Unofficial Richard Hammond Fan Site

ME AND MY CARS - RICHARD HAMMOND

My first car:

I bought an R-registration, 1977 Toyota Corolla Liftback 1600 (example above) while I was at art school, in about 1988. It had a pushrod engine, a floor-hinged accelerator just like a Porsche, 30 leaks in the fuel tank and it was red. It was red, that is, until I decided to paint a Confederate flag on the roof and call it the "General Wong", as a clever, ironic, student take on the "General Lee", the Duke brothers' Dodge Charger in The Dukes of Hazzard. I broke the rear suspension when I got 17 people into it. I spent a lot of time in scrap yards when I had that car, and that was where I found a spare rear side window for a Toyota that had an eagle engraved on it, which I fitted to my Corolla. Eventually I plastered it into the side of a Volvo.

My worst car:

I've had lots of unreliable cars, such as an Opel Manta Berlinetta and a Volkswagen Scirocco, but the car I hated most was a Mark II Ford Escort 1.3. It was white and it was awful. Rubbish. I swopped my Jago Jeep kit car for it when I was trying to be sensible. I gave it away.

My favourite car:

The Series I 1956 Land Rover that I received as a Christmas present from my wife. I like it because it is so fit for its purpose, beautiful and makes me smile every time I see it. I also still have my 1982 Porsche 911 SC which I've had for years. They're both small, simple and rugged.

My worst crash:

I had just done up a Suzuki GP100 motorbike and finished spraying it but within two yards of taking it on its maiden voyage I had written it off in a collision with a Mini Metro. The Suzuki was a sorry sight and the Metro had a dented wing, because I used my body to protect the bike. I was 17. My proudest moment also took place when I was on a bike, when the police stopped me for speeding and reckless driving on my moped. After they had pulled me in I charged round to my mate's at top speed, 35mph, to tell him all about it.

Richard Hammond is a presenter on the BBC's `Top Gear' show

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