Octane November 2024

FROM THE MOMENT the Dodge Viper concept appeared at the North American International Auto Show in 1989 it was clear that productionising V10s in road cars would be swimming upstream against the V8s and V12s. Yet it is still surprising that, when the possibilities were seen – and heard! – more manufacturers didn’t jump on the bandwagon. As the sun sets on the roadgoing V10 35 years later, the applications may be myriad (as we explore on pages 58-59) but the actual number of different V10 motors designed and built for production road cars is pretty low, even if you include diesels and people-carriers. Glorious noise aside, what I like best about them is the way that, just when cars globally were becoming depressingly homogenised, the V10 came along and…

DAVID BURGESS-WISE ‘I’ve always been interested in the history behind a car, and this Bugatti really had a tale to tell. Not only that, it had been a favourite car of a good friend, and – better yet – it had broken the mould of perfect-plus cars always winning top concours events’ Controversy surrounded this year’s Pebble Beach winner: pages 62-68. RICH PEARCE ‘My first job after leaving school was as an apprentice technician at the local Nissan dealership, and just occasionally you’d get the chance to work on a Skyline. It was always the highlight of the job. My love of old Japanese cars grew from there, so it was a real honour to shoot the Skylines and GT-R feature.’ See Rich’s superb photography on pages 94-104. ALASTAIR WATSON ‘I grew…

Rolls-Royce 17EX Driving the one-off sports prototype, sold new to an Indian maharajah, today a multiple concours winner Plus Generation Z Sporting BMWs from Z1 to Z8 Frazer Nash Targa Florio Twice a Le Mans veteran, in single ownership for 53 years Skunkworks Delta Integrale On the road in one-off Evo 1 Martini 6 Prototype by Autec So-Cal Speed Shop Looking back on its legendary founder, Alex Xydias (Contents may be subject to change)…

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Who would ever have expected to see an entire grid of Beach Buggies taking over Goodwood? That’s what happened when a vivid selection of Meyers Manxes officially opened the track, ironically during the wettest-ever Revival. Other big successes for 2024 were all the racing taking place using sustainable fuel, a host of legendary motorsports names old and new (including Karun Chandhok, Dario Franchitti, Jimmie Johnson, Tom Kristensen, John McGuinness, Sir Jackie Stewart and Jacques Villeneuve), amazing racing, and celebrations for John Surtees, the 80th anniversary of D-Day and the 75th of the Jaguar XK engine. Off-track, the Revive & Thrive Village welcomed the likes of Dita Von Teese and Zandra Rhodes.…

A fantastic Ferrari 335 S topped the three-car shortlist to take Best of Show at this year’s Salon Privé Concours. The winning car was entered by US enthusiast Brian Ross, who drove it on the Tour Privé the day before it was crowned. In period, the Scuderia Ferrari car was raced by a stellar cast that included Peter Collins, Maurice Trintignant, Wolfgang von Trips, Mike Hawthorn and Luigi Musso. Concours chairman Andrew Bagley said: ‘You only have to look at the great names who raced it to realise how significant a car it was. We now look forward to its entry into the next Peninsula Classics Best of the Best Award.’ Runner-up from the 72-car field was Lord Bamford’s Rolls-Royce Phantom II Sport Saloon by Freestone & Webb, while third…