The Apex

Our guest this week is Gord Duff, who holds the impressive title of Global Head of Auctions at RM Sotheby's and one of the few people trusted by an exclusive clientèle to buy and sell the world's finest cars, often sight unseen, over the phone. Gord joined us to talk about what it's like being one of the world's leading car specialists and to give us some insight into the thrilling, mysterious and often intimidating world of collector's automobiles. Thumbnail credit to Pawel Litwinski

If you've ever dipped your toes into the fascinating world of driving simulation and software, you might be familiar with the phenomenally successful Assetto Corsa, one of the most popular and versatile simulators on the market. Our guest this week is Marco Massarutto, the co-founder and executive manager of KUNOS Simulazioni, the developers behind Assetto Corsa. Arguably one of the people responsible for making the digital race track as much a part of motor sport and car culture as the real thing, Marco joined us this week for a fascinating discussion about his life in cars, the work which goes into creating class-leading driving simulators, and what makes a company like KUNOS tick.

This week's guest is a familiar face to us at the Apex, and just maybe a familiar voice if you were lucky enough to catch our first editions way back in the mists of time! Charles Clegg is a passionate car guy and historic racer, as well as having a day job as the CEO of Custodian, the online platform and app for car enthusiasts. He joined us to talk about his life in cars, the ins and outs of competing at events like the Goodwood Revival, and what it's like to try to break a land speed record in a 1200bhp fastback Mustang.

Praga Cars is a company with 114 years of engineering excellence behind it, although it still remains somewhat unknown to British motoring enthusiasts. As luck would have it, our guest this week is Mark Harrison, managing director of Praga Cars UK - just the man to tell us more! With his significant experience in launching performance vehicles into a competitive marketplace, and knowledge of just what it takes to keep a motoring brand focused on its customers, Mark joined us to talk Praga, past, present and future - from historic vacuum cleaners to the fantastic R1 racing car, sim racing and more...

Our guest this week is prolific entrepreneur, businessman, and car guy David Brown. Proudly drawing on Britain's automotive heritage, his car company David Brown Automotive has grown significantly since its founding in 2013 and now works with over 70 British based suppliers, combining small scale manufacturing with a bespoke coach building to produce limited edition automobiles for discerning clients. We managed to catch David for a discussion about his career, love of cars, and some of the exciting machines handbuilt by David Brown Automotive, including the beautiful Speedback GT.

No stranger to life at the highest level of the classic car game, our guest this week is Peter Wallman: entrepreneur, experienced auctioneer, and classic car authority. With a background in advertising and decades of experience in and around the world's finest cars, Peter is uniquely placed to navigate the choppy waters of this exciting market. He joined us to talk about his life as a classic car specialist, his beloved E-Type, and why motor boats deserve as much praise and attention as your favourite automotive gems...

Our guest this week is Jaguar E-Type specialist and restorer William Heynes, widely considered to be one of the most knowledgeable restorers on the scene; hardly a surprise when you realise that William can trace his connections with the Jaguar marque all the way back to his grandfather Bill Heynes, Jaguar's legendary Chief Engineer and Technical Director from 1935 - 1969. From the ideal E-Type spec to what to look out for on the concours lawn, if you're curious about what it takes to restore and preserve one of the most beautiful cars ever made, you'll want to take this week's interview for a spin!

When it comes to cars, the phrase “race on Sunday, sell on Monday” is never far behind, and there is probably nobody in the vintage, classic and competition car market who embodies it more fully than our guest this week: Gregor Fisken, of Fiskens Fine Historic Automobiles. Some of the world's greatest cars have passed over the cobbles of Gregor's premises in London's Queens Gate Place Mews, and Fiskens is universally recognised as one of the most important dealerships in the collector's car landscape. But that's not all - when he can spare a moment, Gregor is also a bona fide racing driver with multiple Le Mans appearances to his name, including time as a works driver for Courage in the LMP1 class and racing a factory-backed Larbre run Aston Martin DBR9 GT1. He really has done it all, and we were thrilled to have him join us to talk about his early days, the joys of endurance racing, and his perspectives on the market.

Most if not all of us got into cars and car culture through magazines, almanacs and car reviews written by talented writers. Fittingly, our guest this week is Matt Prior, who holds the enviable title of Editor-at-large at Autocar magazine. Autocar has been going since 1895 and is one of the world's oldest car magazines, with a rich history of publishing demanding car tests from the finest automotive journalists. Having been in the industry for over 20 years, it's safe to say that Matt is one of the leading authorities on anything and everything to do with the consumer automobile in all of its guises. He's also a car guy through-and-through, and spoke to us about the automotive media scene, life at Autocar and some of the unlikely candidates for the best cars ever...

If you've driven a consumer automobile in the last 20 years, or argued about the aesthetics of modern cars with friends, you've been engaging with the world of our guest this week, automotive designer Chris Bangle. Having started his career at Opel and Fiat, in 1992 Chris was named the first American chief of design at BMW. Over the next 17 years he went on to carve a legacy of distinctive, sculptural designs which set out a new paradigm for the premium car segment. Today Chris is managing director of Chris Bangle Associates, a design studio in the Piemonte Region of Italy which turns its skills to everything from luxury yachts to drinks bottles, and earlier this year, Chris was awarded the 2021 American Prize for Design, recognising his immense contribution to transportation design. He spoke to us about his experiences at BMW, the pitfalls of modern car development and his radical suggestions for the future of transportation. Read the interview here: https://apex.privatecollectorsclub.com/chris-bangle/ Learn about Custodian here: https://custodian.club

If you've ever tried to get just a bit faster on track, or spent your time looking for ways to squeeze the very last tenths of a second from your race car, you'll love our guest this week: Ross Bentley - performance coach, racing driver and accomplished author. Ross is known in the performance driving world for ‘Speed Secrets', his fascinating series of books and podcasts which have inspired scores of enthusiasts to improve their own track driving. He joined us this week to talk about his career, the finer points of racing performance, and all things fast driving.

If you said that the ultimate 911 is not necessarily made by Porsche, most people would raise an eyebrow. However, if you're in the know, there's a good chance you would immediately think of our guest this week: Alois Ruf, head of RUF Automobile. Combining maximum performance, personality and the very highest standards of German automotive engineering, RUF has been operating in its modern guise since the 1970s, with a long family history before that. Having boasted a number of the world's fastest production cars in its lineup over the years, and with its vehicles loved by sports car enthusiasts the world over, RUF is the very definition of a cult car manufacturer. We spoke to Alois about the legend of the CTR Yellowbird, life at RUF, and what he thinks is most important in a modern sports car...

The Apex interviews car enthusiast & media personality, Sam Fane, the driving force behind the hugely popular automotive YouTube channel Seen Through Glass. Alongside road trips, car spotting, and giving subscribers an insight into the curious world of supercars, in 2019 Sam embarked on an epic adventure entitled Drive The World, rooting out the most interesting elements of global car culture for viewers at home. We managed to catch up with him about the curious life of a YouTuber, his experiences travelling the world in a Porsche 911T, and strange things you can do with Alfa Romeos on camera...

The Apex interviews Nicholas Mee, an esteemed Aston Martin specialist & dealer for over 25 years. Nick is one of the leading names in the Aston Martin community, and with the help of his expert team at Nicholas Mee & Co. provides everything from regular maintenance to full restorations of these wonderful cars, not to mention a constantly replenished stock of fine examples for sale. Nick joins us this week to talk about his beginnings in the car business, his work with Victor Gauntlett, and his favourite cars - with some James Bond mythbusting along the way, and why you should never take the autoroute on the way to Le Mans...

This week our guest is Rémi Dargegen, one of the best known photographers in the classic car world. With an enviable client book featuring the likes of Porsche, Lamborghini and Bugatti, as well as countless iconic photo shoots for some of the most prestigious motoring magazines on the market to his name, it's no exaggeration to say that Rémi's work is one of the touchstones for modern automotive photography.

The Apex interviews F1 driver, Le Mans winner, artist & designer Stefan Johansson. We hear about F1's turbo era, 408 km/h at Le Mans and his life in art world.

This week on the Apex we interview Randy Nonnenberg, the co-founder and CEO of Bring a Trailer, one of the most popular auction sites for collectible cars on the internet and one of the main reasons for car enthusiasts staying up way past their bedtime. He joined us this week to give an insight into his life in cars, the online auction market, and wayward Volkswagens...

This week on the Apex our guest is engineer, classic car specialist, photographer and journalist Laura Kukuk. With a background in high-level sports car development at McLaren and a fascinating job as an expert authenticator of some of the world's finest vintage automobiles, she's a Nürburgring native who also enjoys getting hands-on in the workshop with her own restoration projects. We spoke to her about her forensic work, the joys of a Fiat 600, and what makes for a truly authentic car...

Our guest this week is Hedi Sersoub, a multi-talented photographer, model and founder of the automotive jewellery and lifestyle brand The Mechanists. He joined us to give an insight into the more creative and artisanal side of the car community, and to tell us about his journey in the scene.

This week we are excited to interview one of Britain's most promising racing talents, rally driver and Red Bull sponsored athlete Catie Munnings. Catie shot to fame in 2016 after winning the FIA European Rally Championship Ladies' Trophy, becoming the first Briton to win a European rally title for 49 years. She's since gone from strength to strength in the WRC, and is at the cutting edge of FIA-sanctioned offroad racing, having recently joined the Andretti United Extreme E Team for the inaugural 2021 season. She talked to us about her career so far, the dynamics of driving a rally car properly, and why electric motorsport is perfect for petrolheads.

The Apex interviews passionate car enthusiast, Concours judge, market specialist and music producer Duccio Lopresto about his life in cars and his family's famous Lopresto Collection.

Our guest this week is a man of many talents: a leading international male supermodel, muse of Dolce and Gabbana, entrepreneur, clothing designer and, most importantly, an avid car enthusiast always ready to promote British manufacturing. It is of course Mr David Gandy, who joined us to discuss his adventures in motoring and share some of his experiences of owning and restoring his beloved fleet of classic cars, as well as trimming hedges in a Peugeot 106...

Our guest this week is one of the world's most renowned and influential designers – Frank Stephenson. If you've ever longed for a modern McLaren, admired the rear wing on a Ford Escort RS Cosworth, or just found delight in a modern MINI Cooper or Fiat 500, you will probably know what it feels like to encounter his elegant work. He joined us this week to tell us a bit more about his inspirations and design philosophy, and to share a few insights from a tremendous career.

Our guest this week is Richard Noble OBE, a man who, in his own words, comes from an extraordinary age when Britain and her brilliant, risk-taking engineers led the world in aerospace developments. His relentless pursuit of success saw him bring the World Land Speed Record back to Britain in 1983 behind the wheel of Thrust 2 at 633.468 mph (1,019.468 km/h), and 14 years later lead the Thrust SSC team to the first supersonic land speed record. An inspiration to speed racers the world over, Richard sat down with us to tell the story of the Thrust records alongside the trials and tribulations of bringing other innovative projects into reality on land, at sea and in the air - often in the face of resistance from the most unlikely quarters.

The Apex Interviews Episode 16: Sam Hancock by Custodian

The Apex Interviews Episode 15: Max Girado by Custodian

The Apex Interviews Episode 14: Jim Glickenhaus by Custodian

The Apex Interviews Episode 13: Peter Sutcliffe by Custodian

The Apex Interviews Episode 12: Amy Shore by Custodian

The Apex Interviews Episode 11: Ted Gushue by Custodian

The Apex Interviews Episode 10: Ben Mather by Custodian

The Apex Interviews Episode 9: Andrew Frankel by Custodian

The Apex Interviews Episode 8: Ian Callum by Custodian

The Apex Interviews Episode 7: Katarina Kyvalova by Custodian

The Apex Interviews Episode 6: Dylan Miles by Custodian

The Apex Interviews Episode 5: Graeme Hunt by Custodian

The Apex Interviews Episode 4: Michael Scott by Custodian

The Apex Interviews Episode 3: Rob Hubbard by Custodian

The Apex interviews Lord Alexander Hesketh, 'Le Patron' of Hesketh Racing. A fascinating insight into the remarkable underdog story, featuring James Hunt.

Freddie Hunt gives The Apex some unique insights into his father's life, including his remarkable path to winning the World Championship in 1976 and why his father's playboy image does not tell the full story.