Supercar heaven: inside an exclusive club

Every year it hosts road trips and get-togethers for well-heeled enthusiasts.

The conditions of joining the club? You must own a car that’s on Supercar Driver’s list of eligible models – the likes of the BMW M1, De Tomaso Mangusta, Lexus LFA, Porsche 959 and Alfa Romeo 8C.

A quick scan suggests a TVR Sagaris is likely the cheapest entry ticket.

The club has blossomed from a small group of owners who would sometimes meet in supermarket car parks to a world-famous society of fast-car lovers, and the Secret Meet is its headline gathering.

The Formula One-inspired Mercedes-AMG One leads a Jaguar XJ220 and a Porsche 918 Spyder

This year, the annual event drew many of the world’s rarest and most expensive models, plus a number of significant racing cars, to the Northamptonshire circuit.

Welcome to the world of £5000 sets of tyres, £15,000-plus oil changes and multi-million-pound hypercars.

Let’s meet some of the members of this exclusive club.

Images: Jack Harrison

Thanks to: Supercar Driver

Mike Yin: 2010 Pagani Zonda R

What should you do when your Pagani Zonda is too fast for race tracks? Make it road legal, of course

The Zonda R was perhaps the ultimate evolution of Pagani’s first supercar.

If you are not entirely sure where the R stands in the Italian maker’s befuddling line-up of special editions, this was its first track-only model (if you ignore the Zonda GR racer that entered Le Mans in 2003).

But this example, one of about 10 Zonda Rs built, has been registered for the road – big wing, fire-spitting quad tailpipes and all.

The Pagani Zonda R’s ear-splitting V12 echoed around Silverstone

“I’ve always loved Paganis; I remember seeing one on Top Gear and thinking, ‘That car looks insane,’” says Mike Yin, who bought this Zonda R from a friend in 2021.

“I didn’t use it a lot because I was in America and there weren’t many tracks suitable for this type of car.”

Noise limits were an issue, but finding a circuit big enough to stretch the Zonda R’s mighty V12 engine’s legs was also a problem.

Naturally, Mike sidestepped this dilemma by sending the car to Lanzante in Hampshire, England, which was able to jump through all the hoops required to make the Pagani road-legal.

This road-legal Pagani Zonda R drew a crowd at Supercar Driver’s Secret Meet at Silverstone

“Cosmetically, it doesn’t look that much different,” explains Mike. “But underneath there is a lot going on.”

It’s now got indicators, reversing lights, air conditioning and more, but apparently replacing the original Bosch wiring loom was one of the trickiest jobs.

“I don’t think Bosch supports these conversions,” Mike says. “It doesn’t want to spend the time and energy on a project for a maximum of 10 cars.”

The ride height has been increased, too – though speed bumps still pose an existential threat.

Zak Brown: 1985 Ferrari 288GTO

McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown is a big classic car fan, especially when it comes to 1980s supercars

If Zak Brown is jet-lagged from his flight back to the UK after the 2025 Canadian Grand Prix, just two days before the Supercar Driver Secret Meet, he doesn’t show it as he hops into his Blaupunkt-liveried Porsche 962 for a few laps of Silverstone.

He’s one of the busiest head honchos in motorsport, but the McLaren Racing CEO isn’t dressed in papaya today.

He’s here with United Autosports, the West Yorkshire-based outfit that he co-founded with former racing driver Richard Dean.

The Dyson Racing IMSA Porsche 962 he’s driving – the same one in which he claimed victory at the Le Mans Classic in 2016 – is very cool, but it’s what he arrived in that caught our eye.

Zak Brown behind the wheel of his Porsche 962 at Silverstone

“It was a car I had always wanted,” says Zak of his 1985 Ferrari 288GTO. “I much prefer the older stuff.”

You might think that being seen in a supercar built by one of the McLaren Formula One team’s biggest rivals would be a big no-no for the boss, but Zak’s clearly not too fussed about toeing the company line day in, day out – he’s an enthusiast whose collection also includes a Bentley 4¼-litre, an AC Cobra 289, a Porsche 959 and a few McLarens, too. 

“It’s my era of supercar,” he adds. “It was always this, Porsche 959s and Lamborghini Countachs.

“It’s quick, it’s comfortable and my one has air conditioning, so it’s pretty easy to run around town in.”

Mike Youles: 1995 Lamborghini Diablo

Mike Youles is reunited with the semi-works Lamborghini Diablo he was set to race at Le Mans

After a class win at Le Mans in 1990, Mike Youles saw a loophole in the 1995 regulations.

“Basically, you only had to homologate one car,” he explains. “We wanted to go with a manufacturer, so a group of us got together and approached Lamborghini.”

The Italian marque had just been bought by Tommy Suharto.

“I was the only person ever to leave the Lamborghini factory with a chassis on a trailer,” says Mike. “We got it back to Oxfordshire, where we built the car.”

This one-off Lamborghini Diablo exploited a loophole in the 1995 Le Mans regulations

A new spaceframe was created, and the British team – led by engineer Jeff Amos and his son, Steve – rotated the engine by 180°, attached a Hewland gearbox to the back of it and lowered the car by five inches, among other modifications.

On its way to a test day at the Circuit Paul Ricard in France, the team made a stop at the DVLA office in Brighton.

“I went in there with a piece of paper recording the chassis number,” remembers Mike. “Someone came out and asked me where the chassis stamp was, so I showed it to them and they issued it with a V5. We had homologated one car.”

This Lamborghini Diablo was built in Oxfordshire, not Sant’Agata

For one reason or another, however, Mike says that Lamborghini got cold feet about the project.

When the team arrived at the French circuit, the Sant’Agata factory provided a new V12 motor for the semi-works Diablo.

“The engine they supplied was crap,” remembers Mike, ruefully. “I think they did their best to muck it up.”

The team’s investors took Lamborghini to court and pulled out of the project, and the one-of-one Diablo never raced.

Things got messy when Lamborghini interfered with the project, says Mike Youles

The out-of-court settlement stipulated that the prototype wasn’t allowed to compete.

“It got shipped off to a South African Lamborghini dealer,” says Mike, “and it sat there for 28 years.”

Since then, it’s been restored by Pastorelli Classic Cars and Mike was reunited with the Diablo at the Supercar Driver Secret Meet.

Carina Lima: 2014 Koenigsegg One:1

Carina Lima’s Koenigsegg One:1 is a record-breaker

If we are nit-picking, Carina Lima’s Koenigsegg One:1 should actually be called the Koenigsegg One:1.0373.

Chassis P7106 was the Swedish hypercar maker’s development mule, and a handful of modifications – including a rollcage and different exhaust system – meant the first Koenigsegg One:1 was about 50kg heavier than the six production cars that followed, which tip the scales at 1340kg and produce 1340 metric horsepower on E85 ethanol (the model was named after its power-to-weight ratio).

That must hardly matter to Carina, though. What her car lacks in terms of a pedant-proof moniker, it more than makes up for with bragging rights: this bonkers, record-breaking Koenigsegg once held the 0-186-0mph title, plus it was the fastest-recorded roadgoing car around Spa-Francorchamps and Suzuka.

This Koenigsegg One:1’s plaque reveals it was the official development car

So how much has Carina pushed it? “Probably up to about 350-360kph [217-223mph],” she says.

Although she can’t recall any hairy moments with the twin-turbocharged V8 Koenigsegg, the left-hand-drive hypercar can be tricky to use in the UK.

“The best trip I’ve done in it was to Scotland,” Carina adds, “but the roads there are really tight. For me to overtake, I had to rely on my passenger.

“One time they said: ‘It’s okay.’ But then suddenly there was a car heading towards me.”

Dare we ask about the running costs? “There are some things you don’t even want to think about,” she replies.

Henry Pearman: 1987 Porsche 962

Henry Pearman fell in love with Le Mans when he was a teenager

A wide-eyed Henry Pearman began making the pilgrimage to the Circuit de la Sarthe in the 1980s.

At the ’88 edition of the famous round-the-clock race, a few years after he’d founded Jaguar E-type specialist Eagle, he watched as Porsches battled Jaguars for the outright win. 

That year, Henry also witnessed the Andretti brothers piloting the Porsche 962C he now owns.

“I think it was running in second place at one stage, and it came sixth overall,” he recalls.

This 1987 Porsche 962 has been piloted by some legendary drivers

Chassis eight, the last factory 962 built, is one of the Porsches in Henry’s spectacular collection of Group C machines.

In 1988 it ran with a red-and-yellow Shell-Dunlop livery, but Henry has since reinstated the blue-and-white Rothmans suit it wore when driven by Derek Bell and Hans Stuck in 1987.

Henry’s motorsport CV consisted mostly of a few hillclimbs and some circuit races before he jumped into a Group C car for the first time, but he says the Porsches aren’t as scary as some think: “They’ve got full-synchromesh gearboxes, the aero is friendly and the brakes are really strong – they’re surprisingly easy.”

The Rothmans Porsche 962 is surprisingly easy to drive, according to owner Henry

But are they just as easy to keep running?

“Because they were built to be thrashed for 24 hours by Grand Prix drivers, they will last for two years between rebuilds,” he explains.

“The trick is: rebuild it properly once, then they’re super reliable. You don’t need laptops and teams of people, all you need is the key – which is a normal 911 key.”

Ben Clarke: 1993 Jaguar XJ220

The Jaguar XJ220’s striking lines still fascinate enthusiasts, more than 30 years after the car was revealed

“It’s always been my dream car,” says Ben Clarke, standing next to his 2500-mile Jaguar XJ220.

Although it took a long time to find an example in the specification he desired – and another six-week wait while specialist Don Law sorted a few niggles – it’s now up and together.

“I had to spend a fair amount to get it recommissioned,” he says, reeling off some of the work it required: new fuel bags, belts and seals, plus an engine-out service.

The Jaguar XJ220 mingles with modern supercars at Silverstone

“I got offered new tyres while I was there, but I don’t really need them at the moment,” he adds.

The fact that a fresh set is £5000 might have had something to do with Ben’s decision to eke more life from his current rubber.

“It’s okay on the road,” he says. “The clutch is fairly heavy and the steering is very heavy.

“Once you’re moving it’s fine, but parking isn’t. It’s a big, big car. I went to pick it up with a flat-bed trailer, but it didn’t fit. I misjudged the size of the thing.”

Ben Clarke’s 1993 Jaguar XJ220 has covered just 2500 miles

It took a while to get to grips with how the rear-wheel-drive XJ220 behaves, but Ben’s getting used to it: “You just have to respect it. You can’t just floor it, you have to be prepared to let off.

“The brakes are crap… Really crap. They squeak and they don’t give you much confidence, but you learn to live with it.”

“I adore the car, though,” he adds. “I love the styling more than anything. I think that even if it wasn’t drivable and I only got to look at it, I’d still be happy.”

Charles Craven: 1990 Ferrari F40

Charles Craven has owned this 1990 Ferrari F40 for more than 20 years

Back in 2004, Charles Craven rocked up at Hertfordshire specialist DK Engineering, determined to buy either a Ferrari F40 or a 288GTO. But he didn’t quite have the funds.

“I was a few grand short, but I took with me a banker’s draft for all of my money,” he explains.

Charles duly emptied his bank account and returned home with this bright-yellow F40.

It’s since been on plenty of trips, including last year to Marbella, Spain.

“I had no stops planned or booked,” remembers Charles. “On the passenger side I had a pillow, in case I had to sleep in it.”

This Ferrari F40’s adjustable rear wing is from a Michelotto-built LM

So what’s maintenance like on a 35-year-old Ferrari?

“It’s never given me any problems worth talking about,” he says.

“I actually do a lot of the simple mechanical bits myself. I lift it up at home, get the wheels off, put new brake pads on, bleed brake fluid.

“I take the suspension off and rebuild it every now and again. It’s all quite simple stuff.”

“I took it to Marbella but had no stops booked, so I took a pillow with me in case I had to sleep in it”

Charles attributes his engineering know-how to his years of competing in Division 1 Superkarts (14,000rpm and 150mph in something smaller than a bathtub makes even an F40 seem a little tame).

You have probably noticed that his car is not standard, either.

Most changes came about after a trip to Padua-based specialist Michelotto, who created the Ferrari F40 GT and LM.

“They still had loads of bits left over,” recalls Charles. “I said: ‘Great, I’ll buy whatever you’ve got.’”

This modified Ferrari F40 makes up to 600bhp

His F40’s current specification includes an LM rear wing, LM GTE rollcage and steering rack, LM-style suspension, 18in wheels and beefier brakes.

Plus, he has turned up the wick on the turbocharger: “I’ve got an Apexi boost controller, which you’d usually see in something like an old Nissan Skyline GT-R.

“Today, I’ve been running at 1bar, which gives about 520bhp.

“From the factory it’s about 470bhp at 0.7bar. But it’s hot today – usually I’d run it at maybe 1.3 or 1.4, which would be more like 600bhp.”

James Beaumont: 2011 Noble M600

This Noble M600 starred at the Geneva Salon when it was new

Meet James Beaumont, the Noble M600’s unofficial development driver.

“It’s been brilliant, but because it was a low-production car [c30 Noble M600s were built from 2010-’18], they never finished every little detail,” he explains.

“An engineer who used to work at Noble is with me today. We are still going through bits – we’re going to redesign the brakes next.”

The Supercar Driver club brought a multi-million-pound track day to Silverstone in June 2025

James has spent the past few years trying to make his Noble – one of the original test vehicles and the British maker’s Geneva Salon star – the car it should have been when it left the factory in Leicestershire.

He’s owned it for about six years and put 20,000 miles on the clock: “We’ve upgraded the body-control modules, so we put in a later computer that uses software to monitor everything in the car.

“The original was just a hard-wired circuit board. If it went wrong, there was nothing you could do about it – and the old one was starting to make weird noises.”

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