The connection between man and car is far more special than what the eye can see, the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. When one is in control of a car, there exists a greater bond between the two, where the car’s built purpose is in action, and the driver instinctively manoeuvres the car, sometimes perfectly balancing the thin line of the car’s limitations. This connection is not just a physical connection, but an innate response to the forces that the car’s mechanical functions impose. Whether you are a regular driver on the road, or a rally driver with a performance-optimised car, it is this innate response that ultimately determines every movement that the car makes. This is arguably one of the most important aspects of the relationship that a driver develops with their car, and it is from here that the relationship cultivates. It is here, where the car becomes animate and feels alive, where a driver becomes enwrapped and connected with a car, that the car’s soul is found. This is something that people who are not interested in cars do not understand. A quote by Jeremy Clarkson sums this up perfectly, “It’s what non-car people don’t get. They see all cars as just a ton and a half, two tons of wires, glass, metal, and rubber, and that’s all they see. People like you or I know we have an unshakable belief that cars are living entities… You can develop a relationship with a car and that’s what non-car people don’t get…”. In this essay, I want to explore the many ways one can develop a relationship with a car, and how this relationship is directly reflected in the car’s soul. To demonstrate this photographically, I will first analyse the infamous rally photographer Maurice Selden, and show how his photographs visibly express the souls of the rally cars he captured.

Jeremy Clarkson (2009). – Interview from “Love the Beast” (released March 12, 2009), a documentary made by Eric Bana, Pickup Truck Pictures (production)