Home Podcasts The Car Nerd with Jason Hassett
The Car Nerd with Jason Hassett

The Car Nerd with Jason Hassett

Hassett Studios 68 Episodes Sep 17, 2026

A podcast dedicated to all things automotive, hosted by Jason Hassett. It explores classic cars, modern engineering, racing, Formula 1, and electric vehicles. The show has evolved over time, originally launching as 'The Grand Prick' and later 'Wheel Sports' before becoming 'The Car Nerd'. Episodes dive into the past, present, and future of the automotive world.

Episodes

McLaren F1: The Record Even Bugatti COULDN'T Beat
McLaren F1: The Record Even Bugatti COULDN'T Beat Sep 17, 2026 00:31:56 In 1988, four men from McLaren were stuck in an airport after the Italian Grand Prix when a conversation began that would change road cars forever.McLaren dominated Formula One. Gordon Murray believed that knowledge could be used to build something completely different: not a racing car with number plates, but the greatest road car ever made.There was no top-speed target. No turbochargers. No trac
Jaguar X-Type: The Greatest Ford Mondeo Ever Built
Jaguar X-Type: The Greatest Ford Mondeo Ever Built Sep 13, 2026 00:29:21 In 2001, Jaguar launched the car that was supposed to transform the company.Ford had spent billions rebuilding Jaguar, but the brand was still selling nowhere near enough cars. The answer was Project X400: a compact executive saloon designed to take Jaguar directly into the territory dominated by the BMW 3-Series, Mercedes C-Class and Audi A4.There was just one problem.Underneath, it was based on
BMW E30 M3: Mercedes Accidentally Created the BMW M3
BMW E30 M3: Mercedes Accidentally Created the BMW M3 Sep 10, 2026 00:31:00 In 1983, Mercedes built a car that BMW couldn’t answer.The 190E 2.3-16 had a Cosworth-developed cylinder head, sixteen valves, and a set of world endurance records before customers had even taken delivery.BMW’s chairman walked into Motorsport, turned to engineer Paul Rosche, and gave him one instruction: build a sporting engine for the 3-Series.Fourteen days later, the first prototype was running.
Renault Clio V6: The Worst Renault Clio Ever Built
Renault Clio V6: The Worst Renault Clio Ever Built Sep 6, 2026 00:28:08 In 2001, Renault built a hatchback that could barely outrun the hatchback it was based on.The doors were standard Clio. So was the roofline, tailgate and badge.But the back seats were gone.In their place sat a three-liter V6 from a family saloon, mounted sideways directly behind the driver and sending its power to the rear wheels.Renault had taken inspiration from the legendary 5 Turbo and created
Metro 6R4: The Failed Metro That Created a Supercar
Metro 6R4: The Failed Metro That Created a Supercar Sep 3, 2026 00:37:00 Group B Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlRHygh59386nA5Cost2pUW4p3OkNMlK7In 1984, British journalists watched a rally car charge toward them on a cinema screen.Then a real MG Metro 6R4 burst straight through it.Behind the driver sat a Rover V8 with two cylinders literally cut off — because the real engine still didn’t exist.Austin Rover had decided to turn one of Britain’s most or
Lancia 037: How Lancia Beat Audi With a Slower Car
Lancia 037: How Lancia Beat Audi With a Slower Car Aug 20, 2026 00:28:02 Group B Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlRHygh59386nA5Cost2pUW4p3OkNMlK7In January 1983, high in the mountains above Monte Carlo, men working for Lancia went out onto frozen rally stages in the middle of the night.They were spreading agricultural salt across the ice.Not because they were cheating.Because nobody had thought to write a rule saying they couldn't.Lancia was prepa
Noble M12: The £45,000 Car That Humiliated Porsche
Noble M12: The £45,000 Car That Humiliated Porsche Aug 18, 2026 00:31:38 In the summer of 2000, evo magazine strapped timing equipment to a British sports car almost nobody had heard of.It hit 60 mph in 4.1 seconds and 100 mph in 10.2—beating the Porsche 911 GT3, evo’s reigning Car of the Year.The Porsche cost £76,500.The Noble M12 cost £45,000.And its rear lights came from a Ford Mondeo.The M12 was built by Lee Noble, a self-taught engineer with no degree, almost no a
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution: How 22-Years of Failure Built an Icon
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution: How 22-Years of Failure Built an Icon Aug 13, 2026 00:30:14 In 1974, a four-door Japanese family saloon entered the most destructive rally on Earth.The East African Safari Rally covered roughly six thousand kilometres of flooded public roads, volcanic dust, mud, rocks and mechanical punishment. Porsche led—until its suspension collapsed. The car that came through to win was a Mitsubishi Lancer driven by Kenyan mechanic’s son Joginder Singh.It was Mitsubish
Alfa Romeo 166: The Most Miserable Car Ever Built
Alfa Romeo 166: The Most Miserable Car Ever Built Aug 11, 2026 00:32:51 In 2009, Glass’s Guide examined more than six thousand three-year-old cars in Britain to find which had lost their owners the most money.Second, third and fourth place were all Rovers—a brand that no longer existed.But the worst depreciating car wasn’t a Rover.It was the Alfa Romeo 166.An Italian executive saloon with double-wishbone suspension, one of the greatest V6 engines ever put into a road
Smart Car: The Most Expensive Mercedes Ever Made
Smart Car: The Most Expensive Mercedes Ever Made Aug 4, 2026 00:24:52 In 1993, the man who saved the Swiss watch industry decided to reinvent the car. Nicolas Hayek imagined a cheap, colourful electric runabout that people could personalise like a Swatch—small enough for two passengers, city streets, and, in his words, “two cases of beer.”Volkswagen dismissed it as an elephant’s roller skate. Mercedes-Benz agreed to build it.The result was one of the cleverest, stra
Ford RS200: The Fastest Failure in Racing History
Ford RS200: The Fastest Failure in Racing History Jul 30, 2026 00:24:20 Group B Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlRHygh59386nA5Cost2pUW4p3OkNMlK7In the Ford RS200, the engine sits behind the driver—but the gearbox sits ahead of him, down by his knees. Power travels the entire length of the car to the front, then turns around and comes back again.Ford built it this way to create the most perfectly balanced rally car possible. It spent more than £10 mil
Reliant Robin: The Car Built to Dodge the Taxman
Reliant Robin: The Car Built to Dodge the Taxman Jul 28, 2026 00:30:39 In 1972, a Grand Prix engineer who tuned Formula One cars for Graham Hill and Jackie Stewart sat down to design a cheap runabout for people who couldn't afford a real car. The result? A lightweight, three-wheeled fibreglass hatchback with an all-aluminium engine that saved its parent company and gave working-class Britain affordable independence.Yet decades later, this clever piece of engineer

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