Iain Banks

What’s the central character in your next book going to drive?
An old Land-Rover! He lives and works in central London and has this long speech about how an old dented Landy’s – perversely – the ideal motor vehicle for London. Think about it: no joy-rider’s going to want to nick it, even taxi drivers will get out of your way when they see the dents, you’re high up so you can see better, the lack of performance doesn’t matter in the urban crawl, they’re narrow enough to squeeze through gaps, mounting a kerb is a doddle and the distances involved aren’t great enough for the basic seating to be a problem. The crap turning circle is the only real drawback. I rest my case. His case. Whatever.

What’s the significance of the choice of models in your books, such as the Lagonda Rapide and Aston DB6 in The Crow Road?
They’re usually the cars I’ve been lusting after recently.

What was your first car?
My dad’s old Mk1 Cortina Estate: bench front seat and column ‘change. He’d replaced the 1200 block with 1500 but kept the top and bottom.

What do you own today and what’s your daily drive?
A restored Jag Mk2 3.8 with overdrive (and gleaming wire wheels, sigh), a K-reg 911 Carrera 4 cabriolet, an 18-moth-old M5 and a Land-Rover Defender County station wagon. The Landy’s the day-to-day transport, mainly because it sits outside (it’s too tall for the garage). Oh, and a spanking new VFR 800 bike with ABS.

What’s the best car you’ve owned?
Probably the M5; we traded a watercooled 911 C4 to buy it and the Beemer does feel faster (though it’s slower in the wet). Fabulous machine: I’ve had an old spare-rigger M535i – the first really quick car I ever had – and one of the previous M5s and the new one is another step on. I hear the next one with have a V10 with 500bhp.

And the worst?
A red/orange MkII Escort, the colour was the only vaguely characterful thing about it.

Which car do you most regret selling, and what do you miss about it?
I’ve been lucky that any car I’ve sold has been to buy something at least as good, so I haven’t really encountered this problem yet.

What’s the most entertaining car you’ve ever driven?
A Honda NSX; I drove my own first 911 (a Carrera 4 Targa) and a Ferrari 456GT on that same day, and the NSX was easily the best. I’ve thought about buying one a couple of times but I find it hard to see past the combination of performance and practicality of 911s.

What do you most like about old cars: is it how they look, the way they drive or something else?
Looks, sound, smell, just general feel, but one of the best things about old cars is that you drive through a world that suddenly seems brighter; there are more smiling faces. Even without road rage the modern motoring experience is pretty fraught and everywhere you look you see people looking tense or angry or – if you’re driving an ostentatiously fast car – even resentful. But drive an old car and people tend to grin at it. Genuinely life enhancing.

Congratulations, you’ve won the lottery. Which car(s) are you going to rush out to buy?
Well, that NSX, a nice red Ferrari – hey, make it two; a new Enzo and an old Dino, an SIII Bentley and a Jensen FF (my first fantasy car as a kid). Oh, and a Maserati Bora or Ghibli. Ah, I could go on.

Name an essential tool that all classic owners should carry at all times.
Mobile phone.

Are you a member of any car clubs?
I think my Jaguar Enthusiasts’ Club membership lapsed recently – I’ve been cutting back on the number of magazines that drop through the letter box.

Do you go to classic car events? If so, which do you most look forward to?
No, I think if I’d restored the Jag myself I would. But maybe one day.

Who’s been your greatest influence?
My dad, he taught me to drive.

Do you have a favourite motoring image?
Prost, I suppose – he made it look so relaxed.

What is your favourite / most memorable drive?
In the recent past, a day-long excursion in the M5 last October, from Glenfinnan via Ullapool and Durness to the Black Isle and back via the Great Glen. About 450 miles. Alone. Bliss.

What’s your greatest achievement?
The time I was in a Drascombe Lugger on Loch Shiel with my pal Les and we broke the starting lanyard on the outboard, and found we’d left the toolbox with the appropriate spanner for the engine cover back at the house. The boat wasn’t rigged, it was getting dark, the wind was getting up so rowing was going to be no fun at all and we were on the side of the loch with no roads and no houses for about five miles in any direction. It was my brainwave to put the engine in gear, wrap the lanyard round the prop’ and – taking great care not to get chopped to bits, obviously – start the engine that way. This is probably old-hat to seasoned sea dogs but we were just loch puppies and I freely confess to feeling inordinately pleased with myself. Almost made up for forgetting the tools in the first place.

Do you have any regrets?
Yes! I wish I’d taken that bend on the A86 near the Fersit junction just that little bit slower, the time I rolled my wife’s 911.