JAMIE CHADWICK

The reigning W Series champion talks us through her car history

Igrew up on a farm, so when I was a lot younger we had a Land Rover Defender. I’d change gears sat on my dad’s lap and turn the steering wheel, so I guess that was where first learnt to drive.

Then I had the cliche story where I fell into motorsport by accident. My parents didn’t race or anything like that. It was my older brother who dragged the family go-karting for the first time at our local track – Castle Combe – and I quite soon followed him into it.

Initially I wasn’t as quick as him. I just enjoyed the buzz and the whole atmosphere of go-karting, but it didn’t take me long to pick up that competitive sibling rivalry and overtake him. I graduated into racing cars soon after that. I started with Ginetta Juniors and won the Ginetta Junior scholarship when I was 14.

Then, when I was 16, I progressed into British GT with Aston Martin. That was fantastic – I was racing a V8 Vantage before I could legally drive on the road. It did mean that it was a bit of a culture shock when I took my road licence test at 17, though.

I took it in what was my first car – a Volkswagen Polo. I passed first time, but I was surprised actually. I got a bit carried away because you normally have to wait four or five months to get a slot, but there was a cancellation for two weeks’ time so I thought: “Perfect, I’ll just book that and have a load of lessons between now and then.”

Then, of course, it turned out that my instructor had gone on holiday and would only get back the day before my test. Nightmare. In the end I basically had to run through absolutely everything the day before and then blag my way through the actual test. I was prepared for the abuse I was going to get when I failed – I’d have to tell all of my friends and family that even though I was a racing driver, I hadn’t passed my test first time. I still haven’t properly learnt to park.

After the Polo, my second car and the car I still have now, is a Golf GTD. It’s actually a really great car to be fair to it. In terms of what I use it for it’s perfect – it churns out miles and is very comfortable.

It keeps me going reasonable speeds on the road too, nothing outrageous. When you’re used to driving race cars on a track and then switch to driving on the road, especially in something like a Golf GTD for a couple of hundred miles, it’s never the most interesting journey.

The nice thing about my job though is I’m fortunate enough to be loaned cars quite often – particularly by Aston Martin. A few years ago, when I’d just passed my test, I somehow managed to blag my way into a Vanquish for a bit.

More recently I’ve had my first few runs in the new Vantage, which has been really cool. Hopefully, especially off the back of the Nürburgring 24 Hours win in that car, I can persuade them to let me have one more often. Although I think if I ran an Aston daily I’d live in a fuel station.

In terms of the future there’s a lot to be excited about at the moment. A lot of the new performance EVs are cool. As much as it takes away a bit of the excitement of driving, I think it’s good to see how the technology is developing so rapidly and how fast the tech is changing. Saying that though, my dream garage would definitely have some golden oldies in there…

Volkswagen’s commercial vehicle department has just unveiled its most exciting model in years. Not to hate on the Caddy and the Transporter too much, but oh how design has regressed since the Sixties.

This particular 1966 T1 Samba Bus isn’t exactly standard, because under the skin is an all-electric e-Up powertrain. Yep, with the help of eClassics, VW has removed the old 43bhp flat-four and has plugged in an 80bhp electric motor driving the rear wheels. That’s connected to a 45kWh battery, which provides a range of over 125 miles and can fast charge from empty to 80 per cent full in just 40 minutes.

The bus you see here – which VW is calling cal the e-Bulli – is just a concept for now, now but eClassics is planning to put it into int full production, with prices starting from fro just under £60,000.

That may seem like a hefty amount, but this isn’t just a powertrain swap. Having spent half a century spreading peace and love on the streets of California, it’s been treated to multi-link front and rear axles with adjustable shock absorbers and coilover struts, plus a new rack-and-pinion steering system and disc brakes all round. And with the battery housed under the floor, it might even handle. Maybe.

Then there are the cosmetic changes. The daytime running lights and modern gear selector are controversial, but the rest of the interior is updated with a retro speedo, radio and wood flooring. Summer of love, sorted.