Octane February 2022

THE FACT THAT this magazine is so full of anniversaries is, I promise, a mere coincidence. Well, our celebration of the evergreen R107 Mercedes wasn’t – that was a carefully executed plan to mark the occasion – but we didn’t even consider the Unimog’s 75th until after the photos had been shot, and Two-Lane Blacktop may be hitting the big 5-0, but we would have been just as likely to run Mike Renaut’s story last year, or next. Of course, if we were so minded, or so desperate, we could probably contrive an anniversary for every story we do. Depending on whether we say this issue is 2021 (when it comes out in the UK) or 2022 (as it says on the cover), it’s 55 years since the Aston DB2/4 tackled…

MATTHEW HAYWARD ‘I appreciate that Testarossas are not everybody’s cup of tea, but if you want visual shock and awe nothing comes close. Yes, they’re ultimately very silly, but isn’t that why we love supercars? Gemballa and the like just turned the dial up to 11.’ Octane’s markets editor gets under the skin of a Testarossa on visual steroids: pages 68-78. JONATHAN JACOB ‘The Unimog is an interesting machine to capture. Whether shooting from low-down and seeing it loom over you, or peering through its cabin while you perch on its flat-bed, this go-anywhere goliath keeps you on your toes! The spectacular Yorkshire Dales backdrop was a bonus.’ See Jona’s spectacular images on pages 126-134. MIKE RENAUT ‘Before its DVD release, Two-Lane Blacktop was a mythical movie every true car freak knew of, yet few had seen.…

Jeff O’Neill’s inaugural gathering to celebrate the ‘past and future of motorsports’ attracted 10,000 spectators to the WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in California, while a further 600,000 watched online. More than 250 race cars from all eras were showcased over ten grids – including three Ferrari 250 GTOs and six Porsche 917s – but stars were the ex-Stirling Moss Mercedes 300 SLR, track exhibitions from 1998 and 1999 Formula 1 World Champion Mika Häkkinen in his McLaren MP4/13A, and Le Mans-winning Ford GT LMs. There was also a big emphasis on local wine and cuisine, plus a panel discussion featuring Zak Brown and Jim Farley.…

1 January 2022 Vintage Stony Despite the name, this event in Stony Stratford features heaps of 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 7-8 January Per Ardua Ad Infinitum South West A 300-mile rally to blow away the cobwebs at the start of the new year, based in Taunton and featuring 15 regularity sections and 17 tests. heroevents.eu 13-16 January Autosport International There’s something for fans of just about every motorsport discipline at Birmingham’s NEC, plus tyre-smoking action on the UK’s largest indoor racetrack. autosportinternational.com 13-16 January Interclassics Maastricht It’s not back on the F1 calendar quite yet, but Zandvoort circuit and its history inspired the Interclassics team to make F1 cars the main attraction for 2022. interclassicsmaastricht.nl 20-23 January Cavallino Classic This Palm Beach event is chiefly known as…

25-27 March Generations Rally Designed to introduce the young folk to the joys of endurance rallying, this event is open to multi-generation crews in pre-1986 cars. It’s based in the Lake District, but entrants will enjoy the roads of the North Pennines and the Yorkshire Dales, too. rallytheglobe.com 25-27 March Un Homme Une Femme A new event for couples that does away with all competitive elements to allow entrants to enjoy cruising some beautiful routes in the South of France in the company of fellow car enthusiasts. happyfewracing.com 26 March HERO Challenge 1 An action-packed one-day event in the Chester area, aimed at novice regularity rally crews who want to up their game. hero-era.com 26 March Zoute Generations Rally There are both Regularity and Touring classes on this one-day rally for family crews, held in Knokke-Heist, Belgium, and finishing with a slap-up barbeque. zoutegrandprix.be 27-29 March Heart…

January Sri Lanka Rally Starting and finishing in Colombo, this 23-day rally is for 4x4s (the entry fee includes vehicle hire), the idea being that entrants can explore Sri Lanka using the road less travelled. bespokerallies.com 15-29 January Sri Lanka Classic A 1600km route takes crews around the island from Waikkal to Colombo, the schedule allowing for stops on the coast and in national parks, meaning there’s a good chance of spotting whales, wild elephants and perhaps leopards, too. destination-rally.com 28 January – 24 February Road to Hanoi Marathon Yangon, the largest city in Myanmar, is the starting point for this 8500km epic, which takes crews in pre-1977 cars through Thailand and Laos on the way to Vietnam and the finish in Hanoi. rallytheglobe.com 14-30 June White Nights Rally Named after the expression used in some parts of Europe for the period when the…