Octane

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

The price of progress

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Octane

IGNITION • EVENTS + NEWS + OPINION

COMING UP… • Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines: all of a sudden, racing season is just around the corner

Gaydon museum looks to double in size • Ambitious plans for the British Motor Museum include a much-needed hotel and an additional collections centre

NEWS FEED • Tunbridge swells; Deco cars honoured; oldest Aussie rally; Matchbox 70th; Bizzarrini offers more; join evo on track; wedges on tour; London landmark; Jowett party; Brabham demos

Navigators’ scholarship • Valuable prize tempts youngsters into historic rallying

Carl Hahn b.1926

Jean-Pierre Jabouille b.1942

No ordinary Rolls-Royce • Simon Kidston introduces us to his swish daily driver

Just sitting in the car

Neil Clifford • Having joined a Portsmouth Fiat garage on the Youth Training Scheme in 1983, this car addict rose to become CEO of Kurt Geiger

JAY LENO • The Collector

DEREK BELL • The Legend

STEPHEN BAYLEY • The Aesthete

ROBERT COUCHER • The Driver

Getting the band back together

THE PURE AND THE DAMN’ BRILLIANT • When water-cooling heralded the 996, Porsche offered the super-focused GT3 and the multi-talented Turbo. Nearly 25 years on, Octane rediscovers an icon – and a bargain

MODENA’S MIGHTIEST WEAPON • Even Stirling Moss was wary of the Maserati 450S. So Marc Sonnery takes the wheel of this car with a due sense of trepidation

after a bristol fashion • Few marques had such singular styling and engineering themes as Bristol. The unique Blenheim 4S is the very last of its V8 line, and has a powerful tale to tell

BUGATTI’S GRAND FINALE • The Type 57 was Bugatti’s final symphony. Uniquely, one man has gathered all five derivatives: Galibier, Stelvio, Ventoux, Atalante and Aravis. Johan Dillen is your guide

NO SMOKE ON THE WATER • Ettore Bugatti created a tiny fleet of tiny boats on the Seine. Now there is an equally tiny fleet of re-creations on the Thames – powered by electricity

HISTORY IN THE MAKING • This Tojeiro-MG, the final car to emerge from the fabled Corsica coachworks, covered only 34 miles before 2003. Finally it is being driven as intended

Tim Harvey • Few know 1990s British Touring Car Championship racing better than this former winner – who still refuses to retire

THE BRIGHOUSE BUGATTI • No, it’s not a Bugatti – it’s something considerably rarer. Mark Dixon drives the Yorkshire-built Bond, a unique survivor of one man’s dream

GREAT ESCAPES • Your guide to motoring adventure

THE 2023 CALENDAR • Short tours, marathon rallies and destination events to look forward to

Across Mexico, the hard way • The Mercedes-Benz Gullwing forged its reputation 70 years ago in the world’s toughest road race. One specialist followed in those tyretracks on the modern-day event

Northern exposure • A ferry is the only route into many parts of The Last Frontier. Welcome to the Alaskan Marine Highway

ROAD TO HANOI MARATHON

2023 LE MANS CLASSIC

SUMMER IN BLIGHTY

ON THE CONTINENT

ACROSS THE POND

As excited as a schoolboy • LANCIA FULVIA ZAGATO 1600

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

Slots of improvement • 1927 FRAZER NASH TT REPLICA

New Forest, new tyres • 2004 BMW Z4 3.0i SE

The doors of perfection • 1968 FORD MUSTANG GT390

Wet yet wonderful • 2000 HONDA INTEGRA TYPE R

OTHER NEWS

When short is...