Richard Porter worked for 13 years as writer and script editor for BBC's Top Gear. During that time he created implausible metaphors, invented Stig facts, and thought it was a good idea to write inflammatory slogans on cars for a drive through Alabama. Also in the car world, he is evo magazine's longest serving columnist, the malfunctioning brain behind sniffpetrol.com, and the author of 15 books on a range of automotive subjects, including the bestselling CrapCars.

Away from machines, he has written serious things for the BBC science department and the Natural History Unit, and stupid things for Total Wipeout and Comic Relief. He is reasonably tall.