Farewell

Leonard John Kensell Setright

Driving gloves, hats, a Gandalf like professorial appearance, an overwhelming knowledge of all things automotive. Some of the things that spring to my mind of LJK Setright,one of the world's foremost and most distinguished motoring journalists who passed away this week on 7th September aged 74.

Regrettably I never met Mr Setright, as it is primarily through reading his writings over the years, ever since picking up an issue of 'Car' in the 1990's whilst studying Linguistics at College the seed was planted to record my motoring enthusiasm via written word.

He was far more than a motoring journalist, an erudite scholar, lawyer and musician; he had a style of writing that is so rare in motoring journalism and there was little, if anything to which he was not a learned authority.

I am certain he will be greatly missed.

Interview with LJK Setright: Helen Gordon

Obiturary taken from the Car Connection "He came to prominence in the field of cars with the mold-breaking British magazine Car in the 1960's. His articles appeared under the by-line of L.J.K. Setright, and it was only later in his life that Leonard John Kensell Setright dropped the initials in favor of his given name.

Setright's erudite and sometimes wordy style fitted in well with the style of Car, which at the time was unique in automobile journalism. His columns, road tests, and technical articles were a major element in the magazine's success. Car influenced automobile magazines across the world, and as the recognition of Car spread so did Setright's reputation.

Although he had not trained as an engineer, he was able to discuss technology with engineers at the highest levels in the industry, and his knowledge of tyre design made tyre industry executives hold him in awe.

In addition to his contributions to newspapers and magazines, Setright was the author of many books, including those on his preferred brand, the British Bristol. In conversation he was as informed, self-assured, and eloquent as he was on the page, but he was better behind the pen than behind the wheel, where he always showed a tendency to examine the outer limits of a car's performance with little respect for his passengers' peace of mind.

A strange combination of aloofness and good company, he will be missed by those who knew him and by the many more who knew him only through his writing. "

-Ian Norris