The Driven Podcast

Simon Williams is often described as 'the Robin Hood of road trips', thanks to his amazing mobile app, Mivia . Simons app allows users to plan routes, book hotels and even monitor fuel prices for the perfect road trip. In this week's episode, John Marcar talks to Simon, along with Peter Greeves, better known as PetrolPed on YouTube, to discuss the joy of road trips and learn how and why Mivia is n...

10 years ago, Peter Greaves purchased a £200 Sony video camera and decided to have a go at YouTube content creation for a hobby. What started as a humble spare-time hobby filming his own cars and cars from a local car dealer has now become something extremely significant. Peter's channel 'PetrolPed' has grown to almost 300,000 subscribers, which has enabled him to turn his hobby into a job and fly...

In this week's episode of The Driven Podcast, John Marcar visits Silverstone Museum to experience Black Cats & Chequered Flags – a groundbreaking mixed reality exhibition making its UK debut. Blending virtual reality, interactive storytelling and authentic motorsport history, the experience puts visitors in the shoes of Ferrari legend Alberto Ascari, Formula One's first double World Champion....

20 years ago, JCB, a company renowned for producing agricultural and construction equipment, shocked the world when it unveiled Dieselmax - a land-speed record car that shot to both fame and speed on the Bonneville Salt Flats in the USA, achieving the diesel land speed record of 350.092mph. Now, in 2026, JCB is back at it, only this time, Lord Bamford and his engineers want to set the record with...

Cosworth Engineering has been at the forefront of performance engine building since the 1950s, and this week on The Driven Podcast, John Marcar sits down with Cosworth’s Managing Director, Bruce Wood, to learn about the current chapter of the company. Bruce joined Cosworth in 1987 and was interviewed by the company’s founding fathers, Mike Costin and Keith Duckworth. The following 39 years have se...

This week, on The Driven Podcast, thanks to Chery UK, John Marcar attends a star-studded training day with the players of Soccer Aid 2026, an amazing event that has already raised over £16 million for UNICEF this year so far. In this Soccer Aid special of The Driven Podcast, John speaks to: Sean Wright-Phillips - Ex-professional footballer known for playing for Manchester City, Chelsea and Queens...

This week, on The Driven Podcast, John Marcar meets Tim Woolmer and Jörg Miska from YASA LTD in Oxford, England. In 2005, Tim Woolmer was studying at Oxford University, with a particular interest in the future of motoring, specifically the idea of an electric-vehicle future. His specific area of interest was the Axial Flux motor, and despite the industry being almost exclusively focused on petrol...

Lenny Howlett is the Brand Ambassador and Head of VIP Sales at Urban Automotive, a company that is famous for modifying popular performance SUVs, including the Land Rover Defender, Range Rover Sport and Rolls-Royce Cullinan (to name just a few). For the past 10 years, Lenny has been at the forefront of the brand's public image, whilst helping to facilitate customer sales and VIP consignments. In t...

Jody Millhouse is the founder and owner of Thornton Hundred, a brand known globally for customising Triumph Bonneville Bobbers and building bespoke bikes for customers worldwide. This year, Thornton Hundred celebrates its 10th anniversary, so John Marcar paid a visit to Jody at the TH HQ in Milton Keynes to catch up on the business and all the novelties that come with it. _________________________...

This week on The Driven Podcast, we're at the 83rd Goodwood Members Meeting to speak to a collection of racing car drivers and motorcycle riders, plus a few media personalities, to ask our icebreaker questions, including "What was your first car?" "What was the first posh/special car you purchased?", and "What's the car you regret selling the most?" As well as the icebreaker questions, we'll also...

This week on The Driven Podcast, John Marcar heads to Driving Heroes, a car sales company in Worcester that specialises in selling 'cars you want to get out and drive'. Driving Heroes is run by Lloyd Hackett and Karl Hill, both of whom have strong backgrounds in luxury car sales before starting the new venture. Expect lots of insights, funny stories, and a look at the personalities behind the comp...

This week on The Driven Podcast, John Marcar travels to Theon Design in Oxfordshire to meet the company's Co-Founder and CEO, Adam Hawley. Adam comes from a strong design background, with previous experience with brands including BMW, Lotus, and even Airbus. Theon Design is a design studio and workshop known for building tailor-made backdated Porsche 911s based on 964-era 911's. As part of the vis...

This week on The Driven Podcast, John Marcar and Amy Heynes are joined by a friend of the show, John Mayhead, to discuss every classic car owner's favourite talking topic... Classic Car Values following his publishing of the 2026 Hagerty UK Bull Market List. John Mayhead is one of the UK's foremost classic car writers and commentators, contributing regularly to various national newspapers and maga...

This week on The Driven Podcast, John Marcar meets Randy Nonnenberg, the co-founder and president of Bring A Trailer, a company and website which arguably launched online auctions for the automotive industry in 2007. After 19 years of trading as an exclusively US-based platform, BringaTrailer.com is officially launching in the UK in partnership with UK dealer and Porsche specialist Sports Purpose....

Vicki Butler Henderson is our 3rd guest on season 3 of The Driven Podcast, recorded at the 2025 Goodwood Festival of Speed with BMW UK. In this episode, Vicki sits down with John Marcar to work through some of the highlights of her career as a journalist, a presenter and a racing driver. Vicki started her automotive career as a racing driver and circuit instructor and shot to fame as a television...

Charlie Martin is a professional racing driver who joins us for episode 2 of season 3 of The Driven Podcast. Charlie sat with Alex Goy and Charlotte Vowden in our dedicated podcast studio built by BMW at the 2025 Goodwood Festival of Speed. Charlie is best known as a professional driver with a fantastic story to share. Her love for motorsport started (as it did for many of us) with a strong intere...

It’s taken us a little longer than we had initially planned; however, we’ve finally returned for season 3 with the first of three episodes recorded at the 2025 Goodwood Festival of Speed in a dedicated studio space build by BMW UK. In this episode, John Marcar, Charlotte Vowden and Alex Goy sit down together and catch up for a 45-minute chat about the legendary Goodwood Festival of Speed, the auto...

Enjoy a bonus episode of The Driven Podcast recorded at the 82nd Goodwood Members Meeting in April 2025. In this episode, John Marcar and Charlotte Vowden speak to a handful of voices, including: Jim Farley, the CEO of the Ford Motor Company. (times - 09:08 > 49:58) Jim and Charlotte discuss finding a balance between work and pleasure, particularly in running one of the world's largest automoti...

It's the season finale! This week, for the last time until the Summer months, John Marcar, Amy Heynes, Miles Lacey, Charlotte Vowden, and Alex Goy bring you a round table podcast episode to end yet another busy season of The Driven Podcast. In this week's chat, Amy shares stories of photographing MGs and hanging out with musicians, Charlotte has been driving a new car up and down the country, Alex...

Steeped in nostalgia, Goodwood Motor Circuit in West Sussex started life as an RAF base before its first race in 1948. It's one of the fastest, most challenging tracks in the UK. Home to the world-famous Revival, Members' Meeting and Festival of Speed, its reputation for putting on automotive spectacles is unmatched. On this week's episode, Charlotte Vowden and Amy Heynes, go behind the scenes wit...

Rick Parfitt Jnr is this week's guest on The Driven Podcast. Rick, an old friend and colleague of John Marcar's, welcomes John and Charlotte Vowden into his home to share some of his amazing stories, anecdotes and wisdom from his life and career as a musician, professional racing driver and ambassador for Crohn's & Colitis UK. Rick shares stories of his unorthodox upbringing in a Rock and Roll...

This week on The Driven Podcast, John Marcar and Charlotte Vowden bring you three incredible guests from the Devitt Insurance MCN London Motorcycle Show 2025. global motorcycle adventurer Charley Boorman, Ace Cafe reviver-turned-owner Mark Wilsmore and motorcycle racer turned commentator Steve Parish. Charley Boorman is a household name thanks to his global adventuring on two wheels alongside his...

This week, on The Driven Podcast, racing and stunt driver Jessica Hawkins welcomes Charlotte Vowden and John Marcar to the Aston Martin Racing Technology Campus (AMRTC) in Silverstone. Jessica Hawkins is a pioneer for women in motorsport. Having excelled in her career as a professional championship-winning racing driver and stunt driver, Jessica is now team ambassador and Head of F1 Academy for th...

In 1997, Tiffany Coates decided to embark on an overland adventure to India with her best friend. They wanted to do it on a motorcycle, but neither of them had licenses or even knew how to ride. So they learnt. Equipped with a Haynes Manual and fearless ambition, they set off on a BMW R 80 GS named ‘Thelma’ – which they bought over the phone and unseen. Bonkers and brave, their spontaneous adventu...

Mark Harrison is rightfully regarded as an automotive sales and marketing expert, having worked in integral roles with brands such as Honda and its BTCC team, BMW, where he assisted in the launch of the Iconic BMW M3 CSL and later the new Mini and McLaren where he helped launch the first road cars for the brand. Today, Mark is known for his role with Praga, a company steeped in history, which is n...