Neil Lawrence: 'My first car is A 50-year-old MGB - but I still own it and still love it'
Cambridge academic Neil Lawrence loved his first car so much he still owns it. It’s a 1973-74 MGB and he reckons it’s worth £3,000, which is more or less what he paid for it.
“I always liked older cars,” said Neil, who recently appeared on Radio 4's The Life Scientific.
“Even when I bought it it wasn’t the fastest car. I remember someone at work at a Peugeot 205 GTi which was much quicker than the MGB, but I loved it all the same.
“It’s been on the road for most of the time I’ve had it. It had a few years off the road but I do drive it now.
“In fact when I lived in Sheffield I used it as an everyday car. I took my children to football practice in it.”
Neil is the DeepMind Professor of Machine Learning at the University of Cambridge and is a visiting professor at Sheffield University.
In fact he regards Sheffield as home and is a keen Sheffield United supporter.
“The MGB is an L-reg and I bought it from an American guy at Shell, where I worked between college and university.
"He was going back to America and wanted £3,000 for it and I think I paid £2,800 because he wanted a quick sale.
“I have fond memories of driving it around Sheffield. I took it to Ponds Forge swimming pool on a weekend.
"It had a small seat in the back but no seatbelt so it wasn’t ideal for more than two people.”
Neil has had a Skoda Fabia and now has a Ford Focus which he likes.
“Cars today are so reliable and economical which I like but there is something about the older cars which I just love.
“I must admit I did feel vulnerable in it driving up and down the A1 to Cambridge.”