Octane June 2018

FOR HOW MANY years have we all been predicting that the last of the great barnfinds must already have been discovered, that there surely can’t be any more out there? Yet still they come, a bit less thick and fast perhaps and with varying degrees of actual discovery, and more moody chassis-number clones among the ranks of the genuine. And yet still they come. Many are actually cars or collections that are known about but kept hidden until the time is right – as was the case with the extraordinary Baillon collection – or an owner who just doesn’t want to sell and is fed up with being bothered. For example, however the papers portrayed the unearthing of Dr Harold Carr’s 1937 Bugatti Type 57S Atalante in a Tyneside garage…

bob davy ‘Taking off in a P51 Mustang is like being strapped to a 1500-horsepower, four-ton supermarket trolley going backwards. Everything is trying to veer you off the runway and into the scenery.’ A vastly experienced commercial pilot, Bob explains how mere humans can learn to fly this iconic warbird on PAGES 140 TO 146. Jethro bovingdon ‘Many of us know the Dallara story – he was the engineer behind the Miura, after all – but what’s incredible is that he’s still so involved in every project, from Bugatti Chiron to his company’s IndyCar work. I’ll forever cherish the moments I spent chatting to Giampaolo Dallara about his new road car.’ Read about the Stradale on PAGES 116 TO 122. Mark dixon ‘I’m a huge Land Rover enthusiast and I’ve…

A UNIQUE MILLION-POUND Maserati that has been missing for decades has been tracked down to Saudi Arabia after classic car enthusiasts were overheard chatting about their hobby in a Manchester pub. Lifelong fanatic Zak Mather comes from a family already involved in brokerage and restoration and was just starting to market a few classic cars himself when he was on a night out with like-minded friends. After they had been chatting for a while, a Saudi gentleman on a neighbouring table introduced himself and started talking about his own collection that included a couple of Aston Martin DB5s and a DB6 Volante. He then showed Mather a picture of an unusual Maserati on stands, which he looked after but was owned by his brother. It had apparently been given to…

Social climbing Octane is hosting two concours events during major meetings at the fabulous Shelsley Walsh Hill Climb over the summer. The first will be a pre-1985 concours during the Classic Nostalgia weekend on 28-29 July. Eligible cars will be granted a special parking area at Shelsley and winners will be judged by a team from Octane. At Shelsley’s Championship Challenge weekend on 11-12 August, Octane will host a special ‘Youngtimer’ concours for 1980s and 1990s classics and supercars. See www.shelsleywalsh.com. Charity drive The Hope Classic Rally (hopeclassicrally.org) has raised £800,000 for the charity WeSeeHope in only four years, and the exotic convoy ranging from Jaguar XK120 to Ferrari 250GT SWB and Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing sets off from Mercedes-Benz World at Brooklands again on 15-16 June. Enthusiasts donate the use…

WELL OVER 1000 Jim Clark fans joined family members and friends of the Borders legend in Duns on 7-8 April. The ceremony to begin a new phase of works to the Jim Clark Memorial Room coincided with the 50th anniversary of Clark’s death in 1968, marked by a service of remembrance at Chirnside Church where he is buried. Before that, Clark’s sister Isobel waved a chequered flag to close the existing Memorial Room and then took a green starter’s flag to begin work on the £1.6-million extension. Clark’s cousin and Family Trustee Doug Niven spoke to the assembled crowd. ‘I was recently over in Paris when Jim was being inducted into the Hall of Fame by Jean Todt,’ he said. ‘Jim was described as the most revered driver in Formula…

The classic car owner’s greatest friend (after a mobile phone) is surely eBay, the online auction site. Founded in a San Jose bedroom in 1995, its success was so phenomenal that its founder became an instant billionaire when the company was floated just three years later. If you have an old car, eBay is hugely useful for finding parts that years of trawling autojumbles wouldn’t yield. And if you have a real obscurity, like the 1920s Calthorpe tourer owned by this writer a few years ago, the ‘saved search’ function, which emails you when items matching your chosen key words turn up for sale, is an absolute godsend. Often, of course, the result will be something you never knew you needed… such as the (deactivated) WW1 Mills bomb pictured here.…