The Ultimate Road Trip with Piers Hewitt

Singer Vehicle Design founder Rob Dickinson is the final guest on the Ultimate Road Trip Podcast for 2023! This year marked the 60th Anniversary of the unveiling of the Porsche 911 at The Frankfurt Motor Show and it's fitting that we have the man behind one of the most celebrated automotive companies of recent years on the podcast, chatting about his childhood through to his time in 90's band Catherine Wheel, to starting Singer. The company restores and reimagines 911's -based on the 964 chassis- in the direction of each individual clients' wishes, striving for "a relentless pursuit of excellence" and it was a privilege to chat to Rob about Singer, as well as, of course, his Ultimate Road Trip! The five elements that make up The Ultimate Road Trip. 1. What's the car - make, model, colour 2. Why that car 3. Destination......anywhere 4. Passenger 5. Seminal soundtrack    

Coronation Street actor Shelley King joins James on the Ultimate Road Trip Podcast this week! She's played Yasmeen for almost 10 years, but in 2019 hit the headlines for her character's gradual degradation at the hands of her thoroughly nasty husband, Geoff Metcalfe (played by Ian Bartholomew), throwing the real-life problem of coercive control in relationships into the spotlight. What many of her fans may not know, is that along with acting, one of her other passions is cars. Especially ones from Stuttgart....   The Ultimate Road Trip guests are each asked 5 questions: 1. What's the car - make, model, colour?
 2. Why that car? 3. Destination......anywhere.
 4. Who's the passenger?
 5. Seminal soundtrack. Thanks again for listening, please share, follow or subscribe!

We're extremely lucky to be joined by another legendary musician this week, who just happens to be a car and motorsport fanatic... John Oates has been making music since high school, and along with his creative partner Daryl Hall, has released almost 30 studio and live albums, had six #1 singles and also has a flourishing solo career.  He's a self-confessed gearhead and in our chat reminisces about cars he's owned, lost and rediscovered as well as choosing his Ultimate Road Trip. The car he's picked is a reinvention of one of the most famous sports cars of all time and his song choice is, not surprisingly, from another legendary soul man. 1. What's the car - make, model, colour?
 2. Why that car? 
3. Destination......anywhere.
 4. Who's the passenger?
 5. Seminal soundtrack. Thanks again for listening, please share, follow or subscribe!

We're back with Season 4 of the Ultimate Road Trip Podcast and on this latest episode, James is joined by a very special guest - 1992 Formula One World Champion, Nigel Mansell! Nigel was at the Goodwood Festival of Speed last year driving a variety of cars including his Ferrari 640 from 1989 and the 1992 Championship winning Williams FW14B - celebrating 30 years since he claimed the F1 title. 'Our Nige' drew huge crowds at the Festival, but spared a few minutes to speak to James about his thoughts on the incredible collection of cars that had been gathered from his career - and then his Ultimate Road Trip. The car he chose isn't from Maranello, but the tune? Well, that's by a musician who's love of the prancing horse marque is no secret. 1. What's the car - make, model, colour?
 2. Why that car? 
3. Destination......anywhere.
 4. Who's the passenger?
 5. Seminal soundtrack. Thanks again for listening, please share, follow or subscribe!

Chef Ben Robinson from the superyacht reality TV series 'Below Deck' joins me this week on the podcast!  Ben's experience in Michelin starred kitchens and on yachts, along with his British sense of humour and outlook on life obviously ticked all the producer's boxes, as he appeared in the first series of the show back in 2013. Six further Seasons later and after gaining a huge following, he decided to concentrate on his own international catering business, specialising in holistic nutrition.  As well as the road trip we chatted about getting through the pandemic, his current projects and of course 'Below Deck' -  as you'll hear, the cooking wasn't an issue, but his first time in front of the camera was a different kettle of fish! 1. What's the car - make, model, colour?
 2. Why that car? 
3. Destination......anywhere.
 4. Who's the passenger?
 5. Seminal soundtrack. Thanks again for listening, please share, follow or subscribe!

Alfa Romeo F1 Team Orlen driver Zhou Guanyu was one of the star drivers at this year's Goodwood Festival of Speed in June and I was very lucky to spend a few minutes with him on the Alfa stand in the middle of his packed schedule. After chatting about his move to the UK and rapid rise through the motorsport ranks to the heady heights of F1 and a successful start to his debut season, along with his thoughts on the Alfa Tonale, we then got onto his Ultimate Road Trip. As you'll hear, I wished him all the best for the British Grand Prix the following weekend, but any luck for a successful result at Silverstone would be used up, walking away with just a few bruises after that terrifying crash at the start of the race. 1. What's the car - make, model, colour? 2. Why that car? 3. Destination......anywhere. 4. Who's the passenger? 5. Seminal soundtrack. Thanks again for listening, please share, follow or subscribe!

This week on the podcast I'm joined by the Chief Executive Officer of W Series , Catherine Bond Muir. We met at last year's Goodwood Festival of Speed where one of her Tatuus-Alfa Romeo F3 cars was just about to be driven up the famous Goodwood hill in front of thousands of spectators.  Before we talked about her Ultimate Road Trip, Catherine told me why she started the W Series championship and how encouraged she has been in making so much progress in a traditionally male dominated sport, in such a short period of time.  The five 'URT' questions are as ever... 1. What's the car - make, model, colour? 2. Why that car? 3. Destination......anywhere. 4. Who's the passenger? 5. Seminal soundtrack. Thanks again for listening, please share, follow or subscribe!    

I'm joined by London-based automotive artist Ella Freire on this week's episode of the Ultimate Road Trip Podcast. Inspired by stories of her Grandfather racing at Brooklands and in the Mille Miglia, Ella creates stunning silk screen prints of classics and supercars, framed in flame brushed acrylic and aluminium. She has exhibited at shows and events across the UK, alongside taking on many private commissions and has recently been involved in exhibitions to help raise funds for the London Air Ambulance and Auto Artists for Ukraine. Check out her fabulous pieces at www.freireprintz.co.uk The five 'URT' questions are as ever... 1. What's the car - make, model, colour? 2. Why that car? 3. Destination......anywhere. 4. Who's the passenger? 5. Seminal soundtrack. Thanks again for listening, please share, follow or subscribe!

On this week's episode I'm very lucky to be joined by one of the UK's most popular entrepreneurs, Theo Paphitis.  He's best known for the BBC show "Dragons' Den" and his incredibly popular "Small Business Sunday" weekly competition on Twitter, but I've known about his love of cars for many years, so thought he'd be the perfect guest for the podcast. But before going through his Ultimate Road Trip, we talked about the business of shopkeeping and how the industry has been affected by the pandemic. 1. What's the car - make, model, colour? 2. Why that car? 3. Destination......anywhere. 4. Who's the passenger? 5. Seminal soundtrack. Thanks again for listening, please share, follow or subscribe!

On this week's episode of the podcast I'm joined by one of the most influential designers of his generation and a man who likes his cars - a lot. Marc Newson has designed everything from an ashtray to an airport departure lounge and last year during lockdown it was great to chat with him online, touching on his early years in Australia, his Ford concept car design and his Ultimate Road Trip, which he would like to undertake in two very different machines... As ever, I ask each of my 'URT' guests 5 questions. 1. What's the car - make, model, colour? 2. Why that car? 3. Destination......anywhere. 4. Who's the passenger? 5. Seminal soundtrack. Thanks again for listening, please share, follow or subscribe!