Richard Heseltine

4 days ago | classicandsportscar.com | Richard Heseltine

By The traffic is threatening to set like concrete. It’s early evening rush hour in Berkshire, and now is not a good time to be feeling very self-conscious. Alongside us, a maxed-out hot hatch discharges atonal dance beats at the volume of artillery fire, but its driverʼs face is a picture of blank amazement. His companion, meanwhile, offers a half-smile before taking a photo on her mobile.

2 months ago | buff.ly | Richard Heseltine

By It is the quintessence of tranquillity. Waves lap, gulls circle and swoop, and there isn’t another soul for miles. Nor cars, for that matter, save the Formula 5000 racer that lives inside the lighthouse across the way. Nobody appears to know why it’s there, just that it is. Seems reasonable. Crenellated towers that look like battlements are losing their slow-motion fight with gravity, serving up a reminder that the Isle of Man wasn’t totally immune to conflict.

2 months ago | classicandsportscar.com | Richard Heseltine

By It is the quintessence of tranquillity. Waves lap, gulls circle and swoop, and there isn’t another soul for miles. Nor cars, for that matter, save the Formula 5000 racer that lives inside the lighthouse across the way. Nobody appears to know why it’s there, just that it is. Seems reasonable. Crenellated towers that look like battlements are losing their slow-motion fight with gravity, serving up a reminder that the Isle of Man wasn’t totally immune to conflict.

2 months ago | classicandsportscar.com | Richard Heseltine

“It grew from there,” he continues. “We had an eight-car garage and lock-ups scattered all over the place, and that no longer cut it – especially when we got into American vehicles. “The first US purchase was a 1959 Cadillac ambulance.” Hence the decision to establish a permanent home for the collection, which, within a few decades, comprised around 130 vehicles. “It wasn’t all cars, either,” Darren adds. “There were lorries and buses, too.” “Having them all over the place wasn’t ideal,” he says.

Mar 14, 2025 | classicandsportscar.com | Richard Heseltine

The revelatory part is that this 1980s throwback doesn’t want to kill you. It’s almost civilised. Sort of. Ish. You expect to emerge as a bundle of frayed nerves and in need of oxygenation, but no. This was a period when it wasn’t uncommon for the aftermarket industry to slap turbos on to just about anything without making concessions to such trifling matters as drivability. That, and life expectancy.