Octane July 2022

THIS PART of the magazine is usually a précis of what is in this edition, but this time I would like to highlight what isn’t in it – namely my friend Charles Evans, who last month took his own life. Charles, or @douzecoupes as he was known on social media, contributed regularly to Octane, principally to Month in Pictures but also Octane Cars, for which he would bolt his rust-hiding filter onto his Canon and take pictures of my Triumph. He always eschewed payment, asking instead for a contribution to the charity Anthony Nolan. (I have made a donation in his honour; maybe you could, too.) Charles, along with others, was behind the Southside Hustle classic car meets on Wimbledon Common, the Wacky Racers Coffee Club, track days, evening meets and…

MASSIMO DELBÒ ‘It was my first time driving a Bugatti Type 13, and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since. So exhilarating, though it came at a price: after sliding it around on a dirt road, even though my head was covered by a leather helmet, I’m still finding mud in my ears.’ Legend of the Bugatti Brescia: pages 112-120. MARC SONNERY ‘When they were new my father had Citroën SM company cars, but Heuliez’s SM Espace was in another realm: that of dream cars. I was seven when it premiered and it instantly became my fantasy to drive it. Doing so 50 years later was surreal, yet the Espace did not disappoint at all.’ Open-top Citroën SM: pages 68-76. DAVID ROSCOE-RUTTER ‘I loved the Toyota Century: it felt very much at home in…

Blessed with fine weather, the inaugural Salon Privé London event was a huge success at the Royal Hospital Chelsea, attracting some 16,000 visitors. Boasting an innovative Concours de Vente and a wealth of mouthwatering dealer cars that could be bought off the showfield, there were awards, too, The Classic Motor Hub’s 1954 Osca MT4 (bottom right) taking the Prix d’Honneur. The Chelsea Pensioners showed great interest in the event and declared Warren Kennedy’s 1954 Austin-Healey 100 their favourite, while the People’s Choice Award went to a 2004 Ferrari Enzo. As well as the dealer cars for sale, there was an abundance of food and drink, a luxury retail village and a host of launches. The event also raised £120,000 for the DEC Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal.…

28 May Prescott Historique Prescott’s wonderful hillclimb course is tackled by vehicles spanning nine decades of motoring history. prescotthillclimb.co.uk 28-29 May Masters Historic Festival The Masters circus comes to Brands Hatch, with grids for classic GTs, single-seaters, prototypes and more. mastershistoricracing.com 29 May Valletta Concours d’Elegance Classics assemble in Malta’s capital, under the sunniest sky in Europe and against a backdrop of stunning baroque buildings. vallettaconcoursdelegance.com 29 May Bergamo Historic Gran Prix Classic cars and motorcycles roar around the Circuita della Mura, a street course that follows the ancient walls of Bergamo’s old town in northern Italy. bergamohistoricgranprix.com 29-31 May Cavallino Classic Modena To mark the 75th anniversary of Ferrari, the organisers of the long-running Palm Beach Cavallino Classic have arranged this additional event in Enzo’s home town. There will be a parade in the town centre on Sunday 29 May, followed by a concours on the Monday…

SUBMARINES in a car magazine? Well, many of us are interested in all things mechanical, and submarines can have an appropriate connection. Examples? A London bus engine powered X-class midget submarines, and underwater craft had hybrid power long before cars did. The Royal Navy Submarine Museum is set amid the impressive naval establishment at Gosport, alongside Portsmouth. It was established 40 years ago and has developed in stages, including the Holland 1 building, opened in 2001, followed by the spectacular £3m John Fieldhouse Building, which houses the modern visitors’ centre. More projects are planned. It’s logical to start at the Holland 1 Gallery. The futuristic vessel itself, the Royal Navy’s first submarine, was launched in 1901. It was powered by a petrol engine, or by an electric motor when submerged. Yes, it…

THE FUTURE OF classic motoring bothers a lot of enthusiasts. The ban on new combustion-engined cars (except plug-in hybrids) in 2030, zero-emissions versus zero tail-pipe emissions cars, ultra-low emissions zones, plus the increasingly strident voices of the battery-electric lobby; well, it’s all a bit bewildering and classic owners are understandably confused. ‘We’re getting letters asking why we aren’t asking the Government for all sorts of new fuels,’ says Nigel Elliot, fuels advisor to the Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs (FBHVC, fbhvc.co.uk), ‘but I think they are worrying too much.’ Elliot is one of several experts concerned that the classic industry is trying to move too fast and perhaps in the wrong direction as it seeks to do its bit to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. We’ll come back to that, but…