MY STARS OF 2023
FAREWELL, 2023. At a time like this, it’s usual to remark on what an extraordinary year we’ve had, and our express-train progress towards electrification makes this very true. Yet an even more tumultuous year confronts us: while the size and seriousness of car revisions promised for 2024 is enormous, the retailing of said cars looks anything but simple. The government insists that 22% must be EVs next year, but the natural market is about 17% today.
Yet if it’s a tough time for car makers, it’s a wonderful time for us car lovers. Never have car creators been more driven to bust conventions to make their products more attractive, and rarely have we been so keenly sought by the retail industry.
Big stuff has to happen next year, yet not even the best futurist can say how it will unfold. Hang on!
MAY
Big domestic moment: a bloke from Andersen arrived to fit our new, extremely stylish and efficient 7kW home EV charger. We’d had one previously, but this one not only looks right on the side of a very old building but also has internet links that let us reset it or turn it off remotely, and it handily keeps track of our expenditure.
JANUARY
Finest way to start a year I can think of: heading for the traditional Classic Car Day at Brooklands on New Year’s Day. Attendees like this extraordinary Citroën CX surfer’s wagon mix with McLarens and Metros to make the most eclectic line-up of the year. If you’re preparing a list of the new year’s unmissable events, this is a must.
FEBRUARY
A wonderful Lotus-themed evening event at the British Motor Museum was distinguished by the attendance of Peter Horbury, Lotus’s head of design. Horbury died suddenly while working in China mid-year; this was one of his last public appearances, along with long-serving Hethel design chief Russell Carr, who led (and explained for the audience) the secrets of the new Emira’s beautiful design.
JUNE
We’re at Le Mans, the day before the big race. The crowd swirls around as Akio Toyoda promises (sort of) that Toyota intends to field a hydrogen-propelled car in this race very soon. But since then, Toyoda has stepped further away from the centre of power and Toyota has announced a “shifting focus” towards BEVs. Betting on a hydrogen Le Mans Toyota now attracts much longer odds.
MARCH
Goodwood doing what it does best. Two of the greatest British racing cars ever built, the 1950 BRM V16 and the 1962 Lotus 25, parked side by side at th
