Octane January 2019

I can forgIve you if you are having a bit of a Bobby Ewing moment right now, waking up in the shower, rubbing your head and wondering what has happened to the size of your copy of Octane magazine. Again. Well, please allow me to elaborate. It’s fair to say that not every reader embraced last year’s change of size for Octane. While it’s true that some adored the new format – ‘airport friendly’ and ‘classic yet modern’ were a couple of comments that kept cropping up – others felt that the new size diluted the long, indulgent read that they relished luxuriating in. Well, to those people we say ‘We have listened’ and, having now used up all the paper we pre-ordered in the smaller size, from this issue…

mark dixon ‘While I’ve been privileged to drive several McLarens this year, there was one car I couldn’t get my backside into – the F1 GTR Long Tail that’s on our cover. But having followed its restoration for the last two years and seen the incredible job that McLaren has done, I can quite understand why!’ john simister ‘Two red cars this month, both uniquely special, each a universe away from the other. The one-off Siata semi-racer was Bertone’s very own car, but today lacks surfaces touched by the great man. The unrestored, 15,500-mile 1937 Bentley, in contrast, is an unbelievable piece of tactile time travel.’ martin gurdon ‘Colleen thetractionenginewasthefirst steam-driven vehicle I’d had any control over since trundling a Mamod toy steam-roller up and down the pavement in the…

Raduno Padre-Figlio 18-20 OCTOBER Organised by the Happy Few Racing outfit, this regularity rally billed as ‘Fathers, sons and Ferraris’ was based in Monte Carlo and from there travelled into both France and Italy via the Col de Turini and a wealth of other fabulous driving roads. Not only is a Ferrari a pre-requisite for entrants, but only one example of each model is accepted. Nearly 40 cars took part, ranging from priceless 250GT California Spyder and 365 GTB/4 to 488 Pista and LaFerrari. MOTORCLASSICA, 11-14 OCTOBER Now in its ninth year, this superb event at the Royal Melbourne Exhibition Building in Victoria, Australia, continues to grow every year. ALGARVE CLASSIC FESTIVAL 19-21 OCTOBER The annual bonanza at Portimão is a favourite autumn meet for Brits. The Lister ‘Knobbly’ of…

A HISTORICALLY IMPORTANT collection of sketches, drawings and photographs has been given to the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu by the widow of Lotus design legend Ron Hickman. Helen Hickman’s generous decision to donate the collection comes seven years after the death of the designer and inventor (pictured above) at the age of 78. The items span his career in vehicle design, unsurprisingly with a strong emphasis on his time at Lotus. Most of the 100 sketches and drawings are originals, along with numerous reference photographs, documents and copies of sketches. On top of that there are around 60 box files packed with correspondence about his autobiography and other matters, as well as a complete project showing his proposed redesign of the Caterham Seven. Having started with Ford in 1954…

Flying into Brussels on the wings of Pegaso An extraordinary array of 13 Pegasos went on display at the Autoworld Museum in Brussels on 10 November and will remain on show until 9 December. The Spanish supercars, curated by marque aficionado Mario Laguna, came from across Europe and represent almost the entire ENASA production from 1951 to 1956. Among them is the most elusive Pegaso of all: a 1955 Z-103 with a bespoke Serra body and the only one of the entire 84-car production with a Z-104 V8 engine, a less-sophisticated version of the quad-cam Z-102. This is its first public appearance in 63 years. Other rarities include the 1954 Z-102 Touring Superleggera from Cité de l’Autombile in its first outing after a seven-year long restoration, plus an ex-works 1954…

A mAjor new plAyer has launched into the world of historic endurance rallying with a renowned expert heading up the team and an ambitious programme of events across the planet. The news comes hot on the heels of the HERO takeover of the ERA and has been created by Rally The Globe, a not-for-profit members’ club set-up by rally director Fred Gallagher and chairman Graham Goodwin. It plans to offer both endurance events – highly competitive and with ‘significant off-road sections’ – plus motoring adventures with far fewer off-road sections and a gentler pace. Catering for all pre-1976 cars, the new organisation launched with the announcement of a major round-the-world rally to take place in two years’ time. Events already confirmed include the Carrera Iberia in October 2019 and the…