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From legends to visionaries, meet the passionate, addictive personalities driving the supercar world forward.
We’ve been speaking a lot on the theme of addiciton recently. Addiction in a good sense though, being addicted to the thrill of driving, the excitement of searching for the car you’ve lusted after. So often though, when we ask members what they enjoy about being involved with Supercar Driver, or what they remember most about a particular tour, it’s almost always the people.
And that got me thinking about some of the addictive people I’ve been lucky enough to sit down with as Editor of Supercar Driver magazine. These people are addicted to their mission in their own way, and to talk to them about that mission is fascinating and infectious because of the sheer passion they speak with.
Here are some of those people, some of whom you will have heard of, some of whom you might not. I’ll give a whistlestop intro of each, and if you want to read the full interview with any of them, I’ll include a link to do so, or reference the magazine it featured in, if you prefer good old-fashioned paper in your hand.
Many of you who have dealt with DK Engineering or spent more time than you should in our WhatsApp communities will know of James Cottingham. The son of DK’s founder, David, James inherited a passion for Ferrari and racing at an early age, and has carried that passion through to a 20-plus year career with DK Engineering.
James’ car addiction is lived out in a way so many of us would dream of, selling some of the most significant cars in the world and managing top-dollar restoration projects through the week, and racing at the weekend!
Back in Issue 37, I had a chat with James about his then-new Ford GT, with a spec to match the original GT40 he races. Whilst this article was more about the car than himself, his passion for cars and his depth of knowledge on the GT40 and subsequent GTs makes for a truly absorbing read, and makes James an addictive person to talk cars with.
Read the full interview in Issue 37, Page 60.
Read the Full Interview Online
Here’s a name you might not know, but Ben is one of the most ambitious and passionate people I’ve had the pleasure of meeting, plus he’s a down-to-earth guy with a contageous smile on his face. I met Ben at this year’s Season Opener at Donington Park to talk about his mission to bring Dallara to the UK. As with so many magazine profiles, we started off with his background and his passion for cars, and it’s clear Ben is a through-and-through petrolhead, but that took a backseat for many years due to his relentless pursuit of business success.
More recently though, he has had more time to indulge in his passion, but that hasn’t stopped his addiction to spotting an opportunity and making it happen. When he found out about Dallara and got behind the wheel, he was addicted to that, too, and as quickly as he bought one for himself, he delved deep into the company and found they had never sold a car in the UK. It became his objective to change that.
My full interview with Ben was essentially two petrolheads having a chat, and everything he said, he conveyed with true belief and enthusiasm. Ben is the kind of inspiring person who, when he spots an opportunity, he grabs it with both hands.
Read the full interview in Issue 51, Page 102.
Read the Full Interview Online
Nick Cartwright is a name you Ferrari fans or members around the Peak District area will likely be familiar with. Nick is one of the most respected names in the country when it comes to Ferrari, and one sunny day last year, I had the pleasure of spending the day with him and his family at their stunning HQ.
We sat overlooking the rolling countryside, and once we started, that was that. I’ve never had to condense an interview so much to fit into the allocated pages. Get Nick going on anything Ferrari related, and off he goes with fascinating stories from years gone by about the incredible cars and people he has crossed paths with during his 50-plus years in the industry.
I could chat with Nick for hours, and probably would have done if his sons Ben and Jim weren’t trying to reel him in to keep us on subject and on time. Nick is exactly the kind of person we want in the car world: humble, passionate, knowledgable, and in the game not to turn a quick buck, but because he’s addicted to the brand, addicted to making Ferraris the best they can be.
Read the full interview in Issue 49, Page 15.
Read the Full Interview Online
Perhaps not someone you had heard of until recently, but we expect you’ve seen the name Kalmar by now if you’re a Supercar Driver member. You’ll likely have seen the articles about KALMAR Beyond Adventure’s incredible driving experiences, taking air-cooled Porsches on ice and across Africa, but unless you attended Secret Eat at Joe Macari last year, you might not know about the man himself.
I met Jan for a chat early in the evening, shortly before the European debut of what he calls the world’s first retro hypercar, the KALMAR 9X9, an ambitious tribute to the Porsche 959, which Jan believes is the greatest road-going Porsche of all time. Jan is a true visionary, and his addiction is making his exacting visions a reality. To quote Jan from our interview, “I see no challenge as too big, and I have a lifelong passion for automotive and engineering”.
Given his obsession with engineering, rather than just make a car for one scenario, Jan was insistent there had to be a 9X9 for different requirements and personalities, and so developed three different models, from a lightweight, 530hp naturally-aspirated car that revs to 9,000rpm with a manual gearbox to a 930hp, 211mph all-wheel-drive monster with PDK.
If that sounds difficult, you’d be right. “There were many times I wanted this project to go to hell”, he laughed, but Jan’s addiction to his vision and sheer resilience saw it through.
Read the full interview and learn all about the 9X9 in Issue 50, Page 25.
Read the Full Interview Online
Here’s a man that needs no introduction. Adam often comes to me and says, “Are you interested in doing...?”, but whilst those questions involve everything from a bit of admin work to leading a Sunday drive to reviewing a hypercar, none were quite as surprising as, “Are you interested in doing an interview with Horacio Pagani?”.
Horacio was in the UK to celebrate the opeing of the new Pagani of Manchester showroom, and I met with him and his son Christopher before the opening party for a chat I’ll never forget. I exhausted the extent of my Italian with a “buongiorno”, after which Christopher interpreted for the rest of our interview.
Even through interpretation, Horacios unwavering passion for engineering perfection and addiction to creating the absolute best and most beautiful cars possible was fascinating to listen to. We spoke about his younger days at Lamborghini, his early adoption of composite technologies, the evolution of Pagani and even his thoughts on electric propulsion.
Read the full interview in Issue 49, Page 60.
Read the Full Interview Online
Yes, our very own founder, quite possibly the biggest car and work addict I've ever met. His addiction can be a blessing and a curse in the Supercar Driver office, because when he gets an idea, it must be pursued, and his addiction to browsing and buying cars can be the bane of Natasha in accounts' existence!
But, without Adam's unwavering passion for cars and laser-focused dream to create one of the world's greatest automotive events to bring the community together, Supercar Driver would not exist. I wouldn't be behind my computer writing this, and whilst you might have more money in your wallet, you'd definitely have much less to do at the weekend.
Adam has written countless pieces in the magazine throughout the years, but he really opened up about his 15 years of addiction to realising his vision in our most recent issue, and also wrote a more tongue-in-cheek blog about his car shopping issues. Long may the good and bad of Adam's addiction to making the best events in the world and making questionable spontaneous automotive purchases continue.
Read the full article in Issue 52, Page .
Addiction is often used in a negative way, and of course when it involves negative things, it is. With these people and so many more in our community, their addiction isn't a mindless compulsion, it is an obsession and dedication to realise their vision, and without that, we wouldn't have the best specialists who know every nut and bolt of your pride and joy, we wouldn't have new hypercars pushing the boundaries of performance and beauty, and of course, we wouldn't have the Supercar Driver to help make the most of your own addiction to cars.
