“There is no better feeling than being behind the wheel of a beautiful car on an incredible road,” says Julie Hunter, director and COO of Ultimate Driving Tours, a luxury company that organises supercar tours for a discerning audience, which she started with her business and life partner Anthony Moss. “Whenever we’re not driving for the business, we’re either researching and driving new routes, or competing in tarmac rallying, which is another passion we share,” she adds. Hunter is proud of the award-winning company, which has evolved from being a passion project to a global leader in luxury travel.
Ultimate Driving Tours allows clients to sit behind the wheel of a world-class supercar as they take on hairpin turns and stunning landscapes around the world. Whether it’s ice driving on a replica F1 circuit in the Arctic Circle or zooming through the national parks of Northern England, Hunter and her team curate a VIP experience complete with luxury accommodation and fine dining restaurants so guests need not lift a finger.
“We’ve endeavoured to partner with like-minded brands to push the limits of what is possible and to deliver above and beyond what is anticipated by a guest and to ensure our customers receive the very best experience, whilst enjoying an Ultimate Driving Tour,” she explains. “We’re always on the lookout for new and exciting brand partnerships to ensure we continue to offer the very best journeys to our clients, allowing them to have the trip of a lifetime.”
LLM – Luxury Lifestyle Magazine writer Ina Yulo Stuve chats with Hunter about how she first got started in the motorsports industry and which car she’s looking to add to her company’s growing fleet.
How did you first get started in the motorsports industry?
Having lived, studied, and worked across Asia, Europe, and the Americas, I’ve had a passion for travel, adventure, and people from a young age. My co-founder, Anthony Moss’s enthusiasm for cars and driving was infectious, and coupled with our shared love of travel, it made sense to create a business that allowed us to live out our passions and share them with other like-minded people from around the world.
What does luxury mean to you?
Luxury, for me, is about bringing to life more than the physical product, such as a five-star hotel or a nice restaurant. It’s about offering the highest standard of service, pre-empting and delivering something a guest might not even realise they want or need. It’s also about bringing together multiple elements to curate an unforgettable experience that a guest would not have been able to do on their own, including amazing cars, stunning roads, incredible hotels, special dining, unique cultural experiences and much more, into a seamless journey that can be shared with others.
Having a team that is 90% female is an anomaly within the motorsports industry. Was this what you set out to do from the get go and how do you think it’s impacted your company culture?
Our team at Ultimate Driving Tours is made up of wonderfully talented, diverse, and strong-minded individuals. Building a diverse and inclusive environment is important to us, especially in an industry where roles for women have typically been limited. To have such strong female representation was not necessarily something we set as a requirement, our main goal with resourcing is of course to find the best person for a role, however, in so many cases we have found that the best person to fill the role was an incredible woman and we will continue to add amazing women to our team as we grow the company.
Netflix has done wonders for introducing new fans to the motorsports industry, especially with F1. Have you seen a similar shift in your clientele?
Absolutely. Whilst we’ve always had strong interest from the US market, we are certainly seeing an even bigger growth in enquiries stateside as awareness of and interest in F1 expands. This growth is in turn allowing us to accelerate and expand our business and to explore new tours and experiences around different F1 races around the world. 2022 has seen 24 F1 Grand Prix races, the most ever, so growth and opportunities is phenomenal. We added an inaugural four-day Miami Grand Prix Hospitality Package to our offering following the announcement of the race in Miami and will look to do the same with the Las Vegas Grand Prix in 2023.
What are your growth plans for the next five years?
Over the next five years at Ultimate Driving Tours, we plan to continue expanding our offerings into new markets, particularly the US, and to curate new and exciting events on the ground within the USA. We will also continue to add to our calendar of experiences in Europe, while expanding our fleet and team, of which I look forward to seeing more inspiring and accomplished women join the ranks.
Is there a particular car that you’re eyeing to add to your fleet?
Over the next couple of weeks, we are adding the Corvette C8 to our European fleet and I can’t wait to see guests enjoying a little American muscle amidst our Italian stallions and bulls. I am looking forward to having a McLaren GT added to the fleet over the coming months – a perfect car for both our small-group tours and self-guided drives.
What are your favourite cities for: shopping, food, history?
Being a food and wine lover, whenever I have a little downtime I love to escape to San Sebastian. The lifestyle is divine, as is the food scene, whether you opt for pintxos at a local bar or a Michelin-starred experience. I also love to stroll the boutiques of Florence’s Old Town and to indulge in a freshly-made pasta paired with a Brunello di Montalcino while there. Italian women and men, no matter their age, are always so effortlessly chic, even when it’s 40 degrees out!
Where are you headed on your next holiday?
After a very big year with international travel returning in full swing, I am looking forward to a little downtime at the end of October. The plan is to spend a few days enjoying tacos, margaritas and a good book from a hammock by the beach in Tulum, Mexico.
Factbox
Ultimate Driving Tours
Address: 1st floor, Riverside, 3 More London Place, London SE1 2RE
Website: ultimatedrivingtours.com
Instagram: instagram.com/julieisahunter
