Mike Smith | Racing Minis, Dealing BMWs & 007 Bond Insider Artwork

Wheels & Deals with Sam Grange-Bailey

Welcome to Wheels & Deals, where we preserve the stories that shaped classic car culture.

Join Sam Grange-Bailey, The Old Car Lady, as she takes you back to the ’60s, ’70s, ’80s and early ’90s, when car dealers were true characters, every motor had personality, and relationships meant everything.

This podcast exists so that we don’t forget how wonderful this time was, so that these memories are preserved, these characters are remembered, and this remarkable period in automotive history continues to live on.

So tune in, buckle up, and let’s make sure these stories never fade away.

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Wheels & Deals with Sam Grange-Bailey

Mike Smith | Racing Minis, Dealing BMWs & 007 Bond Insider

January 02, 2026 • The Old Car Lady

This week on Wheels & Deals, I'm joined by the legendary Mike Smith, from managing and driving cars for the Bond films to co-authoring the official Bond car book, Mike is a true Aston Martin aficionado who was even approached to present Top Gear. But his story starts long before Hollywood, with a childhood obsession that saw him racing stock cars at just 10 years old and throwing rubber plants across showrooms by 17.

Pitstops:

• Racing stock car Minis at 10 years old and nearly winning his first final before the petrol tank gave out

• Playing "Herbie" and spotting red, white, and blue Minis inspired by The Italian Job on family drives

• Getting secretly trained as a general manager at 16 while racing Audi Quattros

• How he took a rubber plant as a deposit on a car deal (and why he felt entitled to hurl it across the showroom)

• From BMW dealer to Bond insider: how knowing obscure car specs got him onto 007 film sets

A Nod to:

• The Saint's Volvo P1800 (and later Aston Martin)

• Corgi Toys with working steering wheels

• The Italian Job

• Ralph Renton's Renault dealership

• Manchester City FC

• Lionel Smith's dealership

• Roger Moore, George Lazenby, and the Bond legacy

If we've mentioned you but missed you here, drop me a line at grangebaileys@gmail.com.

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