From Pixels to Print
OUR STORY
Welcome to Rush, the Home of Driving Enthusiasm
Rush was founded as a free to download PDF in 2020 by Craig Toone. A pure passion project, the magazine is hugely inspired by Evo Magazine and the much-missed Modern Classics.
Armed with nothing but a £300 laptop, Microsoft PowerPoint and a website built on Wix, the goal was to feature iconic driver’s cars from the golden era of the ‘80s, ‘90s and 2000s, with a light sprinkling of current performance cars. Our values were to celebrate these machines and return to the long format, deep dive reads that concentrate on the sensation of driving - not the numbers - and explore the engineering traits that make cars so fascinating.
Along the way the project collected several like-minded enthusiasts. Covid hampered production, but the magazine struck a chord with readers and we built up a following, completing four digital issues before the day came to curate a special print edition, titled XP1 - a name inspired by the famous McLaren F1 prototypes.
Today our professionalism and software has improved, but the rebel spirit endures. The magazine remains a passion project, with everyone involved volunteering their time. We do not claim to be professional Road Testers, we’re just a bunch of madly passionate petrolheads asking you to ride shotgun as we string together a couple of sentences.
Whether it’s through purchasing a copy of XP1, or enjoying one of the web articles, our only goal is to inspire you to Rush to grab your car keys. For us, that would be the highest compliment.
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Craig Toone
Rush Founder
Obsessed with cars and car magazines ever since growing up in the back of a Sapphire Cosworth. Wore the racing line into the family carpet with his Matchbox toys. Can usually be found three-wheeling his Clio 182 Trophy around the Forest of Bowland, then bemoaning its running costs.
Ben Midlane
Rush Principal Photographer
A talent beyond his years, Ben is an up and coming young photographer worth keeping an eye on. A relentless work ethic combined with a compact frame and eye-popping flexibility result in some impressive tracking angles.
Ken Pearson
Deputy Editor
Resident Mercedes expert, affordable drivers' car champion and EV sympathiser. Can often be found on the other end of an argument with Craig with regards to powertrains and styling, bringing balance to the force.
Kristian Spreckley
Road Tester
The resident hot shoe, Kris has penchant for hardcore sportscars, giving a home to a Megane R26.R, an M3 CSL, a Yaris GR and an Alien Green Clio 200. Constantly debates the merits of trading the lot in for a 997 GT3 RS.
Alex Dunlop
Features Writer
Obsessed with all things four wheeled, a product of the 90s weaned on Gran Turismo, WRC and Le Mans. As fanatical about Porsches as he is Hot Rods and has a uselessly encyclopaedic knowledge of weird Japanese cars. A devout worshipper of the Manual gearbox, power sliding and is almost too tall to fit in anything comfortably.
Kotto Williams
Features Writer
Opinionated, left field and always entertaining, Kotto marches to his own beat. It's probably because he's high off all the petrol fumes from daily driving a TVR Chimaera, or because he still suffers from PTSD when he sold his A80 Supra Twin-turbo right before prices went nuts.
John Bee
Features Writer
A committed track day addict who brakes late and wrestles with lift-off oversteer, John ultimately prefers a calmer pace on the road. He believes driving pleasure comes in many forms, whether its a wafting road trip in his Jaguar XJ40, a marvel of engineering in his daily-driver Audi A2, or a flat out lap in his banzai Civic Type-R.
Aaron Stokes
Staff Writer
A student journalist covering lifestyle, entertainment and motoring news. Outside the newsroom, he's immersed in the automotive world, and you'll find him behind his camera taking photos wherever he goes.
Tim Dunlop
Contributing Editor
Tim is a hugely passionate petrolhead and historian who favours lightweight and innovation over brute force, as evidenced by his current steed; an Alpine A110
The Car Chat Podcast with Sam Moores
The Ignition Podcast with Harry Phyphers
Meet The Team
Podcast Appearances
It Wouldn't be possible without
Stephen Dobie, Michael Greenfield-Raban, Finlay Ringer, Simon Howarth, Dr. George Smith, Mike Rainbird, Trinity Francis, Maris Saulits, Marek Barnet, Wayne Goodman, Paul Davies, Matt Hardwick, Anthony Gibbons, Dan Hamilton, Isaac Hunter, Ethan Hunter, Richard Gibson, Lee Walton, Chris Williamson, Richard Powell
Special thanks to:
Alison Toone
Andrew Ambrose
Jake Thomas
@pissed_on_petrol