Awesome Car and Motorbike (and Engine) Collections: Guy Martin

We’ve covered a few incredible car collections here on the LK Performance blog. From Kanye West to Cristiano Ronaldo, we’ve seen some truly dazzling four-wheeled playthings owned by the rich and famous, but we think we’ve found a collection that trumps them all: that of the much-loved British motorbike racer, Guy Martin. 

First becoming known for his motorbike road racing success, in particular his several podium finishes at the Isle of Man TT, Midlands-born lorry mechanic Guy Martin has gone on to become a household-name TV personality. His wild character (and even wilder hair) most recently earned him a second series of his successful Channel 4 TV show, Speed with Guy Martin, in which he takes on various speed-based challenges that have put a number of British and world records under his toolbelt. 

As he’s raced (and sometimes crashed) flat-out in everything from a hovercraft to a toboggan, it’s not surprising that Guy’s own personal vehicle collection is equally as eclectic. Let’s take a look at the cars, motorbikes and Spitfire engine – yes, just the engine – that Guy keeps behind his garage doors.

Ford Transit Van

Guy’s everyday run-around is an admittedly rather pedestrian 13-reg black Ford Transit van, that you may have spotted a few times in the episodes of his show. He’s found a way to add his stamp to this trusty vehicle though, in the form of a giant version of his Skull and Spanners logo emblazoned across the sides. Don’t let the modest exterior of this van fool you - there’s probably something amazing lurking inside it. 

1967 Vöx Volvo Amazon

Why would a daredevil superbike racer like Guy Martin own a car as conservative as a Volvo estate? Because the truth is, it’s precisely the opposite of conservative. Touted by Guy himself as ‘the fastest car in Britain’, his battleship grey, red leather-trimmed 1967 Vöx Volvo Amazon can reportedly reach a top speed of 205mph – which would make it faster than any Ferrari, Bugatti or Porsche! 

He bought his Amazon in 2012, after it had been in the hands of Swedish supercar engineers who had dropped a 2.8 litre 788 BHP turbocharged engine and six-speed gearbox under its bonnet. The car can go from 0-60 in just three seconds, and Guy reckons that it could easily outpace the more typical supercars on the track. 

Suzuki GSX-R1100

The second episode of the second series of Speed with Guy Martin saw Guy travel to Pikes Peak, one of Colorado’s Rocky Mountains where the International Hill Climb takes place every year, with his home-built, heavily modified and turbocharged Martek-framed Suzuki GSX-R1100 motorbike in tow. Pikes Peak is notoriously dangerous, not only because of the steep, rocky drops besides the track that have claimed several lives, but because it reaches 4,000 metres above sea level – hence the races’ nickname, ‘The Race to the Clouds’ – and oxygen levels are drastically compromised. 

This wasn’t just a problem for Guy himself, but for his bike too, which succumbed at first to the uniquely harsh conditions of Pikes Peak. However after some serious fine-tuning, the 1380 cc engine of the GSX-R1100 carried Guy up the 12.42 mile mountain track in just 11 minutes and 32.6 seconds, winning his class by just a single second. 

Suzuki GSX-R600 & GSX-1000

As a member of the Tyco Suzuki factory team, Number 8 Guy Martin races a number of different Suzukis, but most often a GSX-R600 or a GSX-R1000. It’s the latter model that he rode at the 2014 Isle of Man TT in yet another valiant attempt to take first place, a position that he claimed almost effortlessly in August’s Ulster GP on the GSX-R600. He’s already announced that he will be back at the Isle of Man TT in 2015. We’re looking forward to seeing which machine he brings, and if it will finally bring him the win he’s always wanted.

Rolls-Royce Merlin Spitfire Engine

"I've just bought myself a Spitfire engine for the front room. Got to be one of the best sounding engines ever made - proper mint.” We aren’t really sure which part of Guy’s statement baffles us the most – whether that he just felt like popping out and buying himself a V12, 27 litre, 1600 BHP Merlin Spitfire engine, or that he planned to put it next to his sofa – but we do know that the final item in Guy’s collection is the one we envy most. 

You can see Guy’s very own Merlin being fired up on Guy Martin’s Spitfire, where it was revealed that the engine is actually being kept safely in an outbuilding on his farm. Well, we say safely – Guy did mention that one of the first times he started up the engine, it hurtled straight into the nearest wall.