After two hot and tiring days of driving, photo shoots and race events, last Saturday all I really wanted to do was jump aboard my big BMW barge and sail the few hours home to London.

But I had been made aware of a car show being held at an interesting location an hour away – in the opposite direction of home, of course. Yes, I wanted a cold shower and to fall into bed, but as they say, one should make hay while the sun shines. In the UK, that’s approximately four business days a year; it was a lovely warm evening, so why not? Pulling in a couple of hours after the show’s start time, things were in full swing.

The Drivers Collection is, in their own words, a ‘Classic Car Enthusiast Club’ and they’ve earned a reputation for putting on high-quality meets in quirky venues.

This wasn’t The Drivers Collection’s first big event, but considering they had managed to secure a UNESCO World Heritage Site as their venue, it was certainly their most impressive.

Cromford Mills is a gorgeous spot with features you wouldn’t expect to see at a car show. For example, the show and shine area was surrounded by stone architecture and had a fully functioning water wheel. The last time I saw one of those was in my history textbooks back in school, so it was a welcome surprise.

A great venue is an important first step, but I am pleased to report that the quality of cars selected for the show was fantastic, and there was a healthy variety of build styles, too.

Immediately, Rich Colvill’s Ferrari 328 GTS stole my attention. I’ll go into more depth in a separate spotlight, but I mean it when I say this thing has some of the most exquisite details I’ve ever seen on a show car.

Another killer entrant was this Chevrolet C10, a contender for my favourite vehicle at the event. The bonnet details lead me to believe it’s a 1960 model, though it’s far removed from what rolled off the production line 64 years ago.

Looking like it was plucked straight out of a Mad Max movie, it’s a surreal machine. Those are the largest tyres I’ve ever seen on a road-legal truck.

If retro Japanese metal is more your speed, there was plenty of that on display, too.

Japanese cars have always been popular in the UK, but ever since the values of S-chassis Nissans, AE86s and the like shot up, there has been a resurgence in what some might call ‘less desirable’ models.

I may not understand the hype over doilies, wool seats, Carrozzeria parcel shelf speakers and entire kitchen installations that follow JDM big-body enthusiasts, but a V12 Toyota on OZ Scara wheels? Yes, please!

Small cars will always have a place in UK car culture, and you’ll often find British, French and Japanese enthusiasts debating which is best.

Air-cooled enthusiasts will only ever accept a VW as the champion of the small car, yet even within their ranks, you’ll find incredibly different schools of thought on modifications.

This Beetle, for example, was a very modern Euro take on the historic platform. Slick paint, big split centre-lock BBS wheels and a CAE shifter are touches you will usually find in modified 2020+ VWs, Audis and Porsches.

Meanwhile, the Type 1 VW Kombi parked alongside was decidedly old-school and American in its styling. The drag wheels and patina were obvious, but the buckshot holes in the driver’s door probably gave this bus away as a US import.

Modern water-cooled Volkswagens have become synonymous with stance culture in the UK, and Jack Smith’s VW Polo Harlekin is about as textbook an example as you’ll find. Jack is a professional painter best known for his flake and lowrider paint jobs, so I wasn’t surprised the bodywork was immaculate. Air suspension, rare aftermarket touches, a custom-trimmed interior and a killer set of split wheels make this a top-tier example of what’s hot in the scene right now.

The real answer for the best small car? There isn’t one. I’ve had a few, but I’ll take a big car with a big V8, please and thank you…

…Or at least a pretty coupé with a straight-six piece of art under the bonnet, like Tom’s gorgeous BMW E24 running individual throttle bodies and AC Schnitzer Type 2 Rennsport wheels.

Events like The Drivers Collection are a reminder as to why it’s worth following your gut and going out of your way to indulge in the culture every now and then.

I won’t put it down to FOMO, or the ‘fear of missing out’ though. In this day and age, where it’s so easy to get direct-to-eyeball car content through the likes of TikTok, YouTube or even just Instagram and Facebook posts, it’s important to get yourself out into the real world and enjoy it.

Taking in the sights of a beautiful venue, enjoying some good music and having a pretty damn good burger around modified cars was a great time.

Did I need to add five hours to this exhausting and car-filled weekend? No, I did not. Am I glad that I did? Absolutely.

Mario Christou
Instagram: mcwpn
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