David Gandy, Model, Designer, Driver
Photo Jaguar
David Gandy may be best known for strutting his stuff on the catwalks, but Britain’s top male model is also a highly-accomplished designer and driver.
Alongside his own Wellwear fashion line Gandy did the design work on his Porsche 356 restoration and collaborated with Jaguar on an XK120, a car he fell for after driving it on the Mille Miglia.
“It exceeded my expectations. You’ve got the crowds and the love of cars in Italy. The passion is like nowhere else. ”
“I’ve done the Mille Miglia twice and just recently did the Mille Miglia UAE, but I think the first one was the best,” Gandy tells Detour.
“You understand about the heritage and the history of the Mille and you hope it's going to be spectacular. It's a sublime event and it could only be done in Italy. It just exceeded my expectations. You've got the crowds and the love of cars in Italy. The passion is like nowhere else. So you've got everyone involved in that atmosphere of the minute.
“I’ve always driven Jaguar XK120s. I did it with Yasmin Le Bon the first year and the second year I did it with Jodie Kidd. They’re very different people. Yasmin's great rally co-driver, Jodi's an unhinged driver. She's a fantastic driver. It's a pleasure to be in a car with her and there’s definitely no hanging around. It’s not classed as a race but it's hard not to see the red mist and take on the Gullwings and Porsches.
“We did okay, I think I've come second in the Jaguar team both times. One of them was down to a funny sort of regulation that I'm still arguing about. I think we should have come first!
“"When you’re racing and you’re on the same team as Andy Wallace it’s hard not to be competitive. I overtook him once. I think it’s because he stopped to have a pee, but it’s still an overtake in my book.”
Photo Jaguar
The organiser of the legendary Mille Miglia is offering a second chance to accelerate through Italy in 2024.