Oliver Smith

Automotive

Concours of Elegance

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As the sun rose on Saturday the 7t​h​ of September after an up and down year in the classic car world I was interested to see what the turnout and appetite would be for prestigious events such as the Concours of Elegance at Hampton Court Palace. For the uninitiated; these events consist of horribly wealthy older gentlemen with Panama hats and considerably younger partners. There appears to be an unspoken and unofficial competition each year for depth of tan, size of wristwatch and age gap betwixt partners. I quietly judged this year’s winner to be an American fellow in his eighties who was a deeply nurtured shade of mahogany whilst…

Cars

Bentley Mulsanne

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So, we’re five up and the speedometer is reading 130mph. I then hear a ‘bing’ and a message appears on the central screen. It reads: ‘Your tyre pressures are too low to safely proceed beyond this speed’. Disheartened, I lift off, feeling that discretion is the better part of valour, only to see another message appear: ‘Bing. To reach 170mph, you will need to inflate your tyres to the following pressures’. That really sums this car up. It has a can-do’attitude. Chances are, you’ve made your millions by probably not taking no for an answer. Why then, after shelling out £250,000 pounds on a motorcar, would you want it to…

Automotive, Cars

Know your Vintage

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I like to think that we’ve all been there (in truth it’s probably just my very small warped mind that’s obsessed about this, but you’re reading it, so hey-ho). Allow me to set the scene: I was having a lovely evening in polite company and someone had brought an American with them. Either as a quaint distraction or through a genuine love of all things dumbed-down. Whilst said American was grappling with a receptacle that holds less than one (US) gallon of drink and was staring at knives and forks with confusion, I found myself feeling constantly uneasy at the next topic of conversation or misnomer to be blurted out…

Automotive

Carrera 2

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At 5:30am my street is very much asleep. I jump into my 930 Turbo and off into the darkness, as I rumble towards dawn and a more modern driving experience. Sunrise comes and goes, along with the M32, M4, A420 and the M40. At 7:40am, I arrive at Silverstone and park the car, still feeling a little fuzzy from the early start. The Porsche experience centre at Silverstone is everything that you would expect from the Stuttgart manufacturer. The cylindrical building is clad in glass, with a showroom downstairs and a long sweeping parabola of stairs taking you up to a restaurant, overlooking the test track. After a much-needed cup…