Mike Duff

Mike Duff
Title: Contributing editor

Mike has been writing about cars for more than 25 years, having defected from radio journalism to follow his passion. He has been a contributor to Autocar since 2004, and is a former editor of the Autocar website. 

Mike joined Autocar full-time in 2007, first as features editor before taking the reins at autocar.co.uk. Being in charge of the video strategy at the time saw him create our long running “will it drift?” series. For which he apologies.

He specialises in adventurous drive stories, many in unlikely places. He once drove to Serbia to visit the Zastava factory, took a £1500 Mercedes W124 E-Class to Berlin to meet some of its taxi siblings and did Scotland’s North Coast 500 in a Porsche Boxster during a winter storm. He also seems to be a hypercar magnet, having driven such exotics as the Koenigsegg One:1, Lamborghini SCV12, Lotus Evija and Pagani Huayra R.

Mike earned a Postgraduate Diploma in Broadcast Journalism from the Falmouth College of Arts, graduating in 1997. He has held senior roles at CAR Magazine and evo and formerly edited the Fifth Gear website. Alongside his work for Autocar he is Senior European Correspondent for Hearst Autos in the U.S.

Mike is an expert in:

  • Road testing
  • Feature writing
  • Interviews
  • Car industry 
  • Future technology

Mike Duff Q&A

What was your biggest news story?

The interview with Michael Schumacher I did in 2004 was a personal pinnacle. He was dominating the season and seemed very relaxed when we spoke for 30 minutes at Silverstone; I think it was the longest interview he gave to any English language journalist that year. More recently I broke stories about what would become the McLaren GT and Lamborghini’s plug-in hybrid system well ahead of their official confirmation.

What’s the best car you’ve ever driven?

Most of my benchmark cars are from the mass market. I remember driving the E39 BMW 5-Series for the first time as a junior road tester and being blown away by how far ahead of the competition it was. I felt similarly about the Mk7 Volkswagen Golf when that came out. At the other extreme, the chance to experience a Bugatti Veyron and Bugatti Chiron back-to-back on a derestricted Autobahn was very special. 

What will the car industry look like in 20 years?

Much will be radically different in terms of mass EV adoption and technology like steer-by-wire and higher level autonomy. But I’m certain that a passion for cars will still be there, as will be the need to distinguish the bad from the good from the best.

Opinion

Our favourite cars of 2023: Lamborghini Huracan Sterrato

The slowest, least powerful version of the Lamborghini Huracan also proved the most enjoyable on the limit

Our favourite cars of 2023: Lamborghini Huracan Sterrato
News

Why Lamborghini’s Maurizio Reggiani is the godfather of supercars

From Lamborghini's Urus to Bugatti's EB110, Reggiani has shaped companies and their cars - we meet him

Why Lamborghini’s Maurizio Reggiani is the godfather of supercars
Car review

Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray

Electrification adds both performance and dynamic security to a 65-year-old American sporting hero

Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray
EL1 Journalist 11
E-Legend has now built a prototype of the EL1’s carbonfibre structure and four-wheel-drive powertrain
News

First ride: Audi Quattro-inspired E-Legend EL1

£1 million, rally-inspired performance coupé with 248-mile range was displayed in Munich

First ride: Audi Quattro-inspired E-Legend EL1
Lamborghini Revuelto front three quarter studio
The Revuelto is the Italian firm’s maiden plug-in hybrid supercar
News

New 1000bhp Lamborghini Revuelto order books full until 2026

New 6.5-litre V12, three electric motors and lightweight battery pack for most potent Lambo yet

New 1000bhp Lamborghini Revuelto order books full until 2026
Lotus Eletre assembly Wuhan front
The Lotus Global EV Production Centre opened in July 2022
News

Insight: The Chinese factory underpinning Lotus's bold expansion

New plant in Wuhan, China, will be the home of the 150,000 'Lifestyle EVs' Lotus plans to build annually

Insight: The Chinese factory underpinning Lotus's bold expansion
Lotus Eletre front lead
The Eletre will be one of the first cars in the UK to feature multiple lidar sensors
News

Lotus Eletre chases level four autonomy with integrated lidar sensors

Hethel firm's first SUV will major on its 'hands-off' operation, featuring multiple lidar sensors

Lotus Eletre chases level four autonomy with integrated lidar sensors
First Drive

Lotus Eletre prototype first drive 2023

Sacrilegious to some but inviting to many more, this stonking great electric SUV from China heralds a new dawn at Lotus

Lotus Eletre prototype first drive 2023
Car review

Aston Martin Valkyrie

1140bhp, £2.5m, eight years in the making. We finally take the wheel of Adrian Newey's masterpiece

Aston Martin Valkyrie
First Drive

Pagani Huayra R first drive

Hypercar artisan extraordinaire marks a fully committed entry to traction machinery with track-only Huayra R

Pagani Huayra R first drive
Car review

LMC MKII FIA

If it looks like a Cobra and behaves like a Cobra, it must be a Cobra, right? Not quite…

LMC MKII FIA

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