Meet the determined Sheffield man attempting to drive his £1 car 2,000 miles to Lake Como

A man is attempting to take his £1 car - ‘The Toybaru’- from Sheffield to Lake Como via Brussels, Baden-Baden, The Black Forest, Switzerland and the Nurburgring.

28-year-old Steve Hibberd was cycling home after a night out with friends in 2015 when he collided with a taxi that pulled out in front of him.

He was treated at the scene by paramedics who told him that he had suffered nothing worse than soft tissue injuries. However, while checking Steve over, they became concerned that his heart was beating in an unusual way.

Steve was taken to A&E at the Northern General Hospital to check if he had suffered a heart attack. However, when this was ruled out, he was discharged and referred to a cardiologist to investigate the irregular heart rhythm.

Steve said: “They did all kinds of tests. They came to the view that I had extra circuits in my heart that were causing the electrical signals that pump my heart to go to the wrong place.

“I had a procedure called an ablation where they tried to correct the abnormal heart rhythm by burning out these extra electrical pathways.

“That worked temporarily, but the irregular heart rhythm returned which showed that it was being caused by extra signals coming down the normal pathways. This couldn’t be cured with an ablation without significant risk, so I now take medication to slow my heart rate.”

Over a million people in the UK have a heart rhythm problem. But these conditions can be difficult to diagnose and are often picked up late after they cause symptoms, complications, or have even proved fatal.

Grateful for the treatment and care he had received, Steve signed up to the Rustbox Rallies Series for the British Heart Foundation (BHF).

In September 2025, he will be undertaking his greatest challenge so far - driving 2000 miles from Sheffield to Lake Como via the Swiss Alps and through the Black Forest.

Steve said: “I’d never worked on a car before signing up, so I was throwing myself in at the deep end.”

“I bought my car for £1 and went about turning it into a replica of a Subaru Impreza rally car. I sourced as many authentic parts as I could and then had a wrap-around added to the paintwork to complete the look.

"In building the car I got a lot of support from South Yorkshire Subaru, John Lamb Tuning, Derbyshire Towbars, N&P tyres, All Japanese Motors, and Mark at Revolution Rides who did the vinyl wrap. They all were so friendly and welcoming and helped show me the techniques needed to build the car despite having no prior experience.

“I wanted to make a proper road trip of the event, so I also converted it into a camper van. I took the rear seats out and fitted a foam mattress into the back. It turned out to be surprisingly comfortable to sleep in.

“I benefitted from the skill and expertise of a lot of doctors. I want to repay that by raising money for the BHF so that other people in the future can benefit from new discoveries.”

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