Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond recalls his early life told through eight significant road journeys in his latest book On The Road, published by Hachette on November 7.
What car do you drive?
I haven’t got it yet but I will be driving a white Porsche 911 GT3. I love cars that feel distinctive and that work. It’s the engineering of them. It’s coming at the end of November. I’m so excited. And, yes, I paid full price for it. It cost a lot, I’m embarrassed to say how much. I also have a Mustang, an old E-type Jag, a Porsche GT3, Oliver, a 1963 Opel Kadett A that I drove across Botswana, a Series 1 Land Rover... Oh, I’ve got quite a lot of cars, haven’t I, seven or eight? But a lot of them are old rubbish, either broken or old. Oh, and I’ve got 26 motorbikes, dating back to 1927.
What was your first car?
A 1976 Toyota Corolla Liftback 1600. It had a cool accelerator pedal, just like on a Porsche. It was hinged on the floor and was kind of long and thin. I painted the flag on the roof myself. My first car was nearly a Capri; looked gorgeous in the picture in Auto Trader but my dad went to look at it for me while I was working in the petrol station and it turned out to be stolen.
What was your best or worst car?
I swapped a motorbike for a Mark 4 Escort. That was my only ever boring car. Before then, I’d always over-reached myself and bought things I couldn’t afford. I thought, no, this time I’d buy a sensible car, a 1.3 litre white Escort and it turned out to have been two glued together with fibreglass and it just fell apart.
What is your dream car?
I’d like a Bentley S1 Continental. Just beautiful. Lovely to behold and you could just glide around in it. It would probably be silver.
Do you consider yourself to be a good driver?
Not really. Every time I say I am, I crash. Every time my wife or daughters say ‘Be careful’ I go and do something stupid. I’ve done a lot of driving so I’m an experienced driver, but that doesn’t necessarily make me a good one.
What drives you mad behind the wheel?
Anybody who won’t find a speed and stick at it, anybody who’s constantly very subtly accelerating and decelerating. And you can’t say anything, especially if it’s somebody you don’t know very well. Find a speed and go at that speed.
Have you ever been involved in a crash?
A couple of times, yes I’ve had a few. I had one at 17 in my first car. Waiting to pull out of the junction directly outside our house in Ripon, I made a simple mistake: I trusted an indicator, flashing left on a Volvo estate travelling towards me from the right on the road I was trying to join. I assumed he was going to turn off at the side road before the junction, and pulled out at full throttle. Only he wasn’t turning left – the indicator had been left on. I ended up spreading my aged Toyota along the broad flanks of the Volvo like butter on toast. My 18th birthday was still two weeks away and my present never made it.
What’s the best music to drive to?
I listen to all manner of things, from blues to modern music. If I’ve got my daughters in the car with me we’ll be listening to current stuff. I love Trombone Shorty and that jazzy, hip, unusual feel, and I also listen to The Haggis Horns, Tom Waits and Ry Cooder.
Who cleans your cars?
Me, but not very often. I’ve got an old Mustang that I clean quite a lot.