You can compete in a season of motor racing for the price of a golf club membership. Adam Hay-Nicholls gets behind the wheel of a Ginetta and realises a childhood dream.
Author Archives: adamski007
Country Life: Get Your Motor Running
Cigars and brandy during pitstops may be a distant memory, but there are still those who pay for the privilege of being behind the wheel. Adam Hay-Nicholls joins the indulgent and hedonistic ranks of the gentleman racer.
The Rake: Tuscan Sole
The Rake journeys to the heart of Italy’s Tuscany and there rediscovers the style and spirit of Salvatore Ferragamo, a company whose forays into fashion, footwear and fragrance are always delivered with the epitome of taste and beauty. By Adam Hay-Nicholls.
City A.M. Magazine: Ice Cold
From huskies to supercars, the wilderness of Finland is transformed is transformed into a billionaires’ playground by McLaren. Words: Adam Hay-Nicholls
City A.M. Magazine: Wheels of Fortune
The Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio, with its shamrock-emblazoned engine, may be the luckiest motor ever invented, writes Adam Hay-Nicholls
The Rake: Fashioning a New Formula
Lewis Hamilton has broken the Formula One mould – and he’s not done yet. The world’s fastest driver talks diversity, education, fashion and creative passions with Adam Hay-Nicholls.
British GQ: You can now holiday on a James Bond set
GQ is in Sölden, Austria, 3048 metres above sea level and inside the summit of the Gaislachkogl Mountain. The slate grey entrance door is concealed against the side of the cliff face, and as it swings ajar it triggers the searing horns, piano and strings of Writing’s On The Wall, the opening theme to James Bond’s 24th mission.
The Pemberley: The Edge of Wildness
My wild Indonesian beach horse had a split personality. We headed to the tip of the three-mile-long Nihiwatu beach, me giving the animal polite but firm kicks to the ribs, yet it refused to so much as trot or go near the water. Then, and I knew this was going to happen, once we turned around and it saw where it lived it went, in two-wheeled terms, from being a push bike to a Ducati 1299 Superleggera. It went faster than anything I’ve seen at Ascot. It rode through the surge of the Indian Ocean, which was fun for the first mile. But as I pulled on the reins, and the nag refused to heel, the cartilage in my back went on strike and it felt like nails were being hammered into my spine. So, there I am, flat-out aboard one tonne of pot roast, and I see a couple on a romantic sunset stroll. Rather than scream HELP I decided to grit my teeth and try to look cavalier as I galloped past, leaning backwards ever further, knowing that at the end of the beach was a huge infinity pool and no way round it. Finally, as the frontier of sunbathers appeared, it slammed on its anchors, pulled a 90-degree left into its stable and, shaking and sweating, I prized myself off its saddle and gingerly slipped off.
Sunday Times Magazine: Me & My Motor – Lewis Hamilton
Whether on a race track or a public road, two hours behind the wheel is enough for Lewis Hamilton. “I do like driving,” says Lewis Hamilton, almost defensively, “but I hate sitting in a car for more than a couple of hours.”
The Sunday Telegraph: Taking BMW’s M4 on the M4
It’s fitting that a whiff of cordite has settled around the BMW M4. This car is a weapon; a stealthy Bavarian bullet, with an especially menacing air when there’s a smoking shotgun in the boot.
City AM: On this real life Bond island, guests can pilot their own submarine.
Velaa Private Island, in the Maldives, is a resort for billionaires by billionaires. Where else, in addition to the standard private pool and butler, does the hotel provide a personal submarine? Welcome to the real James Bond island.
The Sunday Telegraph: Going on holiday by mistake in a Jaguar F-Pace
As I thunder north up the M6, I am fulfilling a mission 30 years in the making. I’m at the wheel of a Jag and the destination is Uncle Monty’s cottage. I am re-enacting Withnail & I. Continue reading
City AM Bespoke: New Dawn
This limited-edition Rolls-Royce, produced to celebrate the 50th birthday of Saint Tropez’ Hotel Byblos, is something to behold. Words: Adam Hay-Nicholls.
City AM Bespoke: Return of the Mac
Once again, supercar manufacturer McLaren shows the rest how it’s done, even besting the Lambo Aventador S in Adam Hay-Nicholls’ Roman odyssey.
The Rake: Rockstar Road Trip
Following in the tyre tracks of legendary rock bands and in search of accommodation fit for A-listers, Adam Hay-Nicholls travels through Morocco in a Bentley Bentayga.
The Sunday Telegraph: On the trail of Scandal at Cliveden
Cliveden House: An estate synonymous with the swinging Sixties; of power, sex, class, beauty, and the corruption of the British establishment itself. An Aston Martin seemed the perfect car with which to visit.
City AM Bespoke – Tech and the Old City
Think of Jerusalem and one imagines ancient history, religion, and neighbouring tensions. Not craft beer, tech incubators and model-slash-DJs. It is, I discovered, a city of surprises.
METRO: Lewis – Legend in the Making
Only two men have won the British Grand Prix five times; Jim Clark and Alain Prost. Lewis Hamilton is gunning to join them on Sunday.
City AM Bespoke: Europe’s ultimate road-trip
Adam Hay-Nicholls tackles Scotland’s NC500, one of the world’s most amazing circuits, in the Maserati Levante.
City AM Bespoke: To Infiniti and Beyond
Adam Hay-Nicholls discovers the thinking man’s car brand and explains why it would vote for the Liberal Democrats.
The Rake: Between Wind & Water
Throughout its history, the lure of the America’s Cup has seduced tycoons, pioneers and moguls. As the 35th America’s Cup Match presented by Louis Vuitton unfurls this month in Bermuda, THE RAKE takes a look at the dramas on land and sea that make the world’s longest running sporting event such a compelling spectacle. By Adam Hay-Nicholls.
City AM Bespoke: How McLaren discovered a sprinkling of stardust
Summoning the spirit of Major Tom, we take McLaren’s most refined supercar to England’s industrial birthplace. Words: Adam Hay-Nicholls. Continue reading
City AM Bespoke: Mexico’s Art Hotels
Luxury boutique hotels are celebrating Mexico’s artistic heritage and architectural prowess, writes Adam Hay-Nicholls.
City AM Bespoke: The Prancing Moose
Driving onto a frozen lake with traction and stability control switched off, I’m starting to regret the 20-course meal of pig’s head, decomposing leaves and bird’s liver custard that’s in my belly. But that’s the price you pay for experiencing the finest and wildest that Sweden has to offer.
Intersection: Election Drive
You don’t need me to tell you that the 2016 US presidential election was the most bitter, divided and downright ugly of any living person’s lifetime. Yet despite this, with 41.6 percent of eligible voters not casting a ballot, the winner wasn’t Donald Trump, it was apathy. But I did my bit. I may not have the right to vote in America, but I did my darndest to uphold democracy in the land of the free by borrowing a Bentley and driving people to the polls. Continue reading
Adam Hay-Nicholls 