Octane

Octane is the authoritative guide to the best classic cars in the world.

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Octane

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IGNITION EVENTS + NEWS + OPINION

COMING UP… • Established springtime favourites and some new events, too, including a very inclusive meet at the British Motor Museum

FORWARD PLANNING • There’s a heck of a lot going on in 2024. To help you organise your diary for the rest of the year, we’ve compiled a list of some of the bigger events that are coming up

Mullin UK still ‘on’ despite US closure • Those close to the £150m scheme claim collector’s passing will not derail it

Classic calendar culled

NEWS FEED

Royal appointment • Salon Privé gears up for its London spectacular

Nick Baldwin b.1945

MAN & MACHINE Mongolian madness • George Ratcliffe’s first proper drive in his newly purchased Bentley was across Mongolia

WHY WE LOVE… Driving in snow

GEARBOX Richard Hammond • Top Gear and The Grand Tour star who now runs DriveTribe and The Smallest Cog classic vehicle restoration workshop

JAY LENO • The Collector

DEREK BELL • The Legend

STEPHEN BAYLEY • The Aesthete

ROBERT COUCHER • The Driver

Magneto • Celebrating the very best of the classic and collector car world

Phone call of a lifetime

BLUE RHAPSODY IN • One of the rarest and most beautiful Ferraris, this Zagato-bodied 250GT garners awards wherever it is shown. But its owner is not afraid to use it, as Mark Dixon finds out

THE PACE RACE • How the supercar arms race dashed from 200mph to 250mph – and more…

THE SPEED KINGS • These are the brave knights of air, land, sea and two wheels who were first to crack the magic 250mph mark

WINNING WAYS • A mainstay of Formula 1 grids for longer than any rival, the Maserati 250F powered the true greats of racing to championship domination. This is its story

TINY GIANT • Only 250cc, but ten straight race victories thanks to six cylinders, six carburettors and six exhaust pipes! This is the rival-slaying Honda RC166

OCTANE’S FAVOURITE 250S • No celebration of Octane’s 250th issue would be complete without venturing a little off-piste!

POWER TO THE PEOPLE • Two legends of the rally stage also make for democratically enjoyable road cars: the Subaru Impreza Turbo and Mistubishi Lancer Evo

BACK AGAIN FOR MORE • This Le Mans-winning Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Zagato Spider appeared in the very first issue of Octane. More than 20 years on, Robert Coucher acquaints himself – and finally gets behind the wheel

LEADING FROM THE MIDDLE • The René Bonnet Djet was the world’s first mid-engined production road car. Glen Waddington enjoys a momentous French Lotus rival

Micky Pople • Octane meets the 95-year-old and talks about his life with the stars as one of Bristol’s ‘Filton Fliers’

LONG-TERM LEGENDS • These two SS100 Jaguars have been in the hands of wellknown and dedicated enthusiasts for five decades and more. Chris Mann divulges their entertaining histories

OUR MAN IN JAPAN • James Elliott joins an exclusive Japanese classic tour in an exquisite Alfa Romeo Junior Zagato 1600

Model T goes to the movies

Talking dirty

Fuellish things

Teething problems

Blithe spirit

Appearances can be deceptive

Lucy O’Reilly Schell • The first American woman to compete in a Grand Prix was also a distinguished rally driver and team owner

Atomium • An iron molecule, 100m tall and scaled-up 165billion times, was the future in ’58

The Valjoux 7750 • Rendered obsolete...