Once again, supercar manufacturer McLaren shows the rest how it’s done, even besting the Lambo Aventador S in Adam Hay-Nicholls’ Roman odyssey.
Category Archives: Travel
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.
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
City AM Bespoke: California Dreamin’
A trip to Tuscany in a Prancing Horse shows Ferrari still evokes an almost spiritual passion in its homeland, writes Adam Hay-Nicholls. Continue reading
Goodwood Road Racing Club: Maserati to Monaco
I got a few weird looks as I unloaded my soiled wellies from the back of a Maserati as I checked into Monaco’s elegant Hermitage Hotel. Where on earth had I been, the valet must have thought.
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Intersection: The Art of Chauffeuring
Open the door to a Rolls-Royce and you’ll spot one of its nattiest party pieces – a custom umbrella that can spring out of the side of each door. It can do more than merely shield the elements of the on-board VIPs, though. “The umbrella can be used both defensively and offensively,” says Andi McCann, as if he’s just walked off the set of Kingsman: The Secret Service. Continue reading
City AM Bespoke: Love Bite from a Spider
The 488 Spider drove me to drink petrol. There was no warning when it ran out of fuel. OK, the gas light came on about 40 miles back but the way I was driving it, with ‘race’ mode selected on the manettino dial and some heavy application of the right pedal, that distance came and went pretty fast. The car coughed twice before the power died and the steering went heavy. Not ideal when you are up a narrow switchback somewhere in the Ligurian mountains and the nearest petrol station is far from walkable. Continue reading
City AM Bespoke: The Most Important Aston Ever Built
We take the Ferrari-baiting new DB11 for a drive through prancing horse territory. Continue reading
City AM Bespoke: The A-list Invitation
There are four bungalows situated behind the high walls of the notorious Chateau Marmont, each a source of parties and privacy for starlets and rock n’ rollers. Mine has a particularly macabre claim to fame; the master bedroom was where comedy icon John Belushi checked out permanently. Continue reading
Asia Tatler: Mid Range
Positioned between the urban cowboy’s Evoque and the big full-fat Range Rover, the Range Rover Sport manages to do what no other SUV can; it’s equally brilliant on and off the road, writes Adam Hay-Nicholls. Continue reading
Asia Tatler: Ghost Story
The Rolls-Royce Ghost II is a marriage of tradition, high-tech, opulence and restraint. Adam Hay-Nicholls enjoys the ride front and back. Continue reading
City AM Bespoke: First Love
You may love many cars in a lifetime, but you only ever have one first love. For Adam Hay-Nicholls, it was an Aston Martin. Continue reading
City AM Bespoke: Muscle Stimulant
Most cars are born to be forgotten. The Daewoo Matiz, for example, is a perfectly serviceable hatchback but it’ll never be passed down the generations or wind up on display at the V&A. Cult cars are a rarity but the Ford Mustang is definitely on the list. Continue reading
City AM Bespoke: Norman Conquest
Foreboding skies, bracing wind and incessant rain set the scene for my drive along the Normandy coast, but the rolling of thunder you hear is the gargle of my Bentley Mulsanne Speed. Continue reading
City AM Bespoke: Grace Over Fire
The subtle Maserati Quattroporte GTS may hide its light under a bushel, but make no mistake; this is a four-door Ferrari. Adam Hay-Nicholls sweeps through France in the most aristocratic of super saloons. Continue reading
City AM Bespoke: Polo with an Italian Stalion
Where to take a thoroughbred Ferrari for a weekend? Ascot’s Coworth Park will stable your prancing horse. Continue reading
City AM Bespoke: Perfect Gentleman
It’s the tail-end of dusk in Devon and silence is broken. Thundering down the twisting A382 from Exeter to Chagford, an ancient tin-mining town set on the upper reaches of southern England’s most rugged terrain, Dartmoor, the Aston Martin darts into a private road. Its V12 echoes through a dark tunnel of trees, then skimming by millimeters the edges of a stone bridge as the supercar winds its way up to Gidleigh Park. Continue reading
Adam Hay-Nicholls 