— Meet James Henderson

“I started in the Classic and Performance Car business in 1987 launching Shortbay Car Brokers in Parsons Green, London.The showroom occupied an old 8000 square foot Joinery warehouse. We quickly expanded next door giving us a total floor space of over 20000sq.ft. This was central London’s largest Classic car sales and storeage location; my dream was hatched! “

— JAMES HENDERSON

How Did You Start Greenside Cars?

I have always been crazy about cars. As a kid I could name specific models from 100 yards, be it an NSU RO80 or a Split Screen VW Beetle. My mum was impressed! In the late 80’s i decided to call it a day as an oil trader and seized the chance to bring my passion and my career together. I teamed up with my friend and car enthusiast Mickey Findlay, he was the relaxed fun guy and i was the manic perfectionist! Mickey had an eye for modern classics: 205 Peugeot 1.9 GTI and BMW B7 Alpina, I liked the traditional 1960’s Astons Martins. It was a perfect crossover of style and aesthetic. Our company Shortbay LTD became one of the city’s premier performance and classic car showrooms. We made many lifelong friends and happy clients along the way.

Where, in today’s world, do you think the challenges facing the industry are on sustainability and emissions?

This is an important question and something I’m passionate about. Two issues need solving in the new car industry: moving towards emission-free car alternatives and guaranteeing all parts of a car are reusable and not scrapped. In the early 2000s I was involved in an enterprise focusing on electric car technology. We commissioned a prototype 12 tonne electric lorry for a premier London art remover who’s aim it was to be carbon neutral. The lorry was built by Tanfield in the North of England. Fast forward to now and many of my favourite cars are in my opinion eco-friendly, being 40+ years old and still going strong, saving valuable resources. Iconic cars from the past, like the 1970’s Mercedes 280se Coupe for example, tackled sustainability concerns by being hand built, but never making compromises on quality and performance.

What’s your favourite car?

It’s hard to choose, but I’ll say the engineering and quality of latter day Mercedes’ make their marque outstanding. The Mercedes 300 SEL 6.3 Saloon is my first choice. At Greenside we only buy cars that are best in class, putting our passions to use to find exactly what clients want. This could be a rare Fiat 2300 Ghia or a VW MK1 GTI.

What classic or performance car should we be watching at the moment?

Classic Fords such as the rare 3.1 RS Capri are making headlines, but I believe the Japanese performance cars from the early 1990s will make a loud and welcome return as values rise and the buyers remember their childhood dreams. For example, the R32 Nissan Skyline GTR (Godzilla) and Twin Turbo Toyota Supra’s are seeing a surge in popularity; useable, reliable with computer game looks!