Something very different for September's Car of the Month from Member Zach Ascot and yes it does have a connection to a well known motoring show....Zach explains
"This is my Mitsuoka Le Seyde! Now that name doesn’t mean much to most people, the name doesn’t even mean anything in Japanese or French. But what it does mean is that it’s another mad creation by Japanese car maker Mitsuoka! What they did was take a Nissan Silvia and as you can see, improved it immensely by creating this impressive & flamboyant design.
500 were ever made and this is the only one in the world with candelabras on the front wings that light up! You may be wondering why the car has these lights but they’re simply another part of its exciting history! This car was personally owned & driven by Jeremy Clarkson on Amazon’s ‘The Grand Tour: Eurocrash’. The 3 presenters (Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond & James May) were challenged to undertake a road trip that nobody has ever thought of before in cars nobody has ever done a road trip in. Jeremy chose the Mitsuoka as his unusual choice of car. The road trip spanned across 4 counties: Poland, Slovakia, Hungary & the finish point of Lake Bled in Slovenia.
Throughout their adventure many things happened. Jeremy decided to paint the wheels green as he felt the car needed more flamboyance and to give the car a racier feel. In a deleted scene the presenters crossed the Polish desert. Yes, there’s a desert in Poland; much to my surprise. I have subsequently been in touch with the crew of Eurocrash to discuss the shoot and I managed to secure exclusive behind the scenes photos & info. From my research it sounds like the desert scene was cut out of the final episode due to them continuously getting stuck.
One night, James May decided to fit the candelabras to the front wings of Jeremy’s car with help from the crew. The idea was purely to irritate Jeremy as the candelabras make an annoying jangling noise as you drive. Clarkson was initially annoyed about the modifications but then warmed to them. All 3 presenters eventually agreed that the candelabra modification actually suits the car. Later in their trip James & the crew were back at it again and modified Jeremy’s car further. This time, reupholstering the entire interior with Dalmatian print fabric. The seats, the door cards, the dash, the headlining, everywhere they could! The reason behind this, was of course to irritate Jeremy but also because the Le Seyde reminded everybody of Cruella De Ville’s car from 101 Dalmatians.
You may notice that the car has some dents in the doors. It looks like the car has been shot at and that’s because it has! One of the final challenges of the show took place in Hungary where it’s known that Hungarian archers are the best in the world. The challenge was simple, yet hazardous. Whoever was shot the least by Hungarian archers on horseback would win. Finally, to mark the end of their epic road trip, all 3 presenters had to drive onto the back of & up the ramp of a moving cargo aircraft. Now that was quite the spectacle, in the words of Jeremy Clarkson on approach: ‘That’s a lot of jet wash!’
Cars from Top Gear / The Grand Tour very rarely become available to the public. They either end up in Beaulieu museum, show displays or the scrapper. After the show, Jeremy raffled the Le Seyde for charity. The person who won the car didn’t want it and then put it up for auction where I purchased it! - I saw the car online 2 weeks before the auction and decided this was the car for me. I rang up the auction representative for that lot and introduced myself: ‘Hi I’m Zach and I’m going to be buying the Mitsuoka’. Yes, buying, not bidding. I was set on it, that was my car.
I have had some criticism that I should have gone to view the car before purchasing it like any sensible person would. First of all, sense and this car doesn’t come into the equation. My answer to that is: ‘Well, I’ve seen an hours program on it, why do I need to see anymore?’.
I have owned the car for around 5 months and in this time it’s been an absolute pleasure and also a learning curve. Most of the time has been spent taking it around to garages getting it checked over and learning how to manoeuvre the beast. I fitted a solar rear parking camera which has been a great help. It’s quite nippy up to 40mph, but beyond 60 it puts up a fight. This car turns heads and makes people truly happy wherever they go. I’ve always dreamed of owning a car from the show and now that dream has become a reality. I’ve been in touch with other owners of famous cars and they have always been closed off and acted as ‘gatekeepers’. I’ve made a conscious decision to never be like that. This car is for everybody to enjoy which is why it’s been a real pleasure to join the SADCASE club and take part in their wonderful events! I am preserving all the originality from the show and spreading the joy this car brings. I could go on about this car for a long long time. Probably the time it takes to drive from Poland to Lake Bled. I’ll stop here, you’ll have to talk to me at upcoming shows. Don’t worry, you can’t miss it."
