Octane January 2023

AS YOU READ this, we will have just held the Historic Motoring Awards ceremony at The Londoner. It is an unashamedly glitzy event (who wants to receive an award in a slapdash or casual manner?) but that doesn’t mean it isn’t highly inclusive. Every year we consciously try to broaden the awards themselves to recognise not only the old guard and big-hitters of the classic car hobby and industry but also those on the way up (there are now Rising Star awards for people and events); those who fit their passion for old cars in-between a day job and family life (not least our amateur photographers in one of this year’s new categories); and, most of all, those who represent our future. Now in its third year, our groundbreaking Apprentice…

DEAN SMITH ‘Something about the Maserati’s grille lodged the whole car in my heart: what a wonderful shrink-wrapped piece of design. Which applies equally to the Mini Cooper S, if for entirely different reasons’ Dean shot the stunning Maserati A6G/54 Zagato on pages 58-66, as well as the Mini Cooper S cover star on pages 46-56. MASSIMO DELBÒ ‘I always admired the African rally-raid pilots and drove the Range Rover-Audi Proto on a hot day in a sand quarry. By the end, my eyes were red and my muscles ached. At 91 years old, the 24-time Paris-Dakar veteran Franco De Paoli was clearly made of different raw material.’ Find out more on pages 68-74. ASTON PARROTT ‘It’s so much rarer than the Ferrari 575M on which it’s based, and subtly…

25-27 November Gulf Historic Dubai GP Revival F1 cars, sports prototypes and GTs from the ’70s, ’80s, ’90s and ’00s gather at Dubai Autodrome for a weekend of racing in the sunshine. gulf-historic.com 30 November – 4 December Classic Sebring Classic competition cars do battle in a 12-hour race at Sebring International Raceway in Florida, where vintage aircraft also vie for the attention of the spectators. hsrrace.com 2-4 December Retro Classics Bavaria The organisers of Retro Classics Stuttgart take their brand of entertainment east to Nuremberg. Expect themed displays, a large club presence, good grub, and many opportunities to lighten your wallet: cars, parts and automobilia will all be on offer. retro-classics-bavaria.de 3 December VSCC Winter Driving Tests Bicester Heritage hosts the VSCC’s curtain-closer, in which entrants attempt car-control challenges…

THE APPROACH TO ensuring a future for the classic car hobby by attracting swathes of youngsters to the joys of classic and vintage motoring has taken a dramatic turn in recent years. Where once club AGMs were full of hand-wringing debates about how the old car world could appeal to those who never experienced it in period, now positive action is the preferred approach – and it is paying off. While the VSCC has always indoctrinated from birth, recently many more clubs and organisations (see right) have embraced its doctrine that the best way to make kids fall in love with old cars is to let them drive them. The latest addition to the roster of opportunities for youngsters to sample otherwise out-of-reach cars is a pioneering initiative from a…

The William Medcalf track-day is not the only way that youngsters can sample classic cars – and hopefully get hooked on them – sometimes even before they can legally drive on the roads. Here are some more options: Starter Motor (startermotor.co) This Bicester-based charity’s entire mission is to secure access to classic cars for younger people in the knowledge that a good number will become hooked and secure the future of the hobby for another generation or two. The charity maintains a fleet of cars that is loaned to young people to drive and enjoy. It also supplies ‘learning’ cars to colleges and hosts driving days where owners bring along cars for the youngsters to try. British Motor Museum (britishmotormuseum.co.uk) The British Motor Museum at Gaydon has partnered with Young Driver, founded…

Exclusive new Jag continuations Two new Jaguar C-type continuations have been revealed by Jaguar Classic. The special ‘70-Editions’ mark 70 years since the C-type was at the pinnacle of sports car racing and only one of each will be built, costing a cool £1.5million excluding local taxes. Each car has been tailored ‘in an evocative colour and trim’ with hand-crafted silver-enamelled badging from Britain’s oldest manufacturing jeweller, Deakin & Francis, as well as distinctive ‘70-Edition’ stitching and embroidery and painted roundels bearing the number 70. Deakin & Francis has also fabricated a bespoke key housing and dashboard plaque for each car from a 1953 C-type fuel tank. The first car is finished in the combination of Verbier Silver with Cranberry Red leather, inspired by the C-type’s Platinum Anniversary, while the…