David Brown is a businessman who, with his father of the same name, led the huge industrial plant firm DJB Engineering of Peterlee. The company was enormously successful thanks to its articulated dump truck, a genuine world first. It later bought Bedford Trucks from GM, patented the Multidrive all-wheel drive concept, and only sold out to its biggest customer, Caterpillar, in 1995. Be in no doubt, DJB Engineering was a giant. This is how Brown made his money.
But things weren't as simple as they sound for Brown, as he explains over a pint (or two) of his own beer (he's set up the BAD Company brewing and distilling firm, from which we can report the Comfortably Numb line is wonderful) in a North Yorkshire B&B. Aged 17, the last thing on his mind was industry; he wanted to be a rock star. "The family worked in the tree felling business and I had a very nice life in a band in Gloucestershire.
Then one day, my dad said we were all moving to a new council estate in Peterlee, County Durham, so he could set up a new engineering company. I refused; I chose to stay in Gloucestershire and live in a mate's digs, felling trees and playing in the band.
"I lasted a day and a half before I followed them up to Peterlee."
Selling a product nobody wanted
Living in a council house, trying to set up a new company amidst the industrial strife of the early 70s, tackling 25 per cent inflation, pogo-stick exchange rates and three-day working weeks, certainly wasn't easy. "We were selling a product nobody wanted. But we were both fully committed and weren't deterred - and today, it's the wheelbarrow of the industrial world."
That's David Brown, then. An entrepreneurial industrialist who made his fortune with tractors. Sound familiar? But unlike another David Brown, our man has chosen not to buy Aston Martin, but design a car that looks like one. Joining the chorus of PHers, we asked him, why?
The short story is thus: he was on a classic rally with a Ferrari Daytona-owning friend. The hot, stuffy classic kept breaking down, and the best part of the rally for them all was escaping to the Peugeot 106 hire car. "It was bloody miserable. It struck me that a far better solution would be a car designed to look like a classic, but with a modern vehicle's comfort, reliability and performance." He made enquiries, discovered designer Alan Mobberley and, in March 2013, began working with Envisage Group of Coventry on what's become the Speedback GT.
It's intentionally, unashamedly retro. "People will buy it because of what it looks like, the statement it makes," he says, stressing that exclusivity is a crucial part of the deal. "We will never make more than 100; the fact each car is a tailor-made original is a big part of the appeal. I can see someone with a super yacht buying it and keeping it on the back to look at - knowing they could quite easily drive it when in port, should they wish to." Intentionally an enthusiast's car for the non-enthusiast, then?
And if you're wondering how Brown knows all this, take note: since selling DJB Engineering, he's invested in numerous high-end luxury goods companies, from restaurants and women's shoe shops to home furnishing and specialist stonemakers. He knows what appeals to the sort of super-rich buyers who may not be natural PH-style car fanatics but do know the cars that appeal to them. Six orders thus far, before the firm even had a finished car, suggests he may be onto something.
Petrolhead Brown
But, PHers, don't worry. He's also a car guy. He of course owns a 'real' DB5. He's also a former rally champion in a Group N Subaru Impreza. He currently owns a Ford Puma 4x4 Evo - that's a Puma wearing Escort RS Cosworth running gear - and assures us that if a customer wanted a Speedback GT with, say, XKR-S running gear and 550hp engine, the firm would make it. "I think the more easy-going setup we have suits the car best, but we wouldn't say no if somebody wanted something else.
"A senior engine designer told me this motor is good for 700hp..."
David Brown is affable, entertaining, engaging. He's a charismatic entrepreneur rather than a straight-laced car boss, a sort of Peter Wheeler for luxury cars. This is not a vanity thing, he assures us. "It was Alan's idea to call the company after me; yes, I do make all the big decisions, but that's because there's only six of us - and that's how we've been able to do it so quickly. Direct decision making, rather than bloody messing about with board meetings and approval panels. That's what really hobbles the car industry.
"We're not trying to be a mainstream company and, with this car, are focusing on the elite who want a classic-looking car but don't want the headaches to go with it. I feel sure there are 100 people in the world [most will be sold in LHD guise] who agree."
And then what? While he's not speaking about future cars yet (although he confirms "we won't build a roadster version of this"), Brown is sure there will be more; before then, expect a branded line of luxury goods to back up the Speedback GT - and if Maserati can pedal perfume and brollies, who's to say he can't make the mooted range of posh leather wallets and luggage work? There may even be David Brown Automotive posh office chairs: "Anything is possible."
There's the rub. Brown has, with the Speedback GT, created something unique: a modern coachbuilt car based on a talented OEM platform. No rough spaceframe chassis with big Chevy V8s here, but a showroom-ready car with totally unique looks. While not everyone may like the Speedback GT, he's planning for it not to be his last car - and as he's more of a petrolhead than many specialist car bosses, there could be more to this car company than we first think. Cheers to that?
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