Welcome to the blog

Hello!  And welcome to the first post of this blog.  

I'm rapidly approaching 50, and back in my younger days I owned three Mazda MX-5s: a white NA, a grey NB (which deserves a story of its own in a future post), and finally a green NB. It seems some passions never really disappear. This blog follows my journey to owning my fourth MX-5, but this time it's something rather special. Instead of a standard car, I'm commissioning a 3.0-litre V6 powered Rocketeer MX-5, and documenting every step along the way, from choosing the right donor and planning the specification to taking ownership, driving it, and making the most of everything that follows.

A bit of background about me / my car life:-

I've been very lucky over the years having had some lovely cars, and back in 2014 I created a previous blog about building a Caterham R500.  Looking back with rose tinted glasses, I thoroughly enjoyed the build process, modifying and enjoying the car, road trips, meet ups, track days and the ups and downs of the car ownership experience.  Having been on quite a few track days (the only place for a car of that calibre) for three or so years, it came to a natural end with the desire to become a 'racing driver'

Me in my Caterham R500 at Cadwell Park

In 2017 I decided to race Caterhams, participating in the Caterham Academy Championship, Roadsport in 2018 and the 270R championship in 2019.  Winning two titles and coming a gnats whisker away from three in a row, I decided at the end of 2019 to hang up my racing overalls and call it a day.

I was 2019 Caterham 270R Champion!

Covid-19 then happened, and for some reason I lost my love for cars... That was until 2024 where I had a health scare, and decided life is too short, and went a bought a beautiful Ferrari 458 spider in red.  The car was absolutley beautiful (one of the most beautiful, if not the most beautiful car), but it was a fairly 'low spec' car and I decided to acquire all of the lovely Ferrari carbon goodies to make it one of the best examples in the UK!  The main downside to Ferrari ownership is the brand is so mileage sensitive, that it discourages you from driving it, plus the servicing and warranty extension costs were truly frightening... Anyway, cut a long story short I was moving home at the beginning of this year (2026), and decided it best to sell the 458 (which I kinda regret on one hand, but on the other I'm happy with my decision).

My Ferrari 458 Spider

So... having moved home, and letting the dust settle (a bit!)... I have an empty garage to fill...