Octane的June 2017目录

FIRST DRIVES OF the new Bugatti Chiron were hard to come by, with just a handful of journalists worldwide allowed behind the wheel of the 1479bhp hypercar. Octane’s regular contributor and Historic racer Richard Meaden was on the list – and it’s his report that you’ll read on pages 76-84. But what becomes of the outgoing Veyron, we wondered at Octane. That’s a fascinating question, because suddenly it has become a neo-classic in its own right. Will owners stomach the high running costs? Where will values go? Will it even be possible to keep one on the road in the future? We spoke to Bugatti and to independent experts to find out more – you can read about that on pages 90-92. We’ve featured a Veyron on the cover three…

At last, roads can be closed for UK mainland motor sport As we close for press, the Motor Sports Association has announced that, as of now, local authorities can suspend the Road Traffic Act and close roads for motor sport events without requiring an individual Act of Parliament. Thanks to the MSA’s long campaign culminating in the new legislation, which chief executive Rob Jones hails as a ‘seismic shift in UK motor sport’, it is now possible to hold competitive sprints and hillclimbs, stage rallies and races on public roads in Britain, as has long been possible in Northern Ireland and the self-governing islands. ‘Britain is a world leader in the motor sport industry. This will further cement our position and new road races will boost local economies,’ said transport…

To us, the very essence of a Citroën involves suspension riding on oil and air, but the system’s days are numbered as the final C5 nears the end of the road. It has already disappeared from the UK market. Through oleopneumatics came that ability of our favourite full-size Citroëns to slice off bumps and fill in troughs, to somehow slow down every movement of a car’s body yet always keep up with the job. And, on occasion, even to run with a rear wheel missing. There’s a new philosophy at Citroën now, called Advanced Comfort, which is intended to re-stake the company’s comfort claims. Progressive hydraulic bump and rebound stops, low spring rates, seating as snug as a soft bed and super-stiff body structures will all play a part, but…

ONE LUCKY READER and their guest will win a four-night stay at The Grand Folly Hotel during the 2017 Goodwood Festival of Speed (29 June – 2 July) – a prize worth £2500. The Hotel springs up just a mile from Goodwood ahead of the Festival and again ahead of the Revival, offering luxury accommodation in beautiful bell tents, with breakfast and a three-course dinner included. For more information and to enter the competition, which closes at 18:00 on 2 June, visit the hotel’s website. If your name isn’t first out of the hat when the winner is drawn on 5 June, don’t fret, for the hotel is offering all Octane readers 10% off bookings during the 2017 Festival and the 2017 Goodwood Revival. Simply use the reference ‘OctTGFH17’ when…

When our Mark Dixon suggested I write something about car-related Avon cologne bottles (nothing to do with the venerable tyre brand), there was a slumping in my heart. Not those hideous glass actrocities, I thought… For all-round naffness, I’d bundle them into the same category as Matchbox’s 1970s Yesteryear models mounted on onyx ashtrays, or table mats displaying photos of veteran cars outside stately homes. Time to hold my nose. However, when Mark showed me the Avon ‘decanter’ he’d just picked up for a couple of quid, my mindset shifted. The white bottle is shaped like a Champion spark plug and, along with its box, is quite charming despite chubby proportions. I hadn’t seen one before, and I’d like one of my own to bring my automobilia fetish as far…

‘THE CONTINENTAL IS BOTH RAFFISH AND SOLEMN, A COMBINATION I AM WORKING ON REPLICATING MYSELF’ The story of our cars is, to an extent, the story of our lives. Each involves journeys. Mine began in a dusty blue ’65 Cortina with a column change and a bench seat. The oil-pressure light was always blinking, so I obscured it with gaffer tape. Of course, times change. I used to go to Liverpool’s Smithdown Road chippy after school. Now I go to Richard Caring’s Sexy Fish in Mayfair, although not with the same enthusiasm. And outside my house there is a glowering Bentley Continental GT Speed, painted according to my dark grey taste. How is this to be read? ‘To know his cars was to know him,’ the obituary in The Times…

‘I reckon it’s the most undervalued car in the world, even if prices have gone up by 40% in two years’ – Carl Hartley OUR CHIRON CORRESPONDENT who brought you the words on the preceding pages may have experienced a degree of trouble in finding the right ones. I know I would have done, given the other-worldliness of what the Chiron does. But journalists have had this problem before, with the Chiron’s Veyron predecessor. It was probably worse then, because uncharted territory was being entered. This time, we at least have some idea of what to expect from a Chiron encounter, because broadly speaking it’s like a Veyron plus 10% or so in every attribute – including the number that will be built (500, versus 450 Veyrons). That’s fine…

YOU PROBABLY KNOW there’s a tradition of motor sport in the Scottish Borders. Jim Clark, the Border Reivers, Andrew Cowan, Louise Aitken-Walker, Charterhall circuit and so on. Head west into Dumfries and Galloway and you could include Allan McNish, David Coulthard, David Leslie and Innes Ireland. The thing is, it’s all still alive up here. Famous names are familiar names to locals: David Coulthard’s family still runs a haulage company in Twynholm, the Aitken-Walkers have a garage outside Duns, and British Touring Car legend John Cleland is the Volvo dealer in Galashiels. Despite Cleland’s two BTCC titles he’s probably best known for that tumultuous day in ’92 when he, Tim Harvey and Steve Soper had a series of comings-together at Silverstone that ended with Cleland and Soper in the tyre…

DAVID LILLYWHITE Editor • 1971 MGB GT • 1971 Saab 96 • 1973 Citroën SM • 1976 Zip Shadow Kart • 1995 Range Rover 4.6 HSE • 1996 Subaru Prodrive Impreza ROBERT COUCHER International editor • 1937 Bentley 4¼ • 1955 Jaguar XK140 • 1988 Mercedes-Benz 560 SEC MARK DIXON Deputy editor • 1955 Land Rover Series I 107in • 1963 Ford Galaxie Country Sedan • 1964 Chevrolet Greenbrier • 1989/91 Land Rover Discoverys • 2001 Honda Insight SANJAY SEETANAH Advertising director • 1981 BMW 323i Top Cabrio • 1998 Aston Martin DB7 Volante SAMANTHA SNOW Advertising account manager • 1969 Triumph Herald 13/60 Conv • 1989 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Conv GLEN WADDINGTON Associate editor • 1983 Porsche 944 • 1989 BMW 320i Convertible MARK SOMMER Art Director • 1968 Alfa…

IN MY LAST report I was delving into the innards of my Abarth Simca’s rear brake caliper. This was not the customary Girling three-pot variety having, before my ownership, been replaced by a single-pot type fitted to the contemporary Bertone Simca Coupé with which it shared a floorpan and suspension. Rebuild complete, I was mildly surprised to find that it appears to work. I even took a photograph of the assembled caliper but it was far less interesting than the shot of the disassembled mess in my last report, being merely a caliper with a shiny piston in place, so I have spared you the sight of my handiwork. I haven’t yet taken the car for its MoT but I am optimistic. Meanwhile my attention has turned to Abarth seats.…

‘IN 1968, DUCKHAM’S WAS BRITAIN’S THIRD-BIGGEST MOTOR OILS BRAND. TODAY IT’S TOTALLY MORIBUND’ WELL, READERS, I hope you enjoy gazing into the hooded eyes of oil tycoon Alexander Duckham. His image was especially tricky to locate. You know you’re in for a gruelling picture-research ride when a Google Images search gives precisely no results. Requests to Beaulieu’s Motoring Picture Library, the Science Museum, even former Duckhams PR man Gordon Bruce – they all drew a blank. I’d almost given up when the National Aerospace Library unearthed this stuffed-shirt study; the sort of businessman-at-desk image you’d only use as a last resort. Which this actually is. What’s paradoxical about Alex’s elusiveness is how huge the brand he created became. Duckhams, thanks to its Q 20-50 and its gloopy green viscosity, was…

ON A ROAD WELL USED by Brits heading for the Mediterranean, just outside the ancient city of Reims, a long, straight stretch of the D26 arrows through a batch of derelict buildings. In England we would have bulldozed them years ago. Here, in France, they are loved by some as part of their history and loathed by others as a scar on the landscape. These are the remains of the historic circuit of Gueux. First used in 1925, the Circuit de Gueux (better known to us as Reims Circuit) was shaped like a wobbly triangle, mainly straights along public roads, linked by hairpin bends and boasting a long, downhill straight. It was a blindingly fast circuit – Bandini still holds the lap record of 145.3mph, set back in 1958. Stand…

28 April SWVA, Poole, UK 29 April Oldtimer Galerie Toffen, Switzerland 29 April The Finest, Online 30 April Mossgreen, Armadale, Australia 1 May Osenat, Obenheim, France 4-6 May Vicari, Nocona, USA 5 May Stanislas Machoïr Francorchamps, Belgium 5-7 May Collector Car Productions Mississauga, Canada 7 May Essex Classic Car Auctions Tolleshunt Knights, UK 8 May Shannons, Melbourne, Australia 10-11 May H&H, Castle Donington, UK 11-13 May Auctions America, Auburn, USA 13 May Silverstone Auctions Silverstone, UK 13 May Bonhams, Newport Pagnell, UK 16-21 May Mecum, Indianapolis, USA 17 May Brightwells, Leominster, UK 18 May Coys, London, UK 20 May Historics at Brooklands Weybridge, UK 20 May Morris Leslie, Errol, UK 20-21 May Lucky Collector Car Auctions Tacoma, USA 21 May Bonhams, Francorchamps Belgium 22 May Shannons, Sydney, Australia 27 May…

RICHARI HESELTINE ‘Onlookers couldn’t help but pass comment wherever we went, my favourite quote from one of them being: “It has four wheels on this side.” She wasn’t wrong. My day with the mutant military beast called The Centipede was a riot of laugh-out-loud fun.’ Richard braves an eight-wheel-drive hot rod Willys Jeep on pages 148-154 . SIMON IE BURTON ‘Having the chance to ride a Royal Enfield along an unplanned route that varied from tarmac to rock-strewn riverbed served to remind that, in our high-tech, high-speed world, the simple freedom of travelling gently through the wilds on a “proper” motorbike with real character remains difficult to beat.’ Moroccan odyssey: pages 130-134 . MARK IIXON ‘I’ve been writing about old cars full time for nearly three decades, and…

The new City Concours, which takes place in the stunning five-acre grounds of the Honourable Artillery Company headquarters in the heart of London’s Square Mile, will feature 160 stunning cars when it takes place on Thursday 8 June and Friday 9 June. The cars at this all-new event will include groups of Le Mans racers, American muscle cars, modern bespoke creations, supercars old and new, alternative power creations and a display of ‘Swinging Sixties’ cars. There will also be artisan stalls, a watch pavilion, food stalls and Champagne bar. Tickets start at £35 per person. Hospitality, including breakfast and lunch packages, is also available. More details on www.cityconcours.co.uk.…

RACING DRIVER, BRM team manager and past BRDC vice-president Tim Parnell died on 7 April at the age of 84. His father was the legendary Reg Parnell, who took a podium position in his first GP, was an Aston Martin works driver and became its team manager, so Tim was inevitably destined for a career in motor sport. Tim was born in Derby on 25 June 1932. His first race experience was while still a small boy, Reg hiding his son under a blanket to get into Brooklands on just one ticket. Reg didn’t initially want Tim to race, but the bug bit and tall, well-built Tim managed to race his Frazer Nash Le Mans Replica when not working on the family farm. He saved enough to buy a Cooper…

SEEING CARS as art is all the rage, so a leading UK gallerist has organised a show to demonstrate the design evolution of the post-war European sports car. The event, staged by Messum’s Wiltshire, includes a Ferrari 288 GTO and a Lamborghini Miura among eight vehicles. It takes place in the 13th Century Tithe Barn gallery in Tisbury, near Salisbury. One additional car will be shown each week to relate to a series of ‘Voices of the Future’ talks by key industry figures, including Professor Dale Harrow of the Royal College of Art, and Hugo Spowers, owner of Riversimple. Artworks such as sculptor Angela Palmer’s car-parts-inspired wood, bronze, crystal and glass creations fill the spaces between the cars. The show is being curated by Richard Sutton, formerly of the Goodwood…

More and more modern cars contain this miracle weave of carbon strands encased in epoxy resin. Sometimes it’s nonstructural, there to save weight or give the right motor sport-flavoured message. Other times, a hefty carbonfibre moulding forms the structure of the car itself. And sometimes, epically strong as carbonfibre can be despite its extraordinary lightness, it gets damaged. Then what? It used to be said that once damaged, a carbonfibre component had to be thrown away. That would be very bad news for owners of carbonfibre classics-in-waiting. Would new components be available in the future? Would the moulds still exist? The truth is that carbonfibre can be mendable, even around structural hotspots such as suspension mountings. The repair will be visible if the component flaunts its weave, but if it’s…

27-29 April Manx Classic The Isle of Man welcomes a variety of four-and three-wheeled machines for a programme that features a sprint and a pair of hillclimbs manxmotorracing.com 28-30 April VHRA National Finals Members of the Vintage Hot Rod Association will descend on Santa Pod for this new event, ‘running what they brung’ at the home of British drag racing. vhra.co.uk 28-30 April Donington Historic Festival All the qualifying will be done on the Friday this year, meaning the weekend will feature non-stop racing action, with nine decades’ worth of top-notch machinery on the track. Other attractions include sure-to-be-memorable passenger rides in Group B cars. doningtonhistoric.com 29 April Brooklands Auto Italia The spiritual home of British racing is overrun by Italian cars, and a few motorcycles, too. Test Hill will…

‘WHEN I BACKED MY ORANGE MIURA INTO MY YELLOW MIURA, I TOLD NOBODY. YOU DON’T GET ANY SYMPATHY FOR THAT’ Wealthy car collectors are always impressive with their business acumen in buying and selling and trading cars. But when rich guys do something stupid, you rarely hear about it. So I’m here to change that. Certain car stories, when you tell them, get you a great deal of sympathy from people. I know Nick Mason damaged his F1 at the Goodwood circuit. That gets you sympathy. People know Nick is a true car guy and a good racer. But things happen to well-heeled car owners that they never speak of, except to other well-heeled car owners and then only in quiet whispers. When I backed my orange Miura into my…

‘HAVING OWNED A GIULIETTA SPRINT AND A GIULIA SALOON, I ADMIT THE BOXY GIULIA WAS THE BETTER CAR’ Go to any race meeting, from Goodwood in West Sussex, England, to Mount Panorama in Bathurst, Australia, and you’ll notice the spectators and drivers all really enjoying the saloon-car action. ‘Tin tops’, as we call them in the UK, provide some of the most popular racing because they are essentially race-ready road cars that everyone can relate to. They are the sort of cars your grandparents might have driven, ranging from square old Austins to Volvo estates and blaring Rover SD1s. At last month’s 75th Goodwood Members’ Meeting the Gerry Marshall Trophy paddock saw crowds thronging around the SD1s, the Dolomite Sprints and a single BMW 530i. And the car parks were…

The new supercar is named after the Bugatti’s main man as far as its early racing years are concerned. Louis Chiron, born in Monaco in 1899, drove for France’s Maréchal Foch during WW1. After the war he became a ‘dancing partner’ for rich women in Monte Carlo’s Hotel de Paris, and in 1923 he drove his first events in a Brescia Bugatti before moving on to a T35. In 1926 Chiron bought a T35B thanks to sponsorship from pharmaceuticals heir Alfred Hoffman, with whose wife he later eloped. Grand Prix success soon came, with six wins in 1928 and two in 1929, the year he set up the first Monaco GP. Despite six GP wins during 1931 and 1932 with a T51, Hoffman sacked Chiron from his team. Bugatti itself,…

BEING THE FASTEST, most advanced and most expensive production car in the world is nothing new. OK, so the Chiron, at £2.5m and with 1479bhp (it sounds better in metric-speak, at 1500PS), blows the old Veyron into the weeds: 1001bhp. Pah. Or a tiddly 987bhp. But although the company that developed the Veyron to the, shall we say, exacting requirements of one Ferdinand Piëch was new in all but name, it built on history that was much more recent than the folding of the original Automobiles Ettore Bugatti. That company was founded in 1909 and built such legends as the Type 35 GP car and the Type 41 Royale, but it was dealt a killer blow when Ettore himself departed the world in 1947, and floundered on until it was…

WHY ALL THE FUSS about the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance? It’s not huge, as car events go. There’s no history to its golf course location. It’s not in a known automotive area. And yet it’s won Octane’s award for best motoring event twice in six years, and is seen as a must-visit for collectors, specialists and enthusiasts from all around the world. The secret? The secret is 50% in the charm of the event, as defined by good ol’ Southern gentleman and event founder Bill Warner. The other 50% is the sheer variety and eye-popping provenance of the vehicles on show. We might normally have skewed some of the appeal towards the weather on the Florida east coast, just north of Jacksonville, as well. But not this year… With little…

ANDREW ENGLISH Contributor • 1960 Triumph TR3A • 1965 Aston Martin DB5 DAVID BURGESS-WISE Contributor • 1903 De Dion-Bouton • 1911 Pilain 16/20 • 1926 Delage DISS MARTYN GODDARD Photographer • 1963 Triumph TR6SS Trophy • 1965 Austin-Healey 3000 MkIII DELWYN MALLETT Contributor • 1936 Cord 810 Beverly • 1946 Tatra T87 • 1950 Ford Club Coupe • 1952 Porsche 356 • 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL • 1957 Porsche Speedster • 1957 Fiat Abarth Sperimentale • 1963 Abarth-Simca • 1963 Tatra T603 SARAH BRADLEY Contributor • 1929 Ford Model A hot rod • 1952 Studebaker Champion • 1956 Chevrolet 3100 pick-up • 1969 Plymouth Roadrunner Various motorbikes MASSIMO DELBÒ Contributor • 1967 Mercedes-Benz 230 • 1972 Fiat 500L • 1979/80 Range Rovers • 1982 Mercedes-Benz 500SL • 1985 Mercedes-Benz 240TD EVAN…

IN OCTANE 166 I described how I bought my 912 in California and shipped it over to England. Parked in a damp yard in the listless outskirts of Woking, 5000 miles from its home of 45 years, the shabby elegance of my 912 had evaporated entirely. Meanwhile I had recently bought a house of similar age and condition, and its restoration was now feasting on every scrap of my free time. In a bid to get the car project underway, I disassembled the rotten mess into boxes and hurried the shell away to be stripped to bare metal. A company called Enviro-Strip completed the task at a very reasonable cost, and I was surprised and delighted to be returned a shell so clean you could see…

‘Londontoy’ sounds as British as the Houses of Parliament but the London in question is actually in Ontario, Canada, where the Webster Brothers manufactured a small range of diecast vehicles in the 1940s. The inspiration clearly came from the leading North American brand, Tootsietoy, and Londontoy also followed the Tootsietoy practice of making similar vehicles in two sizes, four or six inches in length, the smaller ones having enclosed wheels. This four-inch coupe, described underneath as a Master Deluxe Five-Passenger Coupe, is generally taken to represent a 1941 Chevrolet and can also be found in a six-inch version, which looks slightly more realistic as it has cut-out wheel arches. Others in the range included a pick-up, fire truck, sedan, single-deck bus, tanker and beverage truck, the last two being perhaps…

‘You learned not to make a mistake because it was a long way down’ Al Unser talking about Pikes Peak on stage at the Amelia Island Concours gala dinner. ‘Phantom is the oldest car model name still in use today’ Torsten Müller-Ötvös, CEO of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, speaking of the forthcoming Phantom VIII. ‘Please pray for a lot of rain in the morning’ Bill Warner, after moving the Amelia Island Concours from Sunday to Saturday at 48 hours’ notice to avoid forecast bad weather. Luckily, it did indeed rain on the Sunday. ‘Absolutely bugger all’ Former F1 driver Martin Donnelly, asked what he knows about the Austin A35 he’ll be driving at the Silverstone Classic. ‘May they be blessed with much publicity for this important cause. Go, Go, Go!’ Murray…

THE WORLD OF historic rallying lost one of its most enthusiastic exponents on 3 April, when Giuseppe ‘Beppe’ Volta was killed in a freak accident near Turin. Volta, 71, had been in a car crash and was checking the condition of the other driver’s vehicle when struck by an oncoming car. Volta started his engineering career in circuit racing, working with Osella in the late 1960s. He set up his own operation in 1970, working first on sports-prototype racers before moving to rallying amd assistance on the Fiat 131 Abarth project. His preparation firm became one of the most respected non-factory efforts – a go-to operation for anyone wanting a well-sorted 131 or Lancia 037. More recently, Volta became well known in historic rallying for his work to restore and…

FOR SEVEN of the last eight editions, the bigger cars such as Talbots and Bentleys have dominated the Flying Scotsman podium, but this year a tiny little motorcar crewed by Paul Crosby and Ali Procter came out as top dog. They and their diminutive 1939 MG TB Supercharged echoed the victory of Andrew Davies in 2011 in his similarly small Riley 12/4. Three days earlier, starting in England at Slaley Hall just outside Hexham, the rally had gone west to Dumfries and Galloway via the Solway Firth before striking north to Edinburgh and the first night’s halt. Last year’s winner, Gareth Burnett, had been ruled out at the last minute due to injury. This left the field wide open as the rally was flagged off into the Northumbrian countryside. An…

‘SEBRING WAS BUMPY ENOUGH TO BLUR YOUR VISION. I WAS PITCHED OFF AFTER THE SUSPENSION COLLAPSED’ The Sebring 12 Hours. I have always had a love-hate relationship with that race, since going there for the first time back in 1971. I was a newly minted JW Automotive driver, competing in the World Sports Car Championship, and I made my debut with the team during the Buenos Aires 1000km in January of that year. To our great surprise, Jo Siffert and I won in our Porsche 917K. Then came Sebring, an old airfield circuit which was bumpy enough to give you blurred vision. I vividly recall being pitched off the track in practice after my car’s suspension collapsed. It happened in front of Mario Andretti, who was driving for Ferrari. We…

1. After leaving school at 16 with no qualifications, I landed a job at a stained glass restorer. I trained for seven years and asked if I could have these panels in lieu of wages when I left. They are brilliantly simple in their design and execution. 2. I’ve had over 100 Volkwagens since I was 17. This 1952 ‘crotch cooler’ split-window was imported to the UK in 1964 and sat in a barn for decades. I’ve had the chassis restored and conserved the rest; I’ve not even cleaned the glass. I use it in dry weather, on WW2 Kübelwagen tyres! 3. I’m obsessed with chairs, but this one is really special. Late 19th Century English, it has perfect lines and I bought it from the descendants of the man…

‘Jaguar has reverse-engineered original panels into making tooling for new ones’ Over the last couple of years, it’s occasionally felt as though we’ve been living in a kind of alternative Life on Mars Britain, with Jaguar Land Rover seemingly announcing more ‘old’ cars than new models. First there was the E-type Lightweight continuation, then the Land Rover Series I restoration in JLR’s Reborn programme. Next came the XKSS and the early Range Rover. And now we have the Series 1 E-type. To support these on-going projects, JLR has invested massively in a new Classic Works centre, based in Ryton, on the southern fringes of Coventry. We’re not allowed to say much about it ahead of the official opening this summer, but take it from us: it’s hugely impressive. And impressively…

FORMER LE MANS winner Andy Wallace has been part of the Bugatti customer programme for years, taking prospective customers on demo drives to show them what the Veyron, and now the Chiron, can do. Given that the 250 deposit-paid Chiron orders so far have all been placed without the customers getting behind the wheel, you’d have to say he’s doing a pretty fine job. He was also on hand to chaperone members of the world’s media during the Chiron launch (lucky him), but it was for his experiences behind the wheel of another Bugatti – the glorious Type 35 – that we grabbed the opportunity to chat with him. As ever with Wallace, it was an insightful and amusing conversation. ‘I’ve driven a couple of Type 35s, the non-supercharged Type…

I’M STARTING TO believe that every great Alfa story starts with a tow truck. The Alfa was doing great. I was at the Grand National Hot Rod show and realised I was 1.8 miles from the famed church used in The Graduate, so made a quick stop for a pic. Then I was scouting locations with a client in Franklin Canyon, where they shot the intro to the Andy Griffith Show: no problem. I even put on a set of steel braided brake hoses, which made a big difference. It was only when the Alfa was included in a magazine story with the new Giulia and the Milano that, well, it started doing Alfa things. Sunday afternoon, car beautifully waxed and detailed, tank full, driving home ready for a 6am…

I MIGHT AS well come clean: I’ve sold my SM. I’m embarrassed by this confession, and I wrestled with the decision for weeks, but it was the right thing to do. First, the back story. I bought the car in cahoots with SM man Andrew Brodie, who very kindly offered to help me at mate’s rates on the understanding that he could practise his swearing on me as and when needed. From the start, when we each sourced an SM from the States, shipped them to the UK and drove them back from Felixstowe docks, we became great friends. With his guidance, via rambling phone calls, brutally succinct emails and comedic days in my home garage, I stripped the car to a bare shell, leaving Andrew to rebuild the engine…

AS I EDGED TOWARDS my 50th last year, there was the question of what I would like for my birthday. I bought my husband an Aston Martin DB7 for his 50th a few years ago, so he felt under pressure to match that benchmark. I’ve owned a beautiful Triumph Herald 13/60 convertible since I was 18. It’s part of the family, but I don’t get the chance to drive it anywhere near as much as I would like. When I do, I become one with it. I know every niggle and every noise, and it almost seems to enjoy the attention paid to it. So why would I want another classic? I didn’t want something new; a modern car just doesn’t do it for me. Maybe a Lancia Aurelia? It…

‘THIS IS MERELY THE BEGINNING. WHY NOT WATCHES FOR THE BEACH IN THE SAME FABRIC AS YOUR SWIMWEAR?’ I HAVE A GREAT FONDNESS for Lapo Elkann. There was a time when the automotive business was full of fun and character. Woolf Barnato and the Bentley boys, Ferruccio Lamborghini, David Brown, and (of course) Enzo Ferrari were colourful mavericks who led interesting lives. But car firms are simply not such fun these days, and the closest automotive giants get to letting their hair down is to fiddle their emissions figures, which is just a bit of low skulduggery, and not even stylish skulduggery. That is why the world needs Lapo Elkann, the man who turned Fiat from a maker of small cars into a maker of desirable small cars. Lapo is…

£6,333,000 ($7,700,000) 1937 Bugatti Type 57S Cabriolet by Vanvooren RM Sotheby’s, Amelia Island, USA. 10-11 March £4,659,500 ($5,665,000) 1998 Porsche 911 GT1 Strassenversion Gooding & Co, Amelia Island, USA. 10 March £2,171,500 ($2,640,000) 1995 Ferrari F50 RM Sotheby’s, Amelia Island, USA. 10-11 March £1,968,000 ($2,392,500) 2015 McLaren P1 Gooding & Co, Amelia Island, USA. 10 March £1,945,000 ($2,365,000) 1956 Maserati A6G/54 Coupé Series 3 RM Sotheby’s, Amelia Island, USA. 10-11 March £1,831,500 ($2,227,500) 1955 Ferrari 250 Europa GT Alloy Bonhams, Amelia Island, USA 9 March £1,764,000 ($2,145,000) 1936 Lancia Astura Cabriolet Series 3 ‘Tipo Bocca’ by Pinin Farina RM Sotheby’s, Amelia Island, USA. 10-11 March £1,515,500 ($1,842,500) 1964 Ferrari 275 GTB Coupé RM Sotheby’s, Amelia Island, USA. 10-11 March £1,439,500 ($1,750,000) 1989 Mazda 767B Gooding & Co, Amelia Island, USA.…

RM Sotheby’s, Amelia Island, USA. 10-11 March Part of the Orin Smith collection, this 1957 Bentley S1 Continental sold for a very reasonable $781,000. It’s a former concours winner, even with its butterscotch paintwork. Bonhams, Amelia Island, USA. 9 March This one-off, Corsica-bodied Godsal Sports Tourer was built in 1935 with a Ford V8 and later appeared in 1969’s Mosquito Squadron with David McCallum. Sold for a surprising $203,000. Gooding & Co, Amelia Island, USA. 11 March A 1959 220S Sedan is not the obvious classic Mercedes, but this one won Best Original Car at the East Coast Ponton Congress in 2011. Not fast, but certainly worth its $24,200.…