As we start the 2020s, Adam Hay-Nicholls steps back in time to sample life at Pall Mall a century ago.
Pell Mell & Woodcote: When the Twenties Roared
PMC Journal: Lost on the Dakar
The year was 1982. The British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, rerouted an RAF Hercules over foreign territory and requested the scrambling of jets and choppers and ground troops. The diplomatic cables burned back-and-forth. President Reagan expressed concern. The situation was desperate.
The Rake: The proud father
David Gandy grew up in what he calls a ‘Jag family’. Now he has a baby of his own: an XK120 Lightweight roadster, remade into the car of his dreams. Adam Hay-Nicholls joined him for a test-drive on the French Riviera.
City A.M. Magazine: Dive and conquer
In 2011, the US Navy sunk its own vessel off the coast of Grand Cayman to form an artificial reef. Adam Hay-Nicholls grabs his camera and descends into the depths in search of it.
GQ: We drove a Superformance GT40 replica… and it was even better than the real thing
Ahead of the release of Le Mans ’66, the tale of Ford versus Ferrari, GQ takes Christian Bale’s place aboard a ‘continuation’ GT40.
Country Life: Flirting with danger
Jumping off a bridge attached to untested elastic, riding down a mountain on a grand piano and crossing the English Channel suspended from a helium-filled kangaroo all sound like insane pastimes, but they’re all in a day’s work for the Dangerous Sports Club, reports Adam Hay-Nicholls Continue reading
Boisdale Life: The continuing classics
At its old workshops in Newport Pagnell, Aston Martin has begun building new versions of a 1960s legend. Lucky blighter Adam Hay-Nicholls pays a visit, while taking a trio of vintage Aston beauties for a spin. Continue reading
Tempus: Racing Red
As Ferrari continues to dominate the luxury sports car arena, head of design Flavio Manzoni opens the doors to its spectacular dream factory in northern Italy. Words: Adam Hay-Nicholls Continue reading
GQ: McLaren GT review – ‘We tried to imagine a McLaren for James Bond’
McLaren’s GT is unique: a mid-engined supercar with space for skis, a set of golf clubs and a tuxedo. By Adam Hay-Nicholls
City A.M. Magazine: By land and sea
How a Lexus mid-life crises led to a £3m yacht and a car that outshines both Jaguar and Porsche. Words: Adam Hay-Nicholls. Continue reading
City A.M. Magazine: Fill your Phukets
It’s increasingly fashionable to hunt down your own ingredients, but as Adam Hay-Nicholls discovers in Thailand, foraging needed come at the expense of comfort. Continue reading
City A.M. Magazine: Living La Dolce Vita
Beachcombing Puglia in a retro-mod rental car, Adam Hay-Nicholls discovers La Dolce Vita for 300 Euros a day.
City A.M. Magazine: German design, meets French roads
From Calais to Paris to Provence, Adam Hay-Nicholls puts the new Audi R8 through its paces on some hair-raising ribbons of tarmac.
City A.M.: Safari in Style
Adam Hay-Nicholls takes a tour of South Africa’s finest luxury nature reserves. Continue reading
The Official Ferrari Magazine: Speeding London
From the early 1960s through to the mid-’70s a style revolution swept London. It was not restricted to fashion and the boutiques of the King’s Road – places like Mary Quant’s seminal shop ‘Bazaar’ – but also the tarmac itself. The automobile became a talisman of freedom, style and rebellion. And it was not limited to British cars – Ferrari also played a key role. Words: Adam Hay-Nicholls
Boisdale Life: Over Hill, Overfinch
In darkest Exmoor, Adam Hay-Nicholls finds a pimped, £210,000 SUV to be the perfect ice-breaker with a publican yet to embrace electricity.
The Sunday Telegraph: ‘A car this handsome needs a destination of aristocratic virtue’
The Chilterns and Cotswolds give Adam Hay-Nicholls an ideal platform for the Bentley Continental GT, a car with all the qualities of a quintessentially British grand tourer.
City A.M. Magazine: A Stallion in the Snow
The Ferrari GTC4Lusso is a four-seater, all-wheel drive statesman that can still shred just about anything from the traffic lights. Adam Hay-Nicholls drives it through the Swiss Alps.
City A.M. Magazine: Going to Ibiza?
Once a renowned party island, Ibiza is enjoying a reputation overhaul. Nobu’s latest hotel opening is leading the charge. By Adam Hay-Nicholls.
Country Life: On Duty At The Arcade
On 20th March, London’s Burlington Arcade turns 200. Adam Hay-Nicholls goes undercover with its private police force, the Beadles.
Country Life: Pole Cats
Adam Hay-Nicholls goes sideways at speed in the sub-zero Swedish wilderness. Continue reading
The Sunday Telegraph: Jurassic Parking
I’m bombing across the chartreuse-coloured hills behind East Devon’s Jurassic Coast. My destination is the dining table of top chef Michael Caines and, as I like to match my vehicles with whatever’s in store for the knife and fork, I have chosen the Range Rover Velar for the journey: A luxurious status symbol steeped in country cred, but one which is silkily contemporary and reductionist from every angle.
Pell-Mell & Woodcote: The Joy of the Journey
This year’s London to Brighton Veteran Car Run again lived up to high expectations; broadcaster Alan Titchmarsh and writer Adam Hay-Nicholls – both Royal Automobile Club members – travelled with the Motoring Committee chairman in a 1903 Daimler.
Words by Adam Hay-Nicholls
Adam Hay-Nicholls 