Combining customisation, fashion and events into one all-encompassing brand, Nathaniel Warth of Old Beginnings England is helping shape a new wave of classic car enthusiasm.
We’ve said it before, but the world of classic cars can occasionally feel a little exclusive, in both the good and bad sense of the word. Sure, there’s an aspirational side, an appreciation of the beauty and elegance of the cars of bygone eras, but it can come at the cost of making the high-end collector car world feel inaccessible, hostile even, to most people. Look at ticket prices for various high-end car shows and concours taking place in the grounds of British stately homes, on the banks of Italian lakes, or at golf courses on the Californian coast, and you’ll get an idea of what we mean.
Of course, there’s always been a more accessible classic car scene. It’s pretty much a guarantee that every weekend throughout spring and summer, a village green somewhere in Britain is playing host to a collection of Beetles, MGBs and Morris Minors, with an ice cream van idling to one side. And quite possibly some Morris dancers nearby. It’s a lovely, heartwarming, bucolic scene, but it’s not a stretch to call the whole thing a little… old hat.
There is, however, a new scene emerging. As time goes by and the cars of the 1980s and 1990s that were once viewed as rather ‘everyday’ become scarcer in number, they’re beginning to be considered not just ‘modern’ classics, but genuine, blue-blooded classic cars. This is beginning to be reflected, not entirely positively, in values that continue to spiral rapidly upwards and risk alienating and excluding another generation of enthusiasts, but that’s a conversation for another day.
No, this feature isn’t so much about the cars themselves as the people that are part of this new old car scene. One of these people is Nathaniel Warth, the founder of Old Beginnings England. OBE as a brand dabbles in many things – car customisation and restoration, fashion, events – but it’s all tied together by Nathaniel’s love for the everyman hero cars of his childhood.
“The name ‘Old Beginnings’ is a nostalgic nod to my past,” says Nathaniel. “Buying old has always appealed to me, down to the quality and style that comes with it, but also because of the financial constraints of living within your means. It’s all about making the most of what you have and putting your own stamp on it.”
OBE’s workshop/events space is tucked away in Leamington Spa, and echoes these values. Inside is a collection of artwork, furniture and memorabilia spanning many decades. It might appear random to a bystander, but it’s clear that everything’s been carefully curated, chosen for its contribution to a meticulously crafted aesthetic.
“I’d always wanted a workspace to be creative and where everything was a reflection of me and my passions. I started off with light restorations of my cars, but as the workshop space and cars grabbed the attention of others, Old Beginnings has organically evolved and is a labour of love rather than a polished brand.
“[The workshop] is the home for some of my cars and possessions but is often rented for events and photo and video shoots. In recent months, it’s been used for music videos, clothing photography and Warwick University exhibitions and events.”
Nathaniel doesn’t shy away from his background. He’s proud to come from humble roots – in fact, it defines OBE’s entire ethos, which he succinctly sums up as being about the ‘car and street culture of the British working class’.
“My upbringing has influenced a huge part of Old Beginnings. I want to show that there’s no shame in where you’re from or growing up not having a lot, which I would never have known if I hadn’t experienced it first-hand. Old Beginnings is all about making the most of what you’ve got, being authentic and not pretending to be anything else.”
This attitude is wholly apparent in the cars Nathan idolises, too. “In my early teens, abandoned cars were everywhere where I lived – 205 GTIs, Mk2 Golfs, Fiesta XR2s… Me and my cousin would often be messing around with these cars, alongside a little bit of mischief of course.”
The three cars he namechecks there are significant, all coming from an era of car that’s finally starting to have its moment in the sun amongst classic car aficionados. Of course, people like Nathan have been championing them for far longer. For years, cars of that ilk could be picked up for pennies and were easy and popular bases for modifying. It’s only of late that cherished original examples are becoming serious collector prospects, but that’s not what interests Nathaniel.
“Cars to me are a form of escapism and freedom, but I sometimes look at them as an extension of style, like clothing – depending on how we feel or the occasion, we choose an outfit, and I feel cars can fit into that criteria too if we’re lucky enough to have the choice. Customising cars is how you make something your own and bespoke – if I love cars, why would I want to drive something that anyone could just go buy?”
There’s a perfect example of this spirit in Nathaniel’s workshop when we visit: his E28 BMW 5-Series, sitting flush on a set of BBS split rims. Like the building it sits in, it represents a polishing of a rough-edged aesthetic without losing the authenticity that defines it.
“The fact that a lot of people are heading towards EV and hybrid means the cars of yesteryear have become heroes,” he says. “The stigma of our once ‘council estate classics’ is disappearing as the price and rarity of the cars and parts are increasing. I think a lot of retailers and even TV shows have caught onto this image as they are now using older cars to appeal to a younger and wider audience.”
Old Beginnings is, appropriately enough, just the beginning. Nathaniel is moving into buying and selling cars under the Council Estate Classics name, as well as planning to expand the fashion elements of OBE with a series of limited releases. It’s a broad, all-consuming thing, but it’s just the way he works. “My mum had an incredibly strong work ethic, and the working class sometimes have to juggle jobs to make ends meet, which in all honesty I enjoy as every day is different.”
Nathaniel has taken that work ethic and transformed it into a brand that perfectly exemplifies the new classic car scene. Dynamic, open to new ideas and never exclusionary, it’s a scene that’s only going to grow.
