S
ELF-CONFESSED petrolhead
Chris Houghton is buzzing as
he unbuckles the seatbelt of a
Koenigsegg Agera supercar after
an enthusiastic drive through
the leafy Surrey countryside.
Squeezing out of the passenger seat, the
high-octane experience is written all over
the face of the Scots Guardsman.
“It’s incredible – a phenomenal
machine,” he tells Soldier, drawing breath.
The Swedish design is one of the
world’s fastest road cars – with 900bhp
pumped from its five-litre engine. Earlier
he found himself in a Ferrari 488,
and a Caterham Seven is the
next on his list.
The lance sergeant – who
is on the Rolling Recovery
programme for wounded,
injured and sick troops at
a Help for Heroes centre in
Wiltshire – enjoys driving
and fast bikes, but he has
never seen or experienced
so many exclusive vehicles
in a single day.
But thanks to motoring-mad
military enthusiast Tanya Lewis
(pictured below), who has thrown open the
doors of her extraordinary car collection
to troops recuperating from injury, he and
other Service colleagues have been given
this rare opportunity.
It is easy to miss the entrance to the
grounds of her country home around
half-an-hour from Aldershot Garrison,
which is surrounded by foliage on a
little-used B road.
But behind the doors of the
collection of outbuildings that lie
in the fields beyond is more than
a century of automotive history.48 AUGUST 2019 http://www.soldiermagazine.co.ukReport: Cliff Caswell Pictures: Peter Davies48-51-sol-aug supacars.indd 1 25/07/2019 18:49