Octane June 2021

KING OF PORSCHES? It’s a bold claim, granted, when you look at the Stuttgart marque’s rich road and (especially) track career, but if you work on the basis that the more replicated a car is the more iconic it is, then this roadster is definitely in the top ten of the lot. Sure, like its 550 Spyder rep sibling, fuelled by legions of James Dean wannabes, this one’s popularity is aided somewhat by how easy those replicas are to build onto a cheap and readily available (21.5 million-odd) platform, but there is a little bit more to it than that. Think about what else is a shoo-in for the higher reaches of that desirable replica league table – Cobra, GT40, Jaguar C-type (though that is currently getting a bit more tricky,…

JOHNNY TIPLER ‘The Lotus Type 72 is the longest-serving F1 car since, well, the Alfa Romeo 156 – if you count its pre-war history. That’s what makes writing about it so fascinating: there are so many twists and turns in the plot, in terms of spec tweaks, the drivers’ luck, and the pit crews’ ability to turn all-nighters.’ Read about Fittipaldi’s Lotus on pages 86-98. PETER TOMALIN ‘I spend a good deal of my professional life writing about Aston Martins for Octane’s sister magazine Vantage, so it was a joy to discover the rather more exotic charms of the ridiculously pretty Alfa 1900C Super Sprint. Turned out there was an Aston connection, too!’ Find out more on pages 122-130. MASSIMO DELBÒ ‘The 1938 Cadillac V-16 is an amazing car: its sporting attitude isn’t something you’d expect. And…

Australia is go go go! The 2021 Phillip Island Classic went ahead under Victoria State Government Covid-19 regulations on 5-7 March with the 350 entries restricted to four pit crew apiece and performing in front of just 1000 spectators a day. However, given that Victoria had imposed a five-day lockdown just weeks before the event at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, it was a miracle it happened at all and organiser the Victorian Historic Racing Register (VHRR) did an amazing job. Aussie legends racing across many classes included seven-time Bathurst 1000 winner Jim Richards, two-time winner John Bowe and Australian Touring Car Championship runner-up Murray Carter. One of the highlights was two Porsche 962s cutting laps around the circuit, while driver of the meeting and winner of the Sir Jack…

30 April – 2 May Greenbrier Concours d’Elegance The Greenbrier Concours, in West Virginia, will have a Hollywood feel this year thanks to the addition of a Movie Cars class, including ECTO-1 from Ghostbusters. greenbrierconcours.com 1-2 May Donington Historic Festival There will be grids for everything from pre-war sports cars to ’70s and ’80s Touring Cars, but unfortunately all the action will happen behind closed doors, with only drivers and essential personnel permitted to attend. doningtonhistoric.com 1-2 May Keels & Wheels Beautiful old cars and boats share a stage at Lakewood Yacht Club in Texas. You’ll come away coveting all sorts of wooden things and a waterfront property. keels-wheels.com 1-8 May Rallye TransMaroc It begins and ends in Marrakesh, but crews will spend most of their time in the desert. Don’t be daunted, though: you can hire a 4x4 if you don’t own one,…

IT IS RIGHT to remember that France was the birthplace of motorsport, much of which then took place on public roads. Roads were easily requisitioned for closure and no need was envisaged for a specific closed circuit, as had been built at Brooklands, Indianapolis, Monza and Avus – but then a rapid increase in road traffic in France caused a change of mind. A radiator manufacturer called Alexandre Lamblin took the opportunity to buy a 12,000-acre plot about 20 miles south of Paris and employed thousands of workmen, using precast concrete, to ready the 1.6-mile banked oval for racing in only a matter of months. In October 1924, 50,000 spectators saw a Morgan win the opening race, while the first day of competition also featured Ernest Eldridge’s Fiat Mephistopheles battling Parry Thomas’s…

THE CHALLENGE of ‘Net Zero by 2050’, coupled with the Government’s announcement that the sale of petrol and diesel cars will cease in 2030, is a serious concern for classic and historic vehicle enthusiasts. Everyone is quite rightly asking what fuels may be available in the future and whether their classic vehicles will run on them. The DfT has recently published a public consultation Targeting Net Zero – Next Steps for the Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation. This document proposes a faster and higher ambition on the contribution of sustainable low-carbon fuels by increasing biofuel blending and ways of supporting a more diverse range of fuels in transport for the longer term, especially to support the uptake of renewable hydrogen and recycled carbon fuels (RCFs) – which turn household rubbish into fuel. In…