Sports Car Club launched in 2022 as part of Penhaligon’s Portraits-adjacent Powerhouse push, composed by Annick Menardo, the perfumer behind Bvlgari Black and Lolita Lempicka. It arrived with racing imagery and a vintage Jaguar on the bottle, but the liquid inside is less petrol-head fantasy and more alpine forest with a modern amber glow underneath.
What Does Penhaligon’s Sports Car Club Smell Like?
The opening is the best part. Swiss stone pine and pink pepper come through together, resinous and cool at once, like stepping out of a car on a mountain road. Within minutes the eucalyptus takes over, and this is the note that defines the fragrance. It is camphor-adjacent and slightly medicinal, but blended softly enough that it never turns into cough syrup. Cypress adds a dry, pencil-shaving woodiness behind it.
The drydown shifts noticeably. Ambroxan, patchouli and musk build a warm, faintly sweet base, and several reviewers describe that sweetness as the fragrance’s weak spot. Where the opening feels crisp and green, the base reads as generic modern amberwood to some noses. Others find the transition seamless and enjoy the spicy-sweet finish. If you dislike ambroxan-heavy designer scents, sample first. The name promises leather and fuel; you get neither.
Performance
Performance is the second common complaint. Parfumo users average around 6.8 out of 10 for longevity and 6.3 for sillage, and most reviews land in the same range: four to seven hours on skin, with projection turning skin-close after the first hour or two. One Fragrantica reviewer called the scent excellent but the performance poor enough to require reapplication. For an eau de parfum priced at $260 for 100ml, that is hard to defend. On clothing it lasts longer, and cooler weather helps it along. In summer heat it fades faster than the notes suggest it should.
Best Clone Or Alternative
Perfume Parlour’s Motor Squad 1119 is the obvious affordable route. The UK oil house lists it explicitly as a Sports Car Club dupe, and its note pyramid matches the original exactly: pink pepper and pine over eucalyptus and cypress, resting on ambroxan, patchouli and musk. A 50ml Dip Stick Oil costs £48, with a 10ml roll-on at £11.50, against $260 for the Penhaligon’s. Buyer feedback on the listing averages around 4.6 out of 5.
The tradeoff is format. As a perfume oil, Motor Squad skips the bright alcohol bloom of the original’s opening and sits closer to the skin, so expect a quieter, more linear wear. Similarity is realistically around 80 percent: same skeleton, less sparkle. Given how modest the original’s own projection is, that gap matters less than it would with a beast-mode fragrance. If you love the scent idea but not the price, the clone is a sensible buy. If you want the full opening experience and the bottle, only the original delivers that.
When To Wear It
This is a daytime casual scent that works across spring, fall and mild winter days. The green aromatic profile suits outdoor weekends, errands and office wear, where its close projection is actually an advantage. It can handle summer mornings but thins out in heat. Evening or formal settings undersell it, because it disappears too early.
Who Should Buy It
Green fragrance lovers are the target audience. If Encre Noire, Botafumeiro or anything with real eucalyptus appeals to you, this offers a polished, wearable take. It also fits anyone who wants an unusual office scent that stays discreet, and collectors drawn to the Powerhouse bottle design.
Who Should Skip It
Skip it if the name made you expect leather, gasoline or a smoky retro driver scent. Skip it if sweetness bothers you, since the ambroxan base leans sugary. And skip it at full retail if performance matters more than novelty, because $260 for moderate longevity is poor value by any measure.
Final Verdict
Sports Car Club is a well-made green aromatic wearing a marketing costume that does not match its contents. The pine, pepper and eucalyptus opening is genuinely distinctive, the drydown pleasant if safe, and the performance merely adequate. Try Motor Squad 1119 first if budget matters, and buy the original only if the opening convinces you.