Octane January 2024

MUCH AS I WOULD like to trundle through life unshakably confident that our hobby will continue unabated for time immemorial, surely we all occasionally wonder whether the axe might one day fall swiftly and terminally. Me possibly more than most. I was a teenager in the early 1980s, when we woke up every day pretty much convinced that there would be all-out nuclear war before the going home bell. That time may not quite have rivalled the Cuban Missile Crisis, but it taught an entire generation to fret constantly about the unthinkable coming to pass. So might the unthinkable come to pass for classics? We have already seen last month that Government policy and legislative threat to the internal combustion engine have helped prompt some market jitters, but four more…

RAFFI MINASIAN ‘I bought my first car at 11, built my first engine at 19, graduated from UCLA and Art Center College of Design, have enjoyed 40 years in transportation design, and owned Ferraris, Bugattis and Pegasos. Yet the Kurtis Sorrell SR-100 arrived like a bolt of lightning when I saw it at Pebble Beach.’ For more, see pages 82-90. PETER TOMALIN ‘As a teenage Aston Martin fan in the 1970s, there wasn’t a lot to cheer about on the motorsport front. RHAM/1, aka The Muncher, was the exception. To hear its story from David Jack, one of the men who helped build and race it at Le Mans – and who still races it today – was a real privilege.’ The Octane Interview, pages 102-106. DELWYN MALLETT ‘As an ex-ad man…

Modena Cento Ore, 9-14 October Running from Argentario to Emilia-Romagna, the 23rd outing for this rally took in four of Italy’s most famous circuits – Vallelunga, Modena, Mugello and Magione – featured nine special stages and covered a total distance of 959km. The participating crews represented more than 15 nations, with only 10% from the home nation of Italy. The trophies were equally well spread. The Pre-1965 Competition Class was won by Robin Ellis and Julian Thomas in their 1965 ‘Shapecraft’ Lotus Elan, while the Post-1965 Competition Class went to Seb and Steve Perez (who also scored fastest time in the Special Stages, and took that award) in a 1975 Lancia Stratos. Allan and Jacob Thom won the Index of Performance in a 1965 Lotus Cortina. Other age-related winners included…

25-26 November KartMania Exhibitors from across the world of karting congregate in the Wing building at Silverstone for the KartMania show, which, as always, includes a ‘Kart Boot’ sale. kartmania.co.uk 26 November New Forest VW Santa Run Organised in aid of the children’s cancer and haematology unit at Southampton General Hospital, the Santa Run sees classic and custom Volkswagens assemble at Beaulieu before travelling in convoy to the hospital to drop off presents. beaulieu.co.uk 29 November – 3 December Sebring Classic 12 Hour Classic competition cars do battle at Sebring Raceway in Florida, where vintage aircraft also vie for the attention of the spectators. hsrrace.com 2 December VSCC Winter DrivingTests Bicester Heritage hosts the VSCC’s curtain-closer, in which entrants attempt car-control challenges in conditions often not conducive to precision driving!…

NET ZERO IS coming, whether you like it or not. Just like many others around the world, the UK Government has committed to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, of which banning the sale of new petrol and diesel cars after 2035 is only a small part. There’s still rather a lot of debate around how (or if) we can get there, but the truth is that it’s leading to a huge shift in legislation – and public opinion – that will almost certainly make enjoying anything with an internal combustion engine increasingly difficult in the future. Yet the historic car industry is estimated to be worth over £18.3billion to the UK economy each year, and it’s under threat – possibly even from unintended consequences. With that in mind,…

Somerset museum opens at last After a four-year battle to get his dream off the ground, Pat Hawkins has opened a classic car and motorcycle museum in the heart of Taunton town centre, Somerset. As Octane went to press, the museum was due to be opened on 20 November by Richard Hammond. County Classics Motor Museum, a non-profit charity sited in a former department store, is focused on affordable and accessible cars and motorcycles, mostly from the 1960s to the 1990s. The building houses around 100 cars and 80 motorcycles as well as a shop and a café. Its self-made instigator bought and sold his first car aged 11 and owned 13 garages by the time he was 36. He hopes that the museum will breathe new life into Taunton…