Who Lives in a House Like This

Written by: Matt Parker

We've seen our fair share of spectacular garages and car collections in issues gone by, but what about an entire house designed and built around cars? SCD member and Ferrari Challenge racing driver Jamie did just that, and given the opportunity, we couldn't pass up a visit. Before we get into the build itself, we want to know where Jamie's madness for cars started. "My dad was a racing driver. He drove for Chevron and was three-time British Hillclimb champion, so I've been around cars, and racing cars in particular, since being born", he tells us, "It was like one big family back then; David Piper and his family, Richard Atwood and his family, and even Stirling and Susie Moss. We used to follow all the F1 teams around Europe doing support races for them, and the kids kind of had run of the paddock — it was a magic time really! "That's where my passion for cars came from, but it's only just been truly realised over the last six or seven years, because obviously, it's an expensive hobby and it takes a while to get to a financial position where you can actually spend money on the passion! "It was an aim of mine to buy a Ferrari since I was little, I'm talking four or five. I finally bought my first Ferrari on the day I got divorced about five or six years ago, and there's been no looking back since, on both fronts!", he laughs. Moving onto the amazing home you see on these pages. It really is like what you would dream of as a child, so how did the idea enter Jamie's head to actually go ahead and do it? "I've renovated a couple of houses but I've always wanted to build something where I could really put my stamp on it, and being single and able to do whatever I want, it has always been in the back of my mind", Jamie tells us, "The whole thing with the cars in the house came about when I was young. My dad always used to say he'd love a Formula 2 car on the wall, and I can remember thinking no, I want one I can actually get in! So all my life, I've been aiming for a house where I can have these cars laying around". So the idea was there, but where do you start? "It was really a matter of finding the right place with the right views, because, to my mind, there's no point having a nice house if you don't have nice views. Look at some of the footballers' houses and they're massive, but they're in a row with other houses and have no real outlook. Everything has to come together, not just the internals, but the externals and everything beyond that as well. "It was all designed by myself and obviously the architects had to put it on paper, but it basically follows a similar outline to the farmhouse that was there before and the outbuildings. The garage is where the garage was, but the big main living room was the stables as it was an equestrian centre. "I thought planning would give me more leeway if I kept a similar footprint, but it's on protected greenbelt so planning was a real pain. I wanted to go underground as well and have a third floor underneath, but they wouldn't let me. In the end, it took a good two-and-a-half years to build, and the concept before that was in the works for around a year".

For our tour, let’s start where we usually focus, the garage, where a Ferrari 488 Pista Spider and Pista Piloti sit side by side. The Piloti is an edition of the Pista Ferrari offered for racing drivers only; Jamie has been racing in the Ferrari Challenge for two years now and won the Coppa Shell Championship last year. Next up, the main living space has a high ceiling following the pitch of the roof, so much light from the huge amount of glass looking out onto those views Jamie held in such importance, it's crammed with memorabilia and, oh yes, a McLaren 12C! There's a lot to talk about in here, so we ask Jamie for the rundown. "I followed the same shape as the stables that were there and I wanted the views with the floor-to-ceiling glass, but it was always going to have at least one car in there, so it had to be a decent size space. "It was designed so you can just drive the cars straight in and out, so I change the cars around all the time, and for the photos I put the 12C in — you don't want anything too high as it would block the view. That 12C is one of the first 25 12Cs that were actually built by the McLaren F1 team, which I didn't even know about until it was being serviced at McLaren and they told me. They asked me if I wanted to sell it, so I asked the opinion of Nick, who is in charge at McLaren Leeds, and he said that they had been told to snap them up if they could find any, so advised me to hold onto it!".

One of the most obvious features in here for me is the cabinet of model cars which reminds me of the massive collection I had as a kid, albeit presented in a rather more posh way than mine which were thrown into a plastic storage box when I'd done racing them around the carpet! "I've always had model cars in my house, or in my bedroom when I was little, and to me they're

like artwork. The ones in my office are all cars I own or my racing cars, the ones on top in the living room are the Ferraris I have had, currently have or have on order, and then all the cars in the big display case are all my favourite cars in the world.

What about all the F1 tyres underneath the TV? "To actually get every single tyre from I think either the 2017 or 2018 season with all the different wheels has been an absolute nightmare for one of the staff at work whose job it was!", Jamie laughs, "Certainly the orange tyres, there are hardly any in existence, but I originally had a couple of the others and thought they looked cool, so went on the hunt for the rest until I had them all, and I think they look mega". Another thing that looks mega is sitting right in front of those tyres, and it has quite a story (and probably the reminder of a big bill!) to go with it. "The coffee table is the engine out of my original 599 GTB that blew up! I had to buy a new engine so I thought, you know what, I'll make the old one into a table for the new house".

Walking back past the McLaren, a walkway is filled with a 1991 Footwork Formula 1 car Jamie bought and a glass wall filled with helmets, the back of which you can see from the office. "I've always wanted a proper collection of helmets in a nice display case, so I started collecting five or six years ago", Jamie tells us, "They're all either worn, spare helmets or sponsor helmets from the race weekends, so they're all proper things from proper collections. The more you meet people, the more you open doors to things like that, and it's nice when you're the first person someone calls to offer you something they have that you might fancy".

Stepping up into the dining area, a gleaming red Ducati dresses the window, because blinds are a bit old hat, so is Jamie a biker too? "Do you know what, I'm not. I'm a car guy, but you can't deny how beautiful Ducati motorbikes are, and the last of the Panigale V-Twins and the first of the Panigale Speciale V4s are great pieces of art to fill a space with". The walls in here are filled too thanks to massive murals done by Jamie's company, one of which is particularly meaningful to him as it was his first win at Croft.

After peering through the glass wall, we move on into the office which is a stark contrast to the bright, airy spaces we've just covered. It's a dark, masculine room which I love, with an interesting source of inspiration. "The idea for the office came about when I was in Marbella. I went to a restaurant and the entrance was quite dark, but it had this glass wall. It wasn't full of helmets, but

it was full of wine bottles and it looked mega. When I was building the house, I thought I want that look, and I'm really happy with how it has come out", Jamie explains. Amongst more model cars Jamie told us about earlier, there are plenty of trophies in here. What's the story with them? "The trophies are all mine bar the big one in the middle which Dean Forward won at the Silverstone Classic in 2019 in the McLaren M8F. That was one of the biggest worries for me and was probably why I did so much racing in my first two years, because I needed enough trophies to fill my cabinet!", he laughs. We end our tour in the cinema room where there are yet more interesting bits and pieces to chat about, including another car, of course! "A friend of mine sent me a photo of an old Ferrari-styled Fiat 500 and I was like yeah, I want one of them! So, I went out, bought a white Fiat 500 and we rebuilt it into that. If I lived in London, I wouldn't drive a Bugatti or anything, I'd drive that around! "The artwork in here is all original 1960s sports car memorabilia which I think looks super. In one of the display cabinets are the Franklin scale models aeroplanes, and in the other is a piece of a Focke-Wulf World War II plane that was shot down. It wasn't in at the time of the photos but there's a replica of the Le Mans start/finish line clock in there now too".

Jamie even has a racing mural like those in the dining room in his bedroom, but we'll allow the man some privacy, call the tour there and chat more about what must have been quite the project. With that in mind, what were the biggest challenges of the build? "Other than planning, just getting everything done when you want it doing is just part of life, especially when you're dealing with tradesmen, it just gets worse. The weather didn't help either. If you want views, you have to accept you're going to get bad weather and wind sometimes, so that became a pain, and then Covid as well when the whole world shut down!".

From an outsider's point of view, the whole thing is pretty mind-blowing to me, but having lived in the space for a while, is there anything Jamie would change? "A few bits and bats but nothing major, just a few plug sockets and things like that. We tried to put as many in as possible, but it doesn't matter how much planning you put into a project, you always overlook something and think why didn't I do that in hindsight, but nothing major".

This must be a dream place to have guests over, so we ask how they tend to react to such a unique place. "We've had a few people over including a couple of architects, bespoke kitchen people, the guy who owns the decorating company, even Riad when he came to the photos, and they all said they had been in some amazing houses, but this was their favourite, and that's just mega for me", Jamie smiles, "To have an idea is one thing, but to actually do it and for people to say we've got it right is just great. Lots of people say it's like a museum in here and that's what I want".

There's so much to see, so many features, so much attention to detail, but what is Jamie's favourite thing about the build? "I like the duality between the fairly plain facade at the front followed by the wow factor when you walk inside with the views and everything to look at. My whole idea was that I wanted the front to look smart but nothing over the top. It needed to be different. It doesn't matter how much money you've got, it's easy to be vulgar, but it's a lot harder to be classy. A lot of houses try to dazzle from the outside, but I wanted it to be something you walk up to and say, 'Yeah, that's alright', then walk inside and go, 'F***ing hell!'". And what about the memorabilia inside? Personally, I love the model cars, the bits made from car parts and the vintage sports car wall art, but what about Jamie? "To me, what I've got

in there is all art. Sure, I could fill it with proper artwork and everybody would think it was beautiful, but to me, that's my kind of art, just a different kind. My favourite piece by a long way is the Boeing 737 engine cowling that was made into a mirror in the entrance hall. That was actually made by a friend of mine who sadly died two years ago. Other than that, the 599 engine table we spoke about earlier is fantastic!". To round things up, let's get back to cars. Jamie mentioned he likes rotating the cars on display frequently, so is anything new going to be coming any time soon? "Last week we bought an Austin Seven Ulster Special which will look good in the atrium area, although it's that small you could put it anywhere! There's a 1989 Leyton House Formula 1 car which should be coming on Monday, I've got an Alfa Romeo Giulia GTAm coming in July, I think the first Ferrari SF90 Spider in the country later in the year and then the only other thing is the 812 Competizione, but I think that will be the end of 2022".

I think you'll all agree that was a special one. There are some beautiful garages out there but this is something so unique. It's something you might not expect to work, but it doesn't feel like a man cave with random automotive bits and bobs thrown about, it feels like a beautiful living space thoughtfully blended with a high-end museum, and we'd like to give a massive thanks to Jamie for showing us around.

Carrara White, Black leatherette interior - Clubsport, 5,230 miles. £189,890

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