The festive season is swift approaching, but before traipsing the high street in sub-zero temperatures for racing-themed gifts check out the goodies on offer at the Motor Sport shop
All items available at the Motor Sport shop unless otherwise stated
It’s Senna vs Senna as the 1986 Lotus 98T takes on the 99T on the 5.3m twists of your hearthside Monaco.
Available from December.
£159.99
Staff picks
These are the gifts that Motor Sport staff are hoping to unwrap this Christmas
Lee Gale, chief sub editor
Suixtil sweater
There are many photos of Phil Hill in the 1960s wearing a grey, heavy-duty knitted sweater. Lewis Hamilton, with his catwalk-derived pit attire, should take note – for this is how racing drivers should dress. Although the world today is very warm, there can still be a nip in the air in January and a need for chunky utility wear. The Raticosa sweater, 90% lamb’s wool, 10% cashmere, is Suixtil’s reinterpretation of the Hill staple. It is an understated classic and when coupled with a denim shirt it will easily deflect the stiffest of northerly breezes.
I’m a huge lover of minimalist design. I even did my dissertation on Germany’s Bauhaus design school. The rational, functional aesthetic can be seen in many aspects of modern life and none more so than this dress watch that I’m sure the Bauhaus founder Walter Gropius himself would be glad to wear. Its clean, crisp dial, devoid of numbers, make it an all-time classic. I just need an excuse to suit up now.
The best racing liveries are works of art in themselves and this new line of showpieces elevates them to the level they deserve. Each is a one-off, commissioned item where your choice of any F1 livery is reproduced in layers of hand-cut vinyl shapes. These are layered on to a genuine piece of F1 bodywork to create a shimmering, textured three-dimensional artwork. Created by Joel Clark, who has made his name with vibrant vinyl-cut images of cars and races, it’s a luxurious, unique gift that’s guaranteed to please (assuming you pick the right livery).
We weren’t to know that it would cause such a storm, but when we ran an interview a year ago with Gordon Murray, who talked about his role in creating the MP4/4, it resulted in an unexpected spat. The argument centred on who should take the credit with both Murray, and in response to the interview, Steve Nichols, who was McLaren’s chief designer, claiming it was far more of a team effort. For me there is no better product on our shop than this 1:18 scale model. It will be familiar to everyone with a passing interest in F1, but I shall now always see it in a new light wondering which of those two design geniuses did what.
In the slipstream of an engaging day’s racing, a cooling beer is the perfect way to unwind after any return trip involving the M1 (surely the least enjoyable road on the UK mainland). Having a Hesketh 308 on the glass won’t make it taste any better, but it is a pleasing detail. If you live in a house like mine, where kitchen breakages are almost a daily occurrence, you might need several of these.
This year and next, Le Mans anniversaries abound so what better way to celebrate than an original vintage poster advertising the classic enduro? Recent motoring festivities have seen widespread celebration of the fearsome Group C category’s 1982 debut, while 2023 will be the centenary year of the Triple Crown’s endurance jewel. This colourful poster from 1983, depicting the all-conquering Porsche 956, sums it up perfectly: almost unparalleled speed rocketing down the Mulsanne Straight in the twilight hours.
Perhaps you were there at Goodwood in 1998 when Ray Hannah flew a Spitfire down the pit straight below the height of the grandstands. Martin Allen’s A2 limited edition print is an homage to the event and is taken from his own painting (now sold).
Give the gift of motorsport. Motorsport UK Go Karting, Go Racing and Go Rallying Starter Packs are the first step in getting behind the wheel. Packs include an instructional film, digital copy of the Yearbook and all the information you need to get started.
From £59, direct from Motorsport UK (Additional Black Friday discount applies 24-28 November)
Three Free Automobilist Posters when you subscribe
Subscribe from only £65.99 for 12 months and receive a FREE set of THREE motor racing posters:
• Oracle Red Bull Racing Max & Checo, 2022, worth £44.55.
• Bruce McLaren Special Spa, 1968, worth £44.55.
• Ferrari 412P Daytona 24 Hours, 1967, worth £44.55.
2023 A5 Motor Sport Diary and Pen when you subscribe
Our week-to-view 2023 diary with Motor Sport motif will help you keep a record of race meetings, while the accompanying pen, also with the Motor Sport logo, will be your note-making companion.
They make an ideal Christmas Gift when you subscribe. Be quick – stock subject to availability.
Motor racing in films is such a wide field that we knew if we were to cover it properly it would need two special editions – not one. Racing at the Movies Part 2, from the makers of Motor Sport, covers Steve McQueen’s Le Mans (1971), Grand Prix (1966), starring James Garner, and Paul Newman’s Winning (1969).
Curated by our editorial team, and picked from our vast archive, which stretches back to before even the Ferrari story started, this special edition encompasses F1, Le Mans and some of the most spectacular road cars ever built. In it we celebrate superior engineers and legendary personalities who echo down the decades as true sporting heroes.
