Ten Questions – Jonny Smith

The classic and specialist car world is vast, and within it there are many, many interesting people. And we wanted to have a chat with them. So, in this new series, Ten Questions, we’re sitting down with some of the movers and shakers of our world. From media types, through to designers, race drivers, collectors and everything in between, we hope to bring you some tasty inside information. First up, we are pleased to bring you our conversation with Jonny Smith. The former magazine writer, Fifth Gear host and now the frontman of his own juggernaut project, The Late Brake Show, Jonny is a man with his finger on the automotive pulse. Plus, he’s been in some of our videos, which you should definitely go and watch on the Car & Classic YouTube channel.

1) Before we get into the current project, can you tell our readers about your background?

I worked my way up the ladder as a motoring journalist in print media, starting in classic cars and gradually moving into the mainstream car industry. I’ve worked across numerous car magazine titles – from Car to Max Power – and became a freelance ronin when I was made redundant in 2006. Several weeks before that I’d been invited for a ‘chat’ with the producers of Channel 5’s Fifth Gear, which was a cloaked way of filming me turning up and thrusting me straight into a TV presenting audition. I did alright, and they started booking me for TV episodes. 18 series later I’ve done a fair amount of Fifth Gear, had the chance to work amongst icons of our industry like Tiff Needell aka Uncle Drift, Vicki Butler-Henderson and Touring Car’s Jason Potato, had some incredible times, but all the while still doing some other TV work, written work and increasingly online video work, as YouTube’s dominance rose. With three years of presenting alongside Robert Llewellyn (Red Dwarf’s Kryton and serious renewable energy fan) on his Fully Charged channel, I suppose this cemented my reputation for a fascination for both electric cars and classic/modified/quirky cars.

2) Safe to say then, that you have been creating content for some time! What brought about the desire to create your own platform/collection of content?

I think I wanted to own my intellectual property and finally create a business that I owned. I wanted to marry multiple automotive worlds together under one digital umbrella, meaning EVs, classics, new car reviews, my project cars and a lot of car culture in between. I’ve been in the car media industry since 1998, and have tried my hardest to cement relationships with car company PR teams, and approach my reviews in a genuine manner. Scarily, I often hear people tell me they buy cars off the back of what I have said.

3) What has the reception to The Late Brake Show been like? Have there been any surprises in that respect?

I’ve been really humbled and chuffed with the organic growth of the channel, and myself and Mrs Smith have always worked hard to treat it as a brand that has a faithful car community spirit. TLBS started off being called Car Pervert – as this was always my pseudonym – but we found it tricky to win the trust of sponsors, not to mention a risk-averse American audience. Of course it’s a play on words, but we needed something broader, that was still playful in name. The biggest surprise to the channel has been hearing from viewers who kept EVs at arm’s length, but now either own/lease one, or are considering a plug-in day-to-day car. Or on the flip side, people who only really watched new car content now considering a classic as a reward car. You know, the car you buy passionately and enjoy staring at it as much as driving it during special days. I’m thankful that manufacturers can see that my path to trying to create my own platform with almost TV production values is one that is working. We haven’t gone down the sticky click bait road. I don’t shout or pull daft faces in my thumbnail pictures. I’m a 42 year old car fanatic who wants to share my fascination and curiosity with an engaged global audience.

4) What are some of the highlights in terms of the content you have produced so far? And what are you learning about your audience as you progress?

Highlights? The first thing I strive bloody hard to maintain is an air of surprise. Variety is key to The Late Brake Show, so we rotate our playlists and try to always keep things fresh. Fathoming true success to every video remains a bit of a digital enigma, but it’s always fantastic when a video gets huge viewing figures. My Honda e film remains my most watched I think, but the barn find stuff always captures people’s nostalgic side. I don’t need to tell you or the Car & Classic audience why these are always captivating! Probably my biggest highlight has been the sit-down interview episodes that we call Idol Chat. I believe that the people behind the cars are often as interesting as the cars themselves. There aren’t many car themed YouTube channels who delve deep into the minds of car owners, or famous car folk, hence why I wanted to show the ‘off duty’ side to Top Gear’s Chris Harris, Tim Burton aka Shmee150, BTCC legends Matt Neal and Jason Plato. The community seem to appreciate this. They don’t always get massive views, but the engagement from viewers is long. Plus, people’s feedback when you’ve spent a lot of your own money and time piecing together a video is always important.

5) You’ve been busy this year with The Late Brake Show tour events. What brought that on, and how have you found running live events?

I blame my wife, Chops. She wanted to give something back to the car community we had created, especially at a time when the world has been tipped upside down. She figured that if we could put a car show on in a pandemic climate with only a smidge of event experience, we could probably do anything. It has been extremely stressful, tiring and financially daft, but we have come away afterwards with such a sense of achievement. Why? Because of the people who came and supported, and who totally ‘got’ what we were trying to do. We wanted to bring The Late Brake Show playlists to life, and bring like-minded car heads together. I don’t like the term petrol heads, because there’s a lot of electric car content here – both EV converted classics and cutting-edge new cars. The first show was a prototype, if you will, followed by a more ambitious second one in Leicestershire. The weather was kind, the people came, and we had some top drawer machinery park up to make a special day. Those people with those cars are what makes The Late Brake Show. Not me.

6) Moving into classic cars, what classics do you currently have on your fleet?

I’ve been banned from buying anything at present, due to house moving plans and proposed garage builds. But right now I own a 1968 Dodge Charger, my 1967 VW Beetle 1500 (first car, bought when I was 16), a 2-door 1977 Austin Allegro V6 turbo street sleeper (which is the most popular car on my channel I think!), an ex-Tokyo Nissan Cedric taxi cab, a cripplingly expensive 1964 Chevrolet Impala SS project and a dilapidated 2-door Hillman Avenger my wife doesn’t know about. She owns a 1991 Nissan Figaro and the new shape Suzuki Jimny (December 2018), which I have modified a bit. The latter I’d class as an instant classic.

7) You also have a strong passion for EV cars, and you’ve built the fastest street-legal EV car in the form of the Flux Capacitor. What are your thoughts on classics converted to run on electricity?

I don’t think EV swapped classics are appropriate for everyone, but there are people who live in places where they make sense. There are people who like the look of classics but not the reality of old drivetrains, so I can see that working in the same way people fit new injected/ECU engines to old cars. The way I see it this is another new dawning for classic car appreciation, but it seems to suit cars whose engines weren’t the party piece in the first place. For example, ideal EV candidates are stuff like DeLoreans, Citroen DSs and cars with an exhaust note that isn’t sexy or mechanically interesting. My wife’s Nissan Figaro is getting an EV transplant shortly.

The Enfield 8000 Flux Capacitor drag car was born out of my curiosity over what I could see as a new era of hot-rodding, but with no exhausts. The project dominated my life and bank account for some 4 years, but I have to say I was chuffed to bits when we finally secured the World’s quickest street legal EV. Would I do it again? I keep thinking about it. With the right backing we could push harder, even as Tesla performance and tech progresses at a miraculous rate.

8) Following on, what’s your perfect future for classic cars and the internal combustion engine?

I think the future for a more basic, engaging, jolly driving experience is bright. Therefore I think as new cars become cleaner and more sanitised (or, slightly worryingly, autonomous) we will look to the past for a hit of warm nostalgia and glow of escapism. I think the restomod market will grow, and bring in a younger audience to historic cars. As mentioned before, the EV classic conversion is the next cottage industry of growth too. If I lived in Tokyo or Singapore and wanted a classic looking car, but with fuss-free drivetrain that doesn’t boil in traffic or whinge when I thrash it, that could be perfect. All the looks without the hassle – many owners like the idea of it. My personal classic future is all of the above. I like pistons so long as they are interesting.

9) You already have a pretty nice collection of classics, but are there any that you would like to add to your fleet in the future?

Bloody hell, how long have you got? I want to build the world’s first restomod Matra Rancho. I must have an air-cooled Porsche in my life before my heart stops – probably a 964 or a skinny earlier 911. I fancy turning the aforementioned Avenger into something special. My Dad’s first car was a Hillman Imp, and that’s an itch I am yet to scratch. The lesser known Rover P6 Estoura coachbuilt estate. One of these MUST reside in my garage soon. Each classic reflects a different time, innovation, approach and driving experience. I can’t wait to own more when/if the wallet allows. Almost forgot; Audi UR Quattro. Has to be pre-facelift model, as I dearly miss my 1983 Coupe GT.

10) Finally, what does the next twelve months hold for you, and for the Late Brake Show?

We want to keep growing the audience, but we’d love to be more ambitious with the ‘On Tour’ live events in 2022. With the channel I need some help with production and forward planning, as the world of YT is something of a content treadmill; Like a blue whale swimming through the ocean inhaling krill by the ton. The next 12 months should see a more established line of merch, hopefully more supporting partners who understand this car community, and some of my project cars finally finished. Then I can buy more – that’s the rule, right? It doesn’t help that I scan Car & Classic on an alarmingly frequent basis.

In the meantime do come to our ManchesTOUR Late Brake Show event on Nov 6th. Details and tickets available via the website, but you can also turn up on the day and buy on the door. It’s indoor, it will be an eclectic mix of machinery, plus a live Idol Chat interview with Youtube’s original inventor and record breaker Colin Furze.