Octane February 2018

THE INAUGURAL Salon Privé sale in partnership with Silverstone Auctions was a real ‘I was there’ event. It took place during the concours’ swansong at Syon Park in 2014, and frenzied bidding by a pair of celebrities garnered acres of press coverage. Radio and TV personality Chris Evans snapped up the headlining Daytona Spyder for £2.27 million, while Jay Kay led the charge for a gorgeous 1954 Bentley R Type Continental Fastback (sorry, Sports Saloon). Once the sums were done, the Bentley had set Jamiroquai’s frontman back £1,012,000. Yet rather than jaws hitting the floor, there was a mood of quiet appreciation that such a wonderful car was commanding the financial respect it deserved. After all, it wasn’t so many years earlier that the cognoscenti marvelled that something of such…

MASSIMO IELBÒ ‘Phoning Mr Dallara to ask for a meeting scared me. How do you call the most successful man in racing car history? I felt privileged, yet also burdened by a great responsibility, for the opportunity I had to write, for the very first time, about him and his emotions when collecting his own Miura from Lamborghini.’ More on PAGES 90-98. PAUL RICHARISON ‘I began writing on motoring subjects, mainly Standard Triumph, in the late 1990s,’ says Paul. Here, we let him loose on the subject of his father, Ken Richardson, the former ERA and BRM engineer who made his name as the engineer behind the Triumph TR2 – and the driver who scored a speed record in it at Jabbeke. See PAGES 110-112. IALE IRINNON ‘Aircraft have fascinated…

THE SALE OF 65 vehicles and almost 100 lots of automobilia from Citroën’s Paris Conservatoire resulted in a massive estimate-busting auction, when handled by online auctioneer Leclere on 10 December. The sale was prompted by the scheduled closure of the company’s 400-car collection housed in the old factory site at Aulnay-sous-Bois. After the downsizing, some of the remaining vehicles will be rehomed to the refreshed L’Aventure Peugeot Citroën DS at Sochaux, while others will go into temporary storage. There were no especially big-ticket items – the best price achieved was €36,960 – but the majority of the cars exceeded their upper estimates. Top seller was the astonishing nine-seater Tubik utility concept, which caused a sensation at Frankfurt in 2011. The only other car to get past €30,000 was the late-model…

New name for City Concours The spectacular Octane-backed concours held in the heart of the City of London will be back in 2018 with a new name. The London Concours – formerly The City Concours – will take place again at the Honourable Artillery Company’s magnificent estate on 7-8 June. The venue is one of London’s best-kept secrets, a five-acre oasis in the midst of the built-up capital. Last year the Concours – masterminded by Thorough Events, the people behind the Concours of Elegance – attracted nearly 150 cars and 3500 people, and Octane’s Best of Show was won by a Frazer Nash BMW 328. This year promises cars for sale – a show in themselves – plus vendors of high-end goods and first-rate catering. There will be a number…

‘It’s designed to be playful at legal speeds. This is not a “f*ck you” car’ Alpine boss Michael van der Sande on the new A110 ‘I don’t want my hobby to be efficient: I want it to be slightly ridiculous, occasionally dangerous, and always fun’ Richard Hammond on the delights of vintage motoring after buying a 1936 Morgan Super Sport three-wheeler ‘We’re height-allergic at Jaguar’ Design director Ian Callum on styling the new E-Pace ‘I have an enduring memory of being chased by a mob wielding baseball bats and Samurai swords’ John Collins, founder of Ferrari specialist Talacrest, recalling life as a 1960s Glasgow club DJ in his new autobiography ‘At the Klausen hillclimb I was accosted by a number of attractive German and Swiss girls’ Duncan Pittaway on recognition…

MODENA-BASED ARES Design has announced plans to produce its Project Panther supercar in 2018. As the name suggests, it draws inspiration from the classic 1971-92 De Tomaso Pantera; but whereas that car was powered by a Ford V8, Project Panther will be based on a Lamborghini Huracán platform. ARES Design will build the car in its brand new design and production headquarters, conveniently situated between the homes of Ferrari and Lamborghini, which officially opens on 30 January. It will boast two production lines, plus prototyping and composite facilities, a photographic studio, and design and visitor areas. Founded three years ago by ex-Lotus CEO Dany Bahar, previously responsible for the formation of Red Bull’s Formula 1 team, ARES specialises in producing one-off coachbuilt designs for wealthy clients, typically based on Bentley…