The Brooklands Podcast

Matthew Field and Ajay Chowdhury, authors of Spy Octane: The Vehicles of James Bond, Volume 1, reveal the extraordinary detective work that unearthed new and ground-breaking secrets behind some of 007’s most iconic vehicles and the machines that propelled Sean Connery and George Lazenby through the first seven Bond adventures.

The authors share fascinating stories about the customised Toyota 2000 GT convertibles built exclusively for You Only Live Twice, including one long thought lost, as well as the Aston Martin DBS Vantage and the Mercury Cougar XR-7 convertibles featured in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. They also explore the history of Little Nellie, the remarkable autogyro designed by Wing Commander Ken Wallis, which became one of the most memorable gadgets in Bond history.

Volume 1 covers the first seven EON films: Dr. No, From Russia With Love, Goldfinger, Thunderball, You Only Live Twice, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service and Diamonds Are Forever. It tells the fascinating story of the Aston Martin DB5, Toyota 2000GT, the autogyro Little Nellie, the Disco Volante, the spectacular two-wheeled Ford Mustang stunt and much more. Step into the golden era of James Bond and hear the untold stories behind the cars, bikes, and aircraft that defined the world’s longest-running film franchise!

The author Suzanne Schartel talks with Brooklands Martin Gegg about the writing of the book... Hilde & Tommy - this is the authentic love story between Hilde, the youngest daughter of Fritz Gehr, director of the world-famous German NSU vehicle factory, and the legendary English motorcycle racer Tom "Tommy" Bullus. The book provides a unique insight into the eventful history of the company up to the end of the Weimar Republic as well as the incredible story of the exceptional talent Bullus. The author Susanne Schartel, great-granddaughter of the NSU director's family, skilfully interweaves the stories and personal notes of her ancestors with meticulously researched historical facts. She describes in a captivating way how fateful and momentous the first visit of the likeable chap from Yorkshire to Neckarsulm in December 1929 was for both sides. She also allows the reader to participate in the eventful life of the Swabian entrepreneurial family as well as the most important motorcycle racing events and other current affairs of the time. The richly illustrated biographical novel contains over 400 never-before-published documents and photographs from the family estate, the archives of various motoring organisations as well as from private collections and many other sources. Neckarsulm 1924: Hilde, the pretty youngest daughter of the NSU director, lives a carefree life full of comforts with her family at "Villa Gehr" on the edge of the factory grounds. Her father has been with the company for 20 years, which has developed from a knitting machine factory into one of the world's leading bicycle, motorbike and car manufacturers and is celebrating its 50th anniversary today. Hilde's light-hearted life is clouded in the late 1920s by the economic problems in the country and in her father's company. In addition, her two older sisters marry and move out of the family home. Hilde wonders whether she too will find her personal happiness one day. Find out by reading the book!

Gareth Tarr talks with the author Peter Grimsdale about the writing of the book.

Silverstone, 1950 – the first post-war Grand Prix and the birth of Formula One. The king and queen, alongside 150,000 spectators, watch in dismay as Italy’s Alfa Romeos scream past to claim the first three places. British cars are hopelessly outclassed by Alfa Romeos and Maseratis. How can it be, they all wonder, that Italy, its industry reduced to rubble by Allied bombs so recently, has set new standards of speed and style that leave the rest of the world for dust?

Italy’s ability to outflank its more powerful and better-equipped neighbours is nothing new. At the turn of the century Italy made so few cars that its output wasn’t recorded, by 1907 Italian cars and drivers swept the board in the first Grand Prix season. In Superveloce, Peter Grimsdale explores the mystery of how a country with no industrial revolution, hampered by poverty, came to represent an innovation and flair that other countries struggled to match.

Grimsdale traces a century of Italian design genius, the rise of great marques such as Ferrari, Fiat and Alfa Romeo. We see the lives of fiercely charismatic and competitive drives like Ascari, Varzi and Nuvolari. Does the secret lie deep in Italy’s cultural heritage – in historic links between art and machine going back to da Vinci? Or is it simply ‘sprezzatura’ – the art of making something difficult look effortlessly easy?

The prototype Hawker Hurricane K5083 performed its maiden flight at Brooklands on 6 November 1935, and we mark the 90th anniversary by welcoming to Brooklands Dilip Sarkar MBE. Dilip is a globally acknowledged expert on all aspects of the Battle of Britain and, during his long career, he enjoyed a privileged relationship with many of Churchill's Few. He has written over 60 books, including the definitive eight volume, million word official history of the Battle, commissioned by the Battle of Britain Memorial Trust. He has also worked on numerous television and film projects on the subject. Made an MBE for services to aviation history in 2003, Dilip shares with us his unrivalled knowledge of the Hurricane, including accounts of missions in the aircraft given personally to Dilip by Battle of Britain veterans.

Patricia Ruff talks with her brother Jack Waterfall about the creation and writing of the book about the The Battle of the Heligoland Bight took place on 18 December 1939 and is now regarded as a turning point in the war following heavy losses for the Royal Air Force during the disastrous daylight raid.

Jack Waterfall, 75, from Ely, Cambridgeshire, who organised the event, had never heard of the battle until he was researching his uncle, who died while serving in the RAF in 1940.

The Heligoland Bight is an area near the German ports of Wilhelmshaven and Bremerhaven.

The Air Ministry decided to launch an attack on German ships there to prevent them from supporting U-boats in the North Atlantic.

On 18 December 1939, 24 Wellington bombers from RAF stations in Honington and Mildenhall in Suffolk and Feltwell in Norfolk were sent to sink or damage as many ships as possible.

The targets were strictly military ones only and civilian casualties had to be avoided. The only way to ensure accuracy was for the mission to take place in daylight.

There was a belief that bombers flying in close formation in daylight could defend themselves against fighter aircraft. That theory was about to be tested.

"The action was such a disaster for the RAF, with the loss of half of the 24 bombers sent and 57 airmen killed," said Mr Waterfall.

"In the spring of 1940, Bomber Command changed to night operations, which by many is regarded as a turning point in the war."

Mr Waterfall was unaware of the story until he teamed up with a cousin to find out what happened to their uncle, Sgt JH Waterfall, who went missing in action over Germany in 1940.

"With the help of German contacts we traced our uncle's grave and I was shown a really dramatic painting of Wellingtons being shot down, which turned out to be the Battle of Heligoland, which I had never heard of," he said.

"After seven years of research, we had tracked down most of the relatives of the men involved in the battle, and we published a book, Daylight to Darkness, and launched a website to mark the event."

Members Coffee & Collections November 2025 - Allan Winn talks about Land Speed Records and Brooklands by Nonesuche Media

David Richards at Brooklands on 7th October 2025 talking about his life in Motorsport and Prodrive.

David Richards CBE first gained prominence in motorsport by navigating Ari Vatanen to the World Rally Championship in 1981. David then established ProDrive which, over 40 years, has won events and championships across multiple motorsport disciplines including rallying, touring cars, Le Mans and Dakar. Colin McRae and Richard Burns both drove ProDrive cars to World Rally Championship success. In 1998 David became chief executive of the Benetton Formula One team and later was brought in to run the BAR Formula One team, guiding it to second place in the 2004 Formula One constructors championship, driven by Jenson Button. David continues to oversee ProDrive automotive and engineering projects, and combines this with chairing the Board of Motorsport UK.

In the pipeline for nearly a decade, 2025 saw the publication of "Formula 2 – The Glory Years". The book celebrates the wonderful era of the European Formula 2 Championship, which began in 1967 and concluded in 1984. Formula 2 pitted emerging heroes against the greats of the day and in its earlier years virtually all the top F1 drivers — names like Jackie Stewart, Jack Brabham, Graham Hill, Jochen Rindt, Ronnie Peterson and Bruce McLaren — battled with young chargers in races that thrilled huge crowds at the best European circuits. We welcome to Brooklands Simon Taylor talking with Chris Chitty, Bob Constandurous and Ian Phillips who covered this epic era of motorsport.

Double World Sportscar Champion and five-time Le Mans winner Derek Bell is also part of the panel. Derek finished second in the 1970 European Formula 2 Championship driving a Brabham, and he also raced a works Ferrari in Formula 2.

BMtv's Gareth Tarr talks with Sir William's grandson Michael Quinn and author Giles Chapman about the compilation and delivery of the book.

This is a Jaguar book with a difference. In 1969 Sir William Lyons gave an address to the Institute of the Motor Industry under the title ‘The History of the Jaguar and the future of the Specialised car in the British Motor Industry’. Delivered just after the launch of the seminal XJ6 saloon, it is a captivating personal account that explains how he built up Jaguar and what, in his view, made Jaguars special and distinctive. His extensive text forms the heart of this book, supported by a vivid array of archive photographs and rounded off with a preface by Michael Quinn (Sir William’s grandson) and an epilogue by Giles Chapman (the book’s originator and compiler) examining Sir William’s lasting legacy and the future of the great British brand he created. Here, uniquely, is the essence of Jaguar by the man who started it all, and who so rarely aired his thoughts in public.

Recorded at his home on 5th August 2025, Karl talks with BMtv's Gareth Tarr about his latest three volume set of books "POWER UNLEASHED. TRAILBLAZERS WHO ENERGISED ENGINES WITH SUPERCHARGING AND TURBOCHARGING".

Award-winning author Karl Ludvigsen takes the reader behind the scenes of the roller-coaster ride of supercharging, turbocharging and even more exotic power-boosting inventions throughout automotive and aviation history. Supercharging in all its forms is the most exciting feature ever created to go under the bonnet of a motor car. Blowers were rare yet highly desirable devices in their early heyday of the 1920s and ’30s, an era in which compressors graced supremely glamorous and race-winning cars. They also won respect from aviators eager to exploit high altitudes.

Prolific use of forced induction in the air in World War II brought forth the many engineering geniuses who populate these pages. Having seemed abandoned on land, supercharging found new acolytes who perfected blowers for road and track. They rescued the turbocharger to open new avenues for high-pressure boosting in the 1970s and ’80s. Into the 21st century turbocharging has found its way into more and more cars to enhance both performance and fuel efficiency.

Power Unleashed is a three-volume work of astonishing depth and detail. Greatly respected for his ability to communicate information while telling a compelling story, Karl Ludvigsen explores the global saga of supercharging and turbocharging. Complete with reader-friendly technical descriptions and magnificent illustrations, he introduces the fascinating individuals who bet their businesses on boosting. This is a landmark work in the histories of the automobile and aeroplane.