Hi Dan, please tell me a bit about yourself

Hi Paranjay, I’m Dan and I’m the owner at Werk-1. I’ve been in the automotive industry my whole working life. My career has been quite varied, but it’s pretty much always been centred around performance cars, classic cars, and motorsport.

How did your love for cars start? And what led to an early start in the motor trade?

I grew up in Norfolk as a car-obsessed kid, thanks to my Grandad, who was a magician with anything mechanical. We also had a neighbour at the time who was a real petrolhead. He would come home in all sorts of random cars from a V12 XJS to a Renault 5 Gordini Turbo. 

This was the early 80s so the cars were still quite new at the time —and rare, especially in that part of the country! When we moved from Norfolk up to the North West of the UK, I got a Saturday job at the local garage where I could learn the basics. When I turned 15, I got a Saturday/Holiday job with a company called Turbo Systems, who were based just down the road. At the time they were one of the biggest Ford RS Cosworth tuners in the country and were regularly featured in many of the car magazines — which of course I still have!

At 17, I applied for the apprenticeship scheme at a local BMW Dealership, where I started as an apprentice mechanic, but very soon I moved across to the parts department where I really felt at home. Alpina and Schnitzer had just started to roll out some of the bolt-on styling and performance parts through the UK dealer network, and I was entrusted to support that side of things in our dealership.

The early days at BMW must have been fun. How was it dealing with cars when they weren't as superfluous as they might seem today?

It was a fantastic few years, working with some very knowledgeable and fun colleagues. The training from BMW really set the foundation for the rest of my career. That period was almost peak BMW, I think; we just didn’t realise it at the time! The E36 and E34 were current cars and the model range was quite simple – 3, 5, 7, 8 series – that was it.

We looked after numerous E30 M3s, E28 M5s and E34 M5s and it was always an occasion. Whenever they came in, I made sure I was involved with any work they were there for, just so that I could learn about and understand these special cars more.

It was a great time to be involved with BMW. The branding was sharp and clear, very much a prestigious marque and the car designs were simple. I was still there when the E39 was launched and moved on a year or so after that.

What's the fascination with Volkswagens?

When I was young my Mum had various quirky Citroens (Visas, GSAs etc) then she swapped into an aircooled Beetle, and I guess that’s where my love of German cars began. Around the same time, my friend Mark was restoring a couple of Beetles with his Dad, one of which was a yellow Baja that made it into a very early copy of VolksWorld Magazine. He replaced that with a modified MK1 Golf GTi. Influenced by him, my first car was a ’72 VW Beetle and I’ve owned a VW in one form or another ever since, usually in multiples at the same time! I’ve had numerous Golf GTis (in all forms), Golf Rallyes etc. My Dad had a B3 Passat estate so a Passat wagon has also regularly been part of the fleet.

In the late 90s, I heard that the then legendary Awesome GTi Store was moving from their original Lancashire base to nearby where I was living. Once they were moved in, I became a regular visitor and soon became good friends with the owner Jim Cotton. As Awesome was expanding in its new home, after a short time he offered me a job to support the sales side, working alongside him and head mechanic Andy Walker so the three of us could build and grow the business further. We were known globally for our special projects, suppliers of some of the best tuning parts in the world and importing some very rare cars – we literally had barns full of Golf Rallyes, Golf G60 Edition Ones etc.

It was an amazing time.

And a long stint in motorsport — what, how, and when did that happen?

A long story! It was never really planned; I just knew I always wanted to work with fast cars. Essentially, I started to get into motorsport when we moved, and Oulton Park circuit wasn’t far away. I’d visit when I could and I seem to remember I wouldn’t watch much of the actual racing, but I used to spend hours wandering around the paddock, just observing what was going on and understanding how it all worked. This was in the RS500 and Super Touring eras of BTCC etc, so again a special time for everything.

Whilst working at Awesome GTi, two of my friends (both called Paul) were racing their Golf GTis in the Road Saloons Championship, we sponsored them, and all went along at weekends to support and help run the cars. I was hooked and it just escalated from there.

I learnt very quickly that in motorsport, making things happen is mostly down to who you know. I was introduced to a few key people in the early days who taught me what I needed to know and thus helped me to grow my network. In late 2003, I made the difficult decision to move on from Awesome GTi and embark on a full-time career in Motorsport that lasted for almost 20 years.

I chose to specialise in logistics as I found it interesting and always a great challenge, along with some spare parts management as that was my background. I deliberately wanted to experience different forms of racing so have worked in various championships around the world. I’ve done Le Mans 12 times, two separate stints in F1 for around 8 years in total, Touring Cars, Historics, F3, A1GP, VLN — all sorts! Having said that, it was GTs and sports car Endurance racing where I really felt at home, though.

I had a bit of a break from it and went to JLR and McLaren as a test and durability driver for a couple of years, but then returned to work in F1 for my second stint.

So, what is Werk-1?

Essentially, Werk-1 encompasses everything I’ve done in my career so far.

We do a variety of things, mostly centred around modern classic European cars of the 80s, 90s and early 2000s — or ‘Youngtimers’ as they’re referred to in mainland Europe — with the emphasis on German and Italian marques. We source and sell cars, with a couple of interesting things in stock always. We know where many interesting cars are around the world, too, thanks to our wide network. We can, of course, support with logistics as well.

We can help in sourcing period-correct parts & memorabilia to repair or enhance your car. Our friends & partners in mainland Europe and Japan send regular shipments of rare and interesting stuff, which makes things even better.

We also work with a couple of great collectors, supporting them with vehicle management, parts sourcing, and logistics for their cars. We’re based very close to Silverstone Circuit so we have access to all the best suppliers and specialists we need that are located in the UK's ‘motorsport valley’.

All the time I was working in motorsport, I was always buying cars, selling cars, buying parts, etc.; it’s something I’ve always done.

In 2021, I was working as the Head of Motorsport for a huge global logistics company. The pandemic caused turmoil around the world, and I was — as many others were — unfortunately made redundant. I then had the idea to set up Werk-1. It didn’t have a name then, and I wasn’t really 100 per cent sure what it would focus on, but it’s an idea I’d been carrying around with me most of my working life. I then spoke with a couple of close friends to get their feedback. There was no surprise from them, at all, and each, in their own way, helped with getting the ideas out of my head and turning them into reality. 

On a trip to Stuttgart, I was standing outside Porsches iconic ‘Werk-1’ factory building and thought: that’s a nice name for a business. The shade of green used in some of our branding is based on Porsche Auratium green as well.

I understand a lot that you do at Werk-1 comes with a lot of responsibility and trust. How does that differ from what you've done previously?

I think it’s very similar, but the responsibility and trust are on a much more personal level with this, so it brings a different level of stress. You can be working with a client to achieve the purchase of their dream car or organising the transport of that vital last remaining part to complete a long restoration. You’re invested in the project, and passionate about what you do so it must be right.

We live in a world dependent heavily on social media. How does that affect your business?

As a person I don’t seek the limelight and naturally, I have a quiet and discreet nature — that carries across into how I run the business so when it comes to social media I do sometimes have to try and separate the two.

Most of what we do daily I deliberately don’t post anything online due to the nature of what we can be doing, and to respect our customers’ privacy which can be a shame in this social media day and age, but we just enjoy sharing some of what we can when it’s appropriate. The memorabilia and parts sales will soon have a new website and hence will also be more visible on social media.

Some heroes from the motoring world?

Obviously, I have some big heroes as many of us do in Senna, and Mansell.

But in the motoring world, I guess I have people I look up to rather than labelling them as heroes. I have a real interest in the art of driving and travelling/road trips, so Dario Benuzzi, and Valentino Balboni there. Mel Nicholls is my favourite motoring author. From the car industry, Enzo Ferrari, Giampaolo Dallara and Bruno Sacco.

I’m incredibly fortunate in that some of my closest friends can be classed as heroes in the motoring world, but I’m not going to embarrass them by mentioning them here!

And like I asked you ages ago on #CarTwitter, can you please list a few favourite magazines and scale models

I’m still a huge fan of printed media and have a large library of various old school car magazines I’ve kept as resources. You and I often talk about Fast Lane. There’s Performance Car and Top Car from the 90s as well, then Auto Motor und Sport from Germany and Special Cars International from Japan. In terms of more recent publications, there’s Private Motor Club, Octane, and Hayburner.

Favourite scale models is a difficult one! I have a small collection of about 20 1:43 models which is specifically focused on some of the cars I’ve worked with – so there’s a Ferrari 412T2, the TVR from Le Mans 2004, the 2003 Jordan F1 car etc. I have a very detailed 1:43 Ferrari F40 that my Dad brought back from Italy once. It sits on my desk as a memory of him — and to inspire me during the working day. And I have a simple 1:18 Bburago F40 which used to belong to my dear friend Henry Hope-Frost who we sadly also lost a few years ago.

You deal in a lot of memorabilia, how do you see that market growing from where it is at present?

The lifestyle surrounding this era of car is a big thing now, it was a special time for those of us who are of a certain age and grew up with these cars. We love supplying not only the cars, but also the accessories, magazines, scale models, clothing even, to add to the ownership experience. As with the cars, it’s a generational thing so it moves with the people, and it’ll only build as more and more people discover what cool stuff is out there.

What's your favourite wheel design?

Nothelle N-Classic, and BBS E88 (in gold)

If you had to choose one car for the rest of your life, available to you in multiple body styles and variants, which one would it be, and why?

As always, the answer to this question is the Ferrari F40….

But on a practical level I guess it would have to be the Mercedes W124.