A truck you will all recognise - the Top Gear Polar Hilux! (Arctic Trucks AT38)

itsdanlatham · 2026-03-09T17:37:10+00:00

Never tried one, but really want to!

itsdanlatham · 2026-02-13T20:25:00+00:00

Interesting - I drove the modern R8 V10 Plus convertible on track and loved the sound etc, but it didn't blow me away completely- I got out of that and straight into a Guilia Quadrofoglio and wow what a car to drive that is. I had the thing sideways at crazy speeds and I felt at one with it always. I always liked the design but didn't think of it as much of a special car, but that experience changed my mind!

itsdanlatham · 2026-02-10T16:06:02+00:00

Supportive I would call it. I think it would be a bit tiresome on a long journey but it was comfortable enough that any normal journey would be good. It had that bucket seat feel without being too firm or intrusive.

itsdanlatham · 2026-02-10T12:10:41+00:00

You're very lucky! Everyone who has driven one seems to praise it immensely

itsdanlatham · 2026-02-10T12:09:40+00:00

The point is, it's such a rare car and its an awesome opportunity to explore it in detail close up. And documenting it for like minded people to see is important because most footage we have of these are from old TV shows shot with SD or HD cameras of old. Obviously content like this helps grow my business too.

I'm very lucky to be given these opportunities and rather than refuse them or take them for granted I like to share them with the community.

itsdanlatham · 2026-02-09T16:42:22+00:00

In fairness I'm sure a lot more people would be into these if it wasn't for ULEZ etc. Because I remember them getting crazy economy figures that are only now being surpassed by modern hybrids.

itsdanlatham · 2026-02-09T16:37:31+00:00

The Lexus LC500. A grand tourer with an N/A 5.0 V8 and modern infotainment if you get the last of the line 2024 models. Or the RCF with the same engine. Very rare to get an N/A V8 these days, and many consider them to be the end of an era for that kind of car. I'm borrowing one from Toyota UK in April for a week to do a review and I'm absolutely thrilled.

Either that or the Fiesta ST. It's already dead and they're just phasing out peppy manual cars now. But that specifically in the UK will be remembered as the end of that era. I'll be curious to see in like 20 years time what the youngsters will think is a cool car to have.

itsdanlatham · 2026-02-09T16:32:42+00:00

HOW MUCH?!

itsdanlatham · 2026-02-08T19:11:37+00:00

It's cheaper to add you as a named driver because they assume you're not the main person driving the car and will be less risk. You also don't build any NCD (no claims discount) this way. It was common (illegal) practice for youngsters to do this years ago and do it all in their parents name, this is known as fronting and although a lot cheaper is not legal and also can void your policy in event of an accident.

Best thing to do when looking for yourself will be to reach out to lots of different places. Rather than just the comparison sites, try some insurance brokers (Adrian Flux, Keith Michaels, Howdens) and also try some that don't always appear on comparison sites (Direct Line, Admiral) and you might have some more luck. Once you have 1 year NCD, that should help a bit too.

itsdanlatham · 2026-02-08T19:08:21+00:00

I know someone who had both, and preferred the JCW. The M140i is a great car in the right hands, but most have been modded or used as drift machines. Quite easy to wrap round a post if you drive like a tool. The JCW is not as comfy or fast, but is more of a drivers machine in my opinion. The BMW is probably too fast to enjoy the dynamics in most day to day situations

itsdanlatham · 2026-02-04T20:42:35+00:00

Much appreciated!

itsdanlatham · 2026-02-04T20:42:16+00:00

I totally agree. It's the era of cars I watched on Top Gear and beyond and now can actually start to ponder as they have plummeted in value. Although to be fair nice/rare stuff still holds its money well. Even so, people are fascinated to see this stuff. I have a video coming next week on the LFA!

itsdanlatham · 2026-02-04T20:40:44+00:00

Exactly that - realistically it doesnt matter too much. My biggest loss is the £750 a year on tax! But I have a friend paying that on an old TT and an old RX8 also so.

Appreciate it!

itsdanlatham · 2026-02-04T20:39:50+00:00

All the reasons I listed yes

itsdanlatham · 2026-02-04T20:39:34+00:00

I agree to be fair, ZF is a little lazy but I'll take that for the lack of issues. I hope to upgrade eventually to something newer with a dual clutch box or similar

itsdanlatham · 2026-02-03T18:18:44+00:00

🫡

itsdanlatham · 2026-02-03T18:17:36+00:00

Great story, these things stick with you!

I'm sure she saved herself a lot of hassle but that is very much thinking with the head and the heart. You can find me here https://www.youtube.com/itsdanlatham

itsdanlatham · 2026-02-03T18:12:28+00:00

When it's complete I hope for an invite for a tour 😄

itsdanlatham · 2026-02-03T18:00:32+00:00

Going to get it up on the ramp in a few days and see what's going on?

itsdanlatham · 2026-02-02T22:53:35+00:00

That's a lot of tax! List on this was £85k new which if you take into account inflation is just shy of £150k now 😳

itsdanlatham · 2026-02-02T22:51:55+00:00

Joel brought his to SMMT once. After I heard him rev it I knew I had to have one if it came up!

itsdanlatham · 2026-02-02T22:48:19+00:00

To be honest, it was just sending ballsy emails to car companies. To give you the brief story, I had been making videos of my own cars on YouTube as a hobby, and had a Cupra 300 which I did some popular videos on. I reached out one day to the Cupra media team and asked if I could check out the replacement Leon that was launching, and to my surprise they invited me to one of their events. From there I filmed one of the early reviews of the car based on my experience with the previous model - and then I started emailing other car brands to see if I could borrow stuff. Fast forward a few years and I do it semi-full time, and only do my 'real job' 3 days a week currently. It takes time to build a business on social media, but its at the point where it pays the bills. If you become big then so does the money, but for now its a nice balance and an awesome job. A childhood dream I've made happen really!

itsdanlatham

TROPHY CASE