Octane April 2018

JUST IMAGINE some 120 years ago driving the very first car to arrive in a country – and not some far-flung outpost that had dodged the first wave of the internal combustion engine, but a major European nation. This month Massimo Delbò is the lucky man who senses the echoes of that incredible experience in piloting a Peugeot that has recently broken a century of silence (p120). This magical contraption was the very first car in Italy, a vehicle that in the dying days of the 19th Century was so shocking to see that people crossed themselves or rode into ditches. Despite that initial reaction, it is also the very car that sparked a nation’s love affair with the automobile, a romance that would spiral to become the most intense…

DOUG NYE ‘My heart sinks when I’m asked to write a brief tribute to a hero. It will never be adequate. One year at Pebble Beach, Dan Gurney turned the tables and started telling his friends all about this new English visitor. Dan Gurney for President? He would have had my vote.’ Doug’s tribute to the late, great racer starts on PAGE 88. ALEX TAPLEY ‘We climb the banking, near 6500rpm, and I’m wedged in the footwell, one hand braced against the fuel tank and camera in the other, focusing on Joe Twyman at the wheel. I’m grinning like the Cheshire Cat and spy the same smile beneath his helmet. What a day!’ See Alex’s superb photos of the 911 RSR Turbo on PAGES 68-80. JAMES PAGE ‘I grew up…

‘THE NEW D-TYPES WILL BE BUILT TO ORIGINAL LE MANS SPEC AND FOR PRIVATE ROAD OR TRACK USE ONLY’ JAGUAR ANNOUNCED in Paris earlier this month that the next car in its run of continuation projects will be the iconic D-type and unveiled a spectacular engineering prototype to tempt buyers. Previous continuations programmes have had be founded on a very specific premise – fulfilling the original planned quota of Lightweight E-types or recreating the XKSS road cars that were destroyed in the factory fire of 1957 – and the run of 25 continuation D-types is said to honour the factory’s 1955 intention of building 100 examples of the sports racer. The cars will be handbuilt at Jaguar Land Rover Classic Works in Coventry and buyers will be able to choose…

Lister has aDDeD ‘specialist tuning company’ to its continuation car credentials by unveiling a highly modified Jaguar F-type called the Thunder. Named to succeed the Storm and packing an upgunned 5-litre V8, just 99 of the cars will be made and priced at £140,000 each. The Thunder will boast some 666bhp, with a top speed in excess of 200mph and 0-60mph coming up in a fraction over 3sec. Aside from having an extra 99bhp over the flagship Jaguar F-type SVR, the Lister Thunder is differentiated by custom-made carbonfibre front and rear bumpers, an extended splitter for greater downforce, Lister vents and decals. There will also be a carbonfibre bonnet option. Lister CEO Lawrence Whittaker said: ‘We came to the inaugural ExCel show last year and it was one of the…

America’s most vaunted A 1931 Ford Roadster owned by Dave Martin and built by Hot Rods & Hobbies was crowned America’s Most Beautiful Roadster at the 69th annual Grand National Roadster Show in Pomona in January. The Martin Special was praised for its craftsmanship and dazzling aesthetics, as well as its provenance. In a former life the car competed in the famed Silver State Classic open road race and it currently packs a 500bhp Ed Pink Racing Engines small-block. ‘Dave Martin’s car possesses all the qualities that our judges look for, blowing us away thanks to its exceptional craftsmanship and innovative styling,’ said John Buck, producer of the Grand National Roadster Show. Tyres for Turbos Vintage Tyre Supplies can now offer Renault 5 GT Turbo owners new 195/55VR13 Avon CR27s.…

Gérard Welter 1942-2018 Peugeot designer Gérard Welter, ‘the father of the 205’, has died aged 75. Welter spent half a century with Peugeot, culminating in the RCZ, but also set up the WM (Welter Meunier) and WR (Welter Racing) teams, running technologically advanced cars at Le Mans. In 1988 his WM P88 set a record 405km/h on Les Hunaudières. Charles Burnett III 1956-2018 Houston-based British record-breaker Charles Burnett III died in a helicopter crash in New Mexico last month at the age of 61. In 2009 Burnett broke the 100-year-old Land Speed Record for a steam car when he set a new best of 139.8mph in California, bettering the old record by more than 10mph. Santino Balduzzi 1943-2018 Alfa tuner, engine specialist and race entrant Santino Balduzzi has died aged…