If I had anything to hold on to, I’d be having a white-knuckle ride. Instead, I’m just strapped into the passenger seat of a 50-year-old Alfa Romeo GTAm while Lucio Da Zanche, an Italian Historic Rally Champion, tears us up the hill climb from La Rösa to the top of the Bernina Pass in the Swiss Alps.
I’ve come here at the invitation of fashion brand Fay to meet Ronnie Kessel, racing driver and all-round motoring enthusiast, to discuss his new collaboration with the company. The Alfa we are in is one of several that Kessel Classic – a division of Kessel’s firm, Kessel Auto – has helped restore and make race-worthy.
How this 38-year-old got to be king of the motoring scene here has much to do with his father’s unlikely story. Loris Kessel was a farmer and the son of a farmer. He grew up in La Rösa, the very village where the Bernina Gran Turismo event has its starting line. Loris was crazy about cars and, having been spotted racing in the Alps, he incredibly secured an F1 drive with RAM in a Brabham and found himself competing with his idols.
Post racing, he started selling Ferraris and this is the business his son inherited, aged 22. Now Ronnie has expanded it into the classic-car field, which is why I find myself experiencing a practise sprint in an Alfa Romeo.
I am here to see Ronnie road-test not just another Alfa GT, but also his new jacket, a limited-edition (of 70) design based on one his father wore.
‘I was looking through the archive, and I thought of this one my father had, which was in blue denim,’ he explains. The zip-up modern version looks just like the original, but is in lightweight cotton. It has a white quilted lining to give some insulation, and fits round the wrists, waist and neck on account of elasticated ribbing. The collarless design resembles a bomber jacket, though the rib detail inside the collar is there to ensure protection. ‘In a classic car you want to make sure no draft gets in,’ explains Kessel.
The one notable detail he added to his father’s model is a steel clip on which to fasten your keys. ‘Always when you step out from your car, you don’t know where to put the keys,’ he admits. ‘Fay uses this type of clip on their fireman’s jackets, so I thought why not put one on a pocket?’
Ronnie Kessel special edition Fay Racing Jacket, £925; fay.com
Peter Howarth has been the style director of British GQ and the editor of Arena, British Esquire and Man About Town. He is the co-founder and CEO of London creative agency SHOW and managing director of Secret Trips.
