Regardless of any negative experiences, what strikes me most about the car-spotting crowd is its sheer enthusiasm. There’s never a bad day, nor is there a dull moment, because there’s always a new tip to follow or another mews promising hidden treasure. I’m hooked.
Three tips for car-spotting rookies
1. Pay attention
“Every good car spotter will have their head on a swivel,” says Craig. “They don’t want to miss out on the car driving by, but it also means looking out for oncoming traffic if you’re standing somewhere where that’s possible. There’s no excuse for standing in the middle of the road when there’s a car coming and I’ve seen that happen a lot.”
2. Know where you’re going
Harrison and I covered an area of only a few square miles between Park Lane and Belgravia. The Tube links within that zone – Hyde Park Corner and Green Park – made it much easier to quickly chase any rumours of cars out on the street.
3. Don’t be fooled by that bus
According to Harrison, “a London bus idling sounds exactly like a Lamborghini Aventador”. It sounds ridiculous, but he’s not wrong. Don’t fall for it.
Meet the spotters
Josh Scoot, Instagram @scootsupercars
Followers 140,000
How did you get started?
“I was always into collecting stuff like football cards or toys. I saw these cars as things I wanted to tick off. If I saw a certain car, I wanted to see the next one. My dad and I would go into London. We saw some of these cars and the next day we saw something else get posted – so we had to see that. It was an ongoing thing where you just want to see them all. We ended up going every weekend for the next five years, trying to see each one and not miss them. It was fun.”
Nathan Craig, Instagram @nathanlovesbacon
