JOOLS HOLLAND
Musician, band leader, TV presenter… classic car lover?
My earliest motoring memory was when my father took me on a tour of London to see the sights. I was stepping out in to the road and there was this monumental beep. I was dragged back by the scruff of my neck and just missed by a Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud III. My father said: “You don’t want to get run over, even by a Rolls-Royce.” Those words rang in my ears for days. Rolls-Royce.
I learned to drive in my father’s car – a 3.0-litre Ford Capri. I’ve no idea how he managed to get me insured on it, it was properly fast. Once I’d passed my test, I was going very quickly in the wet and drove it into a brick wall. I wasn’t very skilled at going round corners back then.
The first car I bought was a Rover 110. It cost me £110. It was beautifully reliable, the last in the series with that straight-six engine that they used in the Land Rover. Of course, I upgraded the wheels, which I thought would attract the women. I don’t think it did, but at least I tried.
I then bought a 1952 Buick Roadmaster and used it every day. In those days, old
cars were just cheap transport, but it was great because I worked out that when you sold them, you’d get your money back or more. So, after that I ended up buying a 1958 Corvette Stingray.
Since then I’ve always had separate cars for touring. I’ve had a Jaguar XJ12, a BMW 7-Series, several Mercedes S-Classes and four Bentley Turbos. The Bentleys were fantastic but no two were alike – some were perfect; some were absolute dogs. After those, I got an Audi A8 with a W12 engine. That drove like a Seventies Rolls – it carried so much momentum. For the last few years we’ve had Range Rovers. They’re practical and, although they’re massive, they’re actually a bit invisible – there are so many on the roads.
For my personal collection I prefer older cars. I love Sixties Bentley Continentals. They were the last properly hand-built cars. I’ve had 10 or 15 over the years and still have three, one of which is a Fastback. I’ve also got an S1 and an S2. Old Bentleys are like Chippendale furniture – they’re so unique and all you have to do is reupholster the seat and they’ll keep going.
I love Jags too – I had the XK120, an E-type Low Drag Coupe and a lovely MkX. An old motor trader friend of mine said: “That’s a manual MkX, that’s as rare as rocking horse sh*t.”
Rarity is something I look at when buying cars, but shape and beauty are the main factors. I loved my Aston DB6 Volante and have had a couple of Rolls Corniche convertibles. I’ve done the pre-war stuff too, with a Rolls 20/25 and a Lagonda.
A while back I had a copy of the Rover JET1 prototype built. It was a childhood obsession after I went to see the original in a museum – I just thought it looked incredible. I was driving down the Old Kent Road in it recently and a bloke rolled down his window and asked if it was the jet car. I said “Yeah that’s right.” At the next set of lights he asked if it actually had a gas-turbine jet engine in. I said: “No, of course it bloody doesn’t.”
Recently, I bought a 2011 Mercedes SLS AMG, and it’s of the best cars I’ve ever owned. A lot of the cars I’ve bought have been what I wanted when I was young, so I thought – what would suit me now?