TGE talks Porsche
The Editor grabs a chat with Youtuber Tom Exton to discuss his burgeoning Porsche collection, the sweet spot of all 911 generations, and his passion for the 996
Youtuber Tom Exton sits down with the Editor to discuss the Porsche appeal among Millennials
Tom George Exton, better known at TGE, is a Youtuber with over 54 million views since he joined the platform in 2016. Exton has amassed a loyal following of nearly 225,000 subscribers in that time, centred mostly around his passion for cars. Now a leading figure in the world of online car personalities (we loathe to use the term ‘influencer’), Tom’s voice is one that many who frequent Youtube have heard, an accolade far removed from Exton’s sights when starting his channel. “Being honest, I just wanted to faff around with cars and call it a business – five years ago there was no plan,” he says with a smile as we take a seat outside his rural Oxfordshire home.
An affable bloke, Tom is an entrepreneur and former financial worker who co-founded the fitness empire, LDN Muscle, garnering a healthy online audience in the meantime. Largely made up of millennial males, Tom used his audience as a springboard to immerse himself in another of his life passions, cars, and his journey has evolved inextricably since then. Today, Tom has a sizeable collection of classic and modern sports and supercars, of which Porsche has a large and noticeable presence. “My first proper car was a 2005 987 Boxster, this was before my days of Youtube,” Tom says. “That’s what got me hooked on the Porsche brand. Growing up I had a model car of the original Boxster Studie, so that 987 is actually one of my favourite cars I’ve ever owned.”
The Boxster came and went, Tom’s collection of cars growing exponentially in tandem with his audience. In line with what seems to be convention in the world of Youtube, first came the fleet of supercars, which for Tom meant a 991.1 GT3 RS among others. Views racked up, though Tom would be the first to admit that didn’t always come with wider credibility from genuine journalistic outlets who ultimately were vying for the same audience.
In recent years Tom has been cute with his content, transitioning his audience to something that’s quality-centric, rather than focusing on the numbers. He explains in detail: “If you just wanted views on Youtube, you’d just go and buy say an
Audi RS3, wrap it chrome and map it to a million horsepower. However, I want to be true to my own interests and that of my audience, so these days my thought process is along the lines of ‘where is this
taking my channel, what content can I get out of it, and what do my audience like as well?’. That’s what I ask myself before I buy my next car.”
It’s a set of questions Tom must ask himself a lot, as his rate of sports car acquisition is enviable if barely quantifiable. Conservatively, at least ten sports cars reside in the TGE collection, all amassed within the past three years. That Porsche presence I mentioned? 912, G50 Targa, 996 Carrera 4S, Carrera GT, 944 Turbo, 991 Carrera T, with a 992 Turbo S recently departed in order to make way for an incoming 992 GT3.
Sizeable indeed, so are the cars there to drive passion, or content? “It is content, but there’s passion in this too. Everything I do is run as a business, so there is a commercial element to it, but passion and content are not mutually exclusive. You can combine the two.”
The recent additions of classic Porsches to
Tom’s collection are a case in point. It’s been a new experience for Tom restoring these old cars rather than just driving about in new metal, but it’s come with a slight penalty: “The classic content has dipped my viewership quite a lot: the young guys want to see straight-pipe Lambos, not a sill being replaced on an ’89 Targa with another sill that looks exactly the same but with no rust on it. I however am interested in that and think it’s amazing what can be done with old cars, so while it’s been painful to see the views dip, the core of my audience are good eggs and that’s where I’m choosing to build my community.”
As you can see, what’s striking about Tom is his honesty in his approach to business. Whereas others in the game tend to employ a helping of smoke and mirrors, Tom appears relaxed and offers transparency when discussing how Youtube works for him. It makes Tom likeable, both to viewers but also to commercial enterprises who wish to work with him.
The jewel in the crown of Tom’s Porsche collection is undoubtedly his Basalt black Carrera
GT, but to remain strictly in sync with the USP of our magazine he’s brought along his Lapis blue
996 Carrera 4S for today’s interview. It shows the breadth of his Porsche interest (we’re not sure there’s too many other 996 C4S owners out there also in possession of a Carrera GT!) but, tellingly, it also highlights Tom’s genuine affection for the merits of the entry-level 911. “I just think it’s cracking,” he says as we take a look around the C4S’S restored Turbo Twist wheels and immaculate paintwork. “There can’t be many cars, bang for buck, which gets you into classic 911 ownership, is that much of a laugh to drive, and has usable power. I love it, and it puts a smile on my face. Also, in comparison to the
“There can’t be many cars, bang for buck, which gets you into classic 911 ownership, is that much of a laugh to drive, and has usable power”
“Everything I do is run as a business, so there is a commercial element to it, but passion and content are not mutually exclusive. You can combine the two”
modern stuff, yes the bills are big, but they’re not as big as the newer cars.” So why did he decide on a C4S over other models from the 996 era? “The usable power for one, but also its all-weather capabilities in being all-wheel drive, plus you can leave it anywhere without attracting a crowd. Superficially too, the rear end is amazing, and it’s possibly the best rear end of all 911s.”
Tom’s passion for the 996 is evident, particularly when he considers its impact on the commercial aspect of his Youtube work. “It probably wasn’t the wisest business decision in that a 996 hawks in neither the classic enthusiast nor the simpletons who want the chrome wrap stuff. But, what it does give, is a sweet spot of guys and girls who might consider a 996 as a 911 over say a BMW M2 or similar.”
Back to Tom’s P-car collection. His 1967 912 and 992 Turbo S bookend the Porsche story rather nicely, which means he’s well placed as a serial owner to answer an oft-debated question in Porschedom: which era does he think represents the sweet spot of 911 lineage? “I know it’s controversial, but I quite like the 991.2,” he says, explaining, “I think that little turbocharged engine is great.”
Tom has particular praise for the Carrera T here, of which he has owned two, having sold his first one last year and regretted it since. “I got into my second one at what a Ferrari dealer was giving in part-ex to a chap that’s buying an F12. It wasn’t a lot for what the car is,” he’s happy to admit – and there’s that honesty again. I ask him about his willingness to be so open about what is ultimately his own
personal endeavours. “I don’t want it to look like I’m just throwing cash around willy-nilly. I want people to know I’m thinking about what I’m buying and, to be honest, the exit on these cars often isn’t as painful as what people think.” Tom goes on: “The first thing people ask when they look at my channel is ‘where does the money come from?’ People start talking about trust funds and the like. Actually though, if you explain the mechanics of it and the fact that you can often come out of these cars up [in value], then it starts to make sense to people. If you’re just burning through money via depreciation of cars then it is a stupid move and people will rightly ask questions.
I try to buy cleverly, and the recent addition of my Carrera T is an example of that. Although I missed my first one, which I bought new, I had no intention of buying another Carrera T so soon, but the right car came up at the right time.”
It’s hard to argue with both Tom’s approach to business, or his mentality: this is somebody who’s clearly working hard, doing well, and enjoying every minute of it. The life of a prominent Youtuber is not all plain sailing, though. Online audiences favour a speedy delivery of content over something more polished, and Tom has spoken on his videos about having to ‘churn’ out content, with up to three videos a week necessary to keep the Youtube wheel spinning. Then there are obligations to third-party companies Tom has entered into sponsorship agreements with, and all this while still maintaining something of a day job in the City. “It can be hard, but it’s all content, and I love producing content,” Tom says, still smiling.
And with that, we elect to get out of the sweltering sun and head onto the Oxfordshire roads for a drive, my own narrow-bodied 996 Carrera joining Tom and his wide-bodied C4S. Our chat has been a revelation. As alluded to earlier, the term ‘influencer’ – often given to those who have a large following or presence on Youtube and other platforms – often carries negative connotations, possibly for its attachment to what is a pretty vague job description at best. This hasn’t been helped by the unscrupulous actions of some at the very top of the tree in recent months, but today’s conversation has reaffirmed there are also good people in the game. Tom is one of them, and we’ll be watching his TGE endeavours develop with interest.