A Brit living in Australia, James Nicholls is the founder of the Sydney Harbour Concours d’Elegance
GEARBOX
1 I was mortified to learn that my mother had given my childhood trainset away to a boy up the road while I was at university. I was therefore very excited in later life to find at auction this mint Hornby Dublo British Railways 2-6-4 Tank Locomotive, the same as the one I previously owned.
2 I’m half-Italian and we used to regularly visit family there. Those trips during my formative years gave me my interest in Italian classic cars and in particular Lancia and Maserati. I like the artwork on these boxes full of NOS Maserati sparkplugs.
3 The Italian painter and sculptor Marino Marini is one of my favourite artists and I have several prints by him. I love his ‘horse and rider’ sculpture outside the Peggy Guggenheim Museum in Venice, and bought this bronze by Australian artist Jane Dawson 20 years ago. It is one of an edition of just four, entitled ‘Marini’, and is as close as I’ll get to the real thing.
4 The fastest car I ever owned was a LSR car designed to do 500mph. Myself and two friends bought it after too many G&Ts. I sat in the cockpit just once and we never started its Rolls-Royce engine, but we each got a model to remind us of our folly.
5 I have always had an interest in flags, in particular those associated with boats. When I travel I always try to visit the local yacht club to eat, and purchase a burgee. This one is from the Yacht Club de Monaco, a favourite because I have attended both the Monaco Classic Week and the Monaco Historic GP a few times.
6 My father was a great influence on me but passed away when he was only 54 and I
