Ferrari & Porsche Garage – interview with Supercar Driver member Kushi Bachada

Kushi: My name is Kushi Bachada and I’m 41 years old and I’m an estate and letting agent, also a part-time property developer. However, as much as I love property, I love cars even more.

What was the poster car on your bedroom wall growing up?

Kushi: Well as kids we weren’t allowed to put posters on the walls because it damaged the wallpaper, but my dad bought me something when I was seven years old, eight years old probably it. This is it here. It was the Ferrari F40. I still adore this car. It was very iconic when it came out and is the car that all the children talked about and an engineering marvel it was.

What’s your earliest car memory?

Kushi: My earliest car memory was my dad’s Cortina Mk2. He had a Mk2 Cortina when we lived in Smethwick many, many, many years ago. My dad was a mechanic, so he’d buy the cars, and he’d put a whole new engine in, he’d refurbish them, and as somebody would come along and pinch it. He did three of those. They’re my earliest car memories.

What was your first car?

Kushi: My first car was a Mk2 Golf 1.3 CL in black, three-door, and we bought it non-runner, but we took the engine out and re-boarded it, popped it back in, and away it went.

What was your first supercar?

Kushi: Is a Boxster classed as a supercar for 1999? I’m not sure. If you go for a branded car, my first Porsche was a Boxster. I bought that when I was 22. I’d just finished uni, I’d gone out, got myself a job and I had made a bit of money off the property I bought and flipped. I bought myself a Boxster. That was my first entry-level Porsche brand and then after that, I went on to buy a 996 Carrera 4S Cab.

What does the future hold for the internal combustion engine?

Kushi: What does the future hold for the internal combustion engine? I can’t see it going anywhere. Lamborghini have just put a car out, haven’t they, which is a hybrid car, which has only got one tiny element of it, which is electric. They ticked the box. Whether I’m out of turn saying this but it’s for the environmentalists, you’ve just got to tick a few boxes, we can carry on playing. The internal combustion engine is going to be around until probably another two generations.

What makes the car community so special?

Kushi: The car community, the supercar community, the sports car community, any car brand or any car club, you meet like-minded individuals, you meet people that are passionate, people who haven’t got a chip on the shoulder. You meet people that can give you advice. It’s just a great welcoming community to be within. SCD, in my opinion, yes, the best club out there, and I’ve been with a lot of them. SCD seems to have some of the most fun drivers, realistic drivers, and none of the prats the other clubs have. Take that little bit out if you want to.

How much hard work has it taken to own these cars and has it been worth it?

Kushi: How much hard work has it been to own these and was it worth it? Let me think. Yes. The answer to the second part is yes, definitely worth it. The hard work out of it is the mental drain it takes out of you in building the business from the ground up from nothing.

What would the eight-year-old Kushi say about today’s Kushi owning this car or the cars you own?

Kushi: Eight-year-old Kushi saying to 41-year-old Kushi, he’d say, “Have you borrowed them?” Because you’re living on top of a shop in the middle of Horninglow in Burton-on-Trent and sharing a room with your brother, you’d never think you’re going to own these things. You’d never dream of owning these things. To get them as an eight-year-old, it’s always been a dream, and most people’s dreams, they don’t come true unless you really chase them. I chased them. That’s why I could say to eight-year-old Kushi, “Carry on chasing.”

Would you recommend joining SCD to your fellow car enthusiasts?

Kushi: SCD is a great club. I would definitely recommend them to other car enthusiasts. In fact, I do that on a regular basis. I send new people over to them and they join and they have so much fun and it’s great to see them going to other events.

Why JBR Capital?

Kushi: I think JBR Capital, their financing options, they’re very straightforward. They’re simple, they explain the straightforward, and they’re quick. They’re quick to get you an answer. You can go out to a lot of all these other companies, there are too many loops you have to go through. However, JBR, they’ve dealt with me from day one. They’ve got all my data. They never ever have to keep coming back for more. They’ll tick the boxes for me.

What’s your favourite car out of your collection?

Kushi: My favourite car out of the collection right now today it’s the 488. That’s because the sun’s shining. This afternoon, I’m going to be going out with the roof down and get some wind in my hair off, awful bit of hair that I’ve got. However, in about a week and a half’s time, it will not be of service then. You’ll see me with a bigger grin on my face. There’s no kind of favoritism for me. They’re both completely different cars. They’re made for different modes. However, you look at the 992 as well, which to me, it’s just so underrated. The 992 Carrera Cab, it’s a fantastic car. It does all the things you need it to do. It aims where it needs to aim but today’s favourite is definitely the 488 Spider.

Tell us a bit about the child seats in your cars.

Kushi: Right, okay. My kids, they argue because he’s nearly two, and the other one’s four and a half. They love cars. They absolutely love them. The four-year-old, he does karting and he knows how to start my cars up. He knows how to rev them which is quite worrying. Now, I have to keep the keys locked away. They absolutely love going in the car so I had to get the proper car seats that are made by the manufacturer for the cars. Yes, the kids absolutely love the car seats. I’ll go out, the wife will go out, we both race each other on the roads safely. [chuckles]

By the future, by the ambitions in terms of if you’ve got any

Kushi: Yes, I have actually. I’ve always wanted to get myself a Pista. I think the Pista is a fantastic bit of engineering. If you have the Pista in the right color, to me, it’d be yellow, because I believe my next buy is going to have to be yellow, the Pista would definitely be something that the GT3 RS will be replaced by. As for replacing the 488, I’d probably go to 458 simply because it is naturally aspirated and the sound. That’s not to say if I collect a few more houses, sell a few more houses, I can keep these and get some more cars.

What made you choose your current three-car garage?

Kushi: What made me choose these three cars? Well, it goes in this order. The first one out of those three to arrive in the shed was the 488 Spider. The reason is, I’ve always said, “If I’m going to have a sports car/supercar, it’s always got to have the roof down.” I like having the roof down. I bought the 488. A year later, I had the opportunity to buy another one, another car. I thought, “What else is there out there?” I wanted something that was completely different to the 488. The 488 is a great cruising car, posing car, whatever you want to call it and it’s great in a straight line. If that’s great in a track as you’re talking of track ones. I wanted something that was more track-focused. I don’t do enough track-based. I wanted to do more track-based but I wanted my own car. I couldn’t stand its behavior, the limits.
I had a look. I studied a few different cars and models. I went going for the 991-Gen Two GT3 RS, looked at the colors, and it had to be red for me. If you’re going to sell like an Asbo, drive like an Asbo, it’s got to look like an Asbo. Then finally, the 992 Cab, that’s a daily driver. The reason we needed a four-wheel-drive daily driver was simply the fact that we live in a rural area. Sometimes, a bit of mud on the road or a bit of water on the road and we’ve got kids to travel with, so it’s a safety thing for us. At the same time, the roof down as well and the opportunity.