Octane January 2022

WELCOME TO A VERY special edition of Octane. Special in many ways, of course, as we hope they all are. There is Glen Waddington’s cover story on Newport Pagnell’s fastest and finest, which is 20 years old, but looks like it would still be a winner if they launched it tomorrow. Meanwhile, Mark Dixon catches up with one of the most powerful people in the motoring world globally, in his natural habitat. Not the boardroom, but the paddock at Goodwood, where Jim Farley lets his grassroots petrolheadonism flow freely. We also have a world first, driving both the first road car from the astonishing Glickenhaus operation and also its battleworn Le Mans racer. Then there is the Porsche 911 Targa prototype reunited with the man who used to run it as…

JORDAN BUTTERS ‘The Aston Martin Vanquish S could have rolled fresh off the production line today and didn’t look out of place amid modern traffic at all. Add that glorious-sounding V12 into the mix and you can really see why these are such sought-after modern classics.’ Jordan’s fabulous photography accompanies Glen Waddington’s story on pages 56-68. JOHN SIMISTER ‘Encountering the MG R-type brought intrigue on several levels. Is it a “real” MG? Is it “original”? And how could someone create an entire racing car from scratch? Then I had a few laps in Geoff Enoch’s labour of love. What a privilege that was.’ Find out why this replica 1930s racer is closer to original than any other example, pages 80-88. JONATHAN FLEETWOOD ‘Beyond the obvious delight of feeling like I had stepped into a ’70s police drama,…

The multi-faceted Zoute Grand Prix Week at the Belgian seaside resort of Knokke-Heist took in two other cities (Bruges and Ostend) on its rally for 225 classic cars. It also held a renowned concours d’élégance plus a Bonhams sale that topped €12million. The event attracted thousands of spectators, especially to Prado Zoute, a beach pavilion showcasing premium cars such as the new Ferrari 296 GTB and McLaren Artura. Concours honours were taken by a Lancia Lambda Casaro (pre-war) and Lamborghini Countach LP400 (post-war), while top dog at the Bonhams sale was a 1994 Bugatti EB110 Super Sport that made €2,242,500. THE CONCOURS GUYS BY SHOOT FOR DETAILS AND DEREMER STUDIOS…

26 November – 3 January Silverstone Lap of Lights Silverstone’s festive drive-through (or drive-round) light show. Visitors this year will also find the pit lane and garages transformed into an ice rink. silverstone.co.uk 1-5 December Classic Sebring Classic racers compete in a 12-hour race at Sebring, while vintage aircraft vie for attention. hsrrace.com 3-5 December Retro Classics Bavaria The organisers of Retro Classics Stuttgart bring their brand of entertainment two hours east to the exhibition centre in Nuremberg. Expect themed displays, a large club presence, good grub, and opportunities to lighten the wallet: cars, parts and automobilia will all be on offer. retro-classics-bavaria.de 4 December VSCC Winter Driving Tests Bicester Heritage hosts the VSCC’s traditional curtain-closer, in which entrants attempt to master car-control challenges in often unconducive conditions. vscc.co.uk 4-7 December Le Jog The Land’s End to John O’Groats Reliability Trial requires crews to drive through the night…

BEFORE YOU GO inside the Milestones building in Basingstoke, Hampshire, just stand back, look at it and try to understand why the county council architects who designed it liken the exterior to a Victorian railway station. They do this even though it is built from aluminium, stainless steel, glass and slate, and 85,000 tons of chalk were excavated to a two-storey depth to reduce the visual impact on the grassy hillside. The resulting insulation minimises the cooling and heating required in the building even as huge areas of glass provide ample natural light. Once inside, aim for the lower ground floor to collect an audio guide. There’s a surprise under the stairs: a Keeble K3. You’ve probably heard of the the Gordon Keeble (another Hampshire product), but this K3 was designed…

A NEW CENTRAL London event aims to both turn the concept of concours on its head and become the capital’s launchpad for new models from manufacturers and luxury brands. Devised by the team behind the Salon Privé concours at Blenheim Palace, Salon Privé London will take place from 21-23 April at the iconic Royal Hospital Chelsea. Given its season-starting timing – on both the automotive and social season calendars – organisers are expecting Salon Privé London to attract similar levels of launches and premieres as its Blenheim Palace sibling and to become London’s de facto motor show. David Bagley, co-founder of Performance Events, said: ‘More and more luxury automotive brands have been favouring upmarket concours to launch new models, hence so many of them are present either at The Quail or…