During most annually celebrated traditions, car fans are usually found in the garage tinkering or waxing away, blissfully unaware of what’s going on in the outside world. Therefore, if you are set on getting a car fan a Valentine’s gift, we suggest very strongly that it be something useful. Frankly, that piece of advice extends to a motoring-related gift for any occasion.
Parkers is here to help. We’ve curated this selection of useful motoring gifts that you can certainly give a personal romantic spin if you wish.
Just so you know, whilst we may receive a commission or other compensation from the links on this page, we never allow this to influence product selections – read why you should trust us.
The best motoring Valentine’s Day gifts
We’ve organised our suggestions in ascending order of price so you find it easier to stick within your budget.
Natural Dried Rose Petals
Best romantic add-on
If you are set on going all romantic then good for you, do what you want and don’t let anyone else dissuade you. Maybe you’ve even gone the whole hog and bought your loved one a new car. Like a cabernet or Malbec with steak, these natural (and therefore biodegradable) rose petals are a wonderful accompaniment to a gift.
Price: £8.99 | VIEW OFFER
Chocolate Racing Cars Gift Tin
Best chocolate cars
Bang on theme and very tasty. Locally made chocolates using Fairtrade cocoa. Tin size: 9.5 x 6.5cm. Plain tin sits well on the garage shelf.
Price: £12 | VIEW OFFER
Greased Lightning Showroom Shine 1L
Best waterless car wash
Greased Lightning’s Showroom Shine is the most effective spray on, wipe off car wash on the market. The company explicitly says it’s a lifestyle rather than a car enthusiast’s brand, to try and make it appeal to the masses. However, it’s a great quick detailer for casual users and detailing fanatics alike.
Read our Greased Ligthning product review.
Price: £14.99 | VIEW OFFER
Bilt Hamber Double Speed-Wax 250ml
Best car wax
You know how breakfast cereals usually have added vitamins and minerals? This carnauba paste wax has added hydrophobic polymers to make water bead more readily on the paintwork. It’s a hard-wearing and easily applied wax that comes with a microfibre and application pad.
Read our guide to the best car wax.
Price: £16.95 | VIEW OFFER
Bond Cars: The Definitive History
Best 007 book
The world’s most prominent spy (surely an oxymoron) has seriously good taste in cars. Explore the fascinating history of 007’s motors in this excellent hardback written by Jason Barlow. Featuring rare archival material and page after page detailing the elaborate stunts that went into each film.
Price: £17.99 | VIEW OFFER
Porsche 911 Turbo History Lineage Print
Best motoring décor
Workshop, office, whatever. If you know the car fan you’re buying for is a Porsche nut, this is a great gift option. It is available in A4, A3, A2, A1, and A0 sizes (A2 size priced here) and is printed on canvas. Print comes framed.
Price: £24.99 | VIEW OFFER
NEBO Slyde 2K Torch
The best travel torch
Compact, bright, and well-made, this torch offers a lot, including value from well-known brand NEBO. It has a host of light modes the brightest of which throws the beam a distance of over 400 metres.
Slide the handle and it becomes a work light. It feels good to hold too, and tough thanks to an anodised aluminium body. We also love the magnetic base, which allows the torch to stick to the inside of a car bonnet, or above a wheel arch without a clip, for example.
Read our guide to the best travel torches.
Price: £30.13 | VIEW OFFER
LEGO Technic McLaren Senna GTR
Best value LEGO car kit
Most LEGO Technic kits are quite pricey but this isn’t. In terms of value for money it’s on par with a Skoda estate or baked beans. It’s a kit with 830 pieces and features many excellent details such as dihedral doors, moving pistons, and functioning steering.
Read our guide to the best LEGO car kits.
Price: £35.99 | VIEW OFFER
Rage Buggy Blast
Best off-road driving experience
Loose surface action is one of the biggest grin makers and the Rage Hurricane is no grass kart. It’s a proper super buggy that does 0-60mph in under four seconds and reaches over 120mph. On gravel. That’s something you don’t want to miss.
Price: £40 | VIEW OFFER
Forza Horizon 5
Best arcade racing game
Forza Horizon 5 is the best version of the series and that is quite something. More than that, it’s one of the best and most exciting racing games to come out in 2021. There is a mountain of stuff to get stuck into, both in closed circuit and open-world racing. Forza Horizon 5 is also a technical showcase. It’s designed for Xbox Series X and can run in 4K Ultra HD at 60fps. But you can run perfectly well on an Xbox One too.
Privce: £44.95 | VIEW OFFER
Gran Turismo 7
Pre-order for release on March 4, 2022
Sony’s latest version of its flagship racing franchise is available on PS5 and PS4, much to the delight of many. Granted, a video game isn’t the most social of Valentine’s gifts, but this is a special game after all.
Price: £69.99 | VIEW OFFER
12-Lap Radical SR5 Race Car Experience
Editor’s pick driving experience
This wholesome driving experience consists of eight speedy laps, having first completed four sighting laps. Location is in Hertfordshire. The Radical gives a untainted and pure driving experience that road cars simply can’t offer.
Read our guide to the best driving experiences.
Price: £99 | VIEW OFFER
Nextbase 422GW Dash Cam
Best value dash cam
Nextbase is a dash cam industry leader. Its 422GW model strikes a great balance between its high end range and more basic models. To kick things off the build quality is second to none, everything is well put together and the touchscreen is responsive and easy to use.
The recording quality can be set at 1440P at 30fps or 1080P at 60fps, which is helped further by some clever software. There are even some smart features such as Alexa Voice Control.
Read our Nextbase dash cam reivew.
Price: £119 | VIEW OFFER
Triple Supercar Driving Experience at Goodwood
Iconic driving experience
Here the driver can select three supercars and take each for two laps of the Goodwood circuit. The drives are with an instructor who will help to driver to enjoy the three supercars to their fullest.
Price: £125 | VIEW OFFER
NOCO Boost X GBX45
Best portable jump starter
NOCO is the name when it comes to this sort of kit. The American company is one of the world’s pre-eminent suppliers of booster packs, so you can rely on the GBX45 to get you moving. This one is not cheap, but it’s a beast: small and light, yet is rated for petrol engines up to 6.5-litres and diesel engines up to 4.0-litres.
The 100-lumen LED torch should shine a light on any problems you encounter with your car. Plus, it’s a regular power
Read our guide to the best jump starters.
Price: £123.15 | VIEW OFFER
LEGO Technic Lamborghini Sián FKP 37
Best LEGO car set
At 3,696 pieces the Technic Lamborghini makes fans of LEGO and cars very excited indeed. There are moving pistons in the V12 engine, which is connected to the 8-speed gearbox. The scissor doors open, as do the bonnet and boot; there are proper disc brakes, suspension, and adjustable spoiler. You can even get a lighting kit for it.
Price: £241.98 | VIEW OFFER
Read next:
The best RC rock crawlers: hardcore off-roaders in miniature
The best Revell model car kits
The best toy cars and models from films
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Just so you know, we may receive a commission or other compensation from the links on this website - read why you should trust us.