IT'S NOT A PROMISING start. 'What was my first watch? When I was young, you mean? Jesus, I don't know.'
I'm talking to past F1 ace Jody Scheckter in his office at Laverstoke Park. Starting with McLaren in 1972, moving to Tyrrell and its remarkable six-wheeled P34, then on to Wolf and finally Ferrari, he notched up ten Grand Prix wins and took the Drivers' Championship in 1979. Since then he's started, run and sold a multi-million-dollar firearms training company in the USA, commentated on F1, and run an award-winning organic farm on his estate. One gets the sense this man doesn't sit still for long.
Today, racing trophies and photos on the shelves rub up alongside the estate's awards for prize lamb, cheese and wine. Scheckter's desk is strewn with pens, power adapters and papers, and there's a lined A4 pad covered in angular, incised doodles and quick calculations. And a faded box, slightly smaller than a shoebox, with 'Breguet' on it. Perhaps things are looking up after all.
'I don't wear a watch,' he says, dashing my hopes, 'but when I used to, it would be a Casio or a Nike or something practical.
To be fair, Scheckter did warn me. Before we met he emailed to say: 'I'm not a watch buff. I have about six watches and I think only two are connected to racing directly.
Denne historien er fra October 2022-utgaven av Octane.
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Denne historien er fra October 2022-utgaven av Octane.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Will China Change Everything? - China is tearing up modern motor manufacture but is yet to make more than a ripple in the classic car world. That could be about to change dramatically
China now dominates the automotive world in a way even Detroit in its heyday would have struggled to comprehend.Helped by Government incentives, the new car world is dominated by China's industries: whether full cars that undercut Western models by huge amounts, ownership of storied European brands such as Lotus and Volvo, or ownership and access to the vast majority of raw materials that go into EV cars, its influence is far-reaching and deep. However, this automotive enlightenment hasn't manifested itself in the classic world in any meaningful way - until now.
Jem Marsh
The hard-bitten Marcos boss was driven like few others and never knew when he was beaten. Thankfully
Vandamm House
A Mid-Century Modernist masterpiece that was immortalised on celluloid - despite never actually existing
Making light
Alfa Romeo's post-war renaissance began with the 1900 saloon - and matured with Zagato's featherweight coupé version, as Jay Harvey discovers
FULL OF EASTERN PROMISE
Is burgeoning classic car interest in the Middle East good for the global classic market? Nathan Chadwick investigates
Before the beginning
This rare Amazon Green pre-production Range Rover is Velar chassis number 4. James Elliott charts its historically revealing factory restoration
Ben Cussons
As the outgoing chairman of the Royal Automobile Club hands on to his successor, Robert Coucher quizzes him about the evolution of this great British institution
BULLDOG & THE PUPPIES
We gather five motoring masterpieces by avant-garde designer William Towns - and drive all of them
Below the tip of the Audrain iceberg
As the Audrain organisation grows, we take a look behind the scenes at the huge car collection that feeds it
Flying the Scottish flag
Young Ecurie Ecosse driver Chloe Grant gets to grips with the Ecurie Ecosse Jaguar C-type at Goodwood. Matthew Hayward is Octane's witness
