Paul Bussey –
Writer and photographer
Being a writer and photographer for Classic
American has opened up doors and taken me places I could only ever have dreamed about. I think I’m the magazine’s longest-running regular contributor, having started in 1991 with a feature on Lesley Diss’s Buick Special – so, I reckon that’s 30 years! I’ve met Sir Stirling Moss, Ron Hickman (designer of the Lotus Elan and Black & Decker Workmate, who also owned a Cadillac V16), Mark Knopfler, Nick Mason, Jay Kay, Phil Hill, Christian Horner, Adrian Newey, Sir Charles Chadwyck-Healey, Michelle Marsh and Rob Walker, to name but a few movers and shakers in their field. Just as importantly, I’ve also met thousands of ordinary enthusiasts, the catalyst being their passion for ‘Detroit Iron’.
The very first American car that I drove was a 1969 Chevrolet Camaro SS396 convertible, owned by Jim Sanders. I’ve since gone on to drive an incredible variety of American cars, loads during the course of the Drive-Buy series and I’ve been testing cars for magazines for more than 15 years. Some of the highlights have included getting behind the wheel of a 1954 Kenworth 523C truck, Ford GT, Hennessey Motorsports Dodge Venom Viper (ex-Keith Flint), 2010 Roush 427 Mustang, 1923 Hupmobile Model R ‘City to City’ racer… the list is almost endless.
One of the most memorable days out in an American car was with Tony and Trish Mansell in their 1966 Mustang coupe. The occasion was a Phoenix Car Club tour in Spain. We drove up precipitous mountain roads to the huge Second World War guns near Murcia. On the way back from Cartagena to Torrevieja, we cruised along the AP7 Autopista del Mediterraneo at warp speed and no one managed to get past us for 45 minutes into the hour-long trip – you never forget drives like that.
Other wonderfully enthusiastic and knowledgeable people I’ve met include Keith Kentish, a walking encyclopaedia on American cars; Keith Tribe, who owned a huge collection of Packards; the inimitable Pete Tucker and the myriad of others. Two of my prized books are The Complete Book of Corvette by Mike Mueller and Great Automobiles of the Fifties, by Richard M Langworth and Chris Poole.
‘Yanks’ that I have owned include a 1969 Corvette C3 427 Stingray, 1980 Corvette C3 (Gold Certification Concours) and a 1955 Ford Fairlane Crown Victoria. Cars that I’d love to own, should I ever win the lottery? 1957 Lincoln Premiere convertible, 1960 Corvette C1, 1960 Chrysler 300F, 1956 Mercury Monterey Woodie station wagon and 1963 Mercury Monterey S55 convertible. When I’m not enthusing over American cars, I get my adrenaline rush from flying in gliders, aerobatics in open cockpit biplanes, in 2018 I flew in a Second World War Spitfire, while in 2020 I went paragliding twice in Tenerife. Buick Drive-Buy’s John Allen recently told me: “You’re mad.” Absolutely!
I also like kayaking on the surf at Woolacombe, playing tennis, swimming, dancing, fine dining, attempting to play guitar (my tutor is Jeff Carpenter, who worked with Sheena Easton in the 80s) and hill walking.