Table of contents for December 2018 in Octane

In today’s world of disc-braked efficiency, drum brakes are the poor relation, doomed to a supporting role on the lightly laden rear wheels of cheap hatchbacks. But cars from the pre-disc era flaunt their smooth-looking stoppers, uncluttered by calipers, with pride. The best ones aren’t even smooth: they are finned. And if finned, they are probably of aluminium. Not the actual braking surface, of course; that would be daft. Here, a ring of cast iron remains the material of choice, around which the aluminium outer part – weight-saving and heat-dissipating – is then cast. Circumferential fins are then machined to get rid of more heat. The process – Alfin – was invented by the US’s Fairchild Aircraft Company for cylinder barrels of air-cooled engines, and adopted in the UK by…

Having won eight 24-hour races, you would think I would be impervious to sleep deprivation. I’m not. This was brought into sharp relief during the summer. After the Monterey Car Week, judging at Pebble Beach and also racing at the Nürburgring, I landed back in the UK in time for Salon Privé where I was involved with the tour, the concours and the Porsche 70th-anniversary celebration event. In addition to the daytime activities, I also participated in three black-tie dinners inside Blenheim Palace. These were typically splendid affairs and the current keeper, the Duke of Marlborough, was on great form. It turns out that he’s a bit of a driver himself. ‘THE PROSPECT OF DRIVING THE EAGLE, ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL SINGLESEATERS EVER, KEPT ME AWAKE AT NIGHT’ So…

1. In 1992 I bought WO’s 1926 Le Mans Bentley 3 Litre, which was raced by Duller and Clement but sadly didn’t finish. It is my dearest possession. There are all sorts of details that aren’t on other cars, such as a brake adjuster forward of the driver’s seat so you don’t have to do it in the pits. After the auction I got a shock when a file arrived packed with the most amazing history, including letters and photos from WO and every logbook the car has had. 2. I have been involved in the Bentley Drivers Club for longer than I care to remember, serving as chairman from 2002 to 2005 and president since 2012. I have two complete sets of the Review going back to 1946, and…

This year our expert panel considered entries in 18 categories, while Octane readers voted for Car of the Year. Inevitably, on a panel with such vast experience, certain judges were involved with certain nominees – so in the interest of fairness, they refrained from voting in the relevant category. Each judge worked in private, and ballots remained sealed until all votes were in. DEREK BELL Five-times Le Mans winner and Octane columnist YAN-ALEXANDRE DAMASIEWIZ Editor-in-chief, Octane France BERTHOLD DÖRRICH Editor, Octane Germany TONY DRON Former racing driver and motoring journalist JAMES ELLIOTT Editor-in-chief, Octane GREGOR FISKEN CEO Fisken Ltd, historic racing driver MCKEEL HAGERTY CEO Hagerty Group, classic car insurance specialists YUKI HAYASHI President of Osato Research Institute, car collector SHIRO HORIE Editor, Octane Japan BEN HORTON Proprietor of Hortons…

JESSE CROSSE Contributor • 1968 Ford Mustang GT 390 • 1986 Ford Sierra RS Cosworth DAVID BURGESS-WISE Contributor • 1903 De Dion-Bouton • 1911 Pilain 16/20 • 1926 Delage DISS MARTYN GODDARD Photographer • 1963 Triumph TR6SS Trophy • 1965 Austin-Healey 3000 MkIII DAVE KINNEY Markets expert • 2005 Ferrari 612 Scaglietti DELWYN MALLETT Contributor • 1936 Cord 810 Beverly • 1946 Tatra T87 • 1950 Ford Club Coupe • 1952 Porsche 356 • 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL • 1957 Porsche Speedster • 1957 Fiat Abarth Sperimentale • 1963 Abarth-Simca • 1963 Tatra T603 SARAH BRADLEY Contributor • 1929 Ford Model A hot rod • 1952 Studebaker Champion • 1956 Chevrolet 3100 pick-up • 1969 Plymouth Roadrunner • Various motorbikes MASSIMO DELBÒ Contributor • 1967 Mercedes-Benz 230 • 1972 Fiat 500L…

I CONCLUDED my last update on the progress of my 356 ‘Streamliner’ at the point where restorer Steve Kerti, of Classic Fabrications, was again about to demonstrate his skill at the English Wheel and roll out a new engine lid. My Judson supercharged 1300cc engine was too tall to allow the original lid to close. The easy option would have been to cut off the lid’s internal drip tray. The other – more expensive! – solution was a new lid. This would allow me to preserve the original panel intact, should I need to refit it in the future. This is a distinct possibility because I have no idea how reliable my supercharged project might be, and returning to a standard engine is still on the cards. Another problem is…

‘The “workshop find” Giulia Spider will soon be drivable. I’m making a final push to get it ready for a huge French and Italian car show here in LA in November’ Evan Klein ‘Frustrated that I don’t have the cash to give it the remedial work it deserves, I put my Interceptor up for sale. Albeit briefly – I can’t go through with it’ James Elliott ‘I haven’t quite extracted the Singer’s broken engine yet, but a bout of displacement activity – in preparation for littering the floor with Singer parts – has made my garage unusually tidy’ John Simister ‘The Mustang GT390 shell is painted and home, engine and gearbox built… suspension next, then final assembly starts!’ Jesse Crosse…

THE FAMOUS 1950s advertising jingle ran ‘A little dab’ll do ya,’ followed by the promise that ‘You’ll look so debonaire – the girls’ll all pursue ya.’ It’s now in its 90th year and there are men still dabbing the Brylcreem. One of my earliest memories is as a tired toddler being hoisted onto my dad’s shoulders for the long walk home from the nearest cinema and holding onto his forehead and slowly sinking, half asleep, into his fragrant Brylcreemed hair. It was around 1950 and Brylcreem still had a decade of healthy sales ahead before hair fashion changed dramatically. Men have been anointing their hair with pungent oily unguents for thousands of years to make it supple and keep it under control, but Macassar Oil, named after the port of…

Motorsport is dangerous. Many are happy to take the risks for the glory and the potential rewards, but some seem simply to be drawn to the danger. Frenchman Didier Pironi was one of those, which probably explains why, after his meteoric rise and then F1disappointment – he would have been 1982 champion but for a career-ending crash in Germany – he met his fate powerboat racing off the Isle of Wight in 1987. This readable pot-boiler is a racy tribute to a rollercoaster life.…

CHAS PARKER, Haynes, £22.99, ISBN 978 1 78521 183 6 This Haynes series has settled nicely into its stride now, with the format used to cover everything from GT40 to GTO. If you are unfamiliar with them, ‘workshop’ is rather overstated and, while there is emphasis on engineering, you don’t get instruction on how to refurb the 35’s worm-and-wheel steering box. What is there is loads of history and pictures, great archive from the Bugatti Trust, plus useful info for (and from) owners and fans. Excellent value.…

VETERAN CHARMER Bonhams, New Bond Street, London UK 2 November For an estimated £40,000-60,000, you could buy this charming 1903 De Dion-Bouton 8hp two-seater. Then, rather than getting up in the middle of the night two days later to guide the ex-Quattroruote Collection car from London’s Hyde Park to Madeira Drive in Brighton, take it easy and enterr it for 2019. bonhams.com RARE MINI SPOTTED Anglia Car Auctions, Norfolk, UK 3 November This 1989 car started life as a Mini Rose and was bought by Mohamed Al-Fayed, but was customised by one of his daughters a decade later (the leopard theme is replicated on the inside). It will be sold with no reserve but, as a guide, it made £5750 when Bonhams sold it at the Festival of Speed in…

ROBERT COUCHER ‘Sadly, I never quite met the sartorially extravagant Victor Gauntlett but I do know his flamboyant son Mark, currently the VIP sales manager at Aston. He and I have a running joke about who’s driven more (classic) Zagatos. I am ahead with a couple under my belt, so I’m the reigning Zag Slag…’ DAN TRENT ‘I was sad to hear of the death of Brabus founder Bodo Buschmann but the news coincided with rediscovery of a recreation of a special one-off Mercedes 190 built by the tuner. I can think of no better tribute to the man, his vision and his outrageous machines than this classily executed embodiment of ’80s excess. HUGH FRANCIS ANDERSON ‘Having studied the Second World War at university, and with a love for motorcycles,…

With the world of automotive technology currently obsessed with building electric supercars, it seems appropriate to remind ourselves of the first land speed record, also achieved with electricity. The driver, Frenchman Count Gaston de Chasseloup-Laubat, was brother of the Marquis de Chasseloup-Laubat, a founding member of the Automobile Club de France. The Marquis’ first automobile was an electric Jeantaud built in Paris in 1893. It was created by coachbuilder Charles Jeantaud, who built his first electric carriage in 1881. This new Jeantaud sent power to the rear wheels via a chain, with propulsion coming from a 36hp battery-powered electric motor. The driver sat very high, almost on the body, and steered the Jeantaud via a system of bevel gears. In December 1898 the Chasseloup-Laubat brothers decided to enter their Jeantaud…

Who was Giovanni Michelotti? The name is very familiar. So are the cars, which include the Triumphs Herald and Spitfire: unique shapes and likeable machines despite their technical shortcomings. In his short life, Michelotti – always known as ‘Micho’ – drew more than 1200 of them. He styled the two-stroke glassfibre Frisky of 1957 and the ohmygod Ferrari 340 Mexico of 1952. Yet he remains almost unknown as an individual. I found a 1957 article from The News Chronicle boldly titled ‘He gives cars a new look’. The journalist had visited Micho’s Turin studio-home in an apartment at 35 Corso Francia, not far from the Modern Art Gallery. The 36-year-old Micho, described as reserved, even taciturn, was furiously at work, chain-smoking, shuffling French curves and pencils. ‘THE FRISKY WAS THE…

This elegant, classically styled men’s timepiece features a quartz movement inside a stainless steel 42mm case, and a stunning blue galvanic dial with appliqué indexes and date window, protected by a sapphire crystal. It is water resistant to 5atm and supplied on a black calf leather strap with an alligator grain finish. Raymond Weil is one of a handful of Swiss watchmakers that remain in family hands. The Toccata name reflects the Weil family’s interest in music, which has led to many of the watch collections bearing musically themed names. RAYMOND-WEIL.COM…

LAMBORGHINI TOUR ‘So,’ says my friendly dentist, ‘how exactly did you break the tooth?’ ‘Well, I was sitting at a pavement café in Italy, enjoying the sunshine with a cappuccino and a stracciatella ice cream, when I bit down on a lump of chocolate, and that was it.’ ‘Hmm,’ my dentist muses, in a slightly less sympathetic tone, ‘and what were you doing in Italy?’ ‘Umm… driving some classic Lamborghinis through Umbria and Tuscany…’ Cue dentist’s demeanour beginning to resemble Laurence Olivier’s in Marathon Man. Alright, I’ll confess, it wasn’t the most demanding assignment. But, as the former co-owner of a Lamborghini Espada – bought by remortgaging my house and going 50:50 with mate and Octane contributor Richard Heseltine – I was generously invited to be Octane’s representative on Lamborghini’s…

REGULAR READERS will know I’ve had a bit of a year with the 944. Well, six months of trouble anyway, after it fritzed its wiring loom and blew the ECU (and much else) as a result. But happier times have followed! Yes, there was quite a substantial bill to pay – more than £800 in replacement parts alone – but my mate Stuart, proprietor of Northants-based Templeton’s Garage, worked on the car between other jobs and did me a massive favour on labour rates. So I got the car home in celebratory mood and drove more than 1000 miles in the first week I had it back. That week kicked off with the Octane Concours as part of the Shelsley Walsh Classic Nostalgia weekend. The organisers insisted that my car…

I’D ALWAYS intended my Giulia to be a keeper, but recently I’ve been thinking of selling it. Yes, I know… I bought the car with the help of Octane contributor Massimo Delbò about three years ago, who scoured Italy for a good one. Before it came to the UK, it received a bare-metal respray, the bodyshell was wax-injected and many new parts were sourced and fitted. Our relationship couldn’t have started out any better, especially with my first drive being a road trip bringing the car to my home in Berkshire from Italy across the French Alps, with deputy editor Mark Dixon (for a reminder, see Octane 170). Problem is, having a young family has meant that many of the adventures I hoped to have with the car just haven’t…

‘The 356 was built in Coupé, Cabriolet and Speedster variants over a 17-year run. Coupés can take a variety of belts – automatic, static lap or static lap/diagonal – front and rear; the same is true of Speedster front seats, but static lap or lap/ diagonal belts have to be installed at the rear. That’s also the case with the Cabriolet – but it requires a bespoke frame if you want automatic front belts. Later 356s had factory anchor points for static belts but at QuickFit Safety Belts we make our own, better-sited anchor points to increase safety.’ Monthly advice from Stuart Quick of Quickfit Safety Belts, one of the UK’s foremost providers of classic and vintage seatbelts and racing safety harnesses. Contact +44 (0)20 8206 0101 www.quickfitsbs.cominfo@quickfitsbs.com…

We certainly got lucky with the weather. The invitation to BMW’s Roadster Heritage Drive had arrived mid-summer, and as the late-September date came closer, so did the likelihood of inclement weather. The weekend before was a shocker, cold and wet in much of England, so it was with huge relief that I set off down towards Henley-on-Thames during one of those beautiful early-autumn afternoons that we occasionally enjoy, all golden sunlight and mild, still air. And it was perfect for an evening driving a variety from BMW GB’s own collection of roadsters, dating back to a 1938 Frazer Nash 328. Naturally it was a popular choice among the assembled journalists, all there for a private preview of the just-launched next-generation Z4. But I got there first and claimed the keys.…

we recently returned to Jaguar Land Rover Classic Works near Coventry, which has developed from an empty hangar to a fully operational classic hub in a little over a year. It has also launched a new Classic Tour and Track Experience, so we were invited to try it out for ourselves. ‘Reborn’ cars, highly original classics, an XJ220 and even a Group C racer: it was worth the trip for these alone, but we’re only just getting started. Entering the impeccably clean main workshop, we get a close look at the one of the continuation D-types, as well as a number of Defenders that are undergoing V8 conversions. The restoration process is explained in detail, and we can view the full collection of cars (not just JLR products) housed here.…

If you’d forgotten how naffly curvetastic the 1990s were, then the XK8/original XKR section of this detailed history-cum-owners’ guide will remind you. It’s almost a relief to encounter the next, Callum-designed, XK generation, newly included in this guide’s second edition. From model gestation to electrical gremlins, it’s all here with every single tiny update and special edition. I never realised there were so many, nor that 38 wheel designs adorned the two generations. All are pictured, luckily.…

In the 1960s, when British car manufacturers saw female race and rally drivers and co-pilots as a way to gain added newspaper column inches, a handful of talented women rose to prominence: Pat Moss, Ann Wisdom, Christabel Carlisle… and most glamorous of them all, Rosemary Smith. Still a familiar and welcome sight at classic car events, often with her own Hillman Imp ex-works rally car, she’s known (and loved) by everybody – but this is the first time her life has been described in anything longer than a magazine article. By her own admission, Rosemary’s memory of events is shockingly poor, so her co-author, Ann Ingle, has done a superb job of seasoning Rosemary’s anecdotes with a sprinkling of facts and figures. Beginning with her most recent adventure – driving…

Aston Martin DB4 BY CORGI TOYS The 1965 James Bond Aston Martin DB5 is easily the most famous model car produced by Corgi Toys, but few collectors know that it was in essence a reworking of a model that was already five years old. In March 1960, Corgi introduced a DB4 model that could be purchased either in red or yellow. It followed those with a ‘competition model’ in 1962, finished in green and white, with racing flags on the bonnet and numbers on the doors. In this respect Corgi was following a 1950s precedent set by rival Dinky, whose MG Midget, Triumph TR2 and other sports cars came in both ‘touring’ and ‘competition’ guises. Between them, the two Corgis clocked up nearly 1.5 million sales before they were suddenly…

£1,973,750 2003 Ferrari Enzo RM Sotheby’s, London, UK 5 September £1,359,000 1964 Shelby Cobra 289 Bonhams, Goodwood, UK 8 September £1,343,000 ($1,760,000) 2015 Porsche 918 Spyder Barrett-Jackson, Las Vegas, USA. 27-29 September £1,191,000 1990 Jaguar XJR-11 Group C Bonhams, Goodwood, UK 8 September £1,017,500 1953 Ferrari 212 Europa Coupé by Pinin Farina RM Sotheby’s, London, UK 5 September £933,125 1993 Porsche 911 Carrera RS 3.8 RM Sotheby’s, London, UK 5 September £921,666 1964 Ferrari 250 GT Lusso Bonhams, Goodwood, UK 8 September £800,000 1955 Rolls-Royce Phantom IV Hooper state landaulette Bonhams, Goodwood, UK 8 September £754,200 1957 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster Bonhams, Goodwood, UK 8 September £631,000 1937 Jaguar SS100 3½ Bonhams, Goodwood, UK 8 September…

In the 1940s the Caplin brothers, cartoonists of the time, attempted to persuade artist Norman Rockwell to work with them on a comic strip called Broadway Bill, for which King Features Syndicate was prepared to pay a generous $1000 a week. It was a fool’s errand: as fellow illustrator Al Dorne noted, it took Rockwell ‘a week to draw a finger nail’. The folks at Ford, then, presumably knew not to expect a quick turnaround when they commissioned Rockwell to produce a series of paintings to mark the company’s 50th anniversary. The best-known of these shows Henry Ford in 1896, building his first car while his wife, Clara, darns socks. The Revolution that Started in a Shed at Night was composed with extreme attention to detail. Rockwell visited Dearborn to…

1997 Venturi Atlantique £49,995 Few facelift Atlantique 300s were built, and only a handful in right-hand drive. An interesting and capable alternative to a Lotus Esprit or Porsche 911. horsepowerhangar.com (UK) 1965 Maserati Quattroporte ¤95,000 Numerous factory options make this early Quattroporte a very tasteful proposition. Most interestingly, it has the 4.7-litre V8 engine and long-range, 100-litre fuel tanks. vsoc.nl (NL) 1928 Hispano-Suiza H6C $495,000 Offered by RM Sotheby’s new private sale division, this Hibbard & Darrin-bodied H6C has trapezoidal side windows and the ‘ultimate’ 7.9-litre straight-six engine. Whitewalls, too. What’s not to like? rmsothebys.com (US) 1976 Mercedes-Benz 450SEL £42,950 A V8 hot rod in a sober Swabian suit, this fine saloon shows just 53,000 miles and has its original wallet and books. Enthusiast-owned, too. theslshop.com (UK)…

First question: why would you want to do this? To make money pleasurably? To experience different classic cars you otherwise might not encounter first-hand? As a way of justifying a rampant car-acquisition habit? To meet a lot of interesting new people? Whatever the reason, you must be honest with yourself, practising a self-discipline that keeps you aware of the big picture of making a living. When you find a sound, original but down-at-heel car at a price tempting enough to make you realise you can do it up and sell it at a profit – from such projects do dreams of ‘doing it for a living’ often spring – you must know when you have done it up enough, and then get rid of it. The temptation might be to…

I have been reading a terrific book by Dr Clare Hay and Giles Chapman called Gentleman Heroes: YU 3250 – The First Blower Bentley And The Men Who Made It Happen. As I finished it, I realised that almost all the motorsport I like to read about took place either before World War Two or right after it. Modern F1 racing doesn’t interest me much, because the vehicles are so incredibly complex and bear almost no relation to something you could drive on the street. In 2011, at the Circuit of the Americas racetrack near Austin, Texas, the McLaren team let me sit in its MP4-26 F1 car. Sure, it took some greased tyre irons and a transmission jack to get me in, but I finally got there. Right away…

The apocryphal Aston Martin tale goes something like this. Proprietor David Brown is rung up by a friend who says, ‘I’d like to buy one of your Astons, old chap, and I’m sure you’ll let me have it at cost.’ Brown, it is reputed, replies, ‘Of course, my dear fellow. For a good friend, that will be 500 guineas over the list price!’ Aston Martin has had a rollercoaster ride since it was founded as Bamford & Martin in 1913 by its eponymous owners. It has soldiered on through 105 years and seven bankruptcies, and on 3 October the company went public. The shares had tumbled by 8% as we went to press, reducing the company’s value of £4.3bn to £3.6bn and losing its slot in the FTSE 100. ‘WITH…

FIRST THINGS FIRST. What does the word ‘Polo’ mean, in Lamborghini Polo Storico? ‘It means “hub”,’ explains the division’s genial boss, Paolo Gabrielli (pictured right), ‘because our aim is to offer a 360º service to customers.’ A bold ambition, and one, it transpires, that Lamborghini is taking a very pragmatic approach to achieving. When a certain other Italian supercar company launched its own classic department back in 2006, it was rightly criticised for riding roughshod over all the independent specialists who had supported its obsolete models for decades. Only we, claimed the company concerned, have the skills and knowledge to properly restore our past products. That was patently absurd. Twelve years on, manufacturers take a more realistic approach. ‘The specialists have kept our brand alive for many years,’ Paolo openly…

ROBERT COUCHER International Editor, Octane magazine The Historic Motoring Awards, now in their eighth year, celebrate the classic car industry’s continued rude health, a health achieved not least through the efforts of the nominees. All have made a huge contribution to the old car scene, and the judges – including some new faces who have joined me in the task this year – have had an extraordinarily difficult time choosing between them. I’m sure you’ll agree the winners’ inspirational stories make them most deserving. One category – Car of the Year – was decided by you, our readers, and the result both surprised and delighted us. Our Performance Car winner shows a pleasing groundedness, too, and proves what we’ve always thought: in the end, the driving matters the most. ROBERT…

JAMES ELLIOTT Editor-in-chief • 1965 Triumph 2.5PI • 1968 Jensen Interceptor ROBERT COUCHER International editor • 1937 Bentley 4¼ • 1955 Jaguar XK140 • 1988 Mercedes-Benz 560 SEC TONY DRON Contributor • 1932 Austin Seven ANDREW ENGLISH Contributor • 1960 Triumph TR3A • 1965 Aston Martin DB5 SANJAY SEETANAH Advertising director • 1981 BMW 323i Top Cabrio • 1998 Aston Martin DB7 Volante MARK DIXON Deputy editor • 1955 Land Rover Series I 107in • 1966 Ford Mustang 289 • 1991 Land Rover Discovery • 1994 Range Rover 4.0 SAMANTHA SNOW Advertising account manager • 1969 Triumph Herald 13/60 Convertible • 1989 Mercedes-Benz 300SL MARK SOMMER Art Director • 1969 Alfa Romeo Giulia 1300 Saloon JOHN SIMISTER Contributor • 1934 Singer Nine Le Mans • 1961 Saab 96 • 1968…

THE XK140 was parked ready to head down to Valentine Lindsay’s Wings, Wheels and Steam Day at his Folly Farm near Hungerford. I hopped in, the Facet fuel pump did its thing for a few seconds, then I turned the key. The high-torque starter motor made a pathetic stab at cranking… then stopped. Blast. I’d noticed the day before that the battery had seemed a little less than energetic but I’d hoped that was because the car had stood for a while. But as the XK was polite enough to fail to proceed right outside our house, I called the AA, made a cup of Nespresso and started reading the paper. The yellow recovery van arrived within half-an-hour and the man agreed that the battery was dead. No great surprise…

It’s noteworthy that this book refers to the Lamborghini Miura as the first modern supercar – not the first of all. No, Messrs Roach, Waterman and Morrison credit the 1901 Mercedes 35hp with that honour. How so? Well, consider the name of this book. It’s the Mercedes’ technology (or, as the book puts it, ‘the science’ behind it) that makes it a supercar: a low centre of gravity, a lightweight, high-performance engine, two carburettors, plus improved brakes and cooling. And considering it was a versatile prospect – at home on the La Turbie hilclimb as much as on the Promenade des Anglais – then it’s probably a well-earned epithet. Other landmarks include the E-type and 300SL, the Countach, 911 Turbo, Audi Quattro, a comparison between 959 and F40, plus longer…

In its 1965 review of this small hardback, Motor Sport described it as ‘nicely printed, with a solidity that the cars it described tended to lack’. That solidity has been proved true in more than one respect, for this pioneering marque history is as sought-after today by ‘chain-gangsters’ (Motor Sport, again) as it was over half-a-century ago. David Thirlby was a ’Nash man to his core, who in 1953/54 became club registrar and newsletter editor. For the latter role, he interviewed all the pre-war key players, including Ron Godfrey and Archie Frazer-Nash. But besides these first-hand accounts, Thirlby’s book was unusual for its time in including appendices listing all the known details of every chain-drive car built. The 1965 first edition is worth seeking out above the 1977 Foulis reprint.…

2 November Bonhams, London, UK 3 November Anglia Car Auctions, King’s Lynn, UK 4 November Artcurial, Paris, France; Charterhouse, Shepton Mallet, UK 5 November Shannons, Sydney, Australia 9 November H&H (motorcycles), Bickenhill, UK 10-11 November Silverstone Auctions, Birmingham, UK 11 November Osenat, Chassieu, France 15-17 November Leake, Dallas, USA; Mecum, Las Vegas, USA 17 November Classicbid, Cologne, Germany 24 November Dan Kruse, Houston, USA; Historics at Brooklands, Weybridge, UK; Morris Leslie, Errol, UK; Osenat (motorcycles), Paris, France 26 November Shannons, Melbourne, Australia 28 November H&H, Buxton, UK; Brightwells, Leominster, UK 29 November DVCA, Dorchester, UK 1 December Bonhams, London, UK; Classic Car Auctions, Leamington Spa, UK 3 December Bonhams, London, UK 4 December Coys, London, UK 6-8 December Mecum, Kansas City, USA 8 December Classicbid, Nuremberg, Germany; RM Sotheby’s, Los…

WHAT TO PAY 2CV6 models start from around £6000 in solid and very usable condition, although road-legal projects can be picked up for less than £3000. Fully rebuilt examples can cost upwards of £10,000. Pre-’53 ‘ripple-bonnet’ cars are very rare, and can command upwards of £30,000-40,000. Post-’53 cars span £8000 to £15,000, Slough-built cars slightly more. The ultimate in collectable 2CVs is the 4x4 twin-engined Sahara. With just under 700 of these built, they range from around £60,000 to over £100,000. LOOK OUT FOR… As always, rust is your biggest enemy. UK cars have most likely had a replacement chassis by now but you should always check that it’s solid. Inspect the bodywork for corrosion because the thin steel suffers badly. Main areas to watch include the bulkhead, sills and…