Steve Smith to drive Car

Currently editor of The Red Bulletin, Smith was also at the editorial helm of SA Sports Illustrated for five years. As a motoring journalist, he contributed to a wide range of publications, including Cosmopolitan's Women on Wheels supplement, which he edited in 2012.

He has made a name for himself on the bookshelves in recent years, having co-authored the bestselling autobiographies of Herschelle Gibbs and Sarel van der Merwe.

His broad range of experience includes marketing and publishing and an in-depth knowledge of the digital world. He was motoring writer, managing editor and subsequently editor-in-chief of website portal Tiscali World Online, while the SA Sports Illustrated website saw significant growth during his tenure.

Car publisher Neil Piper said he was very excited to have a specialist editor of this calibre join the team. "He brings a distinctive set of skills to the position - a passion for motoring coupled with knowledge of the broader motoring industry, considerable editorial and specialist multiplatform knowledge and experience in leading large teams. I look forward to working with him to enhance our activities on all platforms, maximise consumer engagement and deliver great content."

A self-confessed life-long motoring enthusiast, Smith said he was "keenly anticipating" the challenges of his new job. "From as early as I can remember, cars have been imbedded in my psyche. Starting with my father's old Alfas, through to the classics I have owned as an adult, they have featured large in my life. As a journalist, I have driven every new car I could get my hands on and jumped at every opportunity to write about them. This magazine has been with me on that journey. I started reading it in my teens and it not only fed my appetite for all things automotive, it also seeded the notion of a career in journalism. Imagine then being given the opportunity to be the editor of this iconic magazine."