2019-04-01 BMW Car

32 BMWcar

ME AND MY CAR

T

he reasons behind our car-

buying decisions are many and

complex. For some people

• as hard as it may be for
  enthusiasts like us to believe –
  there’s little pleasure to be derived from
  driving, and a car is merely an appliance;
  this explains the number of Vauxhall
  Corsas that exist!
  For others, family safety is paramount,
  combined with a commanding road
  position, hence the inexorable rise of the
  SUV genre. People who buy performance
  cars have a very diff erent set of priorities

to those considering pick-up trucks, or

electric city cars, or vans. There’s no all-

encompassing answer to the question of

why we choose to drive what we do; there

are just too many variables.

CLASSIC MISTAKE?

But arguably, on paper, the ownership

of a classic car makes the least sense of

all. After all, these are cars that are less

refi ned, less safe, less well-equipped and

usually less powerful than their modern

counterparts. Consequently, they bring

with them a vastly increased likelihood of

being left stranded at the side of the road,

or presenting you with huge bills at MoT

time. These, then, are machines bought

with the heart, not the head.

So how does this practical and

artistic tension manifest itself within the

aspirations of, say, the design manager at

McLaren Automotive? Might such a person

refuse to drive anything but a Senna or

a P1, or perhaps follow Gordon Murray’s

god-like pursuit of function, and zip about

in an LCC Rocket?

Well, Paul Howse is the man fulfi lling

this particular role, so let’s ask him: “I think

Grand design

When it comes to affairs of the heart, logic and rationality take a back seat. Paul

Howse may design McLarens for a living but, as Dan Bevis discovers, there’s

nowhere he’d rather be than in an old BMW... Photos: Alex Lawrence