Pierre Bohanna was Frontline’s first Frontline Bespoke customer. He ordered a LE50 Factory Edition, but wanted it finished rather differently, inside and out. So, he went deep into the detailing and, over a two-year period, worked with Frontline to create a very special bespoke BGT.
Pierre has cars in his heritage and blood. He is the son of Peter Bohanna, the ex-Lola, ex-Penske engineer and stylist best known for his design of the AC ME3000 – one of the best-looking sports cars of the late Seventies and Eighties. Pierre’s own career is steeped in the film world: he’s a creator of movie props and costume effects including Batsuits galore, Tom Cruise’s 'Edge of Tomorrow' suits, Props for the Harry Potter films, and all manner of other props and costumes.
I’ve always driven big, modern practical cars – I was about to buy a BMW X6 because I needed to move stuff for work but then I stumbled on a Drive Tribe review of the Frontline MGB. It was the middle of the night and I couldn’t sleep and I just came across it. Don’t ask me why but the next day I rang Frontline up… I just thought I’d get it out of my system. I then popped into the Frontline works in Abingdon and had the most memorable drive of my life…
I’ll never forget the pleasure. I absolutely fell in love with the car there and then. It was a moment that completely changed my ideas of what car ownership could be. I ordered one on the spot.
I wasn’t looking for a toy or a collector’s car. I wanted a daily driver: something that I could just use. And that is what a Frontline is. It combines all the visceral driving delights of older cars, with the performance and practicalities of a modern, together with total bespoke personalisation. It’s genius.
I loved the process of tailoring the car – being involved in all the processes. The paint was a very specific desire for me and there are 28 coats on it. Frontline did a lot of research and sampling to get the shade exactly right. I wanted the dashboard painted to match and not just using the standard finish. The Dunlop wheels were polished and lacquered not painted. It was the first Frontline car to have that feature.
I’m quite a big guy and I found it very comfortable, once you’re in it! It is a classic car so, it is noisy compared to a modern car. It hasn’t got thick glass and massive insulation, although it’s way better than stock.
Most importantly, the Frontline is driving purity. All the things it doesn’t do perfectly – and it is an old car at the end of the day – just add to the romance of it. It’s the flaws that provide the character and the personality, whereas the overall ability is so gobsmacking that the result is a kind of intoxicating mix.
It’s incredibly fast – you could keep up with anything, and people were always surprised by the pace of it. I did a track day in it with the racer journalist Mark Hales, who taught me how to drive it better. Mark has driven pretty much everything in his time, and he remarked as to how phenomenally fast and well-mannered the Frontline is. Tim Fenna has refined the MGB over so many years now. He’s really got the model optimised in the most incredible way, so it truly combines the best of both worlds: modernity and classic appeal. It’s very, very clever.
I’ve always hankered after a roadster – a very high-performance version. Nothing bonkers, but with road-race character and features. The new LE60 only comes as a GT for rigidity reasons, but I have now asked Frontline to build me a special V8 roadster. Once a Frontline customer, nothing else really has much appeal…
