Thursday 20th October 2022

BOOK REVIEW  By Peter Baker 

Richard Oakes: Master of Design 

Douglas Anderson may live some 400 miles away, but that doesn't stop us being friends. Thus, it gives me great pleasure to review his latest offering, an in depth tribute to creative automobile designer Richard Oakes. A man who went looking for inspiration and found it under the tutorage of Professor Peter Stevens. He never looked back.

Rover Group sent him to the Royal College of Art. He repaid them with a Masters degree. Then, Richard joined Ford Motor Company, but 'small cog in a big wheel' didn't suit Richard's entrepreneurial style. In essence Richard was a kit car man, or a design loner, looking to develop practical and fun packages out of existing small vehicles.

The Nova, a sort of everyman's Maserati, flowed from the pen of Richard Oakes, as did the attractive Midas, based on the simple Mini and introduced to an appreciative young audience in the late-seventies. Then came the mid-engined GTM in 1985, followed by a short flirtation with Aston Martin. Douglas comes into the story after the pair looked at setting up a kit car operation in a Scottish area of high unemployment.

Douglas Anderson does nothing by halves, and when Richard launched his ADO coupe on 14 December 2019 in Dundee, he was there wearing posh suit and brogues on behalf of BBC Radio Scotland. And now he has written this top-quality book: Richard Oakes: Master of Design is available for just £30.


RICHARD OAKES: MASTER OF DESIGN
Written by Douglas Anderson
ISBN 978-1-739922-70-2
Contact Peter Baker via www.retro-speed.co.uk or Douglas direct at andersonandclarkpublishing@gmail.com
Price £30.00