Vocation, vocation, vocation

Michael Ross - ‘I’m happiest on challenging mountain roads that really push driver and car to the limit.’

Each issue we talk to men & women fired as much by their passion for motoring as their drive for success. MARQ meets UK entrepreneur and BMW loyalist Michael Ross

‘Business is just what I do,’ insists UK entrepreneur Michael Ross. ‘But driving fast cars is my passion and for people like me the Gumball is as good as it gets.’

Gumball is undoubtedly an addiction and Ross is certainly hooked. But he’s not alone. As many have found, once tasted this anarchic celebration of the open road seems a tough habit to kick.

For anyone who’s been in cold storage for the past several years, Gumball 3000 is the annual seven-day, rally-not-a-race brainchild of all-purpose iconoclast Maximillion Cooper.

Taking its inspiration from Burt Reynolds’ Cannonball Run and the Whacky Races cartoon series, Max’s vision returns a little old fashioned glamour and buccaneering spirit to increasingly conservative motor sports.

Over the years celebrity participants have included Jodie Kidd, Caprice, Billy Zane, the Jackass crew, Daryl Hannah, Ruby Wax and a clutch of Happy Mondays.

For Ross it all started back in 2001. ‘I was in a bar with friends and someone asked if I wanted be become involved in this weird trans-European rally,’ he recalls. ‘Fast cars, fun people and the promise of adventure. It sounded irresistible so I signed up on the spot.’

Two weeks later he was driving his BMW Z8 roadster more than 22 hours non-stop from Hyde Park Corner to some godforsaken corner of Eastern Europe. ‘The driving was extreme, the conditions tough and the experience unforgettable,’ he says.

He made third position on the first leg and he’s been back every year since.

High performance cars have always been an essential component of Michael Ross’s life. ‘The first car I loved was a BMW 2002,’ he says. ‘It was owned by my school friend’s dad who used to drive for Lotus. When it came up for sale I couldn’t resist.’

The BMW 2002 was the brainchild of Max Hoffmann, the marque’s US distributor, who wanted a car to build on the success of the 1600-2. Europe’s 1600ti failed to meet incoming US emissions regulations, so Hoffmann suggested BMW substitute the 2-litre engine from its larger saloons.

Launched in 1968, the 2002 raised BMW’s profile in the US and whipped up a storm in Europe. Stripped of the emissions control constraints required in the US, the European 2002 offered high performance and agile handling at an affordable price.

It’s tempting to see Ross carving out his career to fund his motoring passions. He initially trained as an accountant because he felt it would give him the flexibility to operate in any business sector. However, he never lost an early fascination with architecture, which led to property development in Brighton in the 1980s. ‘By 27 I’d made and lost a good deal of money in the boom and bust market of that time,’ he explains. ‘It was a steep but extremely valuable learning curve.’

While in Brighton, Ross also fed a long time interest in food and wine by launching a bar restaurant called Blues Brothers. A year later he replicated the successful formula in London. ‘But I soon learned the key to success in the restaurant business is to be completely hands on,’ Ross explains. ‘So I ended up renting out the restaurants so I could focus on property.’

Today that focus lies with PRC Architects with offices in London, Warsaw and Shanghai, in addition to other property and media interests. But he’s still attached to good food and part owns the hugely popular Tabernacle bar and restaurant in Shoreditch.

Ross readily admits a sentimental attachment to some of the vehicles he’s owned. This explains why a highly collectible 1974 BMW 2002 Cabriolet sits gleaming but stationary in his stable block garage. ‘Must be close to ten years since it’s been driven, but I can’t bring myself to sell it,’ he explains.

The first BMW cabriolet was introduced in 1967 for the 1600 and 2002 series. After 1971 the cabriolet style incorporated the ‘targa’ cross bar with a removable steel section above the front seats and a canvas folding section at the rear.

Given his lifetime commitment to the brand it’s unsurprising Ross chose a BMW for his first Gumball. But many would question the wisdom of putting a brand new Z8 through such a gruelling marathon. Ross is unrepentant. He believes fine cars are there to be driven.

The BMW Z8 - crushing performance & peerless style.

And Ross has a special bond with this model. Two decades earlier he’d picked up the ‘Z8 BMW’ number plate for £300 at a furniture auction. So when BMW finally presented its new roadster at the Frankfurt motor show in 1999, it was just a matter of joining the waiting list and shelling out £80,000 to own the car that matched the plate.

The 2001 Gumball took 106 cars through 13 countries in six days. London to St Petersburg and back again. Three thousand miles. ‘And somewhere on the Latvian-Russian border the road took a chunk of rubber out of a tyre,’ Ross explains. ‘This really wasn’t a great place to be stranded.’

In Gumball legend, the 2001 rally is shot through with rumours of car-jackings, East European lawlessness and the antics of the Russian mafia.

Ruby Wax was covering the rally for the BBC and offered Ross her tooled up bodyguard until the Z8 was mobile. Serge came with 9mm machine pistol and a satellite phone. ‘As the Z8 doesn’t carry a spare, I called BMW in London, explained where I was and what had happened,’ Ross recalls. ‘There was a bit of a pause then they told me they’d see what they could do.’ Six hours later a truck arrived out of St Petersburg with a replacement tyre.

Now that’s service.

Ross rates the 2001 rally as his most satisfying to date. ‘I’m happiest on challenging mountain roads that really push driver and car to the limit,’ he says. ‘The 2002 and 2003 Gumballs were in the US. That meant straight, rather dull highways and less focus on the car and its handling. You spend most your time watching out for the police.’

The 2003 run is best remembered for a night in jail courtesy of the San Francisco highway patrol. Long straight roads, a competitive spirit and a Z8 roadster make an occasional speeding offence something close to a foregone conclusion.

The limited edition, left-hand-drive-only Z8 was Henrik Fisker’s swan song for BMW before he left for Aston. Inspired by Albrecht Goertz’s legendary 507, Z8 style is consciously retro and the car’s crushing performance is matched by quite astonishing attention to detail. From the polished aluminium finish to the gorgeous indicators, the Z8 does style with a vengeance.

The last couple of Gumballs have been back in Europe and North Africa – much more to Ross’ taste. The 2004 rally was Paris to Cannes via Madrid, Marbella and Marakech. ‘The Spanish police were hard work but the situation was considerably more liberal in Morocco,’ he recalls. ‘The drive from Mara-kech to Fez was a real adventure – the most extreme driving of any Gumball.’

For the past two Gumballs Ross has driven a Bentley Continental GT. ‘It’s a genuine four-seater and obviously much more comfortable for long runs than the Z8,’ he explains. ‘And in terms of performance, I genuinely believe there’s nothing on the market to touch it.’

The Continental GT making Gumball life considerably more comfortable.

Few would argue. The Bentley Continental GT re-launched the Bentley marque under Volkswagen ownership and the new parent company positively encouraged the highest traditions of classic British car manufacture. Adopting a sensibly hands-off approach, VW nevertheless provided technology support and generous funding to ensure a dream machine that at £115,000 everyone describes as a bargain.

‘The only problem with this car is that it’s so good and such good value everyone wants one,’ says Ross. ‘Astonishingly at this price it’s getting to the point where there are almost too many on the road.’

The 2006 Gumball is a 3000-mile three-continents marathon in which participants will attempt to ‘drive around the world’ in just eight days. Although registration will cost him £30,000 plus a fair whack of contingency funding, Ross is already committed to play.

‘The Gumball offers not just extreme experience, but a unique combination of experiences – the driving, the danger, the eccentric mix of people, the partying – all condensed into a few days. I wouldn’t miss it for the world.’

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