April 2023

Octane Magazine

Fueling the passion

Octane Magazine1 min read
Next Month
Winning tale of the last built of Ferrari’s greatest legend Blast across the moors in a Porsche 911 racer after its epic restoration Getting a load of Crayford’s hot rod Mercedes 300SEL 6.3 estate Luminary collector Phillip Sarofim Ford Puma, modern-
Octane Magazine2 min read
The Price Of Progress
THE LAST TIME a Porsche 996 featured on the cover of Octane was the October 2017 issue (172), when it was trumpeted with the headline ‘Bargain 911’. I remember it vividly because it was the issue immediately before I joined the team and was the best-
Octane Magazine3 min read
Gaydon Museum Looks To Double In Size
THE BRITISH MOTOR MUSEUM at Gaydon, Warwickshire, could potentially double its exhibition space if ambitious plans attract the necessary funding. In an exclusive interview for Octane, managing director Jeff Coope set out his vision for the museum and
Octane Magazine3 min read
News Feed
Classic car specialist Dylan Miles has revived a building with rich motoring history as his new showroom in Tunbridge Wells. The site on London Road was built in 1909 as G Stevenson Motor Engineers – Kent and Sussex Garages Ltd, as Mr Stevenson was a
Octane Magazine2 min read
Navigators’ Scholarship
ENDURANCE RALLY organiser HEROERA has launched an innovative new scholarship to train and give event experience to aspiring young rally navigators. Announced at the annual HERO-ERA awards at the Royal Automobile Club and set up by HERO-ERA competitio
Octane Magazine3 min read
No ordinary Rolls-Royce
THE PURCHASE of my much-loved Rolls-Royce came about thanks to the transporter driver we use in Geneva. He used to be a well-connected water ski instructor, and called me one day: ‘Simon, a client of mine wants to sell his Rolls-Royce, I’ve no idea w
Octane Magazine1 min read
Just Sitting In The Car
It’s always after a drive, of course. Just nipping out to sit in your car, or waiting for a few minutes before setting off – no, that’s really not the same. It has to be once you’ve arrived – whether at your home or elsewhere – and turned the engine
Octane Magazine4 min read
Jay Leno
I really enjoyed reading about Lynn Park and his Cobras in Octane 236. Like everyone else reading this magazine I longed for one back in the day, but it was just out of reach. By 1984 I was doing pretty well, and I thought: I’m gonna go for it. At th
Octane Magazine6 min read
Getting The Band Back Together
MATTHEW HAYWARD’S excellent article in Octane 237 about Jaguar’s unsung hero of the early 1950s rally scene, PPE 101, deserves a couple of updates. First, to correct a slight error, when Walter Grant-Norton drove PPE 101 out of the showroom at Weybri
Octane Magazine4 min read
Derek Bell
Well, the 2023 international motor racing calendar got underway in fine fashion at the end of January. The 24 Hours of Daytona was a big success, with some quality racing played out before a capacity crowd. It was a repeat win for the Meyer Shank Rac
Octane Magazine3 min read
Stephen Bayley
‘The past is never dead. It is not even past.’ That was the view of Southern Gothic novelist William Faulkner who also believed, I suspect correctly, ‘There ain’t nothing I got that whiskey won’t cure.’ He was expressing an idea that has often inspir
Octane Magazine10 min read
Modena’s Mightiest Weapon
The 450S was Maserati’s endurance racing zenith – and also its Icarus moment. Even the late Sir Stirling Moss responded with a silent scream when I told him that I wanted to drive one. That was 24 years ago, and my memory of his vivid reaction serves
Octane Magazine8 min read
After A Bristol Fashion
The unique 2009 Blenheim 4S is the last Bristol V8 built. It is literally the end and figuratively the full-stop to the tale of Bristol’s A-frame chassis, a saga that began with the marque’s first model, the Type 400 of 1946: an aeronautically inspir
Octane Magazine11 min read
The Pure And The damn’ Brilliant
Engines cooled by water, funny headlights, bits shared with Boxsters… it’s easy to underestimate how alien the 996-generation Porsche 911s must’ve seemed to air-cooled diehards when the Carrera debuted in 1997. But this bold new breed of 911 is now g
Octane Magazine3 min read
Robert Coucher
There’s something that makes us respond to an ugly duckling. I have spent an inordinate of time trying to make my own cars beautiful, with mixed success. My prosthetic grey Aurelia blinged up no end thanks to a few litres of bright red paint rather u
Octane Magazine9 min read
Bugatti’s Grand Finale
One chassis, one engine, but multiple different propositions in the sales brochure. With the Type 57, Jean Bugatti, son of marque founder Ettore, proved not only his engineering genius but also his instinct for marketing. Even more than his perfectio
Octane Magazine7 min read
No Smoke On The Water
WHEN CUSTOMERS criticised the brakes on his cars, Ettore Bugatti retorted with the belligerence we allow of genius: ‘I make my cars to go, not stop.’ Nevertheless it seems he took the criticism on board and, perhaps by way of riposte, dispensed with
Octane Magazine7 min read
Tim Harvey
Tim Harvey is all smiles as he recalls the moment that decided the outcome of the 1992 British Touring Car Championship in his favour. We are at Silverstone, mere metres from where Steve Soper’s BMW connected with the Vauxhall of title aspirant John
Octane Magazine9 min read
History in The making
There is no more enigmatic company in English coachbuilding than Corsica. Its name conjures images of gnarled artisans bashing away at sheet steel in backstreet Bastia, wearing thick oilskin overalls and with a cigarette (roll-up for authenticity rat
Octane Magazine7 min read
The Brighouse Bugatti
The West Yorkshire mill town of Brighouse is a long way from Molsheim in north-eastern France, both literally and metaphorically. Molsheim is famous for being the spiritual home of Bugatti during its pre-war glory days; if Brighouse has any claim to
Octane Magazine4 min read
Across Mexico, The Hard Way
The Carrera Panamericana is one of the world’s greatest roadgoing adventures. Today it’s held in commemoration of the original event, which ran from 1950 to 1954 and was widely regarded as the most dangerous road race of all. It was revived in 1986,
Octane Magazine6 min read
Northern Exposure
Where we’re going, we don’t need roads. Or a DeLorean. In fact, the only prerequisites are that your vehicle is in a sound condition and fully fuelled, and that you are confident with changing a tyre or two. Because this is Alaska, somewhere you can
Octane Magazine2 min read
Road To Hanoi Marathon
BY THE TIME the USA withdrew from the Vietnam War in 1973, the Ho Chi Minh Trail had been developed into a 16,000km network of hidden roads that reached far into Laos and Cambodia, crossing some of the most difficult terrain in South-East Asia. A Nor
Octane Magazine2 min read
2023 Le Mans Classic
THE LE MANS CLASSIC has always been a biennial treat, but organiser Peter Auto (with Automobile Club de l’Ouest, which arranges the 24 Hours) decided that 2023 could not pass without a meeting. So, for the first time (not counting the period of the C
Octane Magazine2 min read
Summer In Blighty
‘MOSTLY IT WAS JUST DULL,’ wrote Bill Bryson when describing an English summer in his book The Lost Continent. ‘It was like living inside Tupperware.’ True enough, the arrival of summertime in this country doesn’t exactly guarantee the arrival of fin
Octane Magazine2 min read
On The Continent
THANKS TO BREXIT, mainland Europe no longer feels quite as close as it used to, but in the coming months there will be no shortage of reasons to brave the ‘All other passports’ queue and venture across the Channel. The Le Mans Classic (see page 148)
Octane Magazine2 min read
Across The Pond
THIS YEAR, three UK-based rally operators will lead crews across the USA. Bespoke Rallies has plotted a route from Charleston all the way to Pebble Beach; crews travelling with HERO will drive from Houston up to the Canadian border and then down to S
Octane Magazine3 min read
As Excited As A Schoolboy
SUPPORTED BY THERE’S NOTHING QUITE as satisfying as when you finally get to drive your fully restored car for the first time. This is a good thing, because restorations always take longer than expected and contain a muddled mix of frustration and joy
Octane Magazine2 min read
Slots Of Improvement
EXCITED AS I was to have the loan of the Nash from superstar owner Simon Blakeney-Edwards (edwardsmotorsport.co.uk), early drives on back-roads proved a bit more exciting than I had anticipated. The car would dart around on a whim at the merest sniff
Octane Magazine2 min read
New Forest, New Tyres
ALLOW ME TO introduce you to my new car. The eagle-eyed among you may think you recognise it from previous reports, but you’re wrong. You see, the car you read about previously was twitchy and its steering felt as though it was being directed by radi
Octane Magazine2 min read
The Doors Of Perfection
SUPPORTED BY DOORS MAY NOT be one of the sexiest parts of a restoration but they need more care to get right than some other areas and can be complicated. The Mustang Fastback has frameless side windows and the way the doors and side glass mechanisms
Octane Magazine2 min read
Wet Yet Wonderful
SUPPORTED BY WHAT BETTER EXCUSE to give the Integra a run than a drive to Thruxton to try out its latest Type R relative (see page 172)? I woke up to glorious sunshine, and figured that a 250-mile round-trip to blow the cobwebs away would do the car
Octane Magazine3 min read
When Short Is Sweet
IT’S NOT OFTEN that being a tall person is a disadvantage – it comes in very handy at gigs, for example – but today is one of those days. I’ve been looking forward to driving a selection of Jaguar Classic’s fabulous models from its Continuation and R
Octane Magazine2 min read
Open Up And Say ‘R’
OF ALL THE sports cars on-sale in 2023, the sublime Alpine A110 is arguably the most aligned with Octane. Latest to join the range is the £89,990 A110 R. Lighter, sharper and faster through the corners, its unflinching track focus turns the dial (and
Octane Magazine3 min read
Just My Type
THIS IS BEING said a lot of late, but here we are again driving a genuine end-of-an-era car. At least for Europe, this latest FL5-generation Civic Type R will be Honda’s last purely petrol-powered car. Although the rest of the range is already a mix
Octane Magazine2 min read
The MX-5 of SUVs?
IN THE PROCESS of extending its range of SUVs, Mazda is laying foundations for its quest to stretch the marque further upmarket. Priced from around £43,000, the CX-60 sits on a new platform that will also underpin a range of rear-wheel-drive saloons.
Octane Magazine4 min read
Jeff Beck
‘I EVEN SPOKE to George Lucas, but we couldn’t agree on a price. So in the end I decided to build my own.’ It’s 1985 and Jeff Beck, guitar legend, is talking to a trio of twenty-something men, including myself, at his Elizabethan home in Wadhurst, Ea
Octane Magazine3 min read
Dexion
AT 11.23 and 55 seconds local time on Wednesday 12 August 1953, the Greek island of Kefalonia was struck by a devastating 7.2 magnitude earthquake that raised the island out of the Ionian Sea by 60cm. Virtually every building was flattened, 600 peopl
Octane Magazine3 min read
Buyers, Bag A Bargain!
THE SKY IS FALLING! Royal Oak, Daytona and Nautilus values have all dropped 30% from this time last year – whatever will we do? Of course, if you piled in at the top of the market and paid £160,000 for your Nautilus in March last year, you’ll be winc
Octane Magazine2 min read
Omega Speedmaster MkIII 176.002 (280)
SPEEDIES HAVE HARDLY been out of the news since Omega and Swatch teamed up to launch the MoonSwatch (or ‘Swatch X Omega’ if you prefer). There are probably now more variations on the original cal.321-powered Speedmaster that started out in 1957 than
Octane Magazine2 min read
Gear
‘Ambrose seems to think of only two things: that silly old car, and the other thing.’ ‘What other thing? Oh. No, my husband only thinks about the car.’ If there’s a better Sunday-afternoon watch than Genevieve, we’re yet to encounter it. The tale of
Octane Magazine2 min read
New Watches
As Reservoir’s CEO and designer François Moreau idly blipped his throttle at the lights, his tacho needle reminded him of a vintage hi-fi’s analogue VU meter. Pairing up with movement maker La Joux Perret, Moreau and his team took the idea and came u
Octane Magazine2 min read
Driven to Crime: True Stories of Wrongdoing in Motor Racing
Remember the name Jack Cottle? No? He was the young lad who gatecrashed a VW ‘silhouette Beetle’ race at Brands Hatch in 2014, driving his girlfriend’s new Polo, and completed a full lap while competitors veered either side of him. He was jailed for
Octane Magazine1 min read
Jackie Ickx: His Authorised Competition History
We call Tom Kristensen ‘Mr Le Mans’. He has won the 24-hours nine times, after all – three more than former record holder Jacky Ickx, on six. But it’s fair to say that the Belgian’s race career has been more varied than the Dane’s. He started on moto
Octane Magazine2 min read
The Complete Register of Jaguar C-types, D-types & Lightweight E-types
While there have been dozens if not hundreds of books written about Jaguar, this one deserves a place in any serious enthusiast’s collection. It does exactly what it says on the metaphorical tin: provides an in-depth description of every factory C-ty
Octane Magazine2 min read
1954 Buick Skylark
By Automodello Price $249.95 Material Resincast If ever a car epitomised America’s optimistic view of a post-war future, it was the ’54 Skylark. Powered by a 200bhp V8, and equipped with power everything – seats, windows, steering, radio antenna and,
Octane Magazine1 min read
Rita Pavone’s Jaguar E-type
Italian singer and actress Rita Pavone shot to fame as a teenager in 1963 with a song called La Partita de Pallone, about a girl who gets left behind at the weekend while her partner goes to watch football. Fame and wealth allowed her to indulge in a
Octane Magazine2 min read
1912 Simplex Torpedo Tourer
27 January The list of this car’s previous owners reads like a Who’s Who of wealthy individuals, important collectors, sportsmen and sportswomen. An impressively large motor car, this 1912 Simplex Five-Passenger Torpedo Tourer was bodied by JM Quimbl
Octane Magazine2 min read
Auction Tracker Alfa Romeo 8c Competizione And Spider
Alfa Romeo’s £111,000 8C Competizione was an instant hit at the Paris Motor Show in 2006, and within weeks over 1200 orders had been placed for the run of 500 cars. The £174,000 Spider followed two years later, again limited to 500 examples and power
Octane Magazine2 min read
Small But Perfectly Formed
NOT ONLY ARE all 31 of the Ferrari 250 MM racing cars built beautiful, but each also has its own fascinating story to tell. This glorious two-tone example is 0274 MM, one of 12 bodied by Vignale in the later Series 2 style and one of three with stagg
Octane Magazine2 min read
Quick Glance
Broad Arrow Auctions, Amelia Island, USA 3-4 March, broadarrowauctions.com This lesser-spotted French sports car, traditionally powered by the same PRV V6 engine found in the Alpine GTA, is a real hidden gem. This is one of three Italian-market cars
Octane Magazine1 min readIndustries
Also Look Out For…
You’re right, the Atari 2600 game sealed in that acrylic case has been crushed. It won’t work. But then many people would tell you that E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial was more or less unplayable, anyway. Released in 1982, E.T. is often cited as the worst
Octane Magazine2 min read
2000 Aston Martin Vantage V600
IF THE SIGHT of those two hungry air intakes on the ‘nostril’ front grille doesn’t give the game away, a quick peek under the bonnet would confirm that the Aston Martin V8 Vantage Le Mans is an air-chugging monster. Launched in 1999 to celebrate the
Octane Magazine3 min read
De Tomaso Longchamp
WITH ONLY 410 built during a remarkably long run from 1972 to 1989, the De Tomaso Longchamp was always a niche proposition. This often overlooked four-seater GT might have been the Pantera’s slightly more sensible sibling, and a slightly less pretty
Octane Magazine4 min read
Dave Withers
PERHAPS SURPRISINGLY, I’d no previous experience of the automotive industry before landing the role of CEO for StarterMotor. I’d had a career in music, video and publishing, initially working for one of EMI’s labels – but their gospel and Christian m

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