Matt Bird
Matt Bird is a deputy editor at PistonHeads who writes about enthusiast cars across new reviews, used-car spotlights and long-term tests. His coverage centres on performance-minded road cars, modern classics and specialist track machinery, with a consistent focus on how they drive and what they offer to committed drivers. He is a prominent editorial voice for the masthead, fronting major features and acting as a point of contact for news and content ideas.
Spotted: Used Performance Cars and Modern Classics
Bird’s most distinctive strand of work is the Spotted column, where he picks out notable used performance cars and modern classics for sale and explains why they matter. Recent pieces range from a Porsche 911 Turbo (996) to a Ford Capri 280 Brooklands Turbo Technics, showing a span from turn-of-the-century supercharged performance to rare, late-era Capris.
The confirmed Peugeot 205 GTI feature underlines his interest in hot hatch icons and cars with a strong enthusiast following.
In these articles he highlights condition, provenance and specification, often focusing on low-mileage, single-owner or unusually preserved examples. He also uses linked Spotted pieces to cover manuals-only Jaguars, timewarp Audi TT 3.2 DSG coupes, survivor-grade Toyota MR2s and high-priced curios like the Aston Cygnet, keeping the column anchored in driver appeal and character rather than simple bargain hunting.
PH Driven and UK Reviews: Road Tests of New Performance Models
Alongside used-car spotlights, Bird conducts detailed road tests of new performance models under the PH Driven and UK Review banners.
His comparison of the Mazda MX-5, Toyota GR Yaris and Ariel Nomad is framed around the declining availability of manual gearboxes, using three very different cars to argue for the value of engagement over automation. Reviews of cars like the 2025 Audi S5 Avant and Morgan Supersport show the same methodical structure: clear context, a driving impressions section and exhaustive technical specification for engine, transmission, performance, weight, efficiency and price. More recent work on the 2026 Morgan Supersport 400 and the linked Alfa Romeo Giulia Luna Rossa UK Review applies that template to new-generation specialist models, balancing outright performance figures with ride, refinement and everyday usability. Across these tests he pays close attention to options lists and test-car pricing, breaking down how extras such as dynamic handling packs, audio systems or bespoke trim affect the real-world cost and character of the cars.
PH Fleet and Long-Term Cars
Bird also contributes to PH Fleet coverage, following cars over extended periods rather than single test drives.
The Mercedes-AMG CLE 53 4MATIC+ feature sits within a broader pattern of fleet stories that include used electric Jaguars, Mini Cooper S hatchbacks, Cupra Formentor SUVs, Mazda MX-5s and everyday compact cars. In this format he tracks how performance, comfort, running costs and practicality evolve, using repeated exposure to identify strengths and irritations that a short loan might miss.
The fleet pieces often connect back to his interests elsewhere on the site, contrasting high-output performance models with more modest, real-world choices and exploring what still counts as an enthusiast car when it has to handle routine duties.
Six Of The Best and Specialist Track Machinery
Bird’s list features under the Six Of The Best label give another view of his beat, grouping cars around themes that matter to engaged drivers. A recent “must-have three-cylinder heroes” piece highlights models like the Morgan Super 3 and other compact, characterful cars, and sits alongside lists of ’90s pedigree choices, JDM all-stars, small but surprisingly mighty cars, 100hp-per-litre legends and big V8 convertibles. These features show an ability to join up disparate models by their driving feel, engineering interest or cult status rather than by simple price or segment. Beyond road cars, he covers specialist track machinery such as Revolution Race Cars’ HyperSport, positioning it against high-cost, carbon-tubbed track specials and emphasising its relative attainability compared with million-dollar rivals. He also writes about extreme tuned models like the Brabus XLP 800 6x6, treating them as part of the same enthusiast universe of excess, engineering and spectacle that runs through his other work.
Across these strands Bird presents a coherent view of the car world that blends new performance models, used icons, everyday fleet cars and niche track specials into a single enthusiast narrative. His writing balances technical thoroughness with clear, direct language, and he consistently foregrounds driver involvement, character and value over mere numbers or badge prestige. Within PistonHeads he operates both as a lead writer on major features and as a contact point for news, reinforcing his role as a central editorial figure in the masthead’s coverage of automobiles and automotive racing.
4 more automobile journalists.
Adrian Leung
Adrian Leung is a writer at Car News China who applies an electrical and computer engineering background to technically dense coverage of China’s fast-moving electric vehicle market. He focuses on new-energy models, from mainstream family EVs to concept cars, explaining battery systems, drivetrains, and on-board technology with clear numbers and straightforward descriptions. His Sunday China Drive columns look at how specific models fit real-world motoring and household budgets, balancing space, comfort, and affordability. Across launch and revision stories, he tracks BEV and EREV variants, exact dates, horsepower, range, and pricing to show where each EV sits in the broader market. He brings the same detailed focus to concept vehicles, using battery and range data plus component-level and chassis detail to treat them as complete engineering objects.
Alan Dowds
Alan Dowds is a motorcycle journalist focused on practical riding, workshop know-how and real-world bike testing. He runs Visordown while writing guides, advanced riding features and first ride reviews for road and track riders. He has more than two decades of experience, including staff roles at dedicated bike magazines, before moving into freelance work across multiple outlets. His beat covers recovery after crashes, knee-down technique, filtering, city traffic, green-laning, learner training and track riding. He also reports on production, pricing and new adventure bikes such as the Norton Atlas made in India. His workshop coverage includes puncture repairs, winter storage, chain care, engine bearings, case covers and caliper seals. He writes in direct, methodical language, using step-by-step guidance, practical testing and photos to help riders become safer, faster and more mechanically confident.
Alan Feldberg
Alan Feldberg is a fact-led automotive trade reporter who tracks how manufacturers, fleets, mobility providers and repair networks are reshaping the modern motor industry, with a particular focus on the UK car market and its supply chain. He writes concise, data-driven news for Bodyshop Magazine, having been part of its editorial team for years, including a period as Middle East editor. He covers the rise of Chinese vehicle makers, named models and market share, dealer and fleet technology, online retail platforms, leasing, remarketing and mobility networks. He also reports on repair groups, parts distributors, OEM approvals, fuel prices, employment and wider industry pressures. His pieces turn corporate announcements and market reports into clear signals for garages, bodyshops, fleets, dealers and mobility providers.
Alastair Crooks
Alastair Crooks is a senior news reporter at Auto Express who covers both new cars and the infrastructure that will support them, tying factory-scale developments to driveway-level reviews. He focuses on electric cars, mainstream launches and UK pricing, reporting on new and electrified models entering the market, their spec, positioning and what they change for buyers. His road tests of SUVs and saloons assess ride, range, interior space, value and running costs, with clear, sometimes blunt verdicts backed by specifics rather than general impressions. He writes news, reviews, features and occasional opinion columns on driving behaviour and in-car tech, drawing on his background as a car salesman, his degree in journalism and his enthusiast experience at car shows and track days. Some of his work also appears in magazine-style formats.