When not working as AXA Marthon’s Agent General, David Atkins is content spending time in his garage on his life-time passion: cars.

Brands Hatch puts enthusiasm for cars on track

For as long as David can remember he has been interested in cars. As a young boy, David’s father used to take him to Brands Hatch.

One of the first cars he remembers being in was a Humber Hawk, a British car made from the 1940s to mid-60s. Another early memory is an Aston Martin DB5 – as driven by OO7 himself.

David said, “The Aston Martin DB5 was a truly special car. The DB stood for David Brown who designed this classic vehicle.

“I recall standing in front of this car (see photograph), however, this is not my only car recollection from when I was young. I remember letting the handbrake off of my Dad’s Fiat 1964/5 estate car whilst my brother and I were still in it… Dad had taken us to yet another antique shop. This resulted in the car rolling across the road backwards and into a ditch; we had to be towed out!”

David Atkins in front of Aston Martin DB5 aged 5 or 6

Classic car favourite MGB Roadster fuels interest

The thrill of speed and driving on the open road is undoubtedly one of the joys of classic car motoring. David’s first classic was a mineral blue 1968 MGB Roadster with leather interior, distinctive chrome bumpers and a characteristic front grille.

“The MGB was a truly terrible car to drive! I had an unhappy incident though whilst driving the Roadster. In the early 1980s I was driving to a hill climb in Sussex. To be honest, I was driving too fast – and had a collision with a truck! I braked hard, but it was too late. Fortunately, no one was hurt but the car was a write-off. There was a happy ending though, the lorry insurance paid out and I rebuilt it and sold the car.”

Lotus leads the pack of favourite classic cars

When asked which is David’s favourite classic car, the response is swift: the Lotus Elan Sprint.

“The Lotus Elan is exciting, fast and has never dated. It is a beautiful piece of engineering by the legendary Colin Chapman, the vehicle’s designer.”

When they can, David and Allison enjoy going to classic car rallies for picnics or lunches with car clubs. David enjoys the conviviality of these events as well as the opportunity to learn more about the different vehicles.

Trust your classic car with AXA Marthon

AXA Marthon insures many classic cars for their owners across France. These include: Lotus Europa, Alfa Romeo Zagato, Citroen Ami6, many MGs, TR4s and TR5s, Rolls Royce’s as well as the charismatic Citroen DS.

For further information and a free non-obligation quote please get in touch with us:-

Phone: +33 (0)5 45 70 43 76

Email: agence.atkins@axa.fr