Octane

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

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Goodwood Festival of Speed

COMING UP… • While we wouldn’t be so presumptuous as to suggest things are back to normal, the calendar suggests we’re getting there

National Air and Space Museum of France • The world’s oldest aeronautical museum is at Paris-Le Bourget airport

New life at Hethel • £100m site investment leads to launch of Lotus’s final combustion-engined car

NEWS FEED • A feast of Alfa 8Cs; two wheels good at Blenheim Palace; site for sore eyes; have your say, plus your day on track; our mistake; two to be missed; and we need to talk about hybrids

Any other business…

Largest-ever Aston meet • The centenary of the oldest surviving Aston has been celebrated in grand style

‘Don’t call it velour!’ • Dougal Cawley loves his velvet-trimmed Silver Shadow

Quarterlight windows

Diane Parker • The Vice President of the Historic Vehicle Association (the US branch of FIVA) developed a passion for cars in childhood

JAY LENO • The Collector

DEREK BELL • The Legend

STEPHEN BAYLEY • The Aesthete

ROBERT COUCHER • The Driver

A name to watch out for

RETURN OF THE MAC • The Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren was always a bit of a brute, but a new version from McLaren Special Operations aims to civilise it. Mark Dixon tries the SLR that’s been to finishing school

THE WOULD-BE RACER • Crafty competition plans resulted in the wickedly fast and noisy SLR 722 GT – but sadly not a suitably evocative race series, as James Page discovers

OUT OF ITS TIME • It was one of the most technologically advanced cars of its era, and this one has an extraordinary back-story to tell: John Simister fulfils a long-held ambition and drives a Lancia Lambda

Not just any old iron • 45 years and 190bhp separate the original VW Golf GTI from the latest evolution, so it’s time to celebrate all eight generations – and to examine the common thread that runs through them

SCORING ABOVE PAR • The uber-Golfs that play big brother to the GTI

THE MISSING GERMAN LINK • Octane takes a tour of a Polish city in what was once Germany, and uncovers the history of the forgotten marque of Stoewer that called it home

Reinterpreting perfection • Join Massimo Delbò for an exclusive first drive in the brand-new Iso Rivolta GTZ, a 660bhp, million-dollar sports car inspired by the Le Mans class-winning Bizzarrini A3/C of the ’60s

Hans Mezger • The late Hans Mezger was the father of Porsche’s air-cooled flat-six. This is his final say on the subject

DOUBLE ESPRESSO • The prolific Italian stylist Giovanni Michelotti was a mainstay of Triumph design for well over a decade. These special TR3As signal his starting point

OCTANE CARS • OWNING + DRIVING + MAINTAINING

OCTANE’S FLEET • These are the cars – and motorbikes – run by the magazine’s staff and contributors

OTHER NEWS

OVERDRIVE • Other interesting cars we’ve been driving

Giampiero Moretti • The Momo steering wheel mogul’s first love was racing – and he was pretty handy

The Flatiron Building • This New York landmark was derided by critics, but adored by the public and tourists alike… especially the voyeurs

Maro Engel and his IWCs • Watches and cars fascinate this racing driver equally

A Dynamic bargain at Bonhams • This innovative Omega is proof that normal people can still buy great watches at auction

NEW WATCHES

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SPORTORAMA SET • By Payton Products

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