Joe Said has a passion for Jaguars - the four wheeled type.
Photos of some of his 'treasures' being driven hard at a classic car race hang in his office. There are die-cast models of historic cars displayed to one side,along with numerous trophies he won at classic car race events.
And his garage features a collection of 10 of this legendary British car manufacturer's models, namely a 1989 XJS V12 roadster, a 1974 Series II XJ6 Daimler, a 1966 Mark X, a 1965 Mark 2, a 1935 SS Tourer, a 1957 XK150, a 1948 XK120, a 1959 C-Type and two E-types in respective Series I and II guises.
His passion for Jaguars began over 50 years ago as a young boy. "It all began when I had an experience with an old Jag one Saturday. Someone was on my street hammering out the panels of an SS, which had been crashed. I remember being fascinated by it. My passion for these cars began way back then and has been there ever since."
Life took his elsewhere and it was 20 years ago that he began collecting Jaguars. His knowledge on Jaguars is simply astounding. He describes the XK120 as his favourite. "Its lines and purity of design are incredible - for me it's the nicest design Jaguar has ever produced. It's a very unusual car."
He does not just leave his cars sitting in his (cavernous!) garage gathering dust - he drives them regularly and even competes in races.
When he is not racing, he likes to pick and choose cars out of his collection to go cruising in. "I use most of them during the year, especially in summer. My friends and I just drive somewhere nice, park up where we can see our cars (!) and have a drink."
Mr Said is vice-chairman of the Valletta Grand Prix committee, as well as vice-chairman of Jaguar Club Malta. Speaking of his aspirations for this year's upcoming Valletta Grand Prix in May, he talked of his hope to attract foreign machinery to the event, saying there has already been plenty of foreign interest. This year, he will be racing his C-Type in the Valletta Grand Prix. The beautiful black roadster, complete with leather buckles to hold its bonnet in place and just a single door indicating its racing pedigree, will run with an upgraded race-spec engine pushing about 300 bhp. Keep an eye out for him.
motoring@timesofmalta.com