HOT TO TROT

FROM his younger years spent learning car control in the forest or laying copious amounts of rubber, to owning a speed shop and shooting the cover for one of Street Machine's highest-selling issues, photographer and writer Keith Trotter has been connected to some of the most pivotal moments of our glorious car culture.

- SIMON MAJOR

Fifty years on from his entry into the scene, Keith is still an active and integral member of the Aussie car community and continues to capture and celebrate it. We caught up with Keith at our Street Machine Hall of Fame display at this year’s Meguiar's MotorEx for a chat about some of his most memorable cars and moments.

Keith, you've been a part of the street machine scene since its pioneering days; what got you interested in cars in the first place?

For me, it kicked off in the 1970s. I bought an XY GT when I was 20, then later owned a ‘Phase 5' XB hardtop before buying a 308-powered XU-1.

I went to most of the race tracks — Sandown, Calder, Oran Park, Amaroo, Surfers, Bathurst, Lakeside; raced motocross in the army; and I also drag raced. I later started a street machine club and bought a new XC Falcon Cobra, which I still own, and then bought one for my wife. I also owned a speed shop for 10 years and worked for Street Machine and other titles too. Back in 2003, I organised and judged The Cobra’s 25th anniversary celebrations at Bathurst, and then organised the 45th anniversary in 2023, so I'm still at it.

What was your first car?

A Ford Mk2 Cortina 440 sedan with a bench front seat and four on the column. I bought it from my dad's car salesman mate, ‘Slippery Sid’.