Video: The artist's racing car | GRR
Regular Revival attendees will recognise Tim Layzell’s name for two reasons; firstly the astonishing automotive art he creates and latterly for some gung-ho wheeling of his TVR Grantura Mk3 Lightweight.
Born into a motorsport family Layzell was sketching the cars he saw at race meetings from the age of three. Encouraged by his parents to pursue art, Layzell won the British Racing Drivers’ Club’s Young Motoring Artist prize at the age of just 13 and used his winnings to buy a camera, allowing him to develop his unique style still further. Tim’s work covers what he deems the ‘Golden Age’ of motorsport – the 1950s and 1960s – and the beautiful cars and swashbuckling drivers of the time. Favourite subjects for both Layzell and collectors of his work include Mike Hawthorn, Tazio Nuvolari, Jean Manuel Fangio and Stirling Moss doing battle in Jaguar D-types, Alfa Romeo 158s, Maserati 250Fs and Ferrari Dinos.
We visited Layzell at his studio and garage to talk about his passions for both painting and historic racing and how he has been lucky enough to forge a career which combines the two. We were also able to join him on a shakedown day at Castle Combe to watch the TVR be put through its paces and learn something of the car’s history and how it can be quite a handful at the Goodwood.