This is the first of a series of brief articles about our automotive influences and memories, the idea is to try and show where our interest was first born and also how it grew.

First up is Mike, as a friend to the blog, we know what he drives now, but how did he arrive there? What caught his eye in the motoring world?

Going back to the age of six, Mike’s dad owned an XR3i Escort, which in his own words “spent more time with the bonnet up than driving” – a common Ford characteristic! However, it’s for this very reason that he remembers the time with this car in the family so fondly as he spent many an evening helping his dad work on the car, it’s memories like these that forge our interest so solidly.

Following on from this is one I think most people can relate to in some way, growing up as a teenager watching the Fast and Furious franchise, as cliché and over the top as they may be, they brought a form of car culture into the mainstream media, we all lusted after one car or another in the films. Mike was no different, one of his favourites is the R34 GTR, a classic from the Playstation generation. With the GTR marque and it’s racing history, the R34 embodies everything about Japanese attitude for performance cars, wide arches, big wing and serious tunability.

Talking of racing history, Mike first fell in love with the MK1 Focus RS, born as a result of Ford competing in the WRC, piloted by the great Colin McRae. The production car was a way of showing off what Ford could do, regardless of cost, Sachs dampers, Brembo brakes, Quaife diff all contribute to an excellent package. From that point on, Mike decided he would own one some day…

..and own one he does, now with a substantial power increase and beefed up handling, the RS is a real weapon, but I won’t go too much into that, we’ve got a feature coming soon!

Modern auto influences include the real engineering giants such as RenaulSport and Lotus, both of which push the boundaries without just throwing power at you, Mike says he really respects these cars for their unique abilities to upset far more powerful cars through balance and driveability alone.

Nowadays the aim is some kind of GT3 Porsche, perhaps the ultimate track toy when upgraded to the RS model. Who can blame him with decent power, awesome handling and years of racing heritage? They’re also still hanging onto NA engines to provide drivers with the ultimate racecar experience, Mike feels once he’s got his hands on one, he might never change cars again, after all it’s the perfect petrolhead package, just look at it….

..that’s still a way away yet unfortunately, although, we’d love a feature with it once it’s achieved!

Thanks to Mike for his time and stay tuned for more content!