ELYSE KNOWLES BYRON TOMBOY
Australian model and winning renovator on The Block, Elyse Knowles has a wild side. The Byron Bay local loves the calm and quiet of the NSW Far North Coast but her choice of cars shows she doesn’t back off the rough stuff.
As an ambassador for Range Rover, she gets around in an Evoque. And the luxury SUV suits her lifestyle.
“It is compact but also great for adventures. So it is really nice to be able to go straight from the city to the country,” she says.
“I love driving into the hinterland with the rolling green hills and cows, it is really peaceful.”
The car doubles as a mobile office during her numerous runs up to Gold Coast airport, so the one feature she can’t live without is Bluetooth.
Knowles has always been a keen driver, booking in to get her licence on the first possible day. “I got my licence on my birthday,” she says. “I booked the test on that day, which was pretty risky. You never know whether you are going to pass but I wanted my licence so bad.
“I’ve always been surrounded by cars and motorbikes and always had a bit of a tomboy side. So I was ready to rock n’ roll on that birthday.”
Her first purchase was a Honda CR-V but after a fateful storm the car was no more.
“It got damaged by hail one Christmas. So I said goodbye to my first love on Christmas Day as that got completely written off.”
But nothing shows off the model’s laid-back Aussie attitude like her next vehicle.
“I had a Holden ute. Like I said I was a bit of a tomboy,” she says. “I liked to put in my
wakeboards and sleep in the back of the Colorado. That was my little rampage I went on when I was younger.
“It was good for the weekends but it wasn’t great for parking in the city, which I had to do every single day.”
Her dream car illustrates that same adventurous streak. “I would have an oldschool Defender. A bit beaten up (because) it has had so many adventures.
“I can take it on plenty more and take it on the beach, put the family in the back and go on an adventure.”
Knowles loves the laid-back Byron Bay attitude but it can rankle when she is going about her business.
“People who go 20 kays under the limit probably annoy me the most,” she says. “Everyone is in holiday mode up here, which is amazing but they are looking at absolutely everything. I’m all about taking in nature and the sunrise but there is a speed limit, too.”
She doesn’t mind a bit of speed, in its place, especially if it’s Formula One in her former home town, Melbourne.
“I always take my dad with me to the Grand Prix, so I’m in the good books there,” she says.
“One year for my birthday I got to go in the V8s around the track and I’ve been in all the safety cars which is pretty sick. You go up to 200km/h.
“And then I’ve also been in a two-seater Formula One car. And that blew my mind. It was the sickest thing I’ve ever done, it was so cool. My dad was very jealous.”