The Apex

If you've driven a consumer automobile in the last 20 years, or argued about the aesthetics of modern cars with friends, you've been engaging with the world of our guest this week, automotive designer Chris Bangle. Having started his career at Opel and Fiat, in 1992 Chris was named the first American chief of design at BMW. Over the next 17 years he went on to carve a legacy of distinctive, sculptural designs which set out a new paradigm for the premium car segment.

Today Chris is managing director of Chris Bangle Associates, a design studio in the Piemonte Region of Italy which turns its skills to everything from luxury yachts to drinks bottles, and earlier this year, Chris was awarded the 2021 American Prize for Design, recognising his immense contribution to transportation design. He spoke to us about his experiences at BMW, the pitfalls of modern car development and his radical suggestions for the future of transportation.

Read the interview here: https://apex.privatecollectorsclub.com/chris-bangle/

Learn about Custodian here: https://custodian.club

If you’ve ever tried to get just a bit faster on track, or spent your time looking for ways to squeeze the very last tenths of a second from your race car, you'll love our guest this week: Ross Bentley - performance coach, racing driver and accomplished author.

Ross is known in the performance driving world for ‘Speed Secrets’, his fascinating series of books and podcasts which have inspired scores of enthusiasts to improve their own track driving. He joined us this week to talk about his career, the finer points of racing performance, and all things fast driving.

If you said that the ultimate 911 is not necessarily made by Porsche, most people would raise an eyebrow. However, if you're in the know, there's a good chance you would immediately think of our guest this week: Alois Ruf, head of RUF Automobile.

Combining maximum performance, personality and the very highest standards of German automotive engineering, RUF has been operating in its modern guise since the 1970s, with a long family history before that. Having boasted a number of the world's fastest production cars in its lineup over the years, and with its vehicles loved by sports car enthusiasts the world over, RUF is the very definition of a cult car manufacturer. We spoke to Alois about the legend of the CTR Yellowbird, life at RUF, and what he thinks is most important in a modern sports car...

The Apex interviews car enthusiast & media personality, Sam Fane, the driving force behind the hugely popular automotive YouTube channel Seen Through Glass.

Alongside road trips, car spotting, and giving subscribers an insight into the curious world of supercars, in 2019 Sam embarked on an epic adventure entitled Drive The World, rooting out the most interesting elements of global car culture for viewers at home. We managed to catch up with him about the curious life of a YouTuber, his experiences travelling the world in a Porsche 911T, and strange things you can do with Alfa Romeos on camera...

The Apex interviews Nicholas Mee, an esteemed Aston Martin specialist & dealer for over 25 years. Nick is one of the leading names in the Aston Martin community, and with the help of his expert team at Nicholas Mee & Co. provides everything from regular maintenance to full restorations of these wonderful cars, not to mention a constantly replenished stock of fine examples for sale.

Nick joins us this week to talk about his beginnings in the car business, his work with Victor Gauntlett, and his favourite cars - with some James Bond mythbusting along the way, and why you should never take the autoroute on the way to Le Mans...

This week our guest is Rémi Dargegen, one of the best known photographers in the classic car world. With an enviable client book featuring the likes of Porsche, Lamborghini and Bugatti, as well as countless iconic photo shoots for some of the most prestigious motoring magazines on the market to his name, it's no exaggeration to say that Rémi's work is one of the touchstones for modern automotive photography.

The Apex interviews F1 driver, Le Mans winner, artist & designer Stefan Johansson. We hear about F1's turbo era, 408 km/h at Le Mans and his life in art world.

This week on the Apex we interview Randy Nonnenberg, the co-founder and CEO of Bring a Trailer, one of the most popular auction sites for collectible cars on the internet and one of the main reasons for car enthusiasts staying up way past their bedtime. He joined us this week to give an insight into his life in cars, the online auction market, and wayward Volkswagens...

This week on the Apex our guest is engineer, classic car specialist, photographer and journalist Laura Kukuk.

With a background in high-level sports car development at McLaren and a fascinating job as an expert authenticator of some of the world's finest vintage automobiles, she's a Nürburgring native who also enjoys getting hands-on in the workshop with her own restoration projects.

We spoke to her about her forensic work, the joys of a Fiat 600, and what makes for a truly authentic car...

Our guest this week is Hedi Sersoub, a multi-talented photographer, model and founder of the automotive jewellery and lifestyle brand The Mechanists. He joined us to give an insight into the more creative and artisanal side of the car community, and to tell us about his journey in the scene.