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Richard Porter

Journalist

Richard started his career at an ancient 1990s version of Top Gear before leaving to do other things such as setting up the satirical car website sniffpetrol.com. He returned to Top Gear in 2002 as the writer and script editor of the re-invented show and later did the same job on The Grand Tour.

Richard has written over 25 books including And On That Bombshell about his time working on Top Gear and the critically ignored Boring Car Trivia series, but these days he’s mainly a TV script writer and editor for hire as well as a columnist for Evo, a writer for The Road Rat and The Sunday Times, and one half of the inexplicably successful Smith and Sniff podcast.

In his regular Ti column Geek Out!, Richard pushes subscribers’ appetite for arcane car trivia almost to breaking point.

First car:

Ford Ka. I found a second-hand one without power steering because John Simister in Car magazine said it was better like that

Professional hero:

Phil Llewellin in Car was the first person I read who put some wit into his work and made me realise writing about cars didn’t have to be completely dry. Also, Jeremy Clarkson for the same reason, but don’t tell him I said that

Fondest driving memory:

Lots of options in my failing mind but I keep coming back to collecting the non-PAS Ka mentioned above and driving it home thinking, yes, this is MINE

"On the face of it a car is just a device, like a microwave or a washing machine. But, actually, there’s not much similarity at all. At no point is a microwave or washing machine required to keep working flawlessly after being left outside in the bitter chill of the Arctic Circle or the blistering heat of the Arizona desert. And the stuff in your kitchen certainly isn’t as complicated as a jet airliner yet designed to keep working reliably for years, even when operated and maintained by people barely qualified to do so. Much though I love thoroughly re-heated leftovers and clean pants, microwaves and washing machines just do a job. They don’t inspire. They don’t excite. They don’t fizz with possibilities. Only cars do that. Which is why cars are brilliant"

Stories by Richard Porter

Geek Out! Switch spotting

Ever wondered where low-volume manufacturers used to get their switchgear? Thought not. Richard Porter, by contrast, often thinks of little else

By Richard Porter

Geek Out! There are no boring cars

There’s no such thing as a boring car, or so says Richard Porter in the first of a new monthly column. And, as you will see, he knows what he’s talking about…