtwobutyeahi'vegotoneofthosethat'sactuallyasupersporti'vegotasupersportandhewentidon'tbelieveyouproveitandiwentit'sthatthingisaidthere'sthatcarthatyou'dneverseethatthegoldoneandishowedhimhewentwhatandthisisthethinghehewasn'treallyintocarsformanyyearswasthattheswitchyeahyeahwhatdidyeahwhatwhatdidturnhimdoyouthinkIthinkitwascomingtotheendofprimaryschooland
thengoingtosecondary,whichisabigstep,isn'tit?
Andthenhearinghisfriendstalkaboutsupercars,becauseobviouslysupercarsisaboydreamthing.
Well,Iknowgirlstoo,becausemydaughter'sprobablymorecar-ythanmyson.
Andthensuddenly,probablyhismatesfindingoutwhatIdidforajob,seeingmeoccasionallypullingupindifferentcarsnotnotalotofsupercarsumandthenhismatesgoingohyouknowireallywanttoownathiswheni'molderireallywanttowinthatwheni'molderanduhandithinkthat'sthat'ssortofspooledtheturboupandhe'she'ssuddenlygonewellhangonaminutelikei'vebeentoloadsofcarshowsasayoungkiddidn'treallyithought
itwasjustnormalandthenherealizednonomaybenotimeanhe'sprobablybeentomorecarshowsthanbeforehewassixyearsoldthanmostpeoplebeforethey're16.
Yeah.
AndthenI,butIthinknowhe'sfindingthecarshelikes.
Heloves,uh,nine11GTthrees.
HelovesMXfiveswithflipupheadlights.
Heloves,um,hereallylikestheDodgebyDodge.
Yeah.
Um,sohe'sfindinghis,hisfindingsyou,butIdidn'twanttoforcethecarthingonmychildren.
Causeyoudon'twanttobeadadthatforcesyourhobbyandyourpassionon,um,onothersandthenrepelsthemreallysoyougottabutbothmykidsenjoywatchingdragracingbecausei'vetakenthemtosantapodtowatchdragcarssincetheyweretinybecauseijustfinditquitefunandit'sagoodit'sagoodinterestingnoiseandit'sgrassrootsandyeahandi'mgonnajustkeeptakingthemtodifferentcarshowsandhopefully
they'llI'llpickitup.
Theybothenjoy,well,mydaughterlovesdriving,loveskarting.
AndifIcouldaffordit,I'dputherthroughakartingschoolandgethertokicksomeass.
But,Itneedstobedone.
Itneedstobedone.
Well,I'm,I'mtoobusyspendingmoneyonit.
Youknow,reallyimportant.
Yeah.
Andtheempirethatalwaysmakesmethinkofthefilmboysinthehood.
Isthattheright?
AmIthinkingoftheright?
I'mprettymuchintherightspace.
Ilovethatmovie.
Iknowthat'sanopentoponeinboysinthehood,butallthatstuff.
Ah,wicked.
Iwatchedthatfilmforthefirsttimelastmonth,uh,forthefirsttimein,it'sgottabe20yearswithmynephew.
Who's,18.
AndIsaid,look,you'llappreciatethis.
Watchit.
Andit'ssuchagoodfilm.
And,andI,Iwatchedittheyearthatcameoutandithadaveryprofoundeffectonme.
Andthat'soneofthereasonswhyI'vegotabloodyImpalaandwhyIhada,uh,MarkoneGranadaon,onhydraulicsthat,Imean,whointheirrightmindwoulddriveeveryday,alowriderthattheydon'tevenhave.
Youdon'tevenhaveadrive.
Youhaveonstreetparkinginarentedhouse,uh,Soyoudon'tevenhaveagaragetoworkonit.
Imean,whata19-year-oldfoolIwas.
IspenteverysinglepennythatIearnedoncars.
Yeah.
It'sacrazyaddiction,isn'tit?
Itreallywas.
It'sthatcommitmenttothecause,Johnny,that'smadeyouthemanyouaretoday,iswhatitis.
Isaidtopeople,I'mlike,whydidyoudoit?
BecauseIjustdidn'tthinktherewasanyotherthingthatIshoulddo.
Thisiswhatyoudo.
Youearnmoneyandyeah,youknow,you'llgooutandhaveafewjarsnowandagainandyoutryandbesuccessfulwithwomen.
Butultimately,I'dtryandbuyinterestingcarsandgoonroadtripsandpickuptheyellowpaperandgo,look,there'sthatfor200quid.
Let'sgoandgetittomorrow.
Andthat'swhatwedid.
That'sbasicallyit.
Haveyoueverbeenovertheyearsintoapositionyou'vegotyourselfandyouthought...
God,Ijustneedtogetoutofallofthisandbenormal.
Haveyoueverthoughtthat?
Yeah,Ihaveactually.
ProbablysettingupmyownYouTubechannelwasabig,itwasabigjumpanditwas,Iwantedtotryit.
Iprobablydidn'trealisequitehowintenseitwouldbeintermsofworkload.
Andofcourse,comparedtoTV,whereTVhassortofpeaksandtroughsofenergylevels.
Youdeliveraseriesofshowsandthenthere'salullandthenyoupromoteitandthenyougoagain.
Theproblemwiththeinternet,it'sjustabig,bigwhalethatjustswimsthroughtheoceanandinhaleswhateverisinitspath.
Andpeoplego,yeah,that'sagreatvideo.
When'syournextone?
That'sagreatvideo.
When'syournextone?
AndYourunoutofenergy.
Andalso,yousortof,likeanyself-employedperson,Isuppose,youcanletitconsumeyou.
Andyouforgetthatyou'reactuallyincontrolofthebreakandtheclutchhere.
Youshouldbetheonethatsays,I'monlygoingtoworkthisamountofhoursorputthisnumberofvideosout.
AndIthinkprobably2021,2022,I...
gottoseveralpoints,almostbreakingpoints.
Iwaslike,Idon'tenjoythisanymore.
IthinkI'mgoingtohavetojustrunaway.
Andactuallythat'swhyIdon't,Iknowitsoundsawful,butIdon'twatchalotofcarcontentonYouTubebecauseIneedabreakfromit.
And,um,Yeah.
YoucanODonit,can'tyou?
Youcanoversaturate.
Absolutely.
Sothat'swhyIjustgoand,Igoandlikestrokemycatorsitinthegardenandjust,justchill.
Idolikedoing,youknow,Ido.
That's,Ithinkthat'swhyhistoricallyclassiccarswasalwaysmyhobby.
Yeah.
And,andmoderncarswasmy,mywork,mybusiness.
Andthatwouldbethedivision.
Itinkerwitholdshittersintheshedandthatwouldbemytherapy.
Yeah.
mydowntime.
AndthenI'dgoanddrivethenew,whateveritwas.
Sowouldthatbelikethefifthgearandthefullychargedera?
Yeah,itwould.
And,and,and,uh,andIalwaysenjoyedthat.
Butofcoursenow,uh,withYouTubeandthewayit'sgone,the,the,the,thepassionandthepastimeandthebusinesshavedonethisandit's,It'sreallyexcitingsometimes,butalsoitcanbequitedamaging.
Andyoudorunoutofloveforstuffandyouhavetojustshutthegaragedoororyoujustgo,Ijustwanttogoforawalk.
Idon'twanttogetinacar.
I'vebeendrivingacarallweekandsatonmyass.
Iactuallyjustreallywanttowalk.
SoIdoenjoywalking.
Andpeoplego,butyou'reacarnut.
It'sthesamewaythatpeoplego,I'veseenyoudrivingEVs.
You'resupposedtobeacarfanatic.
AndIgo,Iamacarfanatic.
It'sjustthere'sdifferenttoolsfordifferentjobs.
AndIthinkthatEVsworkinlotsofdifferentcircumstances.
Theydon'tworkforeverybody.
AndIwasthefirstjournalisttodrivetheTaycan.
I'vejustrememberedthat.
Gottheworldexclusiveonthatbloodycar.
Thatwasgoodfun.
AndsoIthinkthatyouhaveto–Idosometimescraveaninetofive,goingbacktoyouroriginalquestion.
Ithinkbeingamotoringjournalistformagazinesfirstandnowonlinestuff,youdon'treallyhaveapatternofworkandtime.
AndsoIdosometimeswhenthingsgetreallyintenseoryougetbombardedwithstufforyourpersonallifetakesabitofahammering,youdogo,IwishIjusthadapredictableworkpattern.
Iworkedforsomebodyandthenjustcamehomeanddidwhatsomeofmyfriendsdo.
TheymeeteveryTuesdayandtheydoathing.
AndtheymeeteveryThursdayandtheydoathing.
AndI'mlike,Ican'ttellyouthat.
LikethisThursday,I'mdrivingthenewRenault4onthelaunchinPortugal.
I'msorry,butIam.
Idon'tmaketherules.
That'swhenit'sbeinglaunched.
I'msorry.
Anditcanbereallyfrustrating.
However...
Thetrade-offisyougettodothingsthatmoneycan'tbuyandyougettodrivecarsthatyoucan'tafford.
Somecrazystuff,yeah.
Yougettomeetsomereallyinterestingpeople.
AndIthinktheolderIget,themoreI'minterestedinthepeoplebehindthecarsratherthanthecars.
Yeah,thestory.
Yeah,yeah,becausethecarsarefineandthecarsaregreat.
But,like,youknow,wecouldgotoa–wecouldhavealittlePorschegatheringnowandthere'dbealineofcars,alineofGT–threesandthesameofthoseandalineofthoseandthey'reallthesamebutactuallyit'swhenyougetchattingtoacoupleofthepeopleandtheythere'sathere'ssomesortofbondandacommonpassionandyeahandwhenidothebarnfindsonmyonmyyoutubechannelthat'swhyilikethebarnfindsthebestactuallybecauseit'snotjustmetalit's
thesentimentthatjustcomesoutandtheemotionandactuallywiththemostemotionalbarnfindi'veeverdonewasaladyexcuseme,whoselatehusbandhada911SC.
Yeah.
Andwhichwashandeddowntohimfromhisdadwhopassedaway.
Andshehaditandshe'dlosthimabout18monthsprevious.
Andshewasjustlookingforsomeonetobuyitwhowasright.
Shesaid,it'snotaboutthemoney.
I'vegottomakesurethiscarisgiventotherightperson.
Ifthey'renottherightmanorwoman,I'mnotgivingittothem.
Yeah.
Andsheaskedalldayoffcamera,shewassaying,Ireallywantyoutobuythiscar,Johnny.
AndI'mlike,look,Iwouldlovetobuythiscar,butIknowIcan'taffordit.
Icouldfleeceyouandtellyouit'sworth12grandwhenit'sworth45.
Butyeah,itwasquiteemotionalbecauseshewastearinguptalkingaboutallthehappytimesthatshe'dhadinit.
Andthat'sthethingaboutallthesecars.
It'slike,it'snotjustaboutthewaytheycornerandtheyaccelerate.
It'sthememories,isn'tit?
It'sthethingsthatyou'vedoneinit,thethingsthatyou'veachieved,thingsthatyou'vedonewithotherpeople.
Itsparksoffallofthosegoodfeelings.
Yeah,yeah,yeah.
Andthat'swhyweshouldusethemandweshouldsharethemwithotherpeopleandcreatethosememoriesforothers.
Like,youknow,youdriveyourcardownthestreetonanicesunnydaysundayafternoonandpeoplegotheremighttheremightbeakidthatgoeswowlookatthatyeahi'veneverseenacarlikethatbeforeorlookatthatcolorisn'titwildyeahortheoddsickshoutalwaysseemstohappenmateorcanyoudothatmateyeahlikethatrevityeahyeahyeahi'llstickitonthelimiterandjustlikespinabearingjustforyouyeahIcan'tbearthelimiter,thrashingonthelimiter
thing.
Doyouknowwhat?
Ijustthinkit'sreallyretarded.
AmIallowedtosaythat?
Itis,isn'tit?
Yeah,youare.
Dosomethingartistic.
It'slike,youknow,justifyou'regoingtodosomethinglikethat,dosomethinginvolvingcarcontrol.
Don'tjustsitthebastard'scaronthelimiter.
You'rebasicallysayingyou'vegotnomechanicalsympathyatall.
Yeah.
Atall.
Yeah.
Strange,isn'tit?
Strangebehavior.
Youwouldn'tkickyourowndog,wouldyou?
infrontofpeopleatleast,becausethat'sjustanastythingtodo.
That'swhatyou'redoingwithputtingyourengineonthelimiterfornoreason.
Justlike,just.
Yeah.
There'saquestion,Johnny.
I've,I'veactuallywantedtoaskyouforquitealongtime.
Curiosity.
Ipromiseit'stheonlyseriousquestionI'llask.
Andit's,it'saboutthetransitionwhenyou,whenyousetupyourYouTubechannel,youknow,whichhasbeena,youknow,aroaringsuccessandallconsumingone,asyousay,but,youknow,producingsomereallywonderfulcontent.
Butatthetime,youknow,as,asanobserver,asIwas,and,and,andstillI'maskingpeople,Johnny'sa,Johnny'sapropermotoringjournalist,youknow,inprintandonthetelevision,youknow,YouTubersforthemostpartaren't.
Ithought,Iwonder,Iwonderhow,Iwonderwhatthe,feelingsarehere,notnecessarilyathought,thethoughtprocess,youknow,youcanseehowweknowwhatthedirectionwas,butIwonderedhowyoufeltaboutit.
Yeah.
Youknow,lookingatthe,someofthepeoplewhoweredoingthatatthetime,noteveryone,andmaybeit'sadifferentlandscapenow,butIjustwonderedhow,howthat,howthat,howthatwas.
It'sagoodquestion.
Cause,causeIpondereditforalongtimeand,um,influencesorthatkindoftermthatwasgiventoalotofpeopleonsocialmedia,um,Alotofjournalistswerereallyholdingthosepeopleatarm'slength,actually.
Therewasabitofathemandusonlaunchesofcars.
Ithinkwhathappenedwasitwasacombinationofthings.
I'ddonetheTVfor,I'ddoneFifthGearfor19series.
Alongtime.
Howwasitthatlong?
Yeah,Ididitin2006.
Youdon'tlookoldenough,Jonny.
well,Idon'tlook,I'llgiveyouanicebottleofwineandaniceChristmas.
Iappreciateit.
ButsoIthink,Ithink,IthinkIdon'tknowquitealotof,of,offifthgear.
Andthetruthofthematterwasthe,thebudgetsforTVweredwindlingbecauseTVwaslosingouttoalotofonlineplatforms.
Yeah.
Um,peoplewereableto,createbetterandbettercontent.
AndsothecaliberofstuffonYouTubewashigherandhigher.
Andalso,IusedtogetfrustratedwithcertainthingsonTV.
Anddon'tgetmewrong,IreallyenjoyedworkingontheTV.
It'sgivenmeloadsofgreatopportunitiesandI'mproudofalotofit.
Butwhatitdoesdoisithastodumbstuffdownformainstreamconsumerism.
SowhenIwantedtonerdoutondetail,Itwouldn'tletmeortheywouldedititoutbecauseultimatelyIwasjustapresenter.
IwasapaidheadandthenIcouldn'tcontroltheedit.
So,andIgotabitjadedreallyaboutpitchingTVideas,carideas.
TVideastoproductioncompanieswhomostlydidn'tunderstandthecarworld.
Andwe'realwaysjustlookingtohowcouldweintroducefamouspeopleintothis?
Howcouldwemakeitabitsilly?
Anditwaslike,no,youdon'tneedtodothat.
SodoingFullyChargedasaYouTubechannelwhenIwasworkingwithRobertLlewellyn,Ireally,reallyenjoyeddoingthat.
Anditwasrefreshing.
AndIguessIsawthewayhebuiltthatbrandup.
Andhe'ddoneitoutofrealpassionandrealfocusand,uh,wasmaking,uh,makingcarreviewsandvideosthatweretelevisionquality.
AndsoIwaslike,well,ifyoucanmaketelevisionqualityandpeoplearestartingtowatchYouTubeasatelevisionshow.
Sonotjust10minutesorfiveminutes,fullhalfhourepisodes,likeaTVshow,maybeIshouldtryit.
And,and,and,andIgot,itwaseveryChristmas.
Ialwayshavea,abitofextratimeoffandIdoarealbitoflifereflection.
Ishouldprobablydoitmorethanonceayear.
ButChristmasiswhenIreallydoit.
Ireallywinddownandgo,right,newyear,whatdoIwanttododifferently?
WhatamIhappywith?
WhatamInothappywith?
Andallthatstuff.
AndIthinkmythenwifesaid,look,youworkforotherpeople.
Yougetintoanagewhereyoushouldbuildsomethingforyourself.
That'swhatyoushoulddo.
You'vegotalotofcontacts.
Justdoit.
Andifyou'regoingtodoit,bloodydoitwell.
Jumpinwithbothfeetanddoitwithconvictionandactuallytohercredit.
Iwouldn'thaveprobablydoneitorIwouldn'thavedoneitonthelevelthatI'vedoneitifitweren'tforhersaying,doit,butdoit.
Andofcourse,startingaYouTubechannelattheageof40isnotwhatmostpeopledo.
ifIwasstilllivingathomewithmyparentsanddidn'thavetheoverheadsanddidn'thaveafamilyoranyofthoseworries,youkindofwingitabitmore.
ButIthinkbecauseIworkedonTVandbecauseIwasajournalistbackground,IthoughtifI'mgoingtodothis,it'sgottobeproper.
It'sgottohaveabitofcredibilityandI'vegottoreally,makesurethatpeoplecangobackandwatcholdervideosandgo,yeah,youknow,thatwasafairlysolidpieceofworkbecausedon'tgetmewrong.
I'vedonesometerriblevideos.
Theyhaven'tallworked,butI've,I'vetriedmybestwiththeresourcesI'vegot.
And,andtothatend,IthoughtI'vegottomakeitlooklikeaTVshowbecausethat'swherepeoplehave,alotofpeoplehavefollowedmefrom,fromTV.
Ifilmitallonmyphoneinawobblyway.
wayit'sgoingtolooklikeI'vehadamassivefallfromgraceIknowthissoundsabitkindofpretentiousbutitmightlooklikeI'vehadamassivefallfromgraceandI'mjustphoningitinasitwereandIcan'tdothatIdon'twanttodothatIwanttoreallyputmybackintoitsothat'swhyIdiditthatwayanditallowedmetonerdoutandthat'swhatYouTubeallowsyoutodoifIwanttodoahalfhournicheyoucouldgetinthenicheyeahYeah,ifIwanttodooneepisode
of25minutesallaboutwhyPorschein1972puttheoilfillercapontherearquarterpanelratherthanintheenginebay,youcoulddoit.
Andiftherewasahookandtherewasagoodintervieworanarchiveclipthatyoucouldgetyourhandsonandyoucouldtryandconvincepeoplethatitwasaninterestingthingtowatch,goforit.
Bloodygoforit.
AndIthinkthat'swhat'sreallygoodaboutsocialmedia.
And,uh,andofcoursenow,youknow,TikTok'stryingtokillYouTubeandInstagramsomewhereinthemiddleandFacebook'shavingabigrenaissance.
And,uh,yeah,Facebook,Facebook'sreallybig.
Imean,don'tgetmewrong.
I'mnotonitasmeasJohnnySmith.
Butmyshow,mychannelisonit.
Oh,really?
Yeah,yeah.
ButImean,IdopayafreelancetodothatbecauseI'mterrifiedofFacebookincase,Idon'tknow,anoldgirlfriendstalksmeorsomething.
Idon'tknow.
OrFacebookMarketplace,whichisapparentlyanabsolutegoldmineforpeoplewhosellperfectlygoodcarsbutcan'tbebotheredtotakepicturesofthemorwritedescriptionsandtheyjustgo,carforsale,giveme50quidnowinthenexttwohours,otherwiseI'm...
earnit.
Andyoufindoutthatit'sanangrydivorceescareer.
Idon'tknow,butIcan'tdoit.
Ithinkyou'rewisetokeepawayfromit,mate.
Ithinkyou'd,you'dbefillingupanother,well,anotherunitsomewhere.
Yeah,Ican'tdoit.
Ican'tdoit.
So,soyeah,sothat's,andI,andIsuppose,yeah,I've,I'vereached,I'mreallyhappywiththewaythelatebreakshowsgrownorganicallyand,hasitgrowndifferentlytohowyouanticipatedsodidyouwhenyoufirstsetitupdidyouthinkrightI'mgoingtohavethissortofI'mgoingtohaveaplaylistforthisplaylistforthatplaylistforthisI'mgoingtodothistypeofvideoandwhat'schangedit'schangedabitinthatIsupposeyouhavetobeayou
havetobebusinessminded.
You'realwaysweighinguplikethe,Iwantto,Iwantagoodvarietyontheshow.
Causethatwasalwaystheideaofthechannel.
Iwantagoodvariety.
Iwanttobalance,youknow,IwanttobringtogetherthisideaofyoucanappreciateelectricEVs,V8s.
Um,youcangointopeople'sprivategarages.
Youcan,wecandobarnfinds.
Wecan,you'llseesomeofmyowncarsandmyowntragicprojectsandthings.
Andthere'sno,uh,elitismoranythinglikethat.
Yeah.
Um,but,certainthingsalwaysworkbetterthanothers.
Andthenwhenyouhaveasuccessfulvideo,youthink,oh,well,itworkedreallywelllasttime.
Solet'sdoanotheroneofthose.
Andthenitdoesn'tdothesameaswhattheotheronedid.
Andyou'relike,damnthis.
AndIguessItryandexplainittopeople.
Iguessit'slikebeinginabandwhenyouwriteahitsonganditjustfliesandyougo,wow,wewrotethatinlike10minuteswhenwewereonateabreakandwehadnoideaitwasevergoingtobeourbiggesthit.
youtryanddoitagain.
Andthenyoutrytodoitagain.
Andthenyoutrytodoitagain.
Ifweallknewhowtodoit,it'sbloodyhell.
Wewouldjustkeepdoingit.
Wouldn'twe?
Andit's,itjustdoesn't,itdoesn'talwaysworkthatway.
So,um,yeah,I'mtryingtoalwaysbalancelike,thisismybusiness.
I'veput,Ihaveputallmyeggsinthebasketof,uh,achannel.
Okay.
Idoapodcastaswell,but,um,Soithastosucceedasabusiness.
I'vegotafamilyandI'vegotoutgoingsandlikeallthisstuff.
AndIwouldliketofinishmyImpalaandmyAllegro.
AndI'dliketobuyani11GT3.
Butatthesametime,youknow,likeatthesametime,Iwantittobeauthentic.
AndIwanttokeepexploringthecarworldfurtherbecauseit'ssucharichmine.
AndalsoIwanttotry,ifIcan,insomesmallway,inspireanewergenerationayoungergenerationofcarfanaticsbecauseidoworrythere'sgoingtobeahugevoidofpeoplethatmightnotwanttogetadrivinglicensemightnotwanttoownacarandiftheydoownacaritmightbejustthelatestmosttechnologicallylateandthingarenotsomethingthatjustgivesyouabitofathrillsoiireallylikedoingthatthat'swhyi
embarrassmydaughtersometimesbyturningupontheschoolrunandinmytwocvoruhyoudidn'tmentionthetwocvohyeahthelistyeahthat'si'vebeendrivingitallweekandi'vebloodyforgotaboutitthat'scoolirealizedyou'vegotaflattwoaflatfourandaflatsixbrilliantineedaflateightnowyeahyoudowhat'sthatdoesatatrahaveaflateightyeahi'dloveatatrayeahthey'reamazingwhatacar
yeahRearengineV8orflateightHemi,aircooled.
Whatathing.
Madness,madness.
Whatathing.
SoI'vegotaquestiononvideos.
Twoquestions,really.
What'syourfavouritevideothatyou'veputoutovertheyearsundertheguiseoftheLateBreakshow?
Andmaybewhat'sbeenthemostsuccessful?
Youknow,what'sthemostwatched?
That'sareally...
I'mgoingtogoonmyphonerudelybecauseIactually,Iknowthisisbad.
IsortofforgetwhatI'vedone.
PeopleusedtoaskmethisalotwiththeTV.
They'dgolike,what'sthebestthingthatyou'vefilmedonfifthgear?
AndIgo,Iactuallycan'trememberallthethingsIfilmed.
Andpeoplethenregale.
Theygo,IreallyenjoyedwhenyoudrovetheLotusEvoraaroundthat,aroundthattrack.
AndIgo,Irememberit.
Oh,yeah.
AndthenI'llwatchitandgo,yeah,yeah,Irememberexactlywhathappenedthatday.
Yeah,itwasreallygood.
SoI'mgoingtosortby...
You'vegot25videoswithoveramillionviews.
HaveI?
Isitreallythatmany?
Prettycool,isn'tit?
Howmany?
Yeah,yeah.
25.
That'salot.
Between1millionandlike3.6
or7million,somethinglikethat.
SoI'vejust...
Wow,Ididn'trealise.
IdidnotrealisethatbecauseIdon'tlookbackthatmuchbecause...
simplyintheworldofYouTube.
Wedon'thavetime.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Um,yeah.
Sothebestvideo,sothemostviewedvideoI'veeverdoneisthebeast,the27.
Wow.
Yeah.
Andthe,andthenalsooneaboutthe,um,afuturistic,uh,scrapyard,uh,asalvage.
Yeah.
Trent's.
Sothatvideojustaroundthecornerfromme.
Right.
SothatvideoIdidreallyoutofcuriositybecauseIwasinterestedinitbecauseIlikesalvageyards.
NeverintheworlddidIthinkthatwasgoingtobeoneofthemostsuccessfulvideosIeverputout.
It'sjustweird,right?
Yeah,itwasagreatvideo.
AndIcouldn'tbelievethatTrent's,becauseIrememberTrent'swhenIwas,IremembergoingintherewhenIwasabout17or18withafriendthatliveddownthisway.
AndIremembergoinginthereandthere'sthisgrottylittle,youknow,terrible,Scrapyardhadfivecarsontopofeachother.
Youwerewadingaroundinaworld.
Itwashorrific.
WithanAlsatianonachain.
Oh,itwaspropernasty.
Yeah.
Andthentoseethatvideo25yearsagoandit'sstillownedbythesamefamilyandhowittransformedintothis.
absolutemoderncrazinessthat'sjustaroundthecornerfromhereandIdidn'tknowitexisted.
Itwasastoundingtoseethatvideo.
That'slikethemostadvancedscrapslashsalvageyardintheUKbyamile.
It'sunbelievable,yeah.
Yeah,yeah.
Sothat,yeah,Imean,thebarnfindLamborghini,Idon'tknowifI'lleverget,I'dlovetofindararercarthanthatorasortoflikeararer,uhexoticvehicleyeahyeahyeahthatthat'sdonereallywellumit'sweirdsomeofmyfavoritevideosthati'veeverdoneumhaven'tdoneverywellinviewssosostrangeit'ssostrangetalkaboutnorhymeorreason
yeahyouknowthebeastimeanlikethequirkieststrangestthingeverandallthosepeoplewanttowatchitthesavagethehondaeyouknowthebeastandhondaeyeahit'sit'srightyou'reexactlyrightit'ssoweirdumandyeahactuallyhondaeireallylikethewaytheylookremindsmeofamarkonegolfreallylittlerangebutthey'regoodvaluei'dquitelikeonedoyouthinkishouldgetonerighthondaeespeciallyoverwinterbecausewinter'sthetime
tobuyanevsameasconvertibleyoucangetahondaewithlike3,000miles,oryoucouldlastwinter,Ithinkitwas,3,000to5,000milesontheclockfor10grand,11grand.
Really?
Yeah.
Andyougo,hangon,thatcarwas37grand.
Noway.
I'mtellingyounow,andIwillbetmyBoxsteronit,thatisabonafidefutureclassic,theHondae-Class.
Wow,they'resocool.
Andanyonewhogoes,oh,yeah,it'sashameitcanonlydo130milesononecharge.
Well,butifyou'vegottwocarsandthat'syoursortofcommutecarandyoudoapredictablecommute,likemostpeopledolessthan20milesadayor30milesaday,perfect.
Andit'sgotthenicestinterior.
Ilovethecabinofthatcar.
Yeah,yeah.
It'ssonice.
That'swhenHondajust,yeah.
WhenHondajustgoes,doyouknowwhat,we'rejustgoingtotreadourownpath,that'swhenHondaarejustbrilliant.
Buttheproblemistheyshouldhavebackeditupwithasubsequentsecondbatteryoption.
LikeFiat500e,theydidacityrangebatteryandthentheydidalongerrangebattery.
IfHondahaddonethat,theywouldhavereallywonit.
Andit'sashametheyjustdidn't.
Theyjustdidn'tdoit.
Itcouldbeanoptionforani3and...
Insteadofthei3,Max?
Well,maybeinsteadofthei3.
I'vebeenthinkingaboutgettingani3forages.
Andy'sgotani3already.
ButeverytimeIseeaHyundai,whichisn'tveryoften.
Yeah,youdon't.
Igetveryexcited.
Veryexcited.
I'vegottosay,Imean,thei3isprobablythecoolestBMWthey'vedoneinthelastdecade.
Yeah,bizarrely.
Thatcabinisstillwild.
Awesome,isn'tit?
Yeah,wild.
Suchalovely...
I'vegotthebrownleatherwiththewood,youknow,properlounge...
ProperScandinaviansexyarchitectspec.
That'sit,yeah.
That'swhatIfeellikeeverytimeIgetinit.
It'sareallycoolcar,that.
It'sareallycoolcar.
Reallycool.
Anddoyouknowwhat?
Iwasthinkingaboutbasemodelkindofappreciationearlier.
Irememberdriving,IwassayingtoJamesearlieratTHRacing,Isaid,haveyoueverdrivenabasemodelPanamera,theV6rearwheeldrivemanualonethattheybroughtout?
TheonethataboutsevenpeopleintheUKbought.
Isaid,itwasgreat.
Itwasreally,reallygreat.
Buteveryonejustwent,no,IwanttheTurboS.
Andthatwasit.
AndmyfavouriteTaycanwastherearwheeldrive,singlemotor,longrangebatterybasemodel.
Onthe18-inchwheelsorthe90s?
Itlookedlikegasburners.
Yes,yeah,yeah,yeah.
Yes,yeah.
AndPorschehadoneonthepressofficethatwasthatspec,andIdroveitto–Iwentonajob.
IdidabarnfindinCornwall,Ithink.
Ididloadsofmilesinitoverthecourseofaboutfourdays.
It'sstillmyfavouriteTaycan.
It'sgreat.
Yeah.
It'sgreat.
Anothergoodvaluecaronthemarketnow.
Amazing,amazingvaluecarandareallynice–Yeah.
Reallynicecar.
Indeed.
I'mquitetakenbythetaken.
Yeah.
Ithinkthat'sanothercarthatwouldblowupinmyface.
Youknow,I'vegotlimitedslotsonthedriveway.
Ican'thave130cars.
Ihaven'tgotahundred.
And,and,and,andoneofthemhastobeformywife.
SoIhavetopitchideastoher.
Ifthere'sacarthatIwantthatdoesn'tfitinoneofmytwoslots.
Yes.
Taycan,she'dkickmyassifIboughtoneofthose.
It'sjusttoobig.
Shereallywantsani3.
Doesshe?
Ithinkshe'dgoforaHondae.
Ithinkso.
Listen,ifyouwantto,ifIcanhelpyoufindtherightone,Imean,theyareso,sogood.
Andalsothequality,thequalityofthemisexceptional.
Thefeelofthequalityinsideisdon'tgetmewrong.
Ani3isaglorious,gloriouscar,but,um,Yeah.
Imean,imagineifwe,thenexttimewedothispodcasttogether,PorschedobringoutanewGbodyshellbody.
Bytheway,Idon'thaveanyinsideinformationonthat.
I,althoughIamreallyclosefriendswithsomeonequitehighupatPorscheinNorthAmericawhoIusedtoworkwithwhenwewereyoung,sillyman.
But,um,yeah,I,Idon'tknowwhythey'renotdoingit.
Yeah.
Ithinkit'sagoodcall.
Yeah.
Doyouknowavideo?
I'vejustthoughtofavideothatIwasreallyproudofthattookloadsofpreponthelatebreakshow,likewaymoreprepthanothers.
Andnobodywatchedwas,wasItooka,youknow,theydoacateringwiththeKcarSuzukiengine.
Iwatchedthat.
Lovedthatepisode,yeah.
WhereIsortofwenttoPortMerionanddidtheprisonerkindofreenactmentandIgotanelectricmoke,minimoke,whichhadnewlylaunched.
Thattooksomuchprepandtheweatherwasreallybeingabastardtousanditwasreallystressful.
Didn'tdorealwellatall.
Suchashame.
AndyetsometimesIdoathrowawayvideothatIfilmonmyphonerealquick.
Idon'tfilmmyselfmuch.
Idon'tIdotheoddvlog,mostlythegaragestuffwhenyou'reworkingoncars.
Yeah.
And,uh,andtheycansometimesdoreally,reallywell.
Yeah.
It'sso,it'ssoodd.
Youjustdon'tknow.
Idon'tknow.
That'swhyI'malwayskeenon,onpeople'sfeedback,likerealfeedbackwheretheygo.
Iwouldreallyenjoyseeingyou.
Idon'tknow,flytotheNetherlandsandbuyacarforathousandeurosanddriveithomeimmediately.
Yeah.
Orwhatever.
Ilikesomeofthefeedbackyouget.
Yougo,yeah,that'sactuallyareallygoodidea.
Butyou'vegottobecarefulnottogetcaughtupinlikesomeYouTubersandsomeonesthatcanactuallyaffordit,perhaps,whobuycarsonline.
Becausetheyknowtheirviewerswillwantthem.
Yes.
Like,andthenyou're,you'reinthisquitedangerouscycle.
Ithinkofyour,it'slike,youknow,you'rewearingclothestoimpressotherpeopleratherthantheclothesthatyoureallywantyourself.
Yeah.
Andwheredoyou,wheredoyoudrawtheline?
CauseIcould,youknowwhatit'slikenowwithcreditandfinance.
Icouldwakeup.
Yeah.
I'mgoingtogoandbuya,what?
Idon'tknow.
I'vegonebycareerGToncredit.
Allright.
Okay.
Yeah.
I'lljust,Igetridofallmycars.
IjustgetaCreoGT.
I'llvinylwrapitandI'lljust,I'llbounceoffthelimiter.
Youdon'tfitintothatcamp.
You'rerebuildinganAllegro.
Iknow,I'maweirdbastard.
That'sforyourownjoy,isn'tit?
Yeah,I'vealwaystroddenmyownpath,rightlyorwrongly.
I'vealwaysgone,no,I'mgoingtodoitthatway.
Rightly,rightly,Johnny.
Well,whenIworkedonMaxPower,um,Yearsagonow,Isaid,I'mgoingtobuildacarthatpeoplewillreallytakenoticeof.
Andthebasecarcostme150quid.
ItwasaJagXJ,afour-litreSovereign.
Andtheguy,Igotit,Iboughtit.
Itwasrunningonfivecylinders.
AndIdroveitbackfromCambridgefromaguywhoownedaninternetcafe.
That'showitdatesthestory.
Allright.
Yeah,Iboughtitfor150quidfromablokethatranCambridge'sbiggestinternetcafe.
And...
notthattheyexistanymore.
AndsoIgotitbackandtheyjustwent,that'sjustapedophile'scar.
ThatwasbasicallythecommentthatIhad.
AndIwent,no,no,thisisgoingtolookgood.
Andhesaid,well,IdidbuyitfromInstagram.
Iboughtitonthedarkweb.
Yeah.
AndIwenttotownonthisprojectXJanditwas,itlookedamazing.
Ithinkitlookedamazing.
Itdidreallywell.
AndwetookittoacoupleofthebigeventsthatMaxPaynedidanditgot,itgotloadsofprettygoodattention.
Anditwasthatwholethingoflikegoing,well,I'mfromthestreetmachine,uh,eraschoolwhereI,Ireallylikehotrodsandthatsortofcar,um,prostreet.
And,um,butIliketryingtobringthatintothenextgenerationofpeoplewhowillappreciateit.
Andthat'swhatItriedtodo.
Andthelowridertypeofthing.
Butyeah,there's,there's,there'ssomanydifferentinterestingcars,isn'tthere?
AndIdoreallylikehearingotherpeople's,cartastesireallylikegoingtopeople'sprivategarageswhentheygetgrantmepermissiontogoandfilmwiththeminaforadayininagaragethatcouldberightnexttotheirhouseoraprivateunitandandjusthearwhydoyouownwhatyouownwhydoyoubuywhatyoubuyyeahitmightnotbewhatiwanttobuybutthatdoesn'tmatterit'snotaboutmeit'slikeIlovehearingit.
Likepeoplegooff.
Youknow,IremembermybosshadoneofthesewhenIwasanapprenticeandI,thatwasthecarthatIreallyhadtoaimfor.
Ormy,oneofmyparentshadoneofthese,myunclehadoneoftheseorwhatever.
There's,there'salwaysathousandandonereasons.
And,um,it'sfascinating.
It'scompletelyfascinating.
Oneofthe,oneofthethingsIfindsointerestingaboutthosescenariosiswhen,when,whenyou'replayingfantasygarageinyourmind,it'sinvariablyablanksheetjob,isn'tit?
Yousetyourselfacertaincriteria,yougetyourmathstextbookoutandyou'reinyourbackthinking,right.
Soifthiswasthesituation,thesearethecarsthatI'dhave.
Andyouwritethemdown.
It'sblanksheet.
Butwheninthisscenario,intherealworld,whenyou'regoingtosomeone'sprivatecollection,whatIthinkisreallyinterestingistheacquisitionjourneyofthecars,youknow,howthey'veendedupwiththatcollectionofcars.
Causetheyhaven't,startablanksheetandgoneoutandboughtthemallinonegoandputtheminthegarageit'stheevolutionofthecollectionwhichithinkissointerestingyeahdreamjobitisreallygoodyeahidofeelveryfortunatebecausemyjobisumit'sextremelybusyandit'senergydemandingbutit'snevereverboringneverandiandilikethatbecauseiknowpeoplefriendswhoI'vegrownupwithwhohavegot
successfuljobsthatarewellpaid,butthey'rebored.
Theycravetheweekendortheyjustdon'tdosomethingthey'repassionateabout.
Andweirdly,Ialwaysgo,IwouldneverdoajobIwasn'tpassionateabout.
Whywouldyoudothat?
ButthenIrealisedthatmaybeI'mtheweirdone.
Andmostpeoplego,no,I'mjustgoingtodoajob.
It'sameanstoanend.
I'mgoingtodoajobthatearnsgoodenoughmoneysoIcandoXandY.
AndIgo,well,butyouspendsomuchofyourtimedoingajob.
Justdoit.
Somethingthatyoureallycareabout.
Yeah.
IthinkI'mnotthatmoneydriven.
Uh,Ihavetomakemoneylikeeverybody.
Youhavetoearnalivingandallthatstuff.
Butit'snotthebeallandendall.
No.
Remember,Johnny,youwerethe19-year-oldwiththeslamGranada.
Oh,mygosh.
That'sadifferentlevel.
Youwereonadifferentlevelrightfromthestart.
Iwas.
Itwasaverylowlevel.
Itwasextremelylow,thatGranada.
Itwasextremelylow.
Doyouknow,onedaytherewasamassiveflood,massiveflood,andloadsofpeoplecouldn'tgettowork.
AndIrealizedmyGranadacouldgoashighasaToyotaHiluxonfulllift.
AndIdrovethroughaflood.
Iwishthere'dbeenalocalpapertheretoindicate.
interviewmeorsomething.
Idrovethroughamassivefloodinmylowriderandgotittowork.
That'sapracticalcar.
yeahpracticallowriderstherewegothatthatwouldhaveemapwouldhavepublishedthatatsomepointbackinthedaythatcouldhavebeenathingpracticalit'sreallygoodyeahyeahi'vegotonemorequestionwecan'tkeepwellwecouldkeeptalkingallnightwecouldallgetthewineoutbutweprobablyshouldn'twhatisyourfavoriteandthisisadrivingstorynotapartystorywhatisyourwhatisyourwhatisyourfavoriteJasonPlatostorybloody
Platohe'sanabsoluteaswellyeahhishisidlechatwashilariousandthentheidlechatwithMattandthenallthatIlovedallofthatthatwasjustI'msopleasedthatpannedoutbecauseeverytimewespeakonthephonenow,healwaysthanksmefordoingthatidlechatwithMattbecauseitmadehimandMattfriends.
They'reactuallyreallyclosefriendsnowandtheybothretiredfromracing.
SoIthinkthere'snotthatkindof,um,peckinganymore.
There'snotthatfacetoface,um,anger,but,um,SothebestPlatostory,there'sbeenloads.
Imean,therewasthattime.
Idon't,Ihavetoldit.
Idon'tknowwhere.
SoPlato'sobviouslyaverymischievousman.
Wewere,itwasa,itwasahotsunnydayandwewerefilmingfifthgearatMillbrook.
WeusedtodoalotoffilmingatMillbrook.
Millbrookisverystrict.
Theprovinggroundisverystrictrules.
Ifyoudeviatefromtherules,you'restraighttothatmaster.
It'sveryzerotolerance.
AndPlatodoesn'tlike,rulesandi'mnotamassivefanofrulessoanywaytocutalongstoryshortwewe'vebeendrivingweweretestingawe'redoingagrouptestinvolvinganastoniremembertherewasanastonorsomethingthatwepulledoverwebothneededaweewebothdecidedratherthanwalkingtothetoiletswewoulddoininplato'swordsnotminelet'sdoabigboyweeandiwentiLikewhat?
Andhewent,whatisthat?
Trousersandpantstothefloor.
Andthenyoujust,youjustwait,notlookingatoneanother.
We'renotthatweird,butwestoodnexttooneanotherlookingoutacrosswhatisaVistaofMillbrookwhilsthavingabigboywee.
Okay.
Therewerenocarsvisibleatthistimeandtherewasnobodyaround.
However,aswestartedourbigboywheezegiggling,overthecrestoftheAlpinecircuit,Ithinkitwas,inMillbrook,wasaboutfiveAstonMartins.
TheywerehavingaVIPcustomerdriveday.
Andtheyweregreetedcomingdownthishill,hotonthebrakesofthesenewAstonsthattheywerehopefullygoingtobuy.
We'rejusttwogrownmenhavingbigboywheeze.
And...
Well,talkytalkycracklednotthatlongafterweweresenttotheclerkofthecourseorwhateverhisnamewasatMillbrook.
WewerethatclosetogettingFifthGearbannedindefinitelyfromMillbrookbecausewe'dexposedourselvesandnotusedthetoiletfacilitiesprovided.
Yeah.
Oh,mygoodness.
AndPlatobeingPlato,hewaslike,thisisjustfuckingridiculous.
Sillyrules.
Wewerejusthavingabitoffun.
Therewasnoonearoundwhenwestarted,Wig.
It'slike,no,you'reright.
Therewasnoonearoundwhenwestarted.
Sothat'sprobablyit.
There'smanyother...
Platostories.
Yeah,Ithinkwecouldprobablydoanotherepisode,couldn'twe?
WecoulddoawholeepisodeofPlatostories.
Ialwaysusedtoreallylikeitwhenyoudidtheteamtestwherethere'dbeallofyouwithacarandthenyou'dallpileinandinvariablyPlatowouldbedrivingandyou'rehangingontothepassengerthingyanditallgetsabitintense.
BecausethethingishewouldturnupforworkontheshootonFifthGearshootdaysandyouneverknewwhatmoodhewasgoingtobein.
Andsometimeshewasgoingtobeinlikeareallymischievousmood.
He'dhaveaglintinhiseyeandyouknewyouwereinfortroublethatdaybecauseitcouldbeareallynaughtyswine.
Orotherdayshemightbeinafoulmood.
Orotherdayshemightbesmokingnonstopandhewouldn'tputhiscigaretteouteventolikefilmatake.
Yeah.
Sohe'dsometimeshaveitbehindhisback.
Andthenthedirectorwouldbelike,Jason,listen,yourbackissmokingandit'svisibleoncamera.
Soyoujustcan'tdothis.
Likepeoplearegoingtogo,whyisPlato'sbacksmoking?
Whyisheonlygesticulatingwithonehand?
Soyoujustgo,no,no,no,it'sfine.
It'sfine.
Theviewerswon'tknow.
Onlygo,no,Jason,they'lldefinitelyknow.
We'relookingthroughthecamera.
Wecanseeit.
Itdoesn'twork.
Butthere'sallsortsoffunnythings.
Thattimeinthebloody...
Passat.
No,no,Phaeton,VWPhaetononthebowl,thehigh-speedbowlatMillbrook.
AndthiswaswhenIhadabitofasenseofhumanfailure.
Hewasdriving,setthecruisecontrolat140,145,Ithinkitwas,andthenjustgotoutofthedriver'sseatandcrawledintothebackseatbetweentheseatsandjuststartedgigglingatmeuncontrollably.
AndI'mlike,getbackinthedriver'sseatnow.
Wearedoingnearly150milesanhour.
Oh,myGod.
Ifthisthingexitsstageright,we'realldead.
Andhejustthoughtitwasthefunniestthingbecauseheknewwhathewasdoing.
Heknewthecar,unlesswehitaseagullorthe,Idon'tknow,wehadatireblowout.
Itwouldjustholditattherightangle.
Iwasterrified.
Absolutelyterrified.
Ifeelreally,IfeelextremelyprivilegedtohaveworkedwithhimandTiffandVickybecausethey'reall,yeah,theywereallareallyaccomplishedpresentersanddrivers.
AndIwas,Iwastheweakestlinkwhenitcametodrivingexpertise.
AndIlearnedanawfullotfromspendinghoursondesertedairfieldswiththosethree,becauseI'dwatchthem,youknow,I'dwatchVickyandTiffonoldschooltopgear.
And,andI,andIlearnedalotandI,andI,andIdon'tdriveontrackverymuchanymore.
AndIdomisswhereyoubasically,you'vegotanhourandahalfanhourtokillandyoujustgo,Ijustgooutinacarandjustdo,doafewlapsandlearnafewcornersandgooutwithTiff,whohasabsolutelynofear,bytheway.
I'mgoingtoconfirmthis.
OutofallthepeoplethatI'veevermetinthecarworldandpresentersandhandydrivers,Tiffabsolutelydoesn'tseedanger.
Anddoyouthinkthat'sstillthesamenowasitwasbackthen?
He'sstillnothing.
Platowouldalwaystakemetoonesideandhe'dgo,don'tdoit.
IfTiffthinksit'sallright,Idon't.
Don'tdoit.
AndPlatowouldseethedanger,eventhoughPlatoisariskyoldschoolracingdriverwherehe'spreparedtotakecertainrisks.
Hewouldseeariskandgo,I'mnotdoingthat.
AndTiffwouldbelike,ah,that'sfine.
It'sfine.
It'sfine.
Don'tneedahelmetforthat.
It'sabsolutelyfine.
Andhewouldhavesuch,hehassuchbeliefinthemachineandhisability.
It'sreallyimpressive.
Yeah.
Thenumberoftimeshe'scasuallylostcontrol.
Imean,it'snotbeenveryoftenthathehas,butIrememberatRockiumonce,wewereinaSciroccoR.
Yeah,wewereinaSciroccoR.
Andwecameintoacorner.
Soonliftoffoversteer,itwaswellover100.
Anditdidn'tquitedowhathewasexpectingittodo.
IthinkIprobablydiditforthethirdtime.
Andhewent,oh,oh,okay.
Ithinkwe'regoingtorollthistime.
Anditwasareal,it'slikeapilotcominginandgoing,okay,sowe'velostboththeengines.
Wealmostcertainlyhavetobrace.
Youjustdon'twanttohear.
SoI'malreadylikespasmingonthe,onthegrabhandle,theoceangoing.
Weare,ifhesayswe'regoingover,weareprobablygoingover.
Wearenowonthegrassside,likeat90milesanhour.
Uh,butwedidn't.
And,andamazinglyhecaughtitanditcamebackonoffthegrassanddidn't,damagedthecarandhejustwentwelliwasn'texpectingthatanduhjustgowellyou'redrivingthedamncaridon'tknowwhatiwasjustexpectedtosayprayersandexittheworldbutyeahcrackingsoi'velovedtheumi'velovedthetiffnadelleumandtheandthejasonplatocanyoudoavickybutbutbutlerhendersonimpressionohareyouanygoodatthatOh,
I'mnot,I'mnotverygoodat,um,seeVicky'sVicky'sgreatbecauseshe'sexactlyasyou,asyouseeontheTV.
Yeah.
Thesamekindofpersonality,thesamevoice,thesamedelivery,you'vegotthebestvoice,bestvoice,voiceintheworld.
Um,and,andflirty,reallyflirty.
Um,butwhatIrememberfromVickywaswhenshewouldslideacar,herhair,Ithinkshestraightenedherhairorshe,Ithinkshe'sjuststraightenedher.
Herhairwouldswing.
Soherheadwouldstaythesame,butthehairwouldsortofdothis.
Itwouldgooutofshotandthencomebackinagainandthengooutofshotagain.
Soyou'dknowwherethecarwasgoingifIwaswatchingitontheTVandifIwasn'tinthecar.
AndIusedtothinkitwasgreat.
Andshe'dalwayshavethatsqueal.
She'dalwaysdothatreallyhigh-pitchedsquealwhenshewasskiddingacarandslitheringit.
She'dgo...
Likeanaughtylittlekidthat's,Idon'tknow,just...
Likestucksomechewinggumunderthetableorsomething.
No,shewas,she's,she's,she'sreally,Ihaven'tseenVickyforquiteawhile,actually.
She's,shemightstillhaveaGT3.
Idon'tknow.
Shehasa997GT3.
Oh,myhusband,Phil.
Yeah.
Ishouldask.
Iknow.
Iwaswellgel.
Yeah.
Yeah.
God.
IthinkmyfavoritebitofVBHcontenteverwaswhen,asin,inItaly,Ithinkitwasfourorfive,eight,maybefourorfive,eight,umspiderlaunchandshe'sonthoseyouknowthoseroadsthatyouallusewhenyou'reinitalydrivingferrarisanduhandshewaslovingitandthecarsarefantasticandshesaidbutgodthiscar'ssogoodiactuallyfeelifeelquiteemotionalandshesortoflikebackedoffandsloweddownandjustsortofwentsortofpo-facedandyouknowasifshewasgoingtocryandthenjustwentahandthenjustlikejustwentforitagainandit'sjustabeautifulbit
ofbitoftvandit'sjustit'sfantasticyeahuhyeahshe'sawesomesheisgoodandshe'ssheshe'sproperlypassionate.
AndI,Istilldon'tthinkthere'senoughwomeninthecarworld.
Yeah.
Not,not,notatthe,thesortofcaliberofVicky.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Andshe,Ithinkpeopleforget,youknow,shewasdoingitintheninetieswhenitwasprobablyquiteadifficultplaceto,toaccess,youknow,itwasprobablyquitea,um,yeahanindustrywhichwasveryverystillismaleskewedandveryhardforawomantokindofwithanycredibilitytogetinthereandshowwhatshehadandvickywasgreathasalwaysbeengreatlikethati'dliketoseeherdomorei'dliketoseeicandomoreactuallyithinkgether
onthechannelyeahishouldgetherontheshowyou'reabsolutelyrightishouldIshould,becauseoutofthethreeofthemthatIusedtoworkwith,she'stheoneIseetheleast,eventhoughIactuallylivetheclosesttohergeographically.
So,yeah,Ishould.
Infact,IhadaninterestingphonecallfromPlatotheotherweek.
Hemayormaynothavebeendrinkingginthatafternoon.
He'sgotthisgreatidea.
WeneedtoturnuponTIFF'sdoorstep.
anddemandthatwehaveasleepover.
Althoughadultsdon'tsaysleepover,dothey?
Theydon't.
Itsoundslikewe'reall...
Butit'sintherightspirit,isn'tit?
Ilikeit.
Hesaid,we'regoingtoturnup,we'llholdupareallyniceglassofredandacurryandgo,right,we'rehereforthenight.
Letusin.
AndIthinkthat'samarvellousidea,soweshoulddothat.
Doyouknowwhat?
Probablyoneofthemostfun,someofthemostfuntimesI'veexperiencedinaPorschehavebeenwithPlatopotato.
Yeah.
Causehe,he,Irememberhe,whenhefirstgotaturbo,he'shadafewnine11turbo.
Yeah.
Thenhehadabrandnewturboass.
Itwouldhavebeenaninenineseven.
Heturnedupinitwithhisnumberplate,hispersonalnumberplateonit.
Andhesaid,hesaid,I'minarushtoday.
I'vegot,hewastryingtosealadealwitharacesponsorandhewastryingtogetitofftheground.
Hewas,youcouldtellhewasquite,stressedwhenhe,when,when,whensponsorsneededtobesealedandyouhadtogetadriveatthatmoment.
Andhehadtolease.
AndI'vegottohave,I'vegotahardstopatthreetoday,guys,orfourtodayorwhateveritwas.
AndwewereatBruntingthorpeandhefinishedthefilm.
Hewaslikeconstantlyclockcheckingandright.
So,right.
We'lldothisonemoretime.
NowI'vegottogo.
Yeah.
Okay.
Allright.
Andhegotinthis,this997andheabsolutely,launchedthispoorcar.
Thiscarwascold.
Andhetookoffandwentround,roundBruntingthorpe,likebasicallydidavictorylaptogoout.
Hedidn'thavetogoallthewayaround,butwentoutandhadthethinglit.
AndIhavebeenina,Ithinkitwasa911ofsomederivative,Idon'trememberwhat,whenweweredoingwhattheycall,youknow,trackingshots.
Thecameracarwasoutonthetrack.
Wewerecomingin,cominginhotandthenbackingoff.
Andthenyoudothesamethingagain.
Andthenyou'dhaveawalkietalkieonyourlapfromthedirector.
Iwasapassenger,Platowasdriver.
Wewereina911ofsomesort.
Hewascominginhot,doingsomedriftspastthecamerawhilsthehadthephoneonloudspeakertalkingtosomesortofpotentialsponsororsomethingtodowithtouringcarswhilstalsoeating.
Ithinkitwasapastyorasausageroll.
Sowewereonprivateproperty,folks,justtomakethatabsolutelyclear.
Wewereskiddinga911reallyclosetoacameracarwithaphoneonspeakertalkingtosomeimportantpersonwhoIdidn'tknowwhoitwas.
IwasjuststayingquietwhilsttryingtomunchonabitofaGregsausagerollorsomethinglikethat.
That'sskills.
That'sskills.
That'samanwithalotofsparecapacityfordoingstuff,isn'tit?
Andthat'sthedifferencebetweenpeoplelikehimandTiffandVickyandme.
theycouldgetinacarneverdrivenitbeforeandputitonthelimitameterandahalfawayfromacameraatbigspeedsanddoitnotoncebutfiveorsixtimesandthengoallrightarewedonetherelet'smoveontothenexttakewhereasyouandiprobablywouldverymuchstruggletodothatoritwouldendinexpensivebillsandiwatchedthemdoitirememberwhenremembertheLamborghiniwouldhavebeenthe,was
ittheGallardo?
TheAventador,whentheAventadorwaslaunchedandTiffjustturnedupandwent,right,where,whereisit?
Andhejustwent,theythrewhimthekeys.
Hewent,um,offwego.
Where'dyouwantme?
Andhejust,theywent,right,we'reoncornertwoofRockingham.
We'regoingtoputthecamerahere.
Tiff,Ineedyoutobe,withinametreofthecamera.
Hewent,whatspeed?
Andtheywent,Idon'tknow,makeitfairlyrapid.
Hewent,okay,between140and150.
Andhejustwentout,neverdrivenit,neverdrivenanAventadorever,andjustputthisthingfullsend,halfametrefromthecamera.
AndIwatchedhimdoitfivetimesandjustwent,Iaminthepresenceofgreatness.
Andthenwe'dcomestraightbackinandwindthewindowdownandhe'dgo,Johnny,where'stheRedBull?
Hewasjust,Tiffisananimal.
He'sareallyimpressiveanimalthatrunsonHaribo,doubleespressoandham,eggandchips.
Howoldishenow?
Heis,Ithinkhe's75.
Hemightbe75.
Wow.
Wow.
IjustsawhimattheGoodwoodmembersmeetingandhecameoverandputhisarmaroundmeandhesaid,whathaveyoubeensayingonyourpodcastaboutmyleatherjacket?
AndIsaid,Oh,well,youknow,hegoes,whateveryou'resaying,it'sannoying.
Peoplearecominguptomeandsayingittome.
Imean,Icouldn'tbelievewhatIwaswatchingbackinthedaywhenhimandPlatostarteddoingthose,thoseraces,thejewels.
Irememberlikeoneofthe,itwas987Boxstertime.
Soit's987BoxsterandZ4.
Iforgetwhichcircuitthey'reat.
AndIjustcouldn'tbelievewhatIwas.
Ithinkeventuallysomebodyranoutofbrakes,buttheydidn'ttakeeachotherout,ofcourse,becausetheyhaditandtheywerelaughinglikedrains,assessingthecarsandbasicallyracingthemlikethey'retouringcars.
Theystartedwiththosetwoandthentheyweredoingitlike997andR8.
Ithinkthatwasabruntingthought,thatone.
It'sjust...
wildbrilliantbrillianttvit'slovelytowatchbecausetheyarenaturallycompetitivebecauseofthembeingproracedriversbutthere'samutualrespectaswellandbecausethecarcontrolissohightheywouldreallyimplicitlytrustoneanotheritwaslikewatchingdancepartnersyouknowprofessionaldancepartnerswheretheywouldsynchronizesobeautifullybuttheywouldtheywouldknowwhatwhattheyweregoingtodo.
Andtheywould,ifoneofthemhadlostitabitorgonewide,ortherewasaproblem,theotheronewouldknow.
AndIusedtosometimeshearitonthewalkietalkieswhentheywereinthecars.
Andsometimestheywouldcomeinandgo,thatwas,thatwasclose,buttheywouldlovethat.
Theygo,thatwasclose.
Itwasgood.
Close.
Ithinkyou'reright.
TherewassomemomentsofthosedogfightswhenIwaslike,Ooh,seriously,thatwasverynearlyaninsuranceclaim.
ItwasoneinthewetwithanAMG,IthinkitwasanAMGGTorSLSversusanAstonofsomederivative.
Andtheywereprettymuchtwindrifting,tandemdrifting.
Anditwassodamnclosewiththewipersonfull.
AndIdon'tknowhowtheydidn'tcrash.
Idon'tknowhowneitherofthemcrashed,butthey'reso,sotalentedbehindthewheel.
AndI,yeah,it'sareal,itwasarealjoytogooutandjustsitinthepassengerseatandwatch.
IusedtowatchthepedalboxwithTiff.
IusedtoalwayswatchthepedalboxbecauseI'mlike,well,howareyoudoingthat?
Howareyouevendoingthat?
Andhewoulddoitwhilstconductingareallymundanechatwithme,likeareal,youknow,justgettoworkandyougo,sohaveyouhadabusyweek?
Andyouhadanyinterestingphonecalls?
Andwe'dbelookingoutthesidewindow.
Yeah,thethingwouldbeslight.
We'dbelikedoingonedriftintothenext.
Thenextdrift,andI'djustbegoing,look,let'sjustfocusonwhatwe'redoing.
Andhe'dbegoing,no,no,how'sthekids?
Iseverythingallright?
I'mlike,yeah,yeah,good.
AndIgotusedtoitintheendbecauseitbecamenormal.
Butforalongtime,itwaslike,wow,youhavesuchtrustinthemachineandyourowntalent.
LikeIsaid,it'sthatincrediblecarcontrolthatweallwishwehad,actually.
Weallwishwehadit.
I'veseenTiffthrowingcars.
Basically,ifyousaytoTiff,thatcarisabasemodelwithanopendiff.
It'sgotnopoweratall.
Ibetthere'snowayyoucouldmakethatdriftorgetittooverhisG.
He'dgo,right,let'sgo.
Hewouldjusttryit.
Hewouldtryandthrowanythingout,anything.
FordS-Maxes,I'veseenthemfully...
Imean,just,younameit.
Amazingexperiences.
Absolutely.
Fantastic.
IfeelveryprivilegedbecauseIscarily,IrealizedIwastalking,Ithinktomy,oneofmykidsandIthought,shitnextyearis2026.
That'llbe20yearssinceIstartedworkingonTVasapresenter.
That's,that'sterrifying.
Reallyterrifying.
Ilovetolookatallthecarsthatwerelaunchedin2006becausethere'llbeclassicsnow.
yeahyeahyeahyeahsomethingtobuysomethingtobuysomethingtobuyyesyeah20yearson997GT3thereitisstopitstopittherewego997GT3perfectAndyperfectonthatbombshellonthatbombshellwellI'vereallyenjoyedthisconversationthankschapthankyouit'sbeenalmostlikeasupertimeisn'titit'sbeenalotoffunit'sreallygoodfunIt's
reallygoodfun.
AndIknowit'sbeenarealprivilegetobeon.
Sothankyou.
Yeah.
Thankyouforyourtime.
Sleepwell.
Yeah.
Andyou.
Youtoo.
Cheers.
Byenow.
Seeyousoon.
Bye.
Okay.
Well,thatwasgood,wasn'tit?
Whatagreatconversation.
Absolutelyfantastic.
Itwaslong.
Itwaslongandintothenight.
Mr.
JohnnySmithwouldnotstoptalking,wouldhe?
Whataman.
Whatasuperfella.
Whatasuperfella.
Iabsolutelylovedthat,Andy,thatchat.
Really,reallygoodfun.
He's,becauseobviouslywe'vemethimandhadagoodchatatRensportreunion.
AndheisjusttheguyyouseeontheTV,onYouTube,isn'the?
Andinthepodcast.
Relaxed.
Sofocusedoncars.
Justagoodroundallguy.
Goodallroundguy.
Yeah.
Lovely,lovelyman.
Lovely,lovelyman.
Thankyouagain,Johnny,forjoiningusonthepodcast.
Wereallyappreciateit.
Andwereallyenjoyedit.
Yeah.
Itwasabsolutelyworththewait.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And,um,youknow,thinking,andIpromisethisisn'tlikefixedoranything,uh,butthinkingaboutthemarketplacegemoftheweek,Iactuallyhadtwocarslinedup.
forthemarketplacegemoftheweek.
Oneisobviouslyadroptopand,andnotaBoxster.
I'veneverbeenlikethat,butMaxisgoingtochooseaBoxster.
Ofcourseheis.
Itwasn't,itwasn'tapromise.
Topicalbecauseofthesunout.
Yeah.
Topicalbecauseofthesunout.
Soitwasgoingtobeadroptop.
ButtheotheronethatIhadinmindwasmy,dreamcarwhichhascomeuponthemarketplacebutitturnsoutit'salsojohnny'sdreamcaraswellsoi'mgoingtoditchhopefullytheweatherwillstillbenicenextweekandicanbringouttheuhdroptopthatihadinmindifithasn'tsoldbutumuhmydreamcarandjohnny'sdreamcaristheuhgen1997gt3whichisatharbourcarswhichissuchabeautifulcarsuchabeautifulidon'tknowifi'veseenthatwhat'sthespecwhat'sthecolorso
niceit'sgtsilverNice.
Whichisalovelycolouronthose.
It'sgotsteelbrakes,whichIthinkisgood.
It'sgotcomfortseats.
WhichwasoneofJohnny'srequests.
Yeah,sowecanputbackseatsin,andthatworksformeaswell.
Alsomeansit'smorelikelyto,andthisonedoeshavetheextendedleatherdash,whichisreallyniceina997.
It'sareally,reallybeautifulcar.
Letmejustchecktheoldmileage.
Itmustbea6ora7.
Oh,it'sa57plate2007.
It'sdonejustunder28,000miles.
Sovery,verylittlework,Ithink.
Anditispricedatawhiskerunder£90,000.
SothatisabeautifulcarthatIwouldhaveinaheartbeat.
I'msuresomeone'sshouting,whydon'tyousellyourMacan,youidiot,andbuyit?
That'snotquitehowtheworldworks,isit?
Butman,Iwouldlovethatcar.
I'dlovethatcar.
Suitsyou,suitsyou.
SuitsJohnnytoo,yeah.
ButmaybeJohnnyandIcangohalvesonit.
Whoa,yes.
That'saThorZplan.
Zplan.
Thereyougo.
I'mgoingtosendhimamessage.
Doit.
Doit.
Excellent.
ShallwegetalittletechtipfromMr.
Wright?
Mr.
ChrisWrightatWrightTune?
Yeah.
Seewhathe'sgotuphissleevethisweektokeepusonthestraightandnarrow.
Hello,Nineworks.
Now,996andforwards.
Youwanttobelookingatbrakes.
I'mtalkingaboutbrakestoday.
Thediscs,forsomereason,theydogetquitecorrodedontheinnerfacesmoresothantheoutside,particularlyifyouleavethecaroutside.
Thecar,whenit'sonitswheels,canlooknottoobad.
Butyouneedtogetituporgetunderneathitandhavealookattheinsidefacesandmakesurethere'snocorrosionthere,youknow,impedingyourbrakes,soyourbrakingefficiency.
So,yeah,justhavealookatthattodayforme,guys.
Cheers.
Thankyou,Mr...
Mr.
Right.
IwanttocallhimMr.
Tune.
Ithinkthere'snothingwrongwiththat.
ChrisTune.
Thankyou,man.
Excellent.
Lastthingontheagenda,Ithink,then,wouldbeacollectiveupdate.
Ifyou'reupforthat,Max.
Okay.
Firstone.
Right.
I'vegotadifficultnameformehere.
It'sUD...
Soit'sJiptandi,Tandai,Ihopeoneofthoseisright.
Greattohaveyoualong,basedinOxford,referredbyamember,Idon'tknowwhichmember,sowhoeverdidreferforyou,that'sgreat,thankyouverymuch,drivesa991.2
C2.
Verynice,nicecarthat.
Welcome,Udi.
Andifwehavemadeabitofapig'searofyoursurname,dosendusavoicenoteandwecangetaholdonit.
Butwelcomeaboard.
Indeed.
I'vegota...
Who'snext?
We'vegotMentin,whoisafriendwithGuy.
Ah.
AndacoupleofothermutualconnectionsintheDrivenNotHiddencollective.
He...
Ithinkhe'son...
Thankyouverymuch.
996.2
clubsportmantieRSequippedmissilehecallsitwhichheusesfortrackdayandbadbehaviourandthenalsoracesinthehorsetrophyandtheCSCCinhisBoxster986racecartherewegoIfoundhimyesyesIrecogniseIrecogniseyeahyeahI'mfollowinghimfollowinghimYeah,lovely,lovelycast.
BasedinHertfordshire.
Super,welcomeaboard.
Excellenttohaveyouaboard.
Yeah.
Okay,DanBrown,whois...
Whereareyou,Dan?
Idon'tknowexactlywhereDanis,actually.
Yeah,somewhereintheUK.
I'mthinkingthathe'sprobably...
downthiswaysomewherebecausehehasrecentlyboughtacarfromparagonwhichhesaysissuchafabplacehe'snowdrivinga997.2
uhc4syeahwhiteoneifoundhimonthegroundexcellentfoundhimonthegroundthat'sagoodlookingcarasitwouldbefromparagonofcourseyeahsoithinkwasthatthatmayhavebeentheonethatidrovewasitIthinkyoudrovearedone,wasn'tit?
TheC4Syoudrovewasaredone,andIthinkmaybetheGTSwasawhiteone,astheyoftenare.
Yeah.
Butyeah,that'sagood-lookingcar.
997Gen2C4S,widebody,good-lookingcar.
Lovely.
Lovely.
Welcomeaboard,Dan.
Goodtohaveyouonboard.
Excellent.
Right.
Ithinkthat'susdonefortoday.
Ithinkitis.
Ithinkweneedtogoforasleep.
Yeah.
Endofalongpod,thatone,butwhatagreatpod.
Reallyenjoyedit.
Reallyenjoyedit.
Onceagain,thankyoutoJohnny.
ShouldwespreadtheloveactuallyforJohnny?
Yeah,yeah,yeah.
Imean,ifthere'sanybodywhodoesn'tknowwhathe's,youcangetholdofJohnny.
I'msureeveryonedoes.
It'stheLateBreakShowonYouTube.
AndSmithandSniffonthepodcasts.
Checkitout.
Checkthemout.
Butdon'tlistentoomuchbecausethey'llgetupthechartsevenmorethantheyalreadydid.
Yeah,yeah,yeah.
Nottoomuch.
They'realreadyknockingitoutofthepark.
Theydon'tneedanyhelp.
Infact,don'tlisten.
Don'tbother.
Forgetaboutit.
9MXRadio.
Stickwithit.
That'stheone.
Stickwithus.
Allright.
Catchyounextweek.
Seeyou.
Cheers.
MusicMusicMusicMusicThankyou.
Request an explanation for:
2 cars
2 cars featured
Request an Explanation
Heard something you'd like explained? We'll add it to this episode.
Sign in to request explanations for terms you heard.
Want to learn more?
Browse our glossary for plain-English explanations of automotive terms, jargon, and concepts.
Help improve this episode
See something that's not quite right? Our annotations are AI-generated and can sometimes miss the mark. Click the flag icon on any annotation to suggest a correction.
Report incorrect info
Suggest better explanations
Flag missing cars
More from 9WERKS Radio : The Porsche and Car Podcast
4,000 Miles to the Arctic Circle: What We Learned About Our Porsches
Jun 1, 2026
The Man Who Owns Every Porsche Legend: Johan Dirickx on 911R & RS History
May 25, 2026
Better Than a classic 911? The Ultimate Porsche 356 Deep Dive
May 18, 2026
The 2026 9WERKS Awards Live & Grant Larson’s Design Secrets
May 11, 2026