Table of contents for November 2017 in Octane

AS I WRITE THIS, rain is tipping down and the sky is dark. But what a summer it’s been. And what a month in particular, book-ended for me by a trip to the USA for Monterey Car Week and the (sodden) Goodwood Revival. Talking about Monterey makes me sound like a show-off, but nowhere else provides such immersion in car culture. Yes, it’s packed with events that star the greatest cars in the world – where else except Pebble Beach would you find Gene Winfield’s Reactor, plus a special Ferrari class and rarities such as Peter Neumark’s Pinin Farina Jaguar XK120 and the Abarth 1000 Record Prototype? But it’s the people too. Amazing enough to bump into Octane regulars Derek Bell and Jay Leno, but then there were Sir Jackie…

‘FOUR YEARS AGO I bought TVR. How hard could it be? On day two I found out. We held on tight to everything that went before but developed a brand new car, facing a lack of finance and development time. We needed aerodynamics, and we knew a man who could do that. We needed a bombproof engine, and we knew who could do that. This car represents a triumvirate of British names: TVR, Gordon Murray Design and Cosworth. The journey since has taken all our waking hours. ‘The most difficult aspect was to define what TVR means. Physical traits. An awful lot of emotion. Big Brit spirit. It’s rebellious. Shorter than a 911; you can drive it on British B-roads. Then we added tech, though not electronics but the ground-effect…

AS OCTANE WENT to press it was announced that, from May next year, there will be a rolling exemption from the MoT for vehicles over 40 years old. This brings them into line with pre-1960 vehicles, and means that exemption from MoT and road tax will be synchronised. The legislation is going through despite a majority of respondents to the Government’s proposal opposing it. An estimated 293,000 vehicles will be newly exempt from May, with the number growing each year thereafter. Justifications include claims that cars of this age are usually kept in good condition, they are used relatively sparingly, the modern MoT is no longer suitable for cars over 40 years old, and garages can’t test them adequately. There are clear issues with these assertions.…

ONE OF THE unlikeliest racers in a field full of mongrels is Shaun Rainford’s 1956 ‘bathtub’ Metropolitan, built for Goodwood Revival in the spirit of the HRDC formula of ‘organised mayhem in district-nurse tackle’. It was born from a well-lubed conversation with HRDC founder Julius Thurgood about the most inappropriate racing car. Rainford’s CCK operation – which has also fielded a Volga, after all – was up to the challenge. A donor car was found at an auction in Kent, £1200 paid, and the build began. So, picking a car with a joke silhouette is a good start. How do you make it go fast? Start with an MGB engine. HRDC/St Mary’s spec allows a 25% increase in capacity, so instead of the standard 1489cc B-series it runs an 1860…

AMUSINGLY, EVEN THE new entry-level model for the rapidly expanding Mercedes-AMG GT range, the GT Coupé, still packs a biturbo V8 punch of 469bhp to its wide rear tyres. And as part of the new model-year updates, that GT looks more the part than ever thanks to the deliciously toothy ‘Panamericana’ grille, as debuted on the mighty GT R variant (and the GT3 racer proper before that). In short, you can’t dismiss the ‘baby’ of the range – but neither is it the star. So, what is? Read on… We’re certain that Porsche is sitting up and taking notice. The AMG GT range has slowly expanded to take the fight to the mind-bogglingly wide 911 line-up, with two Roadster variants and four coupés so far. A Black Series special is…

‘AFTER LE MANS IN 1955 we felt good, but we didn’t celebrate because of the accident. In ’56 we had a few beers, having beaten Moss and Collins in the Aston Martin into second place. But in ’57, when we came first and second, David Murray was so pleased that he laid on a wonderful dinner in one of the hotels in Le Mans. It was fantastic.’ In his soft Aussie drawl, Ron Gaudion is recalling his time as a pit mechanic at Le Mans with, firstly, Jaguar in 1955, and then with the Ecurie Ecosse team in 1956 and ’57. Ron who? Chances are you will never have heard of him, but this dyed-in-the-wool Australian was the first employee taken on by Jaguar to build the production D-types, and…

Last year, when the Concours was held at Windsor Castle, I was invited by Bentley to judge post-1965 examples entered by members of the Bentley Drivers’ Club. One of my fellow judges was the male model and petrolhead, David Gandy. I couldn’t resist asking him whether, given his profession, he actually had a ‘skin care’ programme. ‘Nah, I can’t be bothered with all that; I just give it a quick rinse in soap and water’ was his (literally) refreshing reply. I suspect that Merle Mullin, pictured left in the hat, takes rather better care of herself. But the wife of US car collector and board chairman of the Petersen Museum, Peter Mullin, is far from being just a pretty face. Merle, who majored in Art and English Lit when she…

The turbocharged engine nestling beneath the rear clamshell idles with the kind of aggression that’s characteristic only of the most exceptional high-performance machines. And thus the enormity of what I’m about to undertake begins to dawn. The hairs on my arms tingle with anticipation. It’s 25 years since Group B machinery was banished from FIA-sanctioned International competition, but mention the era to any motor sport fanatic and it will raise a rueful smile. Ford’s most ferocious rally car of all, the RS200, was created for the fabled Group B era, when mid-engined spaceframed monsters ruled the sport. Group B cars were prototypes built for purpose and not as ‘halo’ versions of road cars; in order for a car to be homologated and eligible to compete, 200 examples had to be…

‘ESCAPE THE EVERYDAY’ declares the publicity for Carmel Valley’s Quail Lodge and Golf Club. And for one day in August, even this rarefied location escapes its usual raison d’être to host a garden party themed around exclusive cars and exquisite food. This year, Octane joins selected guests who are being treated to a guided tour by Sir Jackie Stewart. Surveying a group of beautiful Jaguars, he tells us: ‘The E-type almost destroyed all the great coachbuilders. It cost £1800 and looked so perfect. It was a supercar. Before I became a racing driver I was trapshooting for Great Britian. I went on honeymoon to the German Grand Prix in an E-type.’ It’s a car that clearly means a lot to the three-time F1 champ. More tales follow. ‘Porsche asked me…

THE SATURDAY OF Monterey Car Week is often the most hectic, being sandwiched between The Quail (Friday) and Pebble Beach (Sunday). So you might spend early morning up at the track, call in at Concours d’Lemons, then take in Concorso Italiano in the afternoon, keeping the evening free for the RM Auction. Here you’ll find another golf course (Black Horse, just off Highway 1) bestrewn with desirable cars, in much bigger numbers (nearly 1000) than at Quail or Pebble but perhaps a league below in collectability. So there’s a fairway stuffed with recent Ferraris, plus De Tomaso Panteras, Miuras and Countachs, Maseratis, Alfas and Lancias galore. And one Pegaso, clearly an honorary entrant. Oh, and a gaggle of Pininfarina-built Cadillac Allantes. Octane’s eye is caught by the sight of Valentino…

AFTER A WEEK in California with this Jeep Wrangler, a photographer says to me: ‘Man, what I’d really love is one of those Land Rover Defenders. They say they’re gonna make a new one, but it just won’t be the same.’ And here I am in that icon of the US, the Jeep that goes right back to the first vehicle to bear that name. They still make it. And it pretty much is the same. As Octane’s wheels for the Monterey Car Week and a trek to Half Moon Bay for a Ferrari event (see pages 144-148), the Jeep is ideal. They seem to be everywhere, particularly among the surfing set who make full use of the Jeep’s off-roading prowess to get to out-of-the-way beaches for the best waves.…

‘HE FAMOUSLY PLACED FOURTH IN THE 1925 ITALIAN GRAND PRIX WITH ONLY A SINGLE GEAR REMAINING’ IT’S BEEN A GOOD YEAR for Indy stories. It usually is when a top Formula 1 driver such as Fernando Alonso tries the 500 Miles, especially if he finds he likes ‘only turning left’. Lots of ensuing ‘Best Indycar Drivers Ever’ articles have mentioned the first two-time winner, Tommy Milton. But despite his contributions to open-wheel American motor sport, both in and out of the cockpit and over decades, even the most extensive profiles rarely follow Milton’s life in full: the ending doesn’t fit the traditional hero-driver narrative. Tommy Milton, you see, made the mistake of committing suicide. Any assumptions of character weakness, however, would be rubbish. Thomas Willard Milton was born in 1893…

A SKYLINE OF aircraft is the first sight of Speyer Technical Museum, not far from Hockenheim and Heidelberg. There are jet fighters and airliners in spectacular climb mode and others on lofty perches. Staircases allow the visitor to enter many of them. Take a mat with you and you can return to the ground from most of them using helterskelters. This is a museum with a difference. The foyer houses varying exhibitions and offers tickets for the IMAX Dome 3D cinema, with 65x85ft screens and 22,000 watts of sound. You might welcome that as a rest for tired legs after a couple of hours. Into the museum proper and your breath will be taken away by the sheer scale of the place. Aircraft hang from the ceiling everywhere, from a…

LEGO LONDON BUS Mercifully easier to store than a real Routemaster, Lego’s big red bus, made (eventually) from 1686 pieces, is an absolute delight. It’s the little details that make it: a worn-look interior, swappable advertising sidings, destination boards for places like ‘Brickadilly Circus’, and accessories including discarded chewing gum. £109.99. lego.com GRAHAM SILVERSTONE RS GMT Ever since he founded Graham, petrolhead Eric Loth has been able to mix business and pleasure in enviable fashion. This year the brand was confirmed as timekeeper and sponsor of the Gurnigel Bergrennen, Switzerland’s oldest race meeting – and this choice Silverstone RS GMT is the event’s official watch. £6480. graham1695.com BRIAN REDMAN-SIGNED ‘RIGHTEOUS RIDES’ PRINT The holy grail for many a Porsche enthusiast, the Gulf-liveried 917K is also an artist’s dream. This limited-edition…

JAGUAR D TYPE XKD 510 has led a dangerous life. The tenth of 54 ‘production’ examples built for private buyers and teams, it left the factory on 24 September 1955 and via Coombs of Guildford it was bought by a Dr Richard Wilkins. Ferrari-fancier Wilkins off-loaded it 250 miles later to 1953 Le Mans-winner Duncan Hamilton’s racing team. In March 1956 Graham Whitehead took XKD 510 to fifth at the Dakar Grand Prix in Senegal, and in April Hamilton entered it for the Goodwood Easter meeting, Tony Dennis driving. This ended in disaster, Dennis shifting from top to first at 100mph and somersaulting to his death. Hamilton sold the wreck to Gerald Ashmore, who rebuilt it in a new monocoque, painted it maroon and raced it a lot. Neville Taylor…

THE CHOICE OF a team logo was apposite. A cloaked figure in silhouette perfectly encapsulated the mystery surrounding Shadow team founder Don Nichols, a man whose past was once the subject of conjecture in the Formula 1 pitlane. There were rumours that he had performed missions behind enemy lines during the Korean War, having stayed behind to destroy equipment as North Korean soldiers descended on Seoul. Some gossip-mongers insisted that he was an ex-CIA spook who ran covert special operations during the Vietnam War. By all accounts – and accounts are not hard to come by – Nichols enjoyed the notoriety. As to the veracity of his wartime and espionage record, we will never know. He died on 21 August aged 92, taking his secrets with him to the grave.…

HOW DO YOU celebrate reaching your 70th birthday? That’s simple – you invite your closest friends to your home for a great big party. This is what Ferrari did on at its famous Fiorano test track, just down the road from the firm’s factory in Maranello. The anniversary festivities kicked off with a rally, around 900 cars descending on Ferrari’s home from starting points in different European capitals, including London, Geneva, Frankfurt and Prague. One highlight was a drama evening, with cars and actors taking to the stage for a play depicting how Enzo Ferrari realised his dream of taking the fight to the motor sport elite with cars bearing his surname. Just to underline the importance of the gathering, the likes of Piero Ferrari and Sergio Marchionne were front…

30 September – 1 October Prescott American Autumn Classic Action on the hill, a ‘show ’n’ shine’, a wall of death, and more hot rods and Yank tanks than you can count: this is as good as American car shows get on this side of the pond. prescott-hillclimb.com 5 October Octane Track Day Before Mother Nature declares the British racing season well and truly over for another year, we decamp to West Sussex to enjoy Goodwood circuit one more time. If you’d like to join us, places can be booked online. octanetrackday.eventbrite.com 5-8 October Malta Classic Combining the Mdina Grand Prix, the Mdina Concours d’Elegance and the Mellieħa Hill Climb, the Malta Classic offers more than enough to make the flight worthwhile, with locals turning out en masse to watch…

A 1962 CORVETTE in the new car pages? Don’t worry, we haven’t gone mad. This is the latest offering from Superformance, the company that brought you the Pete Brock-approved Cobra Daytona Coupe replica. Zora Arkus-Duntov isn’t around to sanction this one, but GM has licensed its production. Duntov, the engineer behind the ’Vette, originally planned a run of 125 cars, set to dominate the international road racing community, and the Grand Sport qualified as a GT production car – but only five had been built before GM executives pulled the plug and ordered their destruction. All five survived, but try prising one from the hands of its collector owner. Which is where Superformance comes in. The cars are sold as TKM: ‘turn-key minus engine/transmission’. But Superformance is on hand to…

I WAS ECSTATIC to see the Gone but not forgotten article in Octane 169 about Jimmy Murphy of Duesenberg fame. Jimmy was my great grandmother’s nephew, and his father was Captain Murphy of Curracloe Beach, Co Wexford, Ireland: a beautiful part of the country and the location that was used for filming the Normandy Landing scenes of Saving Private Ryan. Captain Murphy was a merchant trader, with his own tall ship; an oil painting of him hangs in my home. He and his wife were lost in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake; among other Murphy family items I have a picture of the Captain taken in San Francisco before that disaster – on the reverse it states that the photographer’s establishment was the only building in the city to have…

IT WASN’T ONLY the Le Mans D-types that featured in the Concours of Elegance at Hampton Court Palace. Held in the formal gardens along the Broad Walk in the lee of the palace, the event saw 65 of the world’s most beautiful motor cars gathered in late-summer sunshine for a long weekend in equally beautiful surroundings. Concours patron, HRH Prince Michael of Kent, led the elegant proceedings with enthusiasm. On Friday, Owners’ Day, the motor cars roared in for the ‘Grand Arrival’ at the podium next to the fountain, where they were welcomed by Prince Michael and organiser Jeremy Jackson Sytner. With the concours cars parked up for display in the gardens, the owners then enjoyed a Champagne reception followed by lunch. They then spent the afternoon admiring the cars…

It’s 1971. You are 20 years old, hotter than a Hottentot behind the wheel, and you have managed to wangle yourself a drive in the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps. It’s just before three o’clock on 24 July; as T-Rex’s Get It On blasts from the PA, the grid is stalked by girls in their fashionably long black boots, hot pants or bellbottoms. Heavy clouds move lazily overhead. If it’s not raining at Spa, it will be soon. Drivers squeeze their bouffant hair and, where applicable, box-hedge sideburns into helmets, and the 60 entrants move slowly and noisily off the old Eau Rouge grid and down that famous hill for the warm-up. Screaming Alfa Romeo GTs, growling BMW 2800CSs, Ford Capris, Escorts, a rumbling Mustang; there’s a couple of ear-splitting and…

Bruce McCaw might never have won Best of Show at this year’s Pebble Beach Concours if he hadn’t come across a photograph showing the original rear end of his 1929 Mercedes-Benz 36/220, first owned by racing driver Earl Howe. The car had, after all, already been at Pebble Beach in 2012, in the unrestored class. ‘I’d had the car for five years,’ he told me, ‘and for a long time I didn’t want to restore it. But once I saw that picture of its long-gone boat tail I just knew I had to restore it as close as possible to what it had looked like when new.’ In Bruce’s case, that meant as near to perfection as humanly possible. ‘Otherwise,’ he says, ‘I wouldn’t have done it.’ The first owner…

AS IF THE EVENTS you’ve just been reading about weren’t enough, here’s a further taste of what you missed if you weren’t there. Monterey Car Week kicks off properly on the Tuesday before the big weekend with Concours on the Avenue at beautiful Carmel-by-the-Sea. It’s a parade of fabulous cars on the town’s picturesque streets – with no admission charge. Later that same afternoon there’s the Classic Motorsports Kick-off Car Show and Cruise in Pacific Grove, though the timing means it doesn’t quite live up to its name. Ever seen a classic car being blessed by a priest? No? Then clearly you weren’t at the Carmel Mission Classic on the Wednesday. And if small cars are your thing, you needed to head for Pacific Grove’s Little Car Show, where tiny…

‘HIS MOTHER PAID THE GAMBLING DEBTS HE HAD BUILT UP AT THE CASINOS IN LE TOUQUET ’ THE MOST FAMOUS car showroom in the world, located on one of the most famous squares in London, is celebrating its 90th anniversary this year. Jack Barclay of Berkeley Square has seen more royalty and rock stars grace its ornate double doors in Mayfair than any other, and it all started nine decades ago when Jack Barclay decided to go into the motor trade. Donald Jack ‘the lad’ Barclay was born in 1900, into a world where motoring was the epitome of high technology. Motor vehicles were the playthings of the rich and famous and Jack wanted some of the action. After leaving the Royal Flying Corps at the end of World War…

Alan Mann Racing: F3L/P68 ED HEUVINK, McKlein, €79.90, ISBN 978 3 927458 97 0 Alan Mann’s time as a team principal was a short one, but he helped to midwife Ford’s Total Performance programme during the 1960s. He also oversaw Carroll Shelby’s activities in Europe, even if his contributions have latterly been airbrushed out of history. The subject of this book, however, was in terms of results a rare blot on the blunt-speaking Briton’s otherwise impressive resumé, but an undeniably beautiful one in any of its various guises. Don’t approach this book expecting a blow-by-blow account of these shapeliest of Fords in forensic detail. The first four chapters are given over to Alan Mann Racing’s life and times and the Cosworth DFV’s back story. Several pages are also devoted to…

1:24 scale 1. 1937 Delage D8-120S By Automodello Price $299.95 Material Premium resincast For some cars, it’s all about the shape, and the Georges Paulinstyled, Pourtout-bodied Delage D8-120S is a prime example. This Art Deco masterpiece was exhibited at the 1937 Paris Salon, and enjoyed further acclaim in 2005 when it won Best of Show at Pebble Beach, in the hands of owners Sam and Emily Mann. Automodello’s superb replica is also all about the shape – there are no opening panels – and depicts the car in its restored colour of silver (it was ordered new in pastel blue). As much a piece of sculpture as a model car, it can be ordered from www.automodello.com. 1:43 scale 2. 1964 Herda-Cagle Special By Dwindle Price £218.75 Material Resin handbuilt Lovely…

‘THAT COLLECTIVE SIGH OF RELIEF YOU HEAR IS FROM THOSE WHO MADE IT THROUGH WHAT WAS LOOKING LIKE A DIFFICULT AUGUST’ DEPENDING ON WHO you talk to, final sales results, including all after-sales for the Monterey week, settle out at $327.5 million to $329 million. In fairness, there will probably be a few more sales put together after the reporting ends, so let’s come closer to the higher number and call Monterey a $329 million sales fest. This big number puts us on a par with 2016, but with one more auction company in the mix. After talking to principals and staff of auction firms, I’m sure everyone would agree that it took more work to get the high numbers this year than in 2016. In short, better than expected…

THERE WILL be no shortage of exotica at the RM Sotheby’s Hershey auction, but few cars are likely to attract as much attention as this 1933 Pierce-Arrow ‘Silver Arrow’ with a history as interesting as its streamlined bodywork. The very first Silver Arrow made – and one of only three surviving – it starred on the Pierce-Arrow stands at both the New York and Boston auto shows, where it is said to have caused a sensation with its sweeping roof line, flush-fit doorhandles, pinched rear end and triangular back windows, which make even those of a Range Rover Evoque seem expansive. Other neat touches include spare wheels concealed behind doors in the front wings, chic pinstripe upholstery, and gorgeous, Art Deco-inspired lights and dashboard instruments. The Arrow was the work…

AND SO IT’S HERE at last. TVR, under the passionate leadership of British enthusiast Les Edgar since the marque was wrested from Nikolai Smolenski in 2013, is back with a bang. And a highly credible sports car. It moves on TVR’s tradition of brutal V8 power and the promise of a visceral driving experience by drawing on the sophisticated engineering ideas of none other than Gordon Murray, the man who brought the world the McLaren F1. The new TVR Griffith starred in the Earls Court Motor Show display at Goodwood Revival, with a press call first thing in the morning on the opening day of the event. It was unveiled close to the first TVR ever built, back in 1948, and received with rapturous applause, even if some might have…

JAGUAR HAS ANNOUNCED that by 2020 it will offer an electric or hybrid variant of every model it makes. It has gone a step further by announcing an electric version of the E-type – and the powertrain could underpin more from the back catalogue. Could this be the most beautiful electric car in the world? The Zero is based on a 1968 Series 1.5 E-type Roadster, and appears outwardly identical. Inside are a carbonfibre facia with touchscreen and TFT dials that ape the graphics of E-type instruments. Bigger differences are underneath. And there’s genius in the packaging. Put together by Jaguar Land Rover’s new Classic Works in Warwickshire, the Zero is powered by a 40kWh lithium-ion battery pack that has similar dimensions and weight to the outgoing XK engine, in…

 in association with…

THE ARTS & ELEGANCE concours held in the grounds of the magnificent Chantilly château saw a 1936 Bugatti 57SC Atlantic steal the headlines, but it wasn’t the only car to slacken jaws. In this, the event’s fourth year, organiser Peter Auto opted for a pre-and post-war Best of Show in the Concours d’Etat, a secret kept until the prize-giving. The Bugatti belonging to Peter Mullin and Robson Walton – a former Pebble Beach-winning car – was garlanded, but the decision to reward Sir Michael Kadoorie’s glorious Le Mans-winning Ferrari 250 TR58 was received just as warmly by all present. Ferraris featured strongly in the marque’s 70th year, with the ex-Hill/Gendebien TR58 being judged complete with splatters of mud from the previous day’s road rally. Other Ferraris included Jean Guikas’s 1964…

AFTER A MIXED reception for the smaller Lexus RC coupé in 2014, there’s a lot riding on this all-new LC. Not least is the pride of this upmarket Toyota badge, which has been continually traduced for being boring by Akio Toyoda, Toyota’s chief executive. There’s also the fact that this steel, carbonfibre and aluminium chassis platform will also underpin next year’s new LS saloon and all future big, rear-drive Lexus cars. So the 4.8m-long, 2+2 GT has been given the startling look of the 2012 LC-LF concept, while the cabin borrows from the style set by the LFA supercar, its facia dominated by horizontal lines and slightly reminiscent of 1970s US luxury cars. Material choice is fabulous, with soft leathers and satin metals, but the centre-screen is too small and…

‘Mingling with the car owners drinking coffee is legendary test driver Norman Dewis’ For drivers approaching the A5/A43 Towcester roundabout in Northamptonshire, not far from Silverstone, it must have been an unforgettable sight. And the sound must have been equally memorable. Five Jaguar D-types, blasting away from the roundabout and onto the dual carriageway. Genuine race cars on the road. But only the true cognoscente – or, if you prefer, D-type anorak – will have recognised the significance of those cars. Between them, these five account for all four of the long-nose D-types still in Europe today; all three of the Ecurie Ecosse long-nose cars; and the Ds that finished one-two-three at Le Mans in 1957. It’s to celebrate that final, stunning achievement in 1957 that we’re making a D-type…

It’s not every day day you meet a character who played a starring role in the history of Ferrari. Brenda Vernor (left, with me) was personal assistant to Enzo himself from 1978 until his death in 1988, and continued working for his son Piero after that. She was a very important guest at the Concours of Elegance, and it was my honour to interview her on the main stage during the first day of the event. ‘I went to Bologna as an au pair in the early 1960s, then moved to Modena and started teaching English to Piero Ferrari,’ Brenda told me. ‘[Ferrari development driver] Mike Parkes lived in the same flats and was looking for a secretary. That’s how I met Enzo. I was the only woman in the…

IT’S TOO EASY to dismiss the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance as an event that’s dominated by Duesenbergs and other massive American cars of the Grand Classic era. But there’s always a surprise in store, ever since the Preservation Class first stunned the crowds with unrestored relics in 2001. This year it was American Dream Cars of the 1960s, those flights of fancy that predicted a future that would never come to pass. Few were more exciting in their day than custom car supremo Gene Winfield’s Reactor, with its electrically retracting canopy, a car so futuristic (and so blatantly un-precognitive) that it even starred in Star Trek and Batman. ‘Eartha Kitt drove it as Catwoman,’ says Winfield. ‘She was so short, we had to put a cushion behind her.’ Other wacky…

FOR ONE DAY of the year Pacers, Gremlins, Pintos and the most motley crew of car owners gather for a day of public humiliation. Today I am a judge, and the lawn is filled with more than 100 cars. All of them are awesome in their awfulness. With white gloves on, I join Eric – the owner of a high-end Bugatti restoration facility – with responsibility for the Italian car class. Of course, this consists of only three cars… A 1981 Alfa Romeo GTV6 with a sun-powered pizza oven, a three-wheeled Vespa coffee dispensary, and a 1984 Pininfarina Azzurra (they swear it’s not a Fiat Spider) driven all the way from Texas. Being the good judges we are, and completely open to bribes, we carefully inspect every vehicle in our…

‘TO BEND AND TWIST THE SHEET OF OAK, JONNY USES A HOME-MADE STEAMING CABINET’ BEING ASKED TO PRESENT a trophy at The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering – the hottest ticket of the Monterey Car Week – is a real honour. You can’t just pop into your local fancy goods store and pick up something made in China out of chrome-plated plastic. So when Octane was again invited to present the Editor’s Choice award at The Quail this year, as we’ve done every year since 2013, we commissioned Warwickshire-based artist Jonny Ambrose to make something worthy. Besides being an artist, Jonny is a proper petrolhead, whose classic fleet includes a JPS Lotus Europa (you can see it behind him in the picture, left). But don’t get the idea that Jonny is…

PEBBLE BEACH WAS different this year. Of course auction records were set, and of note was a new benchmark price for a Porsche at auction. But there were nowhere near as many records as in recent years. Aside from the truly singular cars – the machines that can be measured only against themselves – many cars were trading at price levels similar to those of two to three years ago. Likewise, turnover was down, and the seasonal positioning that has traditionally taken place prior to the US August auctions in boom years was absent. There was, however, an element of positioning following the auctions. That’s not to be despondent, but instead points to a broad and mature acceptance that values simply don’t rise all the time. Cars, lest anybody forget,…

SOME OF THE BEST civilian utility vehicles were born from no-nonsense machines originally intended for military use. This very un-camouflaged Volkswagen Type 181 can trace its roots back to the Type 82 Kubelwagen penned by Ferdinand Porsche and supplied to the German Army during World War Two. The Type 181, however, was actually a new design created in the early 1960s to answer a call from the then-lucrative Mexican market for a vehicle that could handle rough terrain better than a Beetle. It shared various mechanical components with both the Beetle and the Microbus, but featured the Mk1 Karmann Ghia platform and a raised ride height. The interior was sparse and utilitarian, the windscreen folded flat and the top was removable, to create a car positioned somewhere between a Willys…

IF TODAY’S traffic-clogged roads are driving you ape, perhaps it’s time you got up to a bit of monkey business – of the Honda variety, that is. The exact origins of the Japanese giant’s original Z100 mini-motorcycle are uncertain, although some say it was the result of a project given to a group of apprentice engineers at the Honda factory. Whatever the real story, it seems that the Z100 first came to the public’s attention in 1961 when the little ’cycles were made available to punters at the newly opened Tama Tech automotive theme park in the Hino suburb of Tokyo, the ungainly posture of adult riders leading to the ‘monkey bike’ moniker. That original model, which remained in production until 1967, combined the bulletproof 50cc four-stroke engine and three-speed,…