Van extraordinaire

A Mk1 Transit by design legend Peter Stevens? JOHN EVANS had to see it

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Car designer Peter Stevens, famed for the McLaren F1, is revealing the inspiration behind one of his latest projects: “I was working away from home in Coventry and staying in a very basic hotel. There wasn't even a chair in my room. So, one evening, I'm sitting on my bed eating a takeaway and feeling quite depressed when I thought:

I know, I'll buy a camper van with all mod cons, park it in the car park of the firm I'm working at and sleep in that instead!”

We've all got to kip somewhere, of course, but Stevens - the designer of all-time classics including the F1, Jaguar XJR-15, Lotus Elan 'M100', Lotus 'X180' Esprit and the 1999 Le Mans-winning BMW V12 LMR - putting his head down in a client's car park? “There are some people who like being designers and some who like designing,” he explains. “I’m the latter. I certainly don’t expect special treatment. In any case, living in the motorhome gave me ideas for the project I was working on.”