CAR’S CURVEBALLS

6 questions only we would ask

Tell us about your irst car?

A 1969 Mini which I painted myself in Daytona Yellow and ›itted with Cosmic wheels and Dunlop SP70s. I paid £100 for it in 1979. I bought a Mini because I wanted to be a rally driver.

What achievement makes you most proud?

Leading the brand strategy and creating a plan to launch the Continental family – GT, Cab and Flying Spur – all from a standing start. It was the hardest I’ve ever worked and the most satisfying.

What’s the best thing you’ve ever done in a car?

Driving the Team Birkin Bentley Blower. We bought the car from a collection when I was here last time, restored it, and I ran it in. I then drove it to Brescia, did the Mille Miglia and then drove back. That was the most amazing experience.

Tell us when you screwed up?

Going to Saab [in 2010]. I was there for just under a year. [He left a year before it went bankrupt.] I joined because there were all sorts of opportunities. Victor [Muller, from Spyker] hired me just after he bought the company. He was brilliant and the management team itself was great. But there were various things going on in the background to undermine investors’ con›idence. I misread that situation.

Supercar or classic car?

There’s nothing I’d want more than a Blower Bentley. My house in France [in the Grand Massif] is called Chalet Birkin.

Company curveball… When did Bentley last win Le Mans and how many times has Bentley won it?

Last time was in 2003 – I was there. It was the sixth win. The others were in ’24, ’27, ’28, ’29, ’30. And Barnato was in three of them.