Octane September 2019

A LOT OF PEOPLE are quite sniffy about Lotus. Sure, they had a terrible reputation for reliability in-period but, once it was properly sorted, my first Elan was as reliable as any car I have ever owned, for several years averaging 10,000 miles annually and never once coming home on a trailer. Yes, they are made of plastic and use proprietary parts, but aren’t true enthusiasts meant to be able to rise above such things and judge a car solely on what it offers as a driving experience? For me the greatest quality of Lotus has always been its accessibility. Before you start thinking that I have just copied and pasted last month’s column about hybrids, the Lotus offers something slightly different: a pure driving experience that you would have…

MASSIMO DELBÒ ‘I was a car-mad teenager in the 1980s when the Lancia 037 was the final weapon in the old school of rallying. To drive the prototype and to listen to its creator about its development has been a dream come true. And to do so on the tarmac of Campo Volo put the cherry on the cake.’ Read Massimo’s story on PAGES 98-106 . DELWYN MALLETT ‘The fabled trio of Berlin-Rome racers has long topped my list of all time greats – I’m a lifelong enthusiast of Porsche and 1930s streamlining. The Type 64 was the precursor to the 356, and the impossibility of ever owning the sole survivor prompted me to add spats to my own 1952 car in homage.’ For an in-depth history, turn to PAGES…

Goodwood Festival of Speed 5-7 July The most memorable Festival of Speed in recent years had it all. Aston Martin took pole position on Gerry Judah’s sculpture on the 50th anniversary of Salvadori and Shelby’s Le Mans win in the DBR1. Also 50 this year is the unfortunate Michael Schumacher, who was honoured with a fine selection of cars. Other highlights included a Jackie Stewart celebration and Romain Dumas demolishing the hill record in VW’s electric ID R. BIC€ST€R SUP€R SCRAMBL€, 23 JUN€ Bicester Heritage’s first Super Scramble was a huge success, with 6000 visitors flocking to the former RAF base. Stars included the Rover-BRM turbine car, Napier-Railton and a host of others. HOP€ CLASSIC RALLY, 14-15 JUN€ Now in its sixth year, this unique charity event has so far…

24-27 July €nnstal Classic This, the organisers claim, is ‘driving in the last paradise’: two days of regularities based around Gröbming in the mountainous Austrian province of Styria. ennstal-classic.at 26-28 July Silverstone Classic ‘Rocking and racing’ are both on the menu again in 2019. This huge meeting (over 1000 cars will line up on the track) allows visitors to watch cars racing into dusk as bands play. This year the musical side will celebrate Woodstock with some top-notch tribute acts, while track parades will include Bentley, Mini and Ford Capri. silverstoneclassic.com 26-28 July Concours d’€legance of America Three days of events at the Inn at St John’s in Plymouth, including a ‘cars and coffee’ morning, culminating in the concours itself. concoursusa.org 26-28 July CarFest North The-charity event returns to the…

WITH THE UNIQUE Jaguar XJ13 thought to be high on Jaguar Land Rover’s list of continuation prospects, it appears to have been beaten to the punch by a small team with a resonant name – Ecurie Ecosse has revealed the details of its new, road-legal LM69. The car derives its designation from an imaginary scenario in which members of David Murray’s racing stable visited Jaguar’s Browns Lane factory in 1967, spotted the abandoned XJ13 and discussed reviving it for a privateer assault on Le Mans in 1969. In the story, the company would revisit its successes of the previous decade when it won Le Mans twice with Jaguars, piloted by Ron Flockhart and Ninian Sanderson in 1956 and Flockhart and Ivor Bueb the following year. Of course, the orginal Ecurie…

Perhaps it is the fact that only one was ever made – and then remade – that lends the Jaguar XJ13 such enduring mystique. Or maybe it is the fact that, despite having all the right qualities on paper, it never served the sole purpose of its existence: to race. That in itself, given the technical advancement of the car, raises a whole heap of ‘what ifs’. Most likely, however, it is simply that it is one of the sleekest, most beautiful cars ever built. And it is British. Taking six years from Bill Heynes first mooting the subject of a mid-engined racer, the XJ13’s slippery shape was, of course, created by Jaguar legend and aerodynamic guru Malcolm Sayer. Heynes led the small team that created the car before it…