Traded up from the 1.1L Fiesta to my first 'performance' car in 1989, flush from having a proper job at last. This marked the first escalation in the

car 'arms race' with Mark Hartley, a race he was of course destined to lose. It was in fact a quite dreadful car - harsh, noisy, with a dull engine and

no brakes to speak of. I loved it. I got my first speeding ticket in this, on Great Howard St in Liverpool. I was showing off. What an unpleasant young man.