'This was Stirling’s silver street machine'
1987 Peugeot 205 GTI Steve Mercer and Mike Wootton, Fareham, Hampshire.
Wow. Sir Stirling Moss’s Peugeot 205!
‘My father-in-law, Mike, and I bought it quite by accident. We were talking to a Lotus engineer friend about money-no-object dream garages. I said I’d still have a 205 because I’d grown up with them. I’ve lost track of how many I’ve had now; this is my fifth, I think. He’d just been offered one and asked if I was interested. I wasn’t as it wasn’t Miami Blue, it wasn’t technically for sale, and I’d literally just bought a Porsche, but he told us to ring the guy anyway, which we did there and then. The seller said it was in good condition, and gave us other bits of information, and then casually said it belonged to
Sir Stirling Moss. I remember thinking, you really should have lead with that.'
Why are we at Goodwood Motor Racing Circuit?
‘Sir Stirling had strong links with Goodwood. This is where he raced. It’s a classic, old school race track for old school racers, and it has lots of history. It’s also where he had his accident in 1962. I’m pretty local, so I often come here for track days to drive my Mini Cooper S, plus Revivals, and for the Breakfast Clubs. It’s got a really great atmosphere.’
Do you know any of its history?
‘I know that Sir Stirling had the car from new and it had his 7 SM number plate. I sent some pictures to him to ask if he still remembered it, but unfortunately he was quite ill by then so it was his son, Elliot, who got in touch. Elliot told me he and his father remembered it well, doing all sorts in the car, including Stirling teaching Elliot to drive in it. It now has about 134,000 miles on the clock. I’m gutted I left it too long to get in contact. I should have done that when we first bought it.’
There must be both pros and cons to owning such an important car?
‘Everyone remembers Sir
Stirling for his racing cars, and rightly so, but it’s telling that someone with that much skill chose this little 205 to be his everyday car. He said it was so manoeuvrable, so fast, and that’s what it’s all about. But the provenance has its downsides. If it wasn’t Sir Stirling’s, I’d drive the nuts off it. They like a bit of lift-off oversteer, for instance. Having said that, you really can’t help but drive it...’