Perhaps not surprisingly for a former racing driver, Stirling Moss isn't one to keep still for long. In fact his Zen-like motto for life happens to be: "Movement is tranquillity."

He spent 14 years hightailing it round racetracks in his shirtsleeves, winning 16 Grand Prix sans seat belt ("If you crashed you were flung out of the car which was better than being stuck in the machine and risk being burned to death") but retired from racing in 1962 after spending 38 days in a coma following a particularly awkward crash at Goodwood.

This is probably about the only time he's remained motionless. Soon after, he bought a bomb site behind London's Park Lane and built his own house - a Playboy-style pad with bath taps he can operate via a control panel in his study and a lift made from carbon fibre.

Although he retired from racing, 79-year-old Moss has never Retired. He divides his time between travelling round the world appearing at various racing tracks, sometimes even getting behind the wheel - the day after we speak he's off to Brands Hatch to put a 1956 Osca 1500 through its paces.

His motor these days is a three-wheeled scooter which he uses to buzz round various properties that he lets out. "Today," he says, "I had to look into replacing a shower - I got a good price in the end. Tenants tend to behave like people renting cars."

As you might have surmised Moss is a workaholic - "I've always been that way," he admits. And fortunately at the third wife of asking he found a workaholic partner, Susie, more than 20 years his junior.

"I'm not typical for my age. I feel young because of my wife Susie. She is my filing cabinet, my hard drive, my floppy disc. I can't remember the last time we had a night apart - it must be 10 years at least. For us it's terrific. I wouldn't have it any other way."

Is he more conscious of his mortality now or when he was whizzing round the track? "When I raced one of the reasons was that it was dangerous, and that heightened the enjoyment. I think more about mortality now; it's unlikely that one goes on much after 90. Time goes so quickly now. When you're young I remember time hanging heavily, a pain in the neck."

Moss will be 80 in September. For his 70th Lord March threw him "a party at Goodwood for a couple of thousand of his closest friends", explains Susie. "This year I'm going to be stricter about numbers," says Moss.