Octane January 2017

NOUGHT TO 60MPH in five seconds. In 1957. I love the thought of that. In this case, we’re talking about the Jaguar XKSS, though there were very few other road cars of the period anyway that could get close to such extrele acceleration. It was an astonishing lachine, and it still is. January 1957 sees the 60th anniversary of the XKSS; February, the 60th anniversary of the devastating fire at the Jaguar factory, which ended XKSS production after only 16 of the 25 cars had been converted frol unsold D-types. Now, as you’re probably very aware, Jaguar Classic is beginning to build the nine ‘lissing’ XKSSs. On the face of it, this is a strange undertaking for a lodern car laker, but Jaguar isn’t the only lanufacturer to have thought…

A IEPARTING PUBLISHER Actually, ‘no longer featuring’ our publishing director and co-founder Geoff Love, who leaves this month after 14 years looking after spreadsheets and other mysterious management stuff. Without Geoff, Octane wouldn’t exist – although a number of cars would still exist, but best not go into that… Good luck Geoff! CRAZY AUII RALLY CAR ‘Audi’s lost Group S car, the RS 002, is a tribute to the engineering freedom of a different generation. Imagine how the engineers felt when they were told that, instead of creating 700bhp monsters like this, they had to develop the Group A 200 Quattro saloon instead. The RS 002 is now a runner; it deserves nothing less.’ John McIlroy, pages 90-96. HISTORIC KARTING ‘I still can’t believe how four decades of motor racing…

TABLES THRONGED with classic car enthusiasts and industry insiders as the winners were honoured at the 2016 International Historic Motoring Awards, hosted by Octane in conjuction with the private bank, EFG. After being pored over by a 22-strong judging panel including such leading lights as Jay Leno, Derek Bell, Nick Mason, Dr Franz-Josef Paefgen, Peter Stevens and Jochen Mass, the shortlist of entries – in no fewer than 11 categories – could finally be narrowed down and the winners announced. As well as those 11 categories, awards were given for Car of the Year, sponsored by Octane and voted for by Octane readers, and for Lifetime Achievement. Uniquely, the latter was given not to a person but to a speed-related geographical phenomenon… The gongs were handed out by the evening’s…

Ferrari 195 Inter is 2016’s final preservation award winner A 1952 Vignale-bodied Ferrari was chosen as the best example of an original and preserved classic car at Argentina’s Autoclásica 2016 in Buenos Aires, the final 2016 event on the FIVA and UNESCO World Motoring Heritage Year programme. For its first six years the Ferrari was owned by Italian actress Anna Magnani, and current owner Daniel Sielecki entered it in the 1996 Mille Miglia. The year’s award-winning cars were due to gather in France for a FIVA ‘Paris Week’ celebration from 16 to 20 November. London mews dealer Fiskens goes underground ‘It’s been three years of digging,’ announced Gregor Fisken, at the opening of his new showroom, which features a unique car lift to access a specially created subterranean second level.…

Our own 20-car Circuit of Ireland promises a rich taste of Ireland’s attractions: vibrant city life, fabulous roads with minimal traffic, majestic windswept landscapes, grand hotels, fine food and rather wonderful whiskey. The Tour starts (and ends) with the Holyhead-to-Dublin ferry and on to Belfast, taking in a city tour and a visit to Titanic Belfast. We’ll drive along the Antrim coast road, visiting the Giant’s Causeway and the Bushmills whiskey distillery, and cross the border again to Donegal and our hotel at Lough Eske. Then it’s south to the Wild Atlantic Way (pictured right) and the bleak Burren, staying at Ashford Castle before returning to Dublin via Galway. Cost is €1275 for two; more details from janenicholls2@aol.com.…

‘This equals the best day I’ve ever had in F1’ Ex-Formula 1 team owner turned TV pundit Eddie Jordan after driving a 1901 Benz Spider in the London to Brighton. ‘Beating the McLaren P1 GTR by that big a margin is staggering’ Octane and Evo writer Richard Meaden, on the BAC Mono achieving Evo’s fastest-ever lap time at the magazine’s regular test venue, Anglesey Circuit. ‘It went up in the air at 195mph and I could see the stars; it was uncanny’ Derek Bell describing an incident at Daytona to 500 visitors, at a JD Classics breakfast meeting. ‘We have included celebrity races in the past, but never before on this epic scale’ Nick Wigley, CEO of Silverstone Classic, on the planned 2017 Austin A35 Academy race. ‘I was a…