Table of contents for February 2023 in Octane

By joining and supporting the HCVA, you’re investing to underpin a brighter future for classic motoring in the UK. Driving a classic is the ultimate expression of ‘reuse, repair, recycle’. It’s important to communicate that retaining an already manufactured vehicle is the epitome of ‘doing the right thing’ for the environment – for instance, electrifying your classic is usually not the most environmentally friendly action to take. Advances in environmentally-friendly liquid fuels will allow the internal combustion engine to be with us indefinitely – excellent news for those for whom a new electric vehicle is neither affordable nor practical. Our industry is highly skilled and a great career choice, which needs to be effectively communicated to today’s young people. There are some great initiatives already running, but they need to…

To take advantage of this month’s special offer and get three issues of Octane for £5, either visit subscribe.octane-magazine.com or call +44 (0)330 333 9491 and quote code DDEC22 Buying your issue of Octane – new and old PRINT ISSUE Octane is available at the usual branches of UK shops, such as Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose and independents, as well as WH Smith High Street and Travel. You can order the latest magazine or a back issue, delivered direct to your door, by visiting magsdirect.co.uk and searching for ‘Octane’. DIGITAL ISSUES Download the Octane Magazine app on Android or Apple and you will be able to enjoy the new issue. Alternatively you can source the digital edition via either Zinio or Readly. SUBSCRIBE Superb offers on print (order before 13 January…

4-21 January Cuba Classic Rally The Cuban Government has given its blessing to this rally, which will see crews explore the whole country over two- and-a-bit weeks – but note that the authorities require all cars entered to be left-hand drive. bespokerallies.com 5-24 January New Zealand Road Classic With New Zealand now open to tourists again, Destination Rally has planned a 4568km driving holiday around the country – and as if the landscape doesn’t look good enough through the windscreen of a classic car, entrants will get to see it from a helicopter and a ski plane, too. destination-rally.com 27January – 23 February Road to Hanoi Marathon Ho Chi Minh City is the starting point for this epic trip, which takes crews in pre-1977 cars through Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and…

F1 champs head for Hethel Two Formula 1 World Champions have taken turns behind the wheel of Lotus’s new Evija at the Hethel test track. Emerson Fittipaldi, who drove a Lotus to glory in ’72, has inspired a special edition of the electric hypercar and was on hand for its première. While there, the Brazilian also went for a spin in his old chassis 72/5. He said: ‘It’s a very special day for me to be back at Lotus to commemorate 50 years since my first World Championship. My Lotus 72 is one of the most iconic cars in the history of Formula 1, and the most important car from my life.’ Fittipaldi’s visit was preceded by that of 2009 champ Jenson Button who was doing shakedown testing of the…

16th – 21st September 2023 My first two tours in 2021 and 2022 were held in Provence, which is one of my favourite places to spend time. But for our 2023 event we have decided to be altogether more adventurous and head into regions of Portugal and Spain that my wife and I have never visited. The fun will start in Lisbon, before we head off on a meticulously planned route through the Alentejo region, crossing the border into Spain the following day. The roads in Portugal and Spain are not only some of the very best in Europe, but they are also largely deserted, making them perfect for driving events. The itinerary will be relaxed, combining great driving each day with plenty of time to unwind at the fabulous…

I’ve driven at Circuito Ascari a couple of times. It’s not a track that crops up in race results; instead, this fabulous 3.4-mile loop in the sun-drenched mountains of southern Spain is a little bit of petrolhead paradise, a ‘race resort’ open to members and for occasional hire, including to manufacturers for launches. I mean, where better to sample the latest supercar than on a purpose-built circuit in the sun, with top-notch facilities to hand? The circuit was designed, funded (to the tune of €40m) and built by Klaas Zwart, being completed in 2003 as a playground for like-minded enthusiasts – several of its 26 corners were inspired by those of other circuits around the world. Being located close to a military training base, Circuito Ascari is not subject to…

‘When someone says “hot rod” to me,’ Bruce Meyer says, ‘a ’32 Ford highboy is what comes to my mind. If you went back and looked at my high school book covers, you’d see ’32 roadsters. Lots of them. I drew them all the time. I read Boy’s Life and Hot Rod Magazine, and dreamed about having a fenderless highboy. That was my world, with a sprinkling of Popular Mechanics here and there. Although I never thought it was attainable, the notion of owning an historic car that was on the cover of Hot Rod meant a lot to me. Bob McGee’s ’32 was the first street roadster on HRM’s cover, back in 1948. That was historically very significant. And the car was beautiful.’ ‘Truthfully,’ Bruce admits, ‘I wasn’t totally…

For more information and to be the first to hear about entries and tickets for 2023, please visit our website to register your interest historicmotoringawards.co.uk CONGRATULATIONSTO OUR 2022WINNERS AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHER Andrew Green APPRENTICE OF THE YEAR Callum Staff APPRENTICE OF THE YEAR Lewis Giddings BESPOKE CAR OF THE YEAR ‘Sunshine Gullwing’ Mercedes-Benz 300SL by HK-Engineering BEST USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA Simon Kidston CLASSIC CAR AMBASSADOR OF THE YEAR Julian Barratt CLASSIC CAR AMBASSADOR OF THE YEAR James Wood CLUB OF THE YEAR Austin Seven Clubs’ Association CONCOURS OF THE YEAR Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance INDUSTRY SUPPORTER OF THE YEAR Hagerty MANUFACTURER CONTRIBUTION Jaguar Land Rover MOTORING EVENT OF THE YEAR Kilomètre Lancé / St Moritz Motoring Week MOTORSPORT EVENT OF THE YEAR Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion MUSEUM/COLLECTION OF THE YEAR…

1926 DELAGE DISS MORNINGS DON’T GET much stranger than today’s. As I sat down at my desk, I became aware that the alien head of a baby ostrich was staring at me through the window. Turns out that it had escaped from neighbour Jodie’s rescue farm, where mother ostrich was anxiously awaiting the return of her missing chick. That struthious spectacle quite distracted me from the task in hand, chronicling the latest addition to the crowded dashboard of the Delage. Over the years I’ve added a gradient meter to fill an existing hole in the aluminium dash, replaced the run-of-the-mill ammeter with an eccentric Blériot-Phi unit that registers charge and discharge with red discs that bob up and down like winking eyes, and replaced the sadly discoloured celluloid face of the…

I DROPPED INTO my local watch dealer last week. One of his customers had managed the feat of getting to the top of the Rolex waiting list and was picking up his new Submariner. After he’d had the bracelet sized, he put the watch in a travel pouch and stowed it in his inside pocket. Then he took out an old Co-Op plastic bag into which he dropped the box and paperwork, eschewing the smart bag the dealer offered. ‘Can’t be too careful nowadays,’ he said as he shut the door behind him. Later I asked my dealer friend if this wasn’t a bit over-dramatic. After all, we weren’t in central London and it was broad daylight. ‘It might be,’ he said. ‘I’d be surprised if they’d bother with a Sub;…

CAKE BUKK LTD The technical specs for Cake’s latest electric scrambler neglect to mention a smiles-per-mile figure, but we’d wager there are few motorcycles available today that are more fun to ride. It’s superficially similar to its predecessors, but the Bukk is a tougher and gruntier machine, boasting a brand new frame and suspension, and packing a 16kW motor that delivers 420Nm (309lb ft) of torque at the rear wheel. Despite being engineered to take a licking and keep on ticking, it weighs just 85kg with the battery in place, and it will hit 62mph when in ‘Excel’ mode – the wildest of its three settings. $14,970. ridecake.com SCALEXTRIC SUPER SALOONS SET Fans of late-’80s and early-’90s BTCC racing will get a kick out of this set, which features a…

RM SOTHEBY’S HAS posted some phenomenal results at its first Munich auction – perhaps not surprisingly, many top lots came from a privately owned BMW museum. Top seller from the Bavarian Legends Collection was a 1958 507 Roadster at €1,917,500 (above), although the most significant result was the 1980 BMW M1. This unique grey example, delivered new to the model’s creator Jochen Neerpasch, sold for €792,500. While these were expectedly on the money, the first real surprise was the 3.0 CSL, which more than doubled its top estimate at €578,750. Then a 4698-mile E46 M3 CSL sold for €325,625, as well as an E36 M3 Evolution with even fewer miles for €286,250. Perhaps the most bizarre result was the €201,250 paid for the (admittedly very nice) 1985 BMW 745i. In…

ONE OF THE GREATEST advances in the classic car world over the past 25 years has been the recognition that conservation and preservation are as important as restoration. When I started in this game, far longer ago than I would like to admit, everything expensive was automatically restored to the hilt. And beyond. There were boiled sweets everywhere. Of course, even then there were ‘eccentrics’ who ran around in valuable cars that proudly wore their wrinkles and scars, but they were very much a curiosity. Or VSCC members. Giving such cars a very public platform – and with it approval of their sometimes distressed state – came with the pioneering preservation class at Pebble Beach, which brought them into the mainstream and made it OK to age with dignity. And to…

1 January Brooklands New Year’s Day Classic Gathering The UK’s biggest New Year’s Day meet, with more than 1000 classic cars, live music and a barbecue. brooklandsmuseum.com 1 January Vintage Stony Despite the name, this event in Stony Stratford always attracts mid-century and modern classics as well as vintage cars and bikes. Vehicles start leaving at 2pm, so don’t roll out of bed too late. vintagestony.co.uk 8 January Bicester Heritage Sunday Scramble Enthusiasts blow away the cobwebs at the first Scramble of the year, enjoying displays of classic vehicles and poking around the workshops of the many specialists based at the site. bicesterheritage.co.uk 12-15 January Autosport International There’s something for fans of just about every motorsport discipline at Birmingham’s NEC, plus tyre-smoking shenanigans in the Live Action Arena. autosportinternational.com 12-15…

FOR THE PAST few years, the routine has become very familiar: revive long-dormant marque name, launch electric hypercar. The recent unveiling of the Praga was different. For a start, the company is far from ‘resting’ – it didn’t build a road car from 1947 to 2016, but it has continued to make vehicles for the military and others. Not only that, its new Bohema will be propelled by a petrol-powered V6. The engine is a 3.8-litre twin-turbo unit, sourced from the Nissan GT-R and fettled by Litchfield Engineering, and will provide 700bhp at 6800rpm. Mid-mounted, and powering a sub-one-tonne kerbweight via a race-bred Hewland six-speed sequential gearbox, it promises GT3 performance on the road. Projected 0-60mph time is under 2.3sec, with a more super than hyper 185mph-plus top speed. For…

BMW HAS REVIVED the 3.0 CSL moniker for an anniversary special, based on the M4 and packing the most powerful straight-six that the Munich company has yet offered for sale. Just 50 of the lightweight, rear-wheel-drive, manual two-seaters will be built at BMW’s Dingolfing plant in Moosthenning, Lower Bavaria, making it the most exclusive special-edition BMW has ever produced. Launched in the same year as BMW Motorsport, the original 3.0 CSL perfectly combined road car and racer, the all-out competition version winning the European Touring Car Championship on debut in 1973 and, driven by Toine Hezemans, Hans-Joachim Stuck, Chris Amon and Niki Lauda, followed that up with five consecutive wins from 1975 to 1979. The homologated road car – with its wide ’arches and wheels (and Batmobile wing in the boot)…

Letter of the month I was that mystery man! IMAGINE MY SURPRISE when an old pal of mine, a former Austin apprentice like me, called me up and told me that Octane magazine had mentioned a ‘Mr J Pugh, of Sambourne, near Redditch’ as being the first owner of the oldest surviving Mini Cooper S, ‘732 HOP’ [cover feature, Octane 235]. Was I the mysterious J Pugh? Yes, I was! My one-time Austin colleague, Neil Morrick, had correctly guessed that I might have bought the Mini when it was sold from the Longbridge press fleet, since employees were often given first choice of de-fleeted cars. At the time, probably in 1963, I was happily taking part in motoring events in my splendid pale blue Frogeye Sprite but, when my wife announced…

They don’t call Lynn Park ‘Mr Cobra’ for nothing. About 50 of them have passed through his hands over the past five decades. At the moment, he houses nine within his sprawling garage in suburban Los Angeles, along with several reproductions and enough memorabilia to consecrate a shrine to Carroll Shelby. His collection includes one of the five so-called FIA roadsters that raced internationally in 1964 and one of the four bad-ass drag-racing Dragonsnakes. But the car that aficionados queue up to see is an easily overlooked, bone-stock 289 with badly pitted and chipped paint that Park cheerfully calls ‘Dirtbag’. This particular Cobra wasn’t running when Park bought it, and the nose got lightly pranged while the ratty-looking car was being pulled by a tow rope – because the brakes…

Italy, 1950. The country was recovering from the Second World War, chasing scarce funds with positive energy and imagination. Though unaware of it, many were building the foundations of what, within ten years, would become the Italian economic boom, propelling the country to new wealth. Yet very few could dream of a car, and even the wealthy couldn’t run to the equivalent of what they drove before the war. Gone were the big eight-cylinder cars, such as the Fiat 2.8 or Lancia Astura; even Alfa Romeo’s 6C 2500 – the only large car resurrected after the conflict – was replaced that year by the much smaller four-cylinder Alfa 1900. Also in 1950, and over in Turin, Fiat launched its new flagship, the 1400, half the size of its pre-war range-topper.…

2001 AUDI TT I’VE ALWAYS WONDERED if the caveman that invented the wheel ever imagined we’d all be sitting in endless traffic jams. The romanticism of the journey is quickly dispelled by the sound of bass-driven rap music from the car next to me. I must admit, though, that the Audi has been pulling its weight in hauling me and my photo gear effortlessly from adventure to adventure – and I’m always looking for opportunities to place my car wherever I happen to be. The TT has something I’ve never seen before: a driving timer. When my dash started flashing ‘2:00’ I thought it was an error code, but apparently I had been driving for two hours and the car thought it was time for a break. I happened to…

2007 AUDI R8 I’D HAD THE R8 about a month when a neighbour sauntered over and asked if I had won the lottery. Sitting on his drive at the time was a new Renault Zoe with a list price that would comfortably see him into an R8. Not as nice as this one, but a decent R8. And that is the beauty of this generation of Audi: it went into production 15 years ago and has aged so well that people just assume it is still a new car. Why shouldn’t they? It still looks like one, it still drives like one and it still gets the reception of one wherever it goes. Please at least finish reading this before you start browsing. For full disclosure, the original R8 is probably…

‘WAKEY WAKA-A-A-Y!’ Delivered at full pelt in a cockney accent by bandleader Billy Cotton, for more than two decades this was the opening cry that announced the most popular show on British radio, and later on television. Cotton led an eventful life: an underage boy soldier in World War One, RFC pilot, bus conductor, boxer, talented footballer, motorbike racer, powerboat racer and, for more than 40 years, a hugely successful bandleader. He was also a top-flight amateur racing driver. Bill – variously ‘Billie’ or ‘Billy’ but never ‘William’ – was born in 1899 in Smith Square, Westminster, when it was a rat-infested self-contained village with a yard for horse-drawn buses outside his parents’ house. He was the youngest of ten children: four boys and six girls. His father was bandmaster…

1952 Jaguar XK120 Roadster Bring A Trailer, St Louis, Missouri 25 November Film actor Clark Gable was a well-known car collector, who owned Duesenbergs – including a JN and one of the two famed SSJs – as well as a Packard Eight Convertible Victoria, a Mercedes 300SC and a 300SL Gullwing. This Jaguar is one of three XK120s that Gable had, so he was no stranger to the Coventry marque. This one was customised for Gable by the Barris brothers, Sam and George. The duo was one of a very large handful of Southern California customisers in the late 1940s and early 1950s, and their fortunes changed when they were commissioned by a customer named Bob Hirohata to build a custom Mercury. The ‘Hirohata Merc’ is known today as one…

9-11 March WinteRace A field of 70 pre-’77 cars; an expertly plotted route through the Dolomites and part of Austria; and snow, snow and more snow. winterace.it 17-18 March Three Legs of Mann ‘Relentless action’ on the Isle of Man: crews will tackle 21 tricky regularity sections and 26 special tests on closed roads. heroevents.eu 17 March – 1 April The Africa Tour Cape Town to Johannesburg by 4x4 – the only sensible transport for a journey that includes a detour into the Karoo desert and eight game drives. bespokerallies.com 23-26 March Un Homme, Une Femme An event for couples that does away with all competitive elements to allow entrants to enjoy cruising along some beautiful routes in the South of France. happyfewracing.com 24-26 March Generations Rally Designed to introduce…

An astonishing promise of up to $500million has been made to a small Kansas college that is the only one in the USA to offer a bachelor’s degree in car restoration. McPherson College is a private institution that was founded 135 years ago. It has fewer than 1000 students and will receive $2 from the anonymous benefactor for every dollar pledged from elsewhere before July 2023, up to a limit of $500m. McPherson’s four-year Bachelor of Science degree in Automotive Restoration Technology focuses on every aspect of restoring cars from 1886 to 1970. As well as the hands-on skills, the course includes training in researching and documenting a car’s history and takes place in a purpose-built 33,000sq ft facility on the McPherson campus. The course is not cheap – it…

The claims are bold. Really bold. Top speed of 200mph, 0-60mph in 4.1sec, drag factor of 0.31, 400bhp, 1250kg: even by today’s standards, that’s fast, sleek, powerful and extremely light. The Ascari Ecosse is quite the supercar. The what, I hear you ask? Exactly. So here’s a very small number: 16. Only that many built, in the late 1990s, yet this car has quite a heritage, and dates from an era when it seemed that – suddenly – supercars were coming from every angle. Possibly the greatest supercar of all time was a product of that decade – the McLaren F1 – as were such greats as the Bugatti EB110 and Ferrari’s F50, while the 550 Maranello revived the spirit of the Daytona. But what about those we remember a…

This car shouldn’t exist. When it reached the end of its working life as a test mule for Aston Martin’s nascent V8 engine, it was recorded as being scrapped. Or, as the final hand-written entry in its logbook rather charmingly has it, ‘scraped’. But somehow it escaped the breaker’s yard and, after years spent flying under the radar with a straight-six engine, its significance was recognised and it was restored with a thumping Aston V8 under the bonnet. That was 20 years ago. NPP 7D has spent most of the time since living a quiet life in Jersey, but it’s now back on the UK mainland, where Aston specialist Nicholas Mee & Co has placed it with a new owner who plans to show it at top UK events. And…

2022 HEALEY BY CATON NOT ALL RESTOMODS are created equal. Some take a classic car and simply add a few mod cons; others go further, making wholesale changes to the engine, suspension and even the bodywork. Engineering firm Envisage has developed the Healey by Caton, a redesign of the 1950s Austin-Healey 100 roadster that has new skin and extensive changes under that skin, too. New body panels have been created by 3D scanning the original donor car, then smoothing out the rough edges. There are fewer panel gaps and those that remain are tidier, while all the external hinges have gone, as have some of the vents and handles. And that’s before we get onto the LED headlights that actually illuminate the road ahead, or the gorgeous wraparound aeroscreen. The…

British company Oxford Diecast has offered 1:18 models alongside its long-established 1:43 range for some time now, but the KR200 bubble car is the first to be sold under Oxford’s own name, the others being from Chinese maker Welly and marketed as such. If you’ll forgive the pun, this Messerschmitt has certainly got it off to a flying start. The finesse of the detail and the overall finish are worthy of models costing several times as much; Oxford Diecasts have always been incredible value for money and this one is no different. The large ‘glass’ canopy opens via a discreet pair of hinges to create a unique display piece and, while the boxy seats and interior side trim appear a little too flat and 2D, for less than 34 quid…

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Civil war survivor Artcurial, Paris, France 3 February WHILE MANY OF the most expensive and significant historic vehicles live a pampered existence today, the most interesting are the ones with stories to tell. This 1936 Bugatti 57 Atalante – an early highlight of Artcurial’s Rétromobile sale – has a very exciting past. One of only four built at the factory with a sunroof, this Atalante was purchased by a jeweller from Marseille. He was a keen driver and wanted to make the most of the 3.3-litre DOHC straight-eight engine by entering the Atalante in a whole host of races, including the Rallye Monte-Carlo, Liège-Rome-Liège and Rallye des Alpes. After World War 2, the Type 57 was bought by Belgian architect and Bugatti collector Albert de Lay. He lived in Congo during…

WHO DOESN’T LOVE to see an SD1 Touring Car being driven flat-out? Not to mention hearing its epic soundtrack. While it might not have the ultimate appearance of the full-on TWR racers that followed, this Patrick Motorsport SD1 has been a welcome sight at many of the big events in recent years. Not only is it an original car with proper history but it is now a tried and tested Historic racer, and it’s currently being offered for sale by the Classic Motor Hub. This series 1 SD1 – officially called the 3500 V8-S – was originally built by SRG Competitions for the Patrick Motorsport race team in 1981. While two other cars had been racing in 1980 and ’81, this particular SD1 was initially used as a show car, finally…

IT MIGHT HAVE been a great Touring Car racer, as well as a great autobahn cruiser, yet it was the small but memorable part in the 1980s film Innerspace that first opened my eyes to the E24. The perfect choice for the film’s menacing villain, this big, sharp-looking coupé was just about the coolest-looking thing I’d ever seen – and it still looks as good today. Penned by Paul Bracq as a successor to the E9 Coupé, the fantastically sharp 6-series was launched in 1976. The earliest examples were built by Karmann, and initially sold with a 3.0-litre straight-six as the 185bhp 630 CS (not available in the UK), or a 200bhp 3.2-litre – borrowed from the range-topping 3.3 Li saloon – in the fuel-injected 633 CSi. BMW offered four-speed…