Photos

There is a line between retro and vintage that it is perilous to cross. Retro is the memory-smoothed chic of the recently superannuated, and vintage, well, vintage is just old. I do not - as a general rule - fancy wrinkle-infested, extra-mature ladies, and the difference comes down to a simple-ish rule of thumb: ‘retro' is the automotive equivalent of dating a cougar. You'll still have some relevant points of reference, and will probably learn something practical. ‘Vintage' is a relationship with a lavender-scented pensioner. Nothing works like it used to, and even though it was probably terrific back in the day, now it smells a bit musty and is terribly vague. Put it this way, if something - anything - requires a cranking handle to get it running, I'm not interested.

Words: Tom Ford
Photography: Lee Brimble

This feature was originally published in the October issue of Top Gear magazine