Octane October 2020

I HAVE BEEN fortunate to meet Prof Gordon Murray on several occasions, but sadly most have been journalist ensemble pieces when no conversation is truly private and few answers off-message. However, in 2018 I enjoyed an unforgettable dinner – the Peninsula Classics Best of the Best Awards in Paris; sorry, but yes, it was exactly as amazing as it sounds – at which the poor Professor was trapped beside me for the duration. What stuck with me every bit as much as what he said that evening was the manner in which he said it. When the notably calm and measured Gordon Murray gets animated on a subject there is an almost Doc Brown undercurrent to him; his fascination with the hard science of why things work (and how they…

MIKE DUFF ‘I’ve always been fascinated by Gordon Murray so it was an honour to be invited to interview him about his new car. He can make pretty much anything seem obvious, to the point you start to wonder why nobody else had thought it up before. Then you realise: “Because he’s Gordon Murray!”’ All about the new T.50: pages 64-68. TIM ANDREW ‘What a great opportunity to photograph the VW XL1 – basically a techy show car that actually made it into production – alongside the less extreme Honda Insight. Those minimalist slippery bodyshells are a far cry from the roller-skate, hunky hot hatches of the period and a delight to view from above.’ Octane goes eco-friendly: pages 98-106. JOHAN DILLEN ‘The 1944 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 “Turinga” is so much…

The Historic racing season has finally spluttered to a start and fans were treated to a showpiece event at Donington Park on 18-19 July. A wonderful Masters meeting included a superb Historic Sports Car Championship outing in which Chevron B19 driver Jonathan Mitchell survived a race of attrition that put paid to Tom Bradshaw (Chevron B19) and Gary Pearson (Lola T70 Mk3B). Pictured is the Steve Brooks and Robert Beebee Lola T70 Mk3B, while the weekend also hosted Touring Cars, GTs, Historic F1 and Aston Martin endurance racers. Octane would like to offer its heartfelt thanks to all those readers who helped keep these pages vibrant and alive during lockdown. Please do keep sending in your images. IN ASSOCIATION WITH…

28-30 August GOW! Speed Hill Climb Thanks to COVID-19 there will be no live music at GOW! this year, but members of the Vintage Hot Rod Association will rock and roll up Prescott Hill Climb as normal. vhra.co.uk 29-30 August Classic Days Magny-Cours Among the attractions at the French circuit this time is an unusual grid open to both F1 cars and Le Mans prototypes. classic-days.fr 29-31 August Oulton Park Gold Cup Spectators will see an array of single-seaters, sports cars and saloons in action, and away from the track there will be a wide variety of machinery to admire, too, with the weekend including classic car displays and a concours for sports cars ‘with a story to tell’. oultonparkgoldcup.com 31 August – 5 September Tour Auto The modern-day Tour…

TRAVELLING ALONG the A6 Autobahn in Germany, not far south of Frankfurt airport, you will glimpse the surreal sight of aircraft poking their noses out of the trees. As you turn off and approach the museum, Sinsheim’s claim of having a skyline second only to New York comes true. Well, to technical folk like us, at least. First to catch the eye is an Air France Concorde, high on the roof of the main building. Immediately in front, there is a Tupelov Tu-144 ‘Concordski’, both appearing to be lifting off. An unforgettable sight and, what’s more, you can climb aboard these legends. There are interesting aircraft perched on poles all around the museum buildings, including DC-3, Canberra, Junkers, some fighters and other airliners. Altogether, there are some 60 aircraft at…

THE FATE OF irreplaceable archive material – once located in ‘the dungeon’ beneath Bristol Cars’ famous Kensington showroom – is causing concern for enthusiasts. Yet there are also hopes that Bristol could yet be revived. Bristol collapsed in January for the second time in a decade, and several liquidation sales have since been arranged. The first is of three private treaty lots: a complete 2016 ‘Project Pinnacle’ Bullet prototype with eight Morgan V8 rolling chassis; 5000sq ft of spare parts; and the Bristol Cars Ltd archives. The second will be an online auction of ephemera, with lots ranging from the Chrysler V8-powered 1964 Bullet recommissioned in the Toby Silverton era, via a Type-400, a unique Type-603 convertible project (created by the Patchway factory’s last workshop manager, Jeff Marsh, at defunct…