Aston Martin DB4GT – tuning a rare and beautiful icon.

Earlier in 2020, I returned to the Franschhoek Motor Museum near Cape Town, South Africa and was once again invited by Wayne Harley, the museum’s curator, to tune one of its treasured exhibits. On this occasion, it was a 1961 Aston Martin DB4GT Superleggera, one of the most iconic and valuable British post-war sports cars. It was also the...

Discovering an icon – the Italian Job Miura and its creator.

In 1975, as a 12- year old boy who was crazy about cars, two separate events occurred that stamped the name of Lamborghini indelibly on my consciousness. One was hearing for the first time one of their glorious V-12 engines (in this case in an Espada which I would later own, but that’s another story) drive...

What’s in a noise?

In certain arenas of live theatre, one thing still exists; the need for the “illusion”. The boundaries on this have become skewed more in recent times, with more “interactive” stage performances, but more often than not some basic rules still apply. To an actor of a period drama, sit-com or the like, such things as...

Appraising Stuttgart’s little gems – the story of the Porsche 914

Ask yourself this; “when is a Porsche not a Porsche?” It might seem like a curious question, but the German marque has produced several models over the years that have raised this debate – perhaps none more so than the 914. Why, you may ask. The 914’s story is an interesting one, particularly as it was...

A Symphony of moving parts

“The exhaust note rising to a crescendo”. “Taking on a deeper, more purposeful note in the upper rev ranges”. This is the staple vocabulary of the motoring journalist driving the latest supercar in the 1960’s, 70’s and 80’s and beyond, spellbound by the recent assault on his senses for the benefit of his readers. The...

Lamborghini – crossing the Rubicon

Ferruccio Lamborghini, and what he started, have sometimes come in for criticism over the years, either through simple jealousy (how dare he threaten the establishment), or because his cars were seen as too self-indulgent. The cars his purpose- built factory at Sant’ Agata gave the world were not perfect, far from it, but I do...

From Flat 5 to Flat 12 – the music and motors of Mile Davis

To put it simply, Miles Davis is one of the greatest musicians that has ever lived. This is by no means a rash and unsupported statement; it’s an indisputable truth. He lived his life filled with a passion for doing things differently, breaking the mould, whilst being respectful of all that’s good about the traditional. That’s not...