WHEN Kevin Nicks’ neighbors spotted him tinkering on the driveway, they assumed he was simply repairing his old car.

    After a long career as a mechanic and a gardener, it was not unusual to see the 51-year-old fixing things in his spare time.

    But Nicks, who lives in a small village just 3.22 kilometers from the Oxfordshire town of Chipping Norton where former Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson owns a home, had rather more ambitious plans.

    What the father-of-one had in fact set about working on was a seven-month, £5,000 (US$7,073) project to convert his 16-year-old Volkswagen Passat into a unique, record-breaking vehicle — the world’s fastest shed.

    On completion, the 2-ton, steel-framed drivable shed, complete with remote central locking, air conditioning, a stereo and leather seats, weighed up to two tons.

    So it was to onlookers’ astonishment that the vehicle was capable of reaching a speed of up to 70.8 mph (113.9 kph) at a world record attempt on a private airfield near York — breaking that previously set at 58.4 mph by TV mechanic Edd China in Milan in 2011.

    Not only was the shed breaking records, however, it was to be the gardener’s new business venture — a unique and eye-catching mobile billboard perfect for hiring and advertising.

    Within weeks, Nicks had more than 20 companies call up to express an interest in advertising on the side of the world’s fastest shed.

    “It makes people smile,” he said. “People are constantly taking pictures of it and uploading them to social media. What could be better advertising than that? I can say ‘advertise on the side of the world’s fastest shed.’”

    The renovated vehicle, newly taxed, MOT-d and insured, would need to undergo a six-hour Individual Vehicle Assessment before it was road legal.

    But the test, arranged through the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency, was not going to be breaking any records for speed.

    Coming up against red tape, and frustrated that the wait was stalling his business over the winter period, Nicks decided to take the matter to his local MP, Prime Minister David Cameron.

    “I contacted the DVSA and I was straight up against a stone wall,” said Nicks. “They were keeping me off the road and throwing hurdles in the way. I actually built it as an advertising tool so they destroyed the business — they absolutely killed it dead.”

    A four and a half month battle ensued before Nicks was finally able to take his test in February this year. Finally able to drive his shed to the supermarket, Nicks said he enjoys watching the smile the “bonkers” vehicle brings to people’s faces.

    His longest outing so far was a 321-km trip to York, where the shed received its fair amount of attention on the motorway.

    (SD-Agencies)