Mad Dog’s Man Cave - Brian’s Collection

MAD DOG’S MAN CAVE

MEMBER’S COLLECTION

We take a trip to Wales to catch up with member Brian about his special car collection and equally special garage.

We’ve got to know member Brian well over the last few years with all the drives and tours he’s been on, and he was even kind enough to let us drive his Ferrari 430 Scuderia for our Class of 2007 feature, but with such an array of cars he houses in a garage bigger than his house, we thought it was about time we checked out Brian’s full collection.

Unlike most members we speak to, Brian’s love of cars wasn’t instilled in him from a young age, “A passion for cars wasn’t in my family. My inspiration was a landlord of a local pub when I was 13 or 14 who always had 930 Turbos and used to change them often. I used to walk to work on a farm on weekends and summer holidays, and I remember walking around them thinking, I’m going to buy one of these one day. That was a massive dream at the time as a single-parent council house boy”, he tells us. “My first car was a Mini 1275 GT and my first proper car was a Porsche 996 Carrera 4”, and Brian also mentioned a couple of cars you might not expect from a supercar collector, “I used to have an Austin Maxi family car, and more recently a Rover 75 nicknamed ‘The Rovertaker’! Normally though, I’m particularly into Lamborghini, but really I’m a lover of all lightweight variants”. Before we get into the cars we’re here to see, we had to touch on the garage they’re kept in because it’s closer to a cosy living room than a cold warehouse. “I had always wanted a decent size garage, and now the garage is bigger than the house. Isn’t that how it should be?! It took two years and it was in planning for a long time. I did all the design myself plus some of the fit-out. I incorporated an under-floor ramp, charging points in the floor for trickle chargers so there are no leads running everywhere and I did most of the lighting using cool reclaimed items — the ceiling lights are made from hot air balloon burners, polished and fitted with energy-saving LED bulbs.

Brian tells us the garage can comfortably fit 10 cars, or 13 at a squeeze, so let’s take a look at those cars, shall we?

...I try to drive them all at some point during the summer months, but I use the Performante the most.

Lamborghini Huracán Performante “I bought the Performante new in 2017 because it was the first car Lamborghini had built to really compete with the GT3. I love the gearbox, the brakes and the noise from the V10, although the driver settings revert to default every time you start it and I’m not keen on the indicator controls on the steering wheel”.

Lamborghini Aventador SVJ “I had the chance to get one of the first cars in the country, so I went ahead and purchased the SVJ new in 2019. The gearbox isn’t great, you can’t see anything out of the rear, fuel consumption and range is as bad as you’d expect and the depreciation hasn’t been kind either, but the scissor doors, the looks, the colour and of course the V12 engine make up for that”. Lamborghini Murciélago SV “I bought the Murciélago SV in 2019. I had an Aventador SV which was dropping in price, so I traded it for the Murci which I thought would be better in terms of long-term value, plus the Aventador SV was too similar to the SVJ I had on order at that point. I love the Murci; it looks amazing, sounds amazing and is really raw, and I think future values will be solid”.

Ferrari 430 Scuderia “I bought the Scuderia in 2015 because I had just sold my Gallardo and wanted something different. I love the single-clutch gearbox, the steering, the style and the drama of driving it, although I’m not keen on the brakes. I don’t use it much these days, but I’m hoping to do the Ferrari lightweight tour in it this year”.

Porsche 996 GT3 RS “I purchased the RS in 2018, to be honest as more of an investment car. With that in mind, I haven’t used it much, but it gives you the feeling of a pure driver’s car and I’m hoping to do the Porsche GT tour in it this year”.

Porsche 964 Turbo “Bought in 2015, the 964 has always been my favourite air-cooled shape. I love the looks and the old-school drive but the pedal positioning is a little awkward. I actually had three others before this one, finding a better example each time”.

Porsche 930 Turbo “Purchased in 2012 as I loved the old-school ‘80s styling, I thought it would be good news in terms of future values, and this car has trebled in value since then. It has the same pedal placement issue as the 964 and it has serious turbo lag, but I love the fact that it has no power steering and the old four-speed gearbox — it’s a proper old-school driver”.

Mitsubishi Evo VI Tommi Makinen RS “Considered to be the holy grail of Evos by the purists, I bought it as an investment in 2016 with just 9,000 miles from new. I can’t tell you how it drives, but I like the way the values are going”.

Mitsubishi Evo X RS “With the Tommi Makinen purchased in the same year as more of an investment, I bought this one nearly new in 2016 as a road car originally, but then I turned it into a track car with a bolt-in cage, circuit brakes and suspension, although I don’t do as many track days in it these days”.

Mini 1275 GT “I purchased the Mini in 2019. It is the same year and colour as my first car so it brings back a lot of memories of the car I unfortunately had to sell when I was 18 to buy a Transit pickup to start my business. I love ripping around the country lanes where I used to go in my first car and I’m hoping to do the Retro Cannonball in Ireland this year”.

Rover 75 “Purchased in 2020 for £300! I bought it to do a charity £500 banger challenge to drive to Gibraltar and I’m hoping to do the same to Sunny Beach in Bulgaria this year — a 1,500-mile trip. I like doing front-wheel burnouts and the looks I get from locals, although it won’t go over 129mph!”.

With so much to choose from, which car does Brian drive the most? “I try to drive them all at some point during the summer months, but I use the Performante the most. I’ve done 17,000 miles in this car. It’s perfect for road trips and it’s the one I’d keep if I had to choose just one”, and on the other end of the spectrum, it must be easy for a car to get neglected in such company, so we ask which one he should drive more, “The Porsche 930 Turbo because it’s hard work to drive quickly but makes you a better driver when you get into something modern”. And what about maintaining such a collection? “It’s a nightmare! I’ve reduced the numbers recently because I found myself doing MOTs or taking them for services most of the time”, Brian explains, “I like to go through a car myself when I first purchase it, get it on the ramp with the wheels off and do any little fine detail jobs and “I had a Lamborghini Gallardo for five years and a Nissan GT-R for a year, but for the most part, I’ve had a lot of old retro Porsches and Ferraris over the last 10 years and kept most of them for two or three years. There have been four Porsche 930 Turbos, three 964 Turbos, two 993 Turbos, one being a Turbo S, Ferrari Testarossa and a 328 GTB”, Brian tells us, “They were great to own, but the old stuff needs using. I didn’t have time to drive them all and I was trying to improve the quality of the cars in the garage as I traded up”. Now we’ve covered the cars, let’s go back to the garage, because as well as the construction itself, you might have noticed the interesting artwork Brian has on the walls, which it turns out he creates himself, “It’s just a hobby really. I’ve done some for friends as gifts but I don’t like doing commissions as it seems like a job then, and I’m too busy”, Brian tells us. “I’ve always been into woodwork from my profession as a tree surgeon, and got into making furniture from the wood I generated as a hobby. I've made all the furniture in my house, and whilst in lockdown, I passed time in the workshop. I didn’t need any more furniture so I decided to make some wall art to decorate my garage walls, and since lockdown has been on and off for a year now, I’ve done one for most of the cars in my collection. At the start of lockdown, I made a Lamborghini shield with epoxy resin inlays to give a 3D effect in the same colour as the purple SVJ which took ages to do but kept me occupied. The most recent piece is a silhouette of the history of all the Lamborghini V12 variants”.

As you might have gathered from his plans with his cars for the year ahead, Brian is a fan of road trips, and the last couple of years have been packed with them, “I’ve done three Lamborghini factory tours in Italy, tours in the Alps and Scotland, both in the Performante, Cannonball Ireland, plus loads of Euro trips with friends, not forgetting the early Sunday morning blasts in the Welsh mountains”.

Brian is also fortunate enough to share his passion for cars with his sons, one of whom is a fellow member. That must only enhance the enjoyment? “When you have a passion for cars like we do, is there anything better than doing a Euro trip with your sons? We recently organised a Euro trip where both of my sons Matthew and James drove separate cars, some of their friends also joined us and it was an amazing experience, one I will never forget”, Brian remembers, “We do early Sunday morning drives in Wales together with anything up to 10 cars tagging along, and we’re always done by breakfast when the traffic gets busy. We love getting out on drives with too, you always meet new people with the same interests as yourself. I’ve met so many people through cars and I’m always getting invites to join drives and tours, which is what it’s all about for me”. Finally, if you’ve done your maths, you’ll have noticed Brian technically has a bit of space spare in the garage at a squeeze, so is there anything else inbound? “I have a Huracán STO due later this year, Yaris GR due this year and a Urus Sport due 2022. I don’t usually crave anything much more than I’ve got, but I’d love a 360 Challenge Stradale, Diablo SV and Carrera GT. I keep thinking I will sell the 964 and 930 Turbo to buy a Challenge Stradale, but every time I get them out, I fall in love with them again. The one car I’ll never sell is the Mini 1275 GT because of the history of it being my first car”.