The Pro Racer Who Turned His A-class Into A 220bhp Gti Chaser

The term 'boy racer' is rarely flattering, but in Bryn Calder's case it's the perfect description. The 18-year-old has already been racing for a decade, first in karts (he won two British Endurance championships and impressed in a clutch of global events) and now at the wheel of a Ginetta G56 GT4 Evo coupé in the GT Cup Championship.

"I'm racing with Innovation Racing," says Bryn. "We missed the first two rounds but then everything came good and we made the next two at Snetterton, where I won the endurance race and came second in the sprint. That result put us second in class and me fifth overall in the championship. Everything's in place for Donington on 26-28 June. Beyond that, to continue my championship hunt I need sponsors to come forward! Racing at Le Mans is my ultimate goal. I want to win all the major 24-hour races and as many as I can in one year."

It is, of course, only right that Bryn has a car worthy of his chosen career. I had assumed his Mercedes-Benz A-Class, in which he had arrived at the car meet where I met him, was an AMG A45. In fact, turns out it's a regular A160 AMG Line with a few boy-racer upgrades.

"I've added a front splitter, a rear wing and some black winglets to the rear bumper," Bryn tells me. "I've also wrapped the roof in fake carbonfibre and blacked the standard AMG Line rims. I've not tried to make it look like something it isn't, though. Compared with the A45, it looks very different."

Bryn bought this 2016 model a year ago. Then it was showing 30,000 miles. Today the odometer is displaying a thumping 75,000.

"As a racing driver, I travel a lot," he explains. "However, in standard trim the car's 1.6-litre turbo engine only produces around 100bhp, which is very poor, so I had it tuned."

And some. In fact, if Bryn is to be believed, the four-pot now makes 220bhp, courtesy of a remap and assorted upgrades – yet "it still returns 42mpg with a light foot".

It leads me to the question of insurance. Insurers are wary of young drivers and will run to the hills at the word 'modification'. However, Bryn claims that, even with its upgrades, his A160 costs less to insure than a modest Ford.

"I've always been a Mercedes fan, but to begin with I was looking at Fiestas," he says. "However, I was quoted a stupid price for insuring a standard model. Then one of my sponsors said they had this A160 hanging round and why didn't I get an insurance quote for it. It turned out to be around two-thirds of the price I was being quoted for the Fiesta: £1800 compared with £2500. That was without a black box, too. With all the travelling I do and the hours I drive, a black box just isn't appropriate."

Bryn's A160 is pristine (he has a side hustle as a mobile valeter) and clearly fun to drive, but he covets another car: his mate's BMW M135i.

"Whenever he decides to sell, I'll be first in the queue," he says. Until then, the A160 and G56 will have to remain his means to racing success.