Noel Edmonds has spent nearly half a century hosting television shows from Multi-Coloured Swap Shop to Deal Or No Deal, but now the motoring-mad former presenter of Top Gear has fulfilled a long-time ambition away from the camera.
He has spent 18 months building his own luxury classic car, based closely on the acclaimed Jaguar SS100 model from the 1930s but with modern fittings, such as air-conditioning and a high-performance engine.
“My interest was not in recreating the car from the 1930s,” he said. “I wanted a modern version of the iconic classic car. It drives like a modern supercar, but to anyone other than a Jaguar purist, you wouldn’t be able to spot the difference.”
Mr Edmonds has named the car LaRiviera to evoke the spirit of the Côte d’Azur, where he has a holiday home, and has set up a company, Classic Riviera, that will unveil the vehicle at FTR Top Marques, Monaco’s supercar show, next Thursday.
He plans to make about five of the convertible vehicles each year, selling at between £135,000 and £150,000, depending on specifications that include “his and hers” leather driving helmets, a built-in cocktail cabinet with two champagne flutes and a woman’s make-up bag. Each bespoke car will be named after towns on the Côte d’Azur, such as St Tropez and Grasse.
An original SS100 now sells for upwards of £500,000 and previous replica versions were of inferior quality. Jaguar is “aware” of Mr Edmonds’ car and has approved it.
Mr Edmonds, who already owns everything from a 1967 Routemaster bus to Ferraris, was inspired to build LaRiviera because “I couldn’t find a car that reflected my lifestyle and attitude.
“I’m not a fan of the modern supercar. They tend to send the wrong messages. I wanted to create something positive that generated admiration.
“I’ve already had the most extraordinary responses driving around Monaco and the Riviera. I’ve been stopped by the police who wanted a photograph in it and a gentleman offered me £200,000 for it.”
Malcolm Thorne, deputy editor at Classic & Sports Car magazine, said that LaRiviera was likely to polarise opinion. “This type of a modern interpretation is a bit of a Marmite car,” he said. “The purists will say: ‘Oh my God. What is this?’ But prices in the classic car market have reached such heights that people are having to re-evaluate these replicas. If it’s good quality, it ought to be possible to sell five a year.”
Mr Edmonds has not tried to film a documentary about the making of his car. “I don’t know if TV is interested in that any more,” he said. “Doing stuff on the internet is the way to go now.”