When thinking about Omologato watches, I ask the question what makes a racing watch? The obvious, technical answer would be a chronograph with a tachymeter, something that made its debut trackside. But thematically there are so many more timepieces that link themselves to motorsport, with a splash of livery here and there. Both of these could be considered ‘racing watches’ at a stretch, but when the link’s that tenuous, should they be? So, would it be too much of a stretch to define a racing watch as a watch that’s, well, associated with actual racing?

With that, I think, very fair definition, you cut through the noise to the core racing watches and while you do indeed still have some big names, Omologato stands out as a serious contender. The reason for that lies solely with the British brand’s founder, Shami Kalra.

Today, Omologato have ties with the racing world that the big Swiss maisons could only dream of, with car lovers and team owners both flocking to his various, accessible collections. But they’re relationships that didn’t come out of nowhere. Prior to Omologato, Shami had been supplying watches to racing teams; the kind of watches that owners would thank their crews with or commemorate victories, that kind of thing. They were special pieces for special moments. So when Shami decided to strike out properly with an own-name dial in 2015, he did so with the wind behind him. Those relationships, those connections have driven Omologato ever since.

Omologato Panamericana

Let’s be frank, Omologato is a watch company and their main business is making and selling watches. That much I’m sure we all agree on. I think we can all agree that they’re also pretty good at it, tying a plethora of retro designs to automotive iconography as broad as a famous car, as niche as a famous corner.

There’s a lot I could say about them – especially their ultra-cool TV-shaped Panamericana – but I won’t, at least not here. Because the bottom line is that anyone can do something similar. I could go and research some obscure racing paraphernalia, hire a designer and get some cheap watches turned around in a month. They wouldn’t be as cool or as interesting, but it would be easy – and completely insincere.

Shami awarding his friend with the Omologato Award

Sincerity. It’s that one word that has, for me at least, really come to set Omologato and Shami apart from even the often very sincere British watch industry. Shami doesn’t just design racing watches; he’s a fixture of the racing industry, full stop.

Shami has made it his self-imposed mandate to help racers and racing teams compete across the spectrum of the sport, from amateur level competitions to professional races like the Indy500. Not Formula 1 of course, there’s more than enough money sloshing about there, but the kinds of races that are built on and defined by passion. To that end, he’s become a bit of a fixer, scoring some free Pirelli tires for one team here, brokering a $22 million private jet there, whatever he can do to help dedicated teams keep the lights on. In short, if you’re on a racing team that’s struggling to keep your fuel tank full, drop Omologato a line.

Omologato 911 from the East African Classic Rally on display at thee Rotunda at The RAC Club in Pall Mall London (2019)

If these kinds of deals end with Omologato on some sleek racing livery then so be it, but that’s not the point. They’re a brand that lives and breathes the sport that’s given them so much inspiration. In 2025 in fact, they’re taking the next logical step along that line of thinking: starting their own Indy500 team.

Most of us wouldn’t know how to go about starting and entering a team into what’s a serious competition. For Shami, it involved a call to racing legend Chip Ganassi to get a (quite eye-watering) price, then a friend who specialised in sponsorship deals to secure said price. And it just kept going. When another racer and close friend of the brand found out #TeamOmologato was happening, he brought in yet more funds to the nascent team, topped off by an engine supplier donating the beating heart of the car.

On the one hand, entering a car at all shows Omologato’s dedication to the sport. On the other, the sheer relative ease with which Shami has pulled it all together proves that his is a brand built on relationships and passion, not light blue and orange colourways. There’s still a way to go before Shami can stand trackside as a proud team owner (and most likely an even longer way to go before a win), but they’re on the right track.

More details at Omologato.

While British success stories in Formula 1 tend to centre around Lewis Hamilton – as well they should, he’s a legend – George Russell has quietly been making a serious name for himself. At a fresh-faced 26 years old, he’s one of the younger racers on the grid and, when we caught up with him ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix back in the summer, was still revelling in the best season of his career. So, how was he finding the season so far?

“It’s been… I wouldn’t say a rollercoaster, but it’s been one that we’ve been climbing,” says Russell. “At the start we were at the bottom of the mountain and been steadily getting closer to the top. There’s so much excitement and motivation when you’re on a team like this, like we have a visible return on everything we’ve been putting in, that momentum we’ve been building up.”

George winning the Austrian Grand Prix 2024

We were talking shortly after his second F1 victory in Austria, which was a bit of a hairy one. After spending most of the race in third – still a respectable podium finish – Lando Norris and Max Verstappen ahead of him got a little too close to one another, crashing to take them both out the race. It was a far cry from Russell’s incredibly convincing first win. But was there a difference to him?

“Each win is incomparable. Every race is a completely different scenario. My first, in Brazil, was where I was ahead every lap. I’d done fantastically the day before and the pressure was there. Near the end I had Lewis on my tail and it was a relief to get across that finish line. In Austria I was happy to be in third – and then it all kicked off ahead and the opportunity arose. Every race is different and you never really know how it’s going to go, even when you’re behind the wheel.”

With that kind of uncertainty, it has to be hard to prepare yourself for racing at this level. There’s the danger of course, as that crash in Austria – and a multitude of other times – shows. But none of these guys would be racing if that put them off. Instead, we were more interested to find out of the pressure ever got to him – and more importantly, what Russell did to cope with it.

“I’m a little obsessive. I try to make sure I’ve gone through all the preparation possible with my engineers, taken a look at last year’s data, gone over the car, the weather conditions, anything I feel I need to be looking for. Once I’ve ticked them all off, I’m at peace, mentally. I know I’m at my peak physical condition, I know every race is going to be tough. But there are 19 other drivers and hopefully they’ll find it tougher than I will. After that, what will happen, will happen, it’s out of your control.”

With that huge amount of pressure every single week, the intense training regime to stay in that physical condition and the sheer hectic nature of a globe-trotting racing competition, decompression seems like a necessity. Russell though seems to want to take decompressing very literally.

“I love being by the sea, so I’ve started free diving, which is a bit of a random hobby, but when I’m out in the water I’m just so focused on my breathing, on being underwater that I just disconnect from the world. Once beneath the sea, down there with the fish and coral, you’re not thinking about anything else – except having enough breath to get back to the top!”

Russell isn’t the only British racing legend around. We’ve had a long, illustrious line of champions of which Hamilton is only the latest and Russell could potentially be next. For Russell, there’s something in the inspiration of champions of old, and having seven of the ten Formula 1 teams based in the UK helps. But for him, the key to British racing success is British racing green grass roots.

“I remember racing with Lando [Norris] and Alex [Albon], and alongside other racers who didn’t make it to Formula 1 but have made professional racing careers. There’s definitely something about the grass roots level here that works. But it needs to stay at that level. This isn’t the most economical sport in the world, so we need to make sure that we can give kids that don’t have the opportunity otherwise the funding they need to get behind the wheel and try go-karting.”

That said, go-karting is never going to be cheap for most would-be podium contenders, and whether it’s that or sheer space, it’s an opportunity sadly few kids have. E-sports on the other hand, is different.

“Simulators have advanced so much now. The Formula 1 game is fantastic and there should be ways we can identify talent sooner, instead of just having financial backing to push you through the ranks.”

Young George Russel (middle) winning the CIK-FIA European KF3 Championship (2011)

Whether coming from the classic karting angle or from killing it online with photorealistic driving games, kids are going to need to have to contend with one of the most intensely competitive sports in the world – if not the most. According to Russell though, they shouldn’t be afraid of making mistakes; quite the opposite.

“The one piece of advice that I try to embrace myself is: don’t be afraid to fail. The times I’ve failed have been the times I’ve progressed the most, the times I’ve really pushed my limited. It doesn’t matter what you do, failure is necessary. It’s how we grow, how we learn about ourselves. There’s so much pressure not to let people down, especially with younger people, but you don’t want to go through life never making a mistake or knowing where your ceiling is.”

And any advice for those of us not thinking of a career in racing? Even shaving a few seconds off a track day would help for a few more bragging rights.

“No matter what you’re driving, stay relaxed. I’ve driven with people that have never been on a track before. They tense up, hunch over and it makes everything erratic. Smooth is fast, smooth with the steering, throttle and brake. It’s not necessarily how we drive in Formula 1, but if you want to speed up on a track day, stay relaxed.”

Obviously, it’s not lost on Russell just how many kids and F1 fans alike look up to him as a sportsman. He’s young, he’s hungry and his experience is starting to pay off. But for Russell, there are other sportspeople in other sports – and one in his own who I’m sure you can guess – that he looks up to.

“I have a huge amount of respect for [Cristiano] Ronaldo. He’s without a doubt the leader in his field. The same with [Novak] Djokovic, they’re fighters that push their physical performance. Then there’s Lewis [Hamilton], obviously. He puts his platform to great use and I admire him for that as much as his wins and what he’s doing off the track. I hope to be one of those leaders in years to come.”

Now he may well get a chance as Lewis will, in 2025, be moving from Mercedes as Russell’s teammate over to Ferrari. It’s a bold move, but on the other hand it means that Russell will soon be able to race his former teammate as an actual rival. Will that be weird?

“He’ll be wearing a different suit, but I’ll still recognise him! We’re at different stages in our career but we have massive respect for one another. For now, I’ll see him on the track.”

Speaking about wearing things, what watches have been on his wrist?

“I wear a lot of watches, actually. Right now, it’s the Ingenieur! I wore it for the first time at Wimbledon when it was still super fresh. I’ve also got my annual calendar and Top Gun back home. I like my team watch during race weekends to go with my suit, I wore it when I was on the podium in Austria. It fits so well.”

More details at George Russell 63.

It’s now been six decades since Ford launched the Mustang at the 1964 New York World’s Fair, at a stroke creating the ‘pony car’. This more compact twist on the muscle car racked up 418,000 sales in its first year alone and went on to star in everything from Bond films to Bullitt, starring Steve McQueen.

It is one of the few nameplates to have been in continuous production ever since and has now outlived the Dodge Challenger and Chevrolet Camaro rivals it spawned – ‘you can’t make cars like this in the EV era,’ announced Chevy and Dodge; ‘hold our beer’, replied Ford.

Just into its seventh generation, this new Mustang remains astonishingly faithful to the original recipe – the design and details could be nothing else, and the Mustang is still rear-wheel drive and offered with a choice of manual or automatic gearboxes, coupe or convertible bodies. Even a Porsche 911 has evolved more.

1964 Worlds Fair Ford Exhibit

Crucially, a big-hearted 5.0-litre V8 – dubbed ‘Coyote’ – still rumbles and pulses under the Mustang’s bonnet. As distinctive as a Texan twang, it is one of the few remaining engines worldwide not to turn to either hybrid technology or turbochargers as a replacement for displacement.

What is new this generation are whizzy twin touchscreens powered by Unreal Engine gaming software that let you do everything from connect to Apple CarPlay to tweak how your Mustang drives and sounds. There’s also a new variant named Dark Horse, which is currently the range-topper, offered only as a coupe and officially billed as next best thing to Ford’s Mustang GT3 racecars.

Ford Mustang Dark Horse

Visual tell-tales versus the base Mustang are pretty subtle (most obvious are a Zorro-like band of black running between the LED headlights, a fresh rear spoiler and different design of 19-inch alloys), and there’s only a negligible performance hike of 6bhp, albeit to a still-very-healthy 446bhp.

Performance halos usually have more differentiation than this, but props where they’re due because Ford have gone large on beefier engineering so the Dark Horse can keep pounding laps on a track day. There’s a tougher manual gearbox, extra engine and transmission cooling – largely invisible stuff that’s so easily cost-cut.

If it sounds and is a muscular thing to hustle, the Dark Horse proves a surprisingly easy companion as I burble through Cagnes-Sur-Mer during the early morning rush. The driver’s seat is comfortable, I twirl the modestly weighted steering as nonchalantly as McQueen, and there’s buttery smooth clutch take-up on this six-speed manual.

Mostly the ride’s supple too thanks to standard ‘MagneRide’ suspension with pothole mitigation (a sixth sense that basically stiffens the shocks to stop a wheel fully plummeting into road craters).

Like the previous model launched in 2015, the new one’s also available in right-hand drive, but this time the development team have lavished extra effort making it work on the unique challenges of European roads. And few European roads represent more of a challenge than the Route Napoleon, which climbs, flicks and plunges through the Alpes Maritimes to put performance and dynamics under the microscope like little else.

Never mind the (pretty lazy) original Ford Mustang, the 2015 model would quickly come undone up here, but this new sportier ’Stang strings these epic bends together with real fluency. Faster steering and a more rigid connection to the front axle is key to its new-found energy and precision, properly waking the Mustang up and making this 1.8-tonne two-metre-wide car feel fleeter than it is. It’s surprisingly agile for a car so big.

Even if there’s little in the way of road-surface texture flowing up through the steering wheel itself, it takes just a few corners to sense the improved grip and composure on offer here. It’s a car to grab by the scruff and lean on hard through corners, confident that the suspension can keep the body in check, and to brake late, trusting in its huge Brembo brakes – even on the long downhill sections with coils of hairpins that make the Route Napoleon such a challenge. This is a much more sophisticated chassis than before.

What you might still crave is a little more power. UK-bound Mustangs are roughly 10 percent less punchy and not quite as noisy as US models (blame European regulations) but even so the V8 is an invigorating thing to wring out. There’s not the mid-range juice we’ve become so used to with smaller turbocharged engines, and on some long full-throttle climbs uphill it can feel a little breathless, but the payback is instant response and real fizz when you wind the revs round the dial to a hedonistic 7,250rpm.

Plus, because there’s a surplus of grip to power, the Mustang encourages you to roll up your sleeves and maximise the oomph that is available– and the more I work this car, the more I connect with it.

There are few options when it comes to the generously equipped Dark Horse, and only two materially affect the driving experience: the seats and the gearbox, with the latter most crucial. The 10-speed auto is perfectly serviceable and easier around town, but if you’re going old-school with a V8 Mustang, it’s surely perverse not to spec the (same price) manual gearbox, especially with its pleasingly physical shift action and tight gate. (Clever rev matching tech blips the throttle for you too, smoothing down shifts and trumpeting heroic noises from the exhaust).

Add in the optional Recaro seats – comfortable, tactile, figure-hugging… some of the best I’ve ever sat in – and this is one properly sorted sports car.

But we need to talk money, because the Dark Horse starts from £67,995, putting it a little beyond even the excellent new BMW M2 with its fine European breeding. True, they’re quite different takes on a similar recipe, but the Dark Horse’s more direct rival actually comes from within Ford’s own stable. The Mustang GT costs a chunk less at £55,725, is down only 6bhp, looks much the same and actually has the sweeter manual gear shift.

The Dark Horse chassis does feel a tad sharper, its shorter gearing helps pep up performance and the name just sounds cool, but the differences between the two are probably more nuanced than they should be. If you couldn’t care less about track days and want the ultimate bang-for- your-buck, get the GT.  Whichever Mustang you choose, though, no-one but Ford makes ’em like this anymore.

More details at Mustang.

Patrick Dempsey as an actor is in the enviable position of being one of the most recognisable actors on TV. His role as Derek Shephard on Grey’s Anatomy, despite dramatically leaving the behemoth of a series back in Season 11 (it’s currently on Season 20), was definitive not just for Dempsey but the worryingly popular show as a whole. His relationship with the eponymous lead Meredith Grey was, to a certain generation, the definitive picture of a great relationship. Oh, and if this all sounds like I know far too much about Grey’s Anatomy, blame my wife. I’ve been hearing about Derek’s perfect hair for years. Needless to say, the opportunity to talk to the actor without her in the room didn’t go down all too well.

And yet what most fans of Grey’s Anatomy, my wife included, don’t realise is that Meredith – and indeed acting – isn’t quite Dempsey’s first love. No, his passions lie away from the silver screen and behind the wheel. That would be cars – specifically, race cars: “I’ve always loved racing since I was a small boy,” reminisces Dempsey. “My dad was a big fan of it, so I grew up watching car racing.”

That’s a story most of us can get on board with. I remember Sundays watching F1 with my dad (a sport that didn’t really stick with me beyond then). But for Dempsey, as soon as he got behind the wheel, it went much, much further.

Patrick racing for Proton Racing, sponsored by Tag Heuer

“I started with a Skip Barber three-day competition certificate that was a gift from my wife and then after that I did another racing school in Georgia, and then started racing in Panoz racing cars. I slowly worked my way up to IMSA and then onto the American Le Mans, and then WEC. I started racing in the early 2000s.”

Coming relatively late in life to racing, Dempsey was never going to be an F1 contender; they start go-karting before they can walk. Indeed, there aren’t that many proper events that an amateur can take part in except for a particular sub-set of races that I’m sure have already sprung to mind among the automotive-minded: endurance racing.

Celebrting the teas win at the FIA World Endurance Championship’s Six Hours of Fuji (2015)

Dempsey’s done more than take part in the likes of Le Mans and 24 Hours of Sebring. In 2015, he won the FIA World Endurance Championship’s Six Hours of Fuji under his own team, Dempsey Racing-Proton. So, while he may be an amateur driver, he’s a serious one. His key to success is also relatively simple: consistency.

“You’re mixed with a pro driver and a semi-pro driver and endurance racing is certainly about speed but it’s more about consistency. Understanding your role on the team, consistency with your pace, staying out of trouble, and handing the car off so that the next driver has a good car to drive. Situational awareness is key. You’re racing in multiple classes, so managing traffic and faster cars are key to a safe and successful race. Basically, the team that makes the fewest mistakes does the best – the mantra is simple: ‘stay out of the pits.’”

It’s no surprise then that when Hollywood needed an actor that not only had on-screen charisma, but could handle himself behind the wheel of a car, they went to Dempsey. The role in question was as Piero Taruffi, the man that Ferrari staked their reputation on to win the Mille Miglia back in 1957. It was a big gamble and a big win for the prancing horse, as the rather intense Ferrari film – also starring Adam Driver and Penelope Cruz – illustrates. It also made Taruffi a giant in the then- nascent racing world.

“He was an incredibly successful driver,” explains Dempsey, “and I think because he lived in a period when so many other drivers died prematurely his record is sometimes overlooked. It was a great honour to be able to meet his son and daughter and to play him in the movie, he had a long career Formula endurance racing road racing. He was an engineer. He understood aerodynamics and wrote an incredible book on the technique of car racing.”

Patrick Dempsey as Piero Taruffi

It’s obvious that Dempsey admires Taruffi and why not? He was and is a legend, even outside of his formative Ferrari drive. And yet for Dempsey, a racer himself, getting into the right mindset was never an issue. He knows what it’s like to race, especially in an endurance event like the Mille Miglia. Instead, he needed to nail the look.”

“Every role is different. Every preparation is different depending on the type of character that you’re playing. Here that mainly meant getting the visual aspect correct. I was able to do a lot of testing, and that really helped me get into the role.”

After bleaching his hair blond, he certainly had the suave Italian driver’s signature style covered. Thow in a flawlessly styled vintage wardrobe and the Prancing Horse to match and there you have it – all but the watch, which in the case of the film, was a TAG Heuer.

Patrick is an ambassador of Tag Heuer.

“I have always collected TAG Heuer watches and timepieces. We had a stopwatch that I had wardrobe make this special wristband for, which was true to a lot of the racers of that time, where they would time certain sections of the race and they knew where they needed to be, and at what time — so that was fun working with TAG Heuer and heritage department.”

The result is a film that even die-hard historical purists can appreciate for its authenticity. That authenticity, of course, wasn’t just about the looks either as Dempsey added one thing that most actors can’t: he didn’t need a stunt man.

“I had an opportunity to do all of my driving in the film,” says Dempsey. “It really reignited my love and desire to get back behind the wheel and do some more racing.”

Indeed, if he had his wish, Dempsey would likely spend far more time on the track than in front of the camera. Sure, his turn in Ferrari is more than solid and he’s still one of the most famous hair dos in all of fictional doctoring, but for him, there’s a clear winner in what he really wants to do: “acting is my profession,” he says, “racing is my passion.”

More details at Tag Heuer.

What better way to test and review a fully-fledged convertible supercar than in the real-world conditions of a soggy October in southern England? With autumn leaves on the ground, a chill in the air, and a round of golf to be had, it’s a slice of the real world for a car blessed with out of this world performance. We’re talking about the Maserati Cielo.

Let’s get the stats out of the way nice and early shall we. Sat in the middle of the car is a twin-turbo, Nettuno tuned, dry-sump V6 that produces 621bhp and 730 newton metres of torque at its peak. Paired with an eight-speed twin-clutch transmission flowing through a very smart LSD, it means through its rear wheels that the Cielo will propel you from 0-62mph in 2.9 seconds and onto a top speed of 199mph. That’s fast by anyone’s standards. Weighing in at 1,540kg, it’s 65kg heavier than the coupe, and although I haven’t driven the hard top, I bet the average person would be hard pressed to tell the difference.

With a golf game schedule two hours from home, I departed at 5.30am in the dry and made the most of the empty roads to put the Maserati Cielo in Sport mode. Only the third most aggressive of five available via a central rotating control (Wet, GT, Sport, Corsa, and ESC off). In these different modes the engine power, pedal feel, exhaust noise, gear shifts, suspension, and traction are all tweaked and there’s a separate button to mix and match the dampers to your preference.

As I race down to Kent at perfectly legal yet aggressive speeds, the carbon-fibre monocoque, which was developed in partnership with racing team Dallara, feels incredibly rigid despite the lack of roof. The car squirms in a controllable manner as I plant the throttle and even in the slightly slick, leaf litter strewn corners you can still achieve Tron-esque pivots.

After the very wet round of golf, I was a little worried about jumping back into the Cielo. Any other supercar I’ve driven doesn’t really do wet weather very well. Pair that with a slightly achy back and you’ve a recipe for a middle age disaster. Herein lies the Cielo’s greatest trick. In GT or Wet mode the car is relaxed, comfortable and able to take bumps and potholes on rubbish British B-roads with ease. Despite its Italian heritage, you’d be forgiven for thinking this car had been designed with wetter northern climes in mind.

The biggest takeaway from driving the Cielo is just how incredibly easy and delightful an experience it is. The roof, albeit operated by a control on the touch screen (boomers hate this one trick) goes up and down in 12 seconds and you can activate it at up to 31mph. The glass in the roof is also filled with liquid crystal tech enabling you to change the lighting conditions at the touch of a button and bring the sky (Cielo in Italian) into the car.

I connected to the Android auto within seconds, something that even the Maserati (technician) was impressed with, and all the controls feel very intuitive. They may sound like small things on what is quarter of a million-pound plus car, but all these add up. Of course, this car is quick, but it’s also the most liveable spider I’ve ever driven.

On top of all of that it has a distinctive look that I absolutely adore. There are whiffs of the iconic MC12 in the nose and the rear, albeit slightly more generic unless sculpted and accentuated by this particular model’s exterior carbon fibre package. The butterfly doors add to the drama and in the specced up Rosso Vincente it’s a real head turner.

Inside the cockpit of the Cielo the layout is fairly reserved except for lashings of optional Alcantara and carbon fibre. There’s a distinct lack of buttons which will put some people off. It feels very well made, if perhaps slightly less luxe than you might expect for the price bracket (from £222,990). The seats are also incredibly comfortable and heated, the driving position is on-point, and the handles to close the gullwing doors make you feel like a racing driver.

There are some drawbacks, albeit minor. The boot is small (150 litres) and likely to slow-cook anything in there on long journeys. However, I managed to fit two weekend bags in it, while also resting my golf bag in the passenger seat. There’s also been talk of a lacklustre score from the V6, however paired with a slightly retro wastegate whooshing sound I found the engine sound quietly menacing. Yes, it’s not a screaming V12, but it’s characterful. The fuel tank is also small at 60 litres – 18 litres smaller than the Ferrari F8 Spider – making its use limited as a GT.

All that considered however I’m still in love with this car. It has an esoteric cool appeal, the styling is distinct and unique, it’s plenty fast enough and it’s totally useable. If it’s this or a Jacob & Co Astronomia, I know which I would choose.

More details at Maserati.

MonacoCarAuctions

MonacoCarAuctions is a new premier car auction brand offering exquisite service on the sale of its impressive range of prestige cars. Its first auction took place this summer featuring more than 40 legendary and iconic Ferraris including a Ferrari Enzo directly from Fernando Alonso’s private collection. MonacoCarAuctions believes in ensuring a stress-free auction on all sides, which is why it provides total support from start to finish for both buyers and sellers including photography, logistics and more.

More details at MonacoCarAuctions.

Twisted Automotive Suzuki Jimny, From £49,500

Twisted Automotive is one of the coolest 4×4 customisation brands around, modifying iconic vehicles like the Land Rover Defender as well as alternative vehicles like the Suzuki Jimny. The Jimny is a pretty easy car to make fun of, not least for its name, but Twisted Automotive has managed to turn it into a high performance motor ready for adventure. Improved turbo, suspension, anti-roll bar, tyres, trim and soundproofing are all core elements of a Twisted Jimny.

Available at Twisted Automotive.

Kimera Automobili EVO37

Kimera Automobili takes the art of classic and sports car restoration seriously, however it has transitioned that knowledge into creating its own vehicle, the EVO37. It’s inspired by the Lancia Rally 037 bringing the styling of the 80s icon into the 21st century. It’s powered by a 2-litre four-cylinder in-line engine with double super charger. It’s as much a passion project as it is a sports car, with every car sold named in dedication to its new owner.

Available at Kimera Automobili.

Pullman Editions

Pullman Editions’ vintage style posters recapture the glamour and suspense of a bygone era, and in no poster is that more evident than this ode to the Monaco Grand Prix. Racers tearing past the legendary Hotel Monte Carlo with a view of the Côte d’Azur in the background, it’s part travel inspiration and part nostalgic flashback to the early days of motor racing. Either way it’s the perfect gift for any classic petrolhead.

Available at Pullman Editions.

The Little Car Company Ferrari Testa Rossa J

If you haven’t come across The Little Car Company, you’re missing out. They create the most beautiful, miniaturised versions of classic cars you have ever seen. This is the Ferrari Testa Rossa J, a 75% reproduction of the Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa capable of a brisk 80 kph (approx. 50 mph). It’s an officially licenced Ferrari product, which means it was built using the original Ferrari plans and drawings from the highest quality materials and parts.

More details at The Little Car.

Aston Martin DB5, £650,000

The Aston Martin DB5 is synonymous with classic performance and luxury design, becoming one of the most famous vintage cars in existence thanks to its gorgeous design and a leg up from Hollywood. This version of the DB5 features Sierra Blue bodywork with a black Connolly leather interior and black carpets. It’s a superb example with relatively low mileage and has been cared for dutifully for many years.

Available at Bell Sport & Classic.

Radical Motorsport SR10

With high horsepower and long-life powertrain, the Radical SR10 is everything you’d expect from a Radical. Targeted at track-day enthusiasts, motorsport country club members, and racers across the globe, the SR10 delivers more power and torque than any Radical before. They also have a watch associated with the car, the Omologato Tifosi Radical Edition. Both the car and the watch epitomise the Radical ethos of lightweight sports cars that are affordable, durable. With 12 single-make Radical Cup championships, they are also enjoyed at racetracks around the world.

More details at Radical Motorsport.

Lexus LFA Nürburgring Package

If you’re looking for a car that combines great performance on the track with characterful history, the Lexus LFA Nürburgring Package from 2013 should be a serious contender. At the time of its launch it laid down one of the fastest times on the Nürburgring (a famously difficult track in Germany) of just 7:14. This white edition is numbered 482 of 500 and is only one of 64 to receive the Nürburgring Package giving it an extra 10hp, faster gear changes and upgraded bodywork.

Available at Bingo Sports World.

Mercedes-Benz AMG GT Black Series, AED 1,699,000 (approx. £370,000)

Looking at the more modern end of the automotive spectrum, the Mercedes-Benz AMG GT Black Series is an absolute powerhouse of a car. The menacing styling with eye-catching orange and black colouration is bold and characterful while beneath the bonnet lurks the monstrous 4.0L V8 Biturbo engine. That much power combined with a super lightweight carbon fibre bodywork and trim means that each press of the pedal is like stepping on a nuclear powerplant.

Available at F1 Motors.

The Little Car Company Ferrari Testa Rossa J

If you haven’t come across The Little Car Company, you’re missing out. They create the most beautiful, miniaturised versions of classic cars you have ever seen. This is the Ferrari Testa Rossa J, a 75% reproduction of the Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa capable of a brisk 80 kph (approx. 50 mph). It’s an officially licenced Ferrari product, which means it was built using the original Ferrari plans and drawings from the highest quality materials and parts.

More details at The Little Car.

Cars and watches are no stranger to one another. There are whole complications and displays developed for the wrist and devoted to racing, driving and cars in general. But those watches are just a halfway house. The truly automotive timekeepers are those that never leave the dashboard. Of course, in the long history of cars there have been a fair few dashboard timers, clocks and watches over the many decades, but not all are built equal. So, let’s take a look at the best of the best.

Breguet 1932 Bugatti Royale

Historically, most dash clocks were simple time-only models, but for sheer glamour it is hard to beat the Breguet clock created in 1932 for the Bugatti Royale. At 21ft long and weighing just over three tonnes, the Bugatti Royale was designed to be the peak of ostentation.

A total of 25 were planned, but only seven were built and a mere three sold, as the world slipped into the Great Depression. For a car designed for royalty, a clock from Breguet was the ultimate refinement. Created to fit into the centre of the steering wheel, rather than the dashboard, this clock had an eight-day power reserve and a chronograph with a digital minute counter.

Surrounding the dial was a tachometer scale that measured up to 250kph, a necessity as the 12.7 litre, eight cylinder behemoth could reach 198kph. This is in striking contrast to the Breguet clock installed in the dashboard of the 1990s Lamborghini Diablo. A silver guilloché decorated cockpit chronograph, it appears as a grating anomaly among a sea of black plastic push buttons.

Audemars Piguet Rolls-Royce La Rose Noir Droptail

Then we have the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Concept Split-Seconds Chronograph GMT Large Date for La Rose Noire Droptail. Debuting at a reported $30 million, this car steals the “most expensive new car in the world” title for itself. The watch is a 43mm diameter piece mounted in a removable holder that means it can be removed from the dashboard and worn on a strap like a conventional wristwatch.

Aesthetically, it has the signature octagonal bezel which looks fabulous mounted in the car. It reminds me a little of Iron Man’s chest mounted Arc Reactor. Although perhaps that’s just because the red and dark grey colourway designed to match the colours of La Rose Noire Droptail.

Jaeger Model FA and FAZ Clock

Say ‘dash clock’ to a vintage car enthusiast and one name springs to mind – Jaeger. There is a lot of confusion as to whether this means the owner has a Jaeger as in Jaeger-LeCoultre or not. The answer like so many things in horology is yes… and no. Edmund Jaeger was a Paris-based watchmaker at the turn of the 20th century. Like many watch companies of the time, he outsourced production to Switzerland, the majority to the firm LeCoultre.

In 1921, Jaeger and LeCoultre (but not yet Jaeger-LeCoultre) started a company in Britain making car clocks and other instruments. The most popular British Jaeger dashboard clocks were the Model FA and FAZ with Roman Numerals and optional lights, it was the lights that determined if it was an FA or FAZ. It’s difficult to track down cars that feature Jaeger instruments because they were sold to factories and dealers as optional upgrades for customers. So no specific vehicle is guaranteed to have one.

IWC 2014 Mercedes S63 AMG 4MATIC

More recently the inclusion of a prestige watchmaker’s clock in a car dash has been more about brand collaboration than technical necessity. IWC have supplied clocks to both Mercedes’ AMG collection, to match the co-branded watch, and also the S-Class Maybach. Pictured here is the 2014 Mercedes S63 AMG 4MATIC with a luxurious dark IWC in black with a central guilloche disc and a large peripheral ring featuring minute track and oversize hour markers.

IWC clocks have also featured in subsequent editions of the 63. Jumping forward to 2023, you can also find similar designs rendered in digital form thanks to Mercedes’ new electronic displays. Think of it in the same way as a smart watch can display an analogue watch face.

Bremont Jaguar XJ75 Platinum Concept Car

Bremont produced a removable dash clock/stopwatch for the Jaguar XJ75 Platinum Concept Car and the C-X75 Concept Supercar and in 2011 produced car clocks for the Queen’s fleet of Jaguars. It’s a true collaboration of famous British brands, showing the best of British. It’s almost enough to fill you with enough patriotism to wave a small flag on the next public holiday. In all seriousness, the removable stop watch for the XJ75 is gorgeous with its reverse panda colourway and bicompax chrono design.

Tag Heuer Autavia Dashboard Timer

Heuer’s dash clocks are as synonymous with motorsport as their wristwatches. Whether mounted on a clipboard or the dashboard itself, the single, double, or triple sets of clocks and chronographs have timed many a frenetic rally stage. This duo of Tag Heuer dash timers are the Hervue and Autavia. The Autavia name was originally used for dashboard timers before being discontinued and reborn as a new wristwatch range. That’s the Autavia collection as we know it today. Similar to the Jaegers above, Tag Heuer dashboard timers are upgrades you can apply to virtually any car.

Bovet Rolls-Royce Boat Tail

If Heuer are all about utility, then the best tribute to Bugatti’s original horological opulence has to be the Bovet/Rolls Royce collaboration. Reputedly produced for Jay-Z and Beyonce, this car cost a staggering $28.4 million. In a special drawer in the dash are housed two Bovet tourbillon watches, one for him and one for her.

Each double-sided timepiece can be worn as either a wrist or pocket watch, as well as being fitted into a holder in the dash to function as the car clock depending on who is choosing to drive or be driven that day. It may not be the best use of the analogue advantage over a digital display, as the eye may be tempted to linger just a little too long on such exquisite craftsmanship.

Breitling Mulliner Tourbillon Bentley Bentayga

Breitling and Bentley have enjoyed a 20 year partnership with dash clocks going into the Flying Spur, Continental GT and the Bentayga, while the typical Bentley knurling or wood detailing have found their way into the Breitling for Bentley watch collection. When it was introduced around 2015, the Breitling Mulliner Tourbillon in the Bentley Bentayga was the most expensive dashboard clock in the world.

The Mulliner features a tourbillon, diamond indexes and automatic winding. Automatic winding in a dashboard clock might seem like an odd choice unless you plan to roll your mega expensive car into a ditch regularly, but fortunately an inbuilt watch winder means you don’t need to resort to such extremes.

Vacheron Constantin Les Cabinotiers Armillary Tourbillon Rolls-Royce Amethyst Droptail

Vacheron Constantin hasn’t created a custom watch for a car in close to a hundred years, the last time being in 1928. As such, the Rolls Royce Amethyst Droptail project was immediately given to the Les Cabinotiers workshop, the masterminds behind watches like the 2015 Ref. 57260, which was the most complicated timepiece in the world at the time.

In fact, it was actually the Ref. 57260 that inspired the watchmakers to create the Les Cabinotiers Armillary Tourbillon using the Calibre 1990. A bi-retrograde movement with a complex tourbillon that resembles an armillary – a spherical device used to represent the celestial movements of the Earth, sun, moon and planets.

What was the last watch you bought?

The latest additions to my collection are some completely different watches, actually. The 5231J World Time by Patek, is in my opinion a really interesting and recognisable classic watch design. It belongs in any serious collection of Pateks. A Rolex Sky-Dweller in rose gold with the blue dial. This is one of the most interesting Watches and Wonders releases for me and it seems Rolex are really listening to the community and reading the forums, because it was one of the most requested designs in the last year for sure.

Interestingly, I also added a Bamford ‘Skater Snoopy’. So did Nico Leonard – we both got one together, so we could wear the same watch! It’s just hilarious. I am a big Snoopy fan, and to me watch collecting isn’t about wearing expensive watches – it’s about unique pieces that are different from one another. And this one just intrigued me.

Rolex Sky Dweller Ref. 336935

Do you collect anything outside of watches?

I think collecting comes from having a passion for something, and clearly my passion is my job – cars. They are always front and centre here at Brabus and something I deeply care about. One of my other passions is fashion. I love to look at what all of the brands are doing and I’ve been collecting garments for more than ten years. It’s an interesting one. Everybody collects differently.

I collect watches in a specific way, as I’m looking for interesting designs across a diverse range of brands and what really matters to me is that they’re different. I don’t want every Daytona reference; I just want ones that are different from one another, so I can wear a different watch with a different outfit. They need to be visually or mechanically different from one another. Every brand has its iconic designs, which stand for what it’s worked for. If I look at Patek, a World Time is different from a Calatrava. Different to a perpetual calendar and Celestial. Each and every one is clearly identifiable and outstanding, so I’d be collecting one of each of those before I was collecting four references of perpetual calendars. Same for AP, Vacheron, Moser, all of the brands.

What’s at the top of your wishlist?

There are a few watches at the top of my wishlist, which is constantly there and updated from time to time. For now though, the skeleton version of the Vacheron Overseas in rose gold. It’s a magnificent watch, a highlight of Watches and Wonders 22. The 39mm skeletonised AP Royal Oak in rose gold too. A Patek Philippe Celestial – a watch like no other. And for independent route, there are some watches from Ressence that I have an eye on.

What is a recent find or discovery?

I bought the Studio Underd0g Watermel0n – a recent and quirky find. Not an expensive watch at all, and not one that attracted my attention because it was mechanically proficient – it has a Chinese movement – but I like what the designer is doing. He’s getting the designs and colour palette from food and I love that, because I too am looking for new inspiration in many places. It was so out of the box and new for the industry, that I actually went to eBay to secure one, as it sold out! Like I said, it’s about the passion for collecting for me, not the price. I read up on the brand, loved the designer’s story, and won it in the eBay auction.

Studio Underd0g Watermel0n

What inspires you?

My job as the owner and CEO of Brabus is to permanently infuse our brand with energy and new ideas. For this I have to get out of my comfort zone; travel, meet interesting people and immerse myself in inspiration. I’m a big fan of design and fashion, and of architecture – I keep looking at these areas of life constantly to get inspired and to analyse how brands and designers in these spaces do business.

‘My role is to be out there in the world connecting people and ideas to Brabus and look for things I can take back to HQ. This could be cultural things like trends, or technical things like how a brand builds a product portfolio, or does meetings, or delivers shows and events. I’m fascinated with retail spaces and I’m always taking pictures because there is so much to develop and discover. A large part of my brand’s development is our team out in the world looking, thinking, dreaming, like I do too. This is how we improve.

What is a book, podcast or album that changed the way you think?

I am a big fan of music and of audio books. One book I love is Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink, because it talks about the characteristics of ownership from the perspective of two Navy Seals who work in extreme environments, and much of this translates to my role here at Brabus. Essentialism by Greg McKeown, which teaches you how to focus on the right things and leave behind the clutter. I also loved Factfullness by Hans Rowling, which describes why the world is a much better place than people think it is, through the intelligent interpretation of statistics. I am a big fan of the approach and there are some interesting TED Talks by the author too.

Who is a celebrity of person of note that you admire?

You asked about music in the last question and on that note, someone I find inspiring is John Mayer. I like to listen to him, but interestingly there’s a connection to the watch world because he is of course a big collector, although I was a fan of his long before this. Apart from that, there are a lot of people who inspire me, but I’m not one to look at celebrities for inspiration. It can come from a lot of other places and people. I don’t have many idols but generally, inspiration for me comes from my own circle of friends, family and colleagues.

What is your ideal long weekend?

My ideal long weekend looks pretty much the same every week. I work very long hours during the week so Saturday is my recovery day. You’ll find me sleeping in, recharging with no alarm clock, and doing very little…not many appointments, just on the couch reading or watching videos. Getting in touch with people and maybe going out for dinner. Then normally on Sundays it’s a family and friends day, again with some good food. But my job is super challenging and I put a lot of energy into this, so weekends are for recovery.

What would we always find in your fridge?

Boring answer, sorry. You’ll always find a lot of fruit and vegetables. Salads and healthy things, because I don’t give myself the chance to mess up when I am at home. My job means I take a lot of dinners out, so I refuse entry to anything ‘bad’ that I know I’m going to eat in my home. My favourite snack is a big plate of nuts that I have in the kitchen at all times – maybe that’s why sometimes I’m a little nuts!

What is a rule or mantra that you live by?

A mantra that has come up in several interviews, without me thinking about it is ‘one face to life’. I was at a talk in Munich during a trade show and the moderator on stage asked me how I was privately. I thought about it and I just said “I don’t know what you’re asking…I’m here, this is me”. This sparked the conversation about if you’re different as a business person as you are privately. Yes, I have to wear many hats and behave according to different roles…CEO, owner, brother, boyfriend, we all have many roles.

But as the owner of a family business, I think you can only represent both the family and the business if you have a strong foundation as a personality and are authentic as a person – I know authentic is a difficult word, but it’s why this phrase ‘one face to life’ exists and has come up so many times. I don’t believe in behaving differently in different settings because I think my family, friends and colleagues want to talk to the same person, and that’s a responsibility I have.

What does the year ahead look like for you?

I became the CEO in 2018 after the sudden passing of my father, and when I look back at these five years, it’s amazing and unbelievable how much traction and speed we have picked up during that time – new products like our ‘Rocket’ series, new sectors like marine with our Brabus boats, and on two-wheels; our bike collaborations with KTM. It’s bought speed into our business. You can feel this innovation and speed as you walk through our HQ. There is a certain urge to develop and lots going on at once – it’s thrilling.

2023 has been a year in which a lot of new things happened, like the Brabus Rocket R based on the 911 Turbo S, and a huge investment in something we tried on a small scale back in 22 – our Signature night event – this year becoming a real milestone for our business, presenting products in a way that nobody has in our industry before either, thanks to our amazing community of collectors, customers and media. We had some real positive feedback and the event is doing wild things for our business which we honestly didn’t expect. Something that was born out of the need to reorganise after COVID has become the North Star of our calendar now and we are already planning for 2024’s event, and 2024’s new products. We are developing so fast as a brand and I can’t wait to see what we’re going to do next.

More details at Brabus.

If you’re going to commission a custom Rolls-Royce with their world class coachbuilding department, you’re not going to cut corners, just ask Alex Innes, head of coachbuilding at Rolls-Royce. Every detail has to be perfect and when it comes to dashboard clocks, clients often commission some of the finest watchmakers in the world for bespoke timepieces, two new examples of which have recently been announced. There’s the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Concept Split-Seconds Chronograph GMT Large Date for La Rose Noire Droptail and the Vacheron Constantin Les Cabinotiers Armillary Tourbillon for Rolls-Royce Amethyst Droptail.

This isn’t the first time that Rolls has worked alongside a high end watchmaker in recent history. Back in 2021 they produced the Boat Tail, which at the time was the most expensive new car in the world for good reason. It not only came with champagne but also not one but two Bovet timepieces and ultimately it transpired that the owner of this car is Jay-Z.

What about the new watches and cars though? Well, let’s take a look. First, we have the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Concept Split-Seconds Chronograph GMT Large Date for La Rose Noire Droptail. Debuting at a reported $30 million, this car steals the “most expensive new car in the world” title for itself. The watch is a 43mm diameter piece mounted in a removable holder that means it can be removed from the dashboard and worn on a strap like a conventional wristwatch.

Aesthetically, it has the signature octagonal bezel which looks fabulous mounted in the car. It reminds me a little of Iron Man’s chest mounted Arc Reactor. Although perhaps that’s just because the red and dark grey colourway designed to match the colours of La Rose Noire Droptail looks like the Mark V Iron Man suit from the second film. I can also easily imagine Tony Stark driving the car, which looks awesome too.

The watch is powered by the Calibre 4407, a movement new to 2023. It features a split-seconds chronograph function, a GMT and a large date, beating at 28,880 vph with a 70-hour power reserve. It’s as serious of an engine as its petrol counterpart, which is a twin-turbo 6.75L V12.

Next we come to the second Droptail out of the four that have been commissioned: the Amethyst Droptail. While La Rose Noirse features a rose petal pattern across its design, the Amethyst is a little more conventional in a consistent purple shade. Completing the vehicle is the dashboard clock/removable watch, which is the Vacheron Constantin Les Cabinotiers Armillary Tourbillon.

Vacheron Constantin hasn’t created a custom watch for a car in close to a hundred years, the last time being in 1928. As such, the project was immediately given to the Les Cabinotiers workshop, the masterminds behind watches like the 2015 Ref. 57260, which was the most complicated timepiece in the world at the time. In fact, it was actually the Ref. 57260 that inspired the watchmakers to create the Les Cabinotiers Armillary Tourbillon using the Calibre 1990. A bi-retrograde movement with a complex tourbillon that resembles an armillary – a spherical device used to represent the celestial movements of the Earth, sun, moon and planets.

Interestingly, because the watch is designed to be set into the dashboard vertically, where it will spend most of its time, the tourbillion is actually fulfilling its intended purpose. On most wristwatches tourbillons are somewhat irrelevant because the swinging motion of your arm and general use fulfils the same job. But in a static vertical position, a tourbillon does indeed offset the effects of gravity on the movement.

The styling has been kept relatively simple. It has a 43.8mm diameter in stainless steel with a 12 o’clock crown making it a pocket watch rather than a wristwatch. The display itself is more complex with a peripheral minutes scale and central skeletonised window revealing the calibre below. The plate of the movement is purple in colour to match the car.

Which of these custom watches is your favourite? My bias leans in favour of the Royal Oak Concept simply because I like the more daring pattern of the rose petals. However, between an RO and a Les Cabinotiers special piece, the Vacheron Constantin feels rarer and more special.

More details at Rolls Royce.

The Little Car Company has built an amazing reputation over the years by handcrafting detailed, scaled-down reproductions of iconic classic cars. Their latest launch, this new junior version of the Bentley Blower racecar, might be their most perfect release to date. The Bentley Blower is one of the most legendary racers ever built, a gargantuan beast of a machine, it’s a roaring racing giant, both figuratively and literally. It cemented its place in history not only by sheer weight of metal but also by placing 2nd in the 1930 French Grand Prix at Pau race against a field full of Bugattis. It was enough for Ettore Bugatti himself to state quite plainly: Mr Bentley – he builds fast trucks.

Fast forward to today and the legendary Blower, specifically Team Car No. 2, has a fittingly legendary price tag of £25 million. It’s a regular at concourses around the world where even there it’s a sight to behold – and hear, when it inevitably gets revved up. So what about the new Bentley Blower Jnr?

The Little Car Company is a bit of a marvel. The thought of downsizing some of the most famous classic cars in history into little electric runabouts is inspired, especially once you’ve managed to get behind the wheel of one. They’re pure joy – although rarely practical. With the Blower Jnr, they’re hoping to change that.

The new car is an aesthetically perfect 85% scale take on the Blower proper, which means that it’s not actually that small. Indeed, even downsized, it’s still larger than the real life Bugattis of 1930, measuring around 4m long. From a distance you might just think it’s being driven by a particularly tall owner, but for one thing: the noise.

Rather than replicating the earth-shaking supercharged 4 ½ litre engine, the Blower Jnr is fully electric. That means you have the soft hum of a battery-powered motor, rather than a deafening roar – less visceral but a good deal better for your eardrums and your neighbours. Especially as the Blower Jnr has been created as the perfect pub car.

With its open top and elegant coach built silhouette, there’s nothing like seeing the Blower Jnr sedately cruising down a country road. And unlike previous offerings from the Little Car Company, it is indeed road legal. Except, that is, on motorways. Not that you’d particularly want to take it on those sorts of roads anyway – with its 45mph top speed and 65-mile range, you won’t be taking it across the country.

But then, how often do you drive fast or far enough for that to matter? On a daily basis, most of us drive a few miles down the road at most, whether that’s to work, to the pub or to the shops. And it’s worth noting that because the Blower Jnr’s electric motor takes up far less space than the original’s engine, that huge silhouette is mostly capacious storage space. The Supercharger on the other hand does remain… except that now it’s been converted into the actual charger.

You can expect those kinds of inspired touches across the board, too. The Little Car Company has a policy not to create anything fake, to adapt what they can and ditch what they can’t. It’s why the entire dashboard has been converted to actual useful information for the electric power and why there’s no exhaust. In fact, the only Little Car Company release with a fake exhaust is their James Bond Aston Martin – because it’s the 007 smoke machine.

It’s worth noting that all of these changes are fully endorsed by Bentley themselves. In fact, the Blower Jnr was created using their own blueprints and photos of the vintage Blower for reference, making it perfectly to scale in every dimension. That close collaboration also means that you can get the Blower Jnr finished in any colour and interior finishes that Bentley themselves use for their own custom cars. Want to match it to your GT? Go for it. Or you could go a step further and opt for something you won’t find on a classic Bentley – full carbon fibre for example. Who says that you need to keep things vintage?

The bottom line is that the junior Blower has been conceived and built not just as a downsized take on a legendary car. From the practicality of the electric engine to the finely-tuned steering and suspension (tuned in fact by the Little Car Company’s consulting F1 driver), it’s a car that celebrates the sheer joy of driving. Not bad for the first ever Bentley to be built outside of Crewe.

Nighty nine first edition cars will be built colour-matched to the original racing Bentley Blower, complete with unique details. Prices start from £90,000.

More details at The Little Car Company.

As Lamborghini celebrates its 60th anniversary in 2023, so it finds itself at a crossroads. The glory days of pure internal combustion recede in the rear-view mirror, its first full electric vehicle is due by 2029 at the latest, and the new Revuelto supercar launches this year, bridging the chasm between two very different worlds. During a 60th get-together at Silverstone, Oracle Time recently met with Lamborghini design boss Mitja Borkert to ask how 60 years of history feed into this striking new design.

The Revuelto is old school Lamborghini with a sustainable twist. Like its Aventador predecessor, the newcomer is the halo on a three-car range and places a 6.5-litre V12 engine behind the passenger compartment. Once again it sends drive to all four wheels, seats only two, and suggests you pack lightly for that long weekend away. The twist is a new plug-in hybrid system that includes a small lithium-ion battery, a single electric motor at the back, and two more to individually drive each front wheel.

Lamborghini Revuelto

Power is the biggest draw. It’s boosted to 1,001bhp – over 20% more than the most potent Aventador – and the 0-62mph dash is dusted in 2.5 seconds, yet this carbon fibre supercar can drive for short periods on nothing but electricity alone, officially cutting CO2 emissions by 30% versus an Aventador.

Borkert’s task is to ‘package’ all this hardware, not just creating enough space for it but to fulfil cooling and aerodynamic requirements. It can’t overheat, it has to stay firmly in touch with the ground at its 219mph-plus top speed… tricky stuff with so much performance. Creating extra space for two passengers was another must – Revuelto passengers enjoy 26mm more headroom and 84mm more legroom than an Aventador.

Mitja Borkert sketching the Revuelto

White, middle-aged, male, well educated… Borkert is in many ways the stereotypical Western car designer, but his background is less conventional. “I was born in East Germany in 1974, which today seems 100 years ago,” he grins. “I was since a little baby interested in cars but I didn’t have access to Western magazines, and when my brother got me Hungarian car magazines, I created my own car catalogues by cutting them out. But honestly about Lamborghini I didn’t know so much. My love for the brand was manifested more around the early 2000s – the Reventon, Sesto Elemento and Estoque (concept cars).”

Borkert graduated from a design course at the University of Pforzheim in the late 1990s and was working at sister brand Porsche when he was approached for the Lamborghini top job in 2016. He quickly began “sketching, Photoshopping, getting all my ideas together” as well as re-familiarizing himself with Lamborghini’s back catalogue. There was a lot to take in.

Lamborghini 350GT

When industrialist and entrepreneur Ferruccio Lamborghini founded his eponymous company in 1963, he set out his stall with the 350GT – a luxurious front-engined, two-plus-two seater that today seems more redolent of Maseratis and Aston Martins than Lamborghinis.

The 1966 Miura led the way to the modern ‘super sports car’ era with a mid-engined V12 layout long before Ferrari made the switch from front engines, but it was Marcello Gandini’s Countach that set the design template. Initially a minimalist wedge on its launch in 1974, later covered in wings and bulges during its 1980s pomp, the Countach still informs Borkert’s work to this day (in fact, he recently created a modern homage based on the Aventador that Lamborghini offered in extremely limited numbers). He grabs a sketch book to demonstrate.

Lamborghini Countach

“The starting point of Lamborghini is our design DNA, and the design DNA is like a very tasteful Italian pasta of two ingredients. The first is the Lamborghini silhouette,” he says, sketching a line that arcs flat and low like a stone skimmed perfectly over water. “When I joined Lamborghini in 2016, my son was two years old, I was working and he came to my desk and said ‘papa Lamborghini’”. This is the point, it should be easy for everyone to immediately understand.

“Then in the front and rear view, we have always this inclined side window and a very flat greenhouse [the glass area], and these massive shoulders – almost looking like a spaceship from the rear.”

This, however, is simply the starting point, the next step is to identify each car’s purpose. Borkert expands: “Is it a track car that needs wings to generate aerodynamic downforce, or do we want to make an elegant, very puristic car like a Countach? The Revuelto is somewhere in between because it is integrating all the aerodynamics.” (ie the spoilers deploy when needed).

Lamborghini Revuelto

Other familiar Lamborghini touchpoints that recur in the Revuelto include scissor doors, side windows that dip low like a plunging neckline and flat surfacing clearly modelled on stealth fighter jets. Inspiration from the Diablo and Murcielago – the post-Countach V12 bloodline – also goes into the melting pot. The Y-shaped graphic that recurs throughout makes for a key differentiator. “We were developing this kind of floating hood and I like motorcycles, so I took inspiration with these headlights that are kind of hidden in a hole,” says the 49-year-old.

The Y graphic repeats for the taillights, alloy wheels and interior, but perhaps most striking is the huge Y-shaped air intake behind each door, which creates a boundary line between interior and engine. It provides the Revuelto with – in Borkert’s words – a “maximum mid-engined look”, as all the volume at the back tapers to an arrowy tip ahead of the driver.

Revealing Revuelto to the crowd at Silverstone is the end of a journey that began way back in 2016 and took in an incredible 17 third-scale models – the most in Lamborghini history, but necessary so that Borkert “could look in the mirror and know we were assessing every idea – this project is so, so important”. Sold out until well into 2025, the Revuelto seems to have gone down well. What comes next is arguably the bigger challenge.’

Lamborghini Terzo MIllennio Concept Car

Lamborghini’s design language is inseparable from the exotic mechanical ingredients it shrouds like a superhero cap, so how does its design boss prepare for an electric era when such components are surplus to requirements?

“It would be a disaster to jeopardise our DNA whatever engine or powertrain is inside,” comes the assured answer. “Today of course we have a big engine and big exhaust system and in future they won’t exist, but maybe I can use these spaces for the battery, or for smart aerodynamics. We have this gift of a design that looks like a spaceship silhouette, it’s crucial to keep that, but I can play with the silhouette and create so many different characters for cars. We have ideas for the next 50 years for sure.”

The Terzo Millennio electric supercar concept gives a taste of how that might play out, but the zero-emissions era represents a huge leap for Lamborghini, never mind the East German kid who grew up cutting out cars from magazines.

More details at Lamborghini.

1962 Jaguar E-Type, Estimate £250,000

One of the most iconic cars in British history, the E-Type is a genuine piece of motoring heritage worth owning, if you ever get the opportunity. This 1962 version is a 3.8 litre coupé being sold at the Silverstone Festival Auction this August. It has full FIA/HTP papers, meaning that it can compete in events straight away, giving you the perfect reason to get out on track and enjoy the racing season.

More details at Silverstone Auctions.

The Little Car Company Bugatti Baby II

Bugatti turns 110 this year and to celebrate, The Little Car Company – makers of some of the best toys for petrolheads ever conceived – have worked with Bugatti to develop the Baby II, a 75% scale, fully-electric reincarnation of the iconic Bugatti Type 35. Impeccably hand-built on a made-to-order basis (meaning plenty of customisation options), it’s a strictly limited edition of 500 cars worldwide. Yes, it’s a toy, but it’s one that can still hit top speeds of 42mph with multiple driving models, so you might want to keep an eye out if you let your kids take it out for a spin around the garden.

To discover more, contact sales@thelittlecar.co

Pullman Editions 1955 Monaco Grand Prix Poster, from £420

Pullman Editions’ vintage style posters recapture the glamour and suspense of a bygone era, and in no poster is that more evident than this ode to the Monaco Grand Prix. Racers tearing past the legendary Hotel Monte Carlo with a view of the Côte d’Azur in the background, it’s part travel inspiration and part nostalgic flashback to the early days of motor racing. Either way it’s the perfect gift for any classic petrolhead.

More details at Pullman Editions.

McLaren 765LT V8, £379,995

There’s nothing sexier than an orange McLaren and in its signature Elite Paint Ember Orange colour, this McLaren 765LT V8 is one of the most stunning modern hyper- cars around. It’s inspired by the legendary McLaren F1 GTR Longtail – a car that is itself worth about $20 million. Its modern counterpart doesn’t have quite such a big price tag, although it’s still an impressive £379,995. It’s powered by a 4.0 litre twin- turbo V8 with a top speed of 205mph.

More details at Amari Supercars.

1939 Talbot Lago T120

The Talbot Lago T120 is the kind of car that can’t help but put a smile on your face when you see it dashing around a country lane or taking part in vintage sports-car championships. This is one of only two T120s created, designed as a replica of the formidable T150 Tourist Trophy Sports, making it exceptionally rare. This car has a well-documented history dating back all the way to 1939 when it was gifted as payment to a racing driver, since then it has gone on to become a successful racing car in its own right, competing in endurance rallies and road tours.

More details at Tom Hardman.

Outside of the F1 circuit, probably the most famous motorsport race in the world is the 24 Hour of Le Mans. It’s a gruelling endurance race that has been taking place in north-west France since 1923, making this past weekend’s event the landmark 100th anniversary of the competition. As the official timing partner of the race since 2001, Rolex have created a pair of Le Mans Daytonas. One of the special editions was gifted the winning drivers while the Le Mans Daytona Ref. 126529LN is available for purchase.

Let’s focus in on those winner’s watches. Rolex haven’t given an exact reference number for them but all signs point towards them being based on the current Oystersteel edition Daytona that was launched earlier this year. Specifically, the one featuring a 40mm Oystersteel case with matching bracelet, a black cerachrom bezel and a black tricompax chronograph dial.

Of course, what makes the prize models special is the Le Mans engraving on the caseback. It reads “Winners 2023 – 100 Years – 24h Le Mans” featuring the race’s logo surrounded by the victor’s laurel. It makes the watches incredibly special for their new owners, who include the Ferrari car 51 that crossed the line first. Perhaps cynically, the watches will also do amazingly when/if they show up at auction in about 20 years’ time.

The Daytona has a long history of being associated with motorsport. For one, it’s named after the iconic Daytona race and for two, it was the favoured watch of legendary actor and racing driver Paul Newman. That’s the kind of pedigree that Rolex are keen to preserve, which is why they want the watch to be associated with such a substantial motorsport landmark as the Le Mans centenary.

Rolex Daytona Le Mans Ref. 126529LN

As a concept, the winner’s watches are really cool. However, what about the collectors who want the opportunity to show their passion for one of the greatest races in history with their wristwatch. Well, while the race was underway, Rolex announced an additional special edition would be released for sale, the Le Mans Daytona Ref. 126529LN.

Structurally the Ref. 126539LN is more or less identical to the winner’s edition with a 40mm white gold case. It’s also aesthetically similar but there are some notable differences. In particular, it’s styled after the iconic Paul Newman reference with an exotic dial. It’s a reverse panda colourway featuring a black base and white subdials.

There are also a handful of Le Mans specific references to be found across the piece. The black cerachrom tachymeter bezel has a red 100 in honour of the centenary and instead of a 12-hour chronograph timer it has a 24-hour subdial. They’re subtle enough that the piece retains its Newman style while being the kind of details that Rolex forums and watch spotting sites will adore to pour over.

Naturally, since the complications have been slightly updated from the standard Daytona with the adoption of a 24-hour timer, the movement housed inside has had to change too. It’s a variant of the familiar 4131 called the Calibre 4132. It has a precision of +/- 2 seconds per day with superlative chronometer status and a power reserve of 72-hours. What’s more, the movement itself is actually visible through a sapphire caseback, making it the second Daytona to have an exhibition back after the release of Ref. 126506.

 As for pricing, its £43,300 making it the second most expensive Daytona launched in 2023. The only Daytona with a higher price is the aforementioned Ref. 126506 with platinum case. It kind of makes sense considering the mechanical alterations and fresh caseback, but it’s still a high price tag. If you look past the cost, it’s a fitting tribute to the race and a fabulous collector’s piece at the same time.

Bentley 1924 3 Litre VDP Red Label, Price on Request

This is a Bentley 3 Litre Red Label on offer from Tom Hardman on a 1924 chassis 665. The car is offered in great condition with full provenance including an extensive history of previous owners, as well as a comprehensive list of repairs and alterations. Over the course of its existence, it has competed in numerous classic car events and races and is in suitable rally condition. Tom Hardman is a vintage car specialist operating out of Ribble Valley in Lancashire but with clientele and satisfied customers around the world.

More details at at Tom Hardman.

Gunther Werks GW9 GT2 RS Evo Aero Front Spoiler, $9,295 (approx. £7,500)

Gunther Werks have built a reputation for themselves as one of the foremost experts in modifying Porsches. Their cars are jaw drop worthy to say the least. However, the chances of owning a custom Gunther Werks are low and so they’ve introduced the new GW9 accessories line to broaden their audience. The GW9 GT2 RS EVO AERO Front Spoiler is but one part of a carbon accessories body kit that they now produce for the Porsche 991.2 911 GT2RS.

More details at Gunther Werks.

1949 Triumph Roadster 2000, £24,000

This 1949 Triumph Roadster 2000 was fully restored in the 1990s and has just 4000 miles on the clock since then, ensuring it has maintained good condition. The maroon bodywork is gloriously rich and combines with the light brown interior really well. Its previous owners reportedly kept it in Cornwall where it was perfect for sunny excursions to the beach.

More details at Car and Classic.

1939 Talbot Lago T120

The Talbot Lago T120 is the kind of car that can’t help but put a smile on your face when you see it dashing around a country lane or taking part in vintage sports-car championships. This is one of only two T120s created, designed as a replica of the formidable T150 Tourist Trophy Sports, making it exceptionally rare. This car has a well-documented history dating back all the way to 1939 when it was gifted as payment to a racing driver, since then it has gone on to become a successful racing car in its own right, competing in endurance rallies and road tours.

More details at Tom Hardman.

1972 Ferrari 365 GTB/4, £599,995

The Ferrari 365 GTB/4 has a nickname that many watch fans will be familiar with because it shares it with one of the most iconic Rolexes in history, the Daytona. That’s because this model of Ferrari helped secure the brand secure an historic one-two-three finish at the 24-hours of Daytona. This specific example is a 1972 model with less than 20k mileage and presented in signature Ferrari red. Its sweeping bodywork is absolutely flawless and beneath the bonnet is a fiery 4.4-litre V12 that made the Daytona the fastest production car in the world at the time, reaching a top speed of 174mph.

More details at Amari Supercars.

I recently went on a road-trip across west Ireland’s wild Atlantic coastline in a cheap, nondescript hire car. The experience, while ruggedly beautiful, made me promise that the next time I had the chance to go on a coastal road trip it would be in something a little more suitable. That opportunity came sooner than I expected. Fast forward three months and I find myself in Northern Ireland road testing the new Ferrari Roma 2022, and here’s my review.

The car in question is a Bianco Italia white Ferrari Roma that’s decked out with all the trimmings you’d expect from a press car. Those extras take the car from the stock price of £172,690 up to £234,000, although if you can find those funds, getting one is another matter. Ferrari has been suffering (if you can say that) from the same issue as (some) high value watches in 2022, in the sense that thanks to supply chain problems the second-hand/grey market value is higher than the retail price.

First impressions of the new Roma 2022 as it sits on the driveway at the historic Culloden hotel are good, very good. It’s much better looking in person than in pictures. It’s low, wide and more aggressively styled than the Portofino it’s based on and reminds me of the Alfa Romeo Disco Volante or new Aston Martin Vantage, while at the same time being incomparable thanks to its Ferrari-ness. No other manufacturer can pull of this sort of effortless elegance on a consistent basis. The rear in particular has a unique style that’s unquestionably lovely, with the quad exhausts and distinctive lights providing a horizontal symmetry that’s immensely pleasing.

Inside the Nero leather cockpit, the car feels reassuringly expensive and Italian, as one would hope. The driving position is comfortable, even on longer drives and the steering wheel, with its numerous buttons and switches, invites you to take hold and get down to the business of driving. Elsewhere, the interior features all sorts of high definition lights, screens, buttons and controls that make this car feel firmly in the future.

There’s a wireless charger in the centre console and while there’s no dashboard in a traditional sense, in its place is a 16inch digital screen, which is controlled via a haptic touchpad on the right hand spoke of the steering wheel. The centre console also controls Ferrari’s ‘infotainment’ system with navigation, media, apple play and everything else you could need. This is the first time a Ferrari has had a user experience this mature and intuitive.

To start the engine, simply tap the touch sensitive ‘Engine Start’ button on the centre of the wheel. Immediately the visceral sound of the engine kicks in. Without sounding too much like a press release, it’s the perfect fusion of modernity and tradition.

The engine is Ferrari’s 3.9-litre V8. Which, when paired with the eight-speed dual-clutch gearbox, kicks out 620BHP, propelling the Roma from 0-62mph in 3.9 seconds with a top speed of 198.8mph. That 0.8 matters. It’s a glorious thing and gives you a serious amount of kick regardless of which gear you’re in. Plus, the deliciously raspy note of the engine is intoxicating. I hit peak aural excitement flying around some twisty B roads in second and third gear.

In terms of driving experience, the Roma is a GT that drives like a sports car. It’s 100kg lighter than the Portofino, meaning around the pristine tarmac of Antrim it’s nimble, planted and attacks the apex of corners with zeal. Upon exit in ‘race’ setting the rear wheel drive, front-mid mounted car gives you enough slide to feel like you’re the one in control.

Despite all this, the boot space is ample and it even has foldable rear seats (an extra) and the ride is supremely comfortable thanks to the ‘bumpy road’ dual suspension mode (also an extra). There are five driving modes to choose from in total, selected by what is perhaps the coolest thing on the car: a red anodised aluminium Manettino switch on the steering wheel.

It’s impressive that with a flick of a switch the car transforms from daily driver to something more menacing. There are few cars versatile enough to be both practical and absolutely mental in equal measure.

I confess, when I saw the launch of the Roma 2022 online, I wasn’t blown away. But now I realise that’s because it’s refined good looks didn’t translate well across digital medium. Plus, a static image can never give the experience of living with a car. In the Roma, it feels like Ferrari’s V8 entry level model has really hit its stride.

More details at Ferrari.

Any supercar worthy of the name will crack 200mph these days – but 44 years ago the ‘double ton’ existed only in a realm of performance inhabited by the quickest of purpose-built racers. In 1978, for example, Ferrari unveiled its V12-engined 512 BB with a top speed of 188mph, making it far and away the fastest street-legal car on the market (although an independent test by Autocar revealed that 163mph was nearer the truth…..)

So, to say Aston Martin was ambitious in planning to create a road car that was genuinely capable of hitting 200mph in the same year is an understatement, especially since inflation was running at almost 10% and fuel prices were so high that even the wealthy thought twice about buying a gas-guzzler. But that didn’t deter the British marque’s then managing director Alan Curtis, who had a plan to return Tickford (the coach building company acquired by Aston in 1955) to its original role as an engineering subsidiary capable of providing specialist services to other vehicle makers

And what better way to demonstrate its abilities than to build the quickest, most radical-looking car on the market? The project was code-named DPK901 – and quickly shortened in-house to K9, a name that was on every sci-fi fan’s lips thanks to the robotic dog that had debuted the previous year in the hit TV series Dr. Who. Officially, however, the car was dubbed ‘Bulldog’ by Curtis after the Scottish Aviation Bulldog two-seater training plane in which he travelled the country on business.

But Curtis didn’t need to look far to find a designer to pen the lines of the ambitious new creation. That would be the eccentric William Towns, creator of the AMV8 (the successor to the DB6) as well as the extraordinary, wedge-shaped Lagonda that had taken Aston Martin into the luxury saloon market in 1976.

Measuring 15 and a half feet long and powered by Aston’s trusty 5.3 litre V8 engine, its head-turning looks and lavish appointments made it exactly the sort of car beloved of the Middle Eastern oil sheiks who (thanks to those soaring fuel prices) were about the only people who could actually afford to run one.

Towns left Aston Martin after creating the Lagonda in order to chance his arm as a freelance designer, and on that basis he was asked back to render Bulldog – the initial construction of which was so secret that it took place in the private workshop of one of the firm’s metal fabricators under the supervision of Aston’s head of engineering, Mike Loasby.

What the pair were essentially tasked to do was make a low-flying, two-door, hyper-sports version of the Lagonda with a wedge-shaped front, a vast windscreen, a length of 15-and-a-half feet and a height of just 43 inches. But the project stalled after Loasby quit Aston Martin to join the fledgling DeLorean company, leaving the job of finishing Bulldog to his former colleague Keith Martin, who got a dedicated space back at ‘the works’ and a team comprising two sheet metal workers, two fitters and two others who ‘did a bit of everything’.

To ensure Bulldog would crack the magic and elusive 200mph, it was decided to again use the 5.3 litre V8, but this time mid-mounted and with the addition of twin Garrett AiResearch turbochargers. The result: an estimated SEVEN HUNDRED horsepower. In a road car. In 1978…..In just eight months the hand-built car was ready for a shakedown run at the famous Millbrook proving ground, where the aptly-named Martin effortlessly cracked 135mph within a few laps, only slowing down when Bulldog’s temporary front panel was ripped-off by the wind pressure.

The car was officially ‘launched’ to the international motoring press in March 1980, after which further testing helped it reach 172mph at the Motor Industry Research Association (MIRA) test track where. Then in May of the following year, it came tantalisingly close to its goal with a verified speed of 191mph. But then Aston Martin was sold, Curtis left and his replacement – the shrewd and ebullient Victor Gauntlett – decided it would be prudent to end development of Bulldog and to sell it in order to raise funds to prop-up the firm’s precarious finances.

A Saudi prince soon came forward with the necessary £130,000 (which he handed over in the form of traveller’s cheques) and duly headed-off towards London – blissfully free of the road tax, number plates and insurance required by UK law. But within days, Bulldog was returned with a blown engine and wrecked gearbox. His highness had, apparently, shifted from top gear down to second at a somewhat illegal speed, trashing the carefully-built, twin-turbo motor in the process.

After being rebuilt, the Prince exported the unique machine to America where he kept it among a collection of other supercars, occasionally using it for high-speed blasts and drag races on closed roads in the Arizona desert. Bulldog then spent decades out of the public eye before first re-appearing at the 2009 Goodwood Festival of Speed, having been quietly acquired by a Far-East-based collector. It then disappeared again until 2013 when it drove through central London as a key element of Aston Martin’s centenary celebrations, six years after it was bought in an under-the-radar deal by American collector Phillip Sarofim.

Sarofim, a wealthy entrepreneur who owns both the futuristic Lancia Stratos Zero and the Meyers Manx beach buggy brand, immediately entrusted the by then sorry-looking Bulldog to top UK restoration firm CMC in Shropshire for a full and comprehensive rebuild.

All that now remains is for this unique example of 1970s automobile excess to finally broach that magical 200mph barrier – something that it is set to do later this summer with none other than long-standing Aston Martin Racing endurance driver Darren Turner at the wheel.

One thing’s for sure – we can’t wait to hear it bark in anger….

All images in this article were taken by photographer Amy Shore. For more of her work, you can visit her website at Amy Shore Photography or follow her on Instagram at @amyshorephotography.

Vesaro VR Stage 2, £18,852

Track days are fully booked for the foreseeable so if you want to get your laps around Silverstone in, you’ll need to look elsewhere. The plus though is that with Vesaro’s incredibly realistic VR set-up, you can schedule in your track day whenever you want, as many times as you want. Offering 2Gs of force across three axes and unsurpassed VR vision courtesy of the latest Oculus Rift, you’ll feel every skid and turn as if you’re there. It’s also plug and play, so you can get revving straight out of the box.

Available at Vesaro.

Alfa Romeo 4C Downhill Skateboard, £1,041

The makers of some of the most beautiful Italian cars in history have apparently gone street. This lowered longboard makes use of the marque’s obsession with carbon fibre and while it might not boast an engine of any degree, it’s still made in Italy. Oh, and if you were worried about your new Alfa Romeo board breaking down, rest assured that it’s been tested by world downhill champion Luca Gianmarco.

Available at Alfa Accessories.

Berlinetta Films, Prices Start From £2,500

If you already have your pride and joy completely restored to its original, beautiful condition, you might want to record the feat for posterity. Enter Berlinetta Films, a British-based specialist in four- and two-wheeled filmography. They’ll guide you through the entire experience to get the most out of your time and, of course, your car, whether that’s sedate long shots and sweeping vistas or some dirty, rugged off-roading. If you’re a classic rally regular, this is a must. What better way to show off your motor than giving it a starring role?

Available at Berlinetta Films.

Pullman Editions Porsche 2.7 Carrera RS Lech, £420

Bringing a slice of Art Deco nostalgia to the automotive world, Pullman Editions have leveraged their unique style to produce this magnificent apres ski scene centred around a trio of Porsche Carreras. Created by artist Charles Avalon, the poster is a snowy ode to what many consider the greatest 911 of all time. At the very least, this chic winter scene is a world away from the usual car posters we’ve come across. Even if you weren’t a petrolhead, it’s a stunner.

Available at Pullman Editions.

Bond Cars: The Definitive History, £50

From a submersible Lotus Esprit S1 to the undying classic that is the minigun-equipped DB5, Bond has a special place in automotive history. Even when the cars aren’t going invisible, the 007 franchise has committed some of the most iconic motors ever built to the silver screen – and this definitive coffee table book will take you through them all, with everything from call sheets to interviews to illustrate why and how the cars maketh the man.

Available at Amazon.