Octane 251

JAGUAR ETYPE R ACER • BEVERLY HILLS HOT ROD • BENTLEY MkVI

W O R L D E XC L U S I V E

THE FIRST HYPERCAR?

£5.99 / AUS $14.99 / ISSUE 251 / MAY 2024

Full road test of the 230mph, 600bhp Schuppan-Porsche 962 CR

PLUS BMWGLAS 3000GT DUBAI 1000 MIGLIA MONSTER FIAT 130HP QUATTROPORTE BUYER’S GUIDE CORVETTE LEGEND OLIVER GAVIN

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Luxurious British artisan hats for him & her Top your drive with the peak of style Scan for exclusive Miller Hats

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Final call for entries Collectors’ Motor Cars Monaco, Villa La Vigie | 10 May 2024

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One-off period Coachwork by Drogo 1960 FERRARI 250 GT €2,500,000 - 3,000,000 *

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Issue 251 / May 2024

CONTENTS ‘IN THE LATE AFTERNOON SUNLIGHT, EMPTY ROADS PROVIDE THE CREWS WITH A SPECIAL ARABIAN MEMORY’ 1000 MIGLIA EXPERIENCE UAE, PAGE 104

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Issue 251 / May 2024

CONTENTS 110

82

FEATURES SCHUPPAN-PORSCHE 962 CR Page 52 Exclusive road test of world’s first hypercar

SCHUPPAN: THE INSIDE STORY Page 66 …of the car and its Le Mans-winning creator

1907 FIAT 130HP CORSA Page 72 Braving a 16-litre Grand Prix veteran 96

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THE OCTANE INTERVIEW Page 82 Oliver Gavin, Le Mans Corvette legend

BEVERLY HILLS HOT ROD Page 88 With collector Bruce Meyer in his ’32 Ford

BENTLEY MkVI Page 96 How the marque redefined itself post-war

ARABIAN RALLY Page 104 Robert Coucher joins classics in winter sun

JAGUAR AT MONSANTO PARK Page 110 The most successful racing E-type of its era

BMW-GLAS 3000GT Page 120 Forerunner to BMW’s most elegant coupés 11

Issue 251 / May 2024

CONTENTS 20

REGULARS EVENTS & NEWS Page 20 The month in pictures; essential diary dates; farewell Gandini; Moss memorial – be there

GEARBOX Page 38 Trailer king and car enthusiast Lewis James

COLUMNS Page 41 142

Jay Leno, Derek Bell, Stephen Bayley and Robert Coucher have their say

148

LETTERS Page 49 Playing a part in the Marcos V8’s birth

OCTANE CARS Page 132 Daimler does the Monte; Saab 96 returns

OVERDRIVE Page 142 Off-road supercars: Lambo Sterrato, 911 Dakar 156

GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN Page 148

158

John Henry Knight, pioneering British inventor

ICON Page 150 Form most functional: the shipping container

CHRONO Page 152 Why Omega’s Chronostop deserves more love

GEAR, BOOKS, MODELS Page 156 How much desirability can you handle?

THE MARKET Page 165 Sold and selling; buying Maserati Quattroporte 160

AUTOBIOGRAPHY: DEAN BUTLER Page 194 154

12

Vision Express founder, collector, former racer

13th Edition

23th - 25th August 2024

For further information and registration: www.passione-engadina.ch

HÔTEL PARTNER

Issue 251 / May 2024

FEATURING

ASTON PARROTT

JOSH SWEENEY ‘The BMW-Glas V8 has a distinctive appeal with a sporty yet classic vibe.

Attention to detail in both exterior and interior design elements is what sets apart iconic vehicles and contributes to their timeless fascination.’

Josh’s superb photography accompanies James Elliott’s story on pages 120-128.

EDITOR’S WELCOME

The lengths we’ll go to MORE OFTEN THAN we would probably like to admit, amazing stories fall into Octane’s lap and a tentative email with a picture attachment sets in motion a chain of events that ends with you reading about a very special car.

Every one of those easy wins, however, is counterbalanced by something that takes a lot more time, effort and, inevitably, money to put together. And in 28 years in this game I cannot remember a more fraught process than our collective quest to get a Schuppan 962 CR into Octane. The reason for wanting to is obvious – great car, great story, plus the compulsion finally, and for the first time, properly to tell the world how this remarkable Le Mans car for the road measures up to its billing.

The reasons we had to go the extra mile were myriad, but with a pool of fewer than ten cars to choose from it was never going to be easy. The first car we lined up was actually the one we ended up featuring, but when under a previous ownership. Photographing it and writing about it were fine, but driving it, we were told, was a strict no-no. Now, I don’t want to come across as all prissy here but, though we were extremely grateful for the offer, we reckoned we were probably only going to feature a Schuppan once and not to drive the thing on a public road would leave the biggest – to my mind, the essential – question, unanswered. It would be to deny the car’s raison d’être.

Next up was the final car, tracked down in the USA. An excellent example as it turns out, but such was our fanaticism by then that the fact it 14

was built as a prototype and later converted was enough for us to discount it. With hindsight, we were being overly pedantic.

Then came the freshly restored winner of the 2023 London Concours. We chased, followed, harangued, a date was set to drive it between its concours victory and its shipping to the US – then it rained on the day and it wasn’t allowed out to play. After that the trail went cold.

I had just about given up when Simon Kidston, not noted for letting any car stand idle regardless of its rarity, value or mileage, wondered aloud to racer-writer Dickie Meaden whether Octane would be interested in giving that very first car we set out to drive a proper seeing-to (on track as well as dream roads) in Wales. Unsurprisingly, we were.

So what you see in Octane this month may look like other stories on the surface, but it is actually the product of more than five years of work and at least three times the investment of a normal article (shhh, don’t tell the bosses).

Because you are worth it.

EVAN KLEIN ‘Cruising a hot rod on a warm summer day in the heart of Beverly Hills, who could ask for anything more? In a city where it’s good to see and be seen, the hot rod symbolises ultimate car cool.’

Evan hit the city’s more exclusive streets with Mark Dixon in LA petrolhead Bruce Meyer’s ’32 Deuce Coupe. Turn to pages 88-94.

MATTHEW HAYWARD ‘Only after the 450-mile drive to Le Mans did I learn that former Corvette racer Oliver Gavin actually lives just a few miles down the road from me! It was absolutely worth the journey, though, as chatting to Olly within the charged atmosphere of the 24 Hours really got the memories flowing.’

James Elliott, editor in chief

The Octane Interview, pages 82-86.

COVER PHOTOGRAPHY ASTON PARROTT

NEXT MONTH

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PLUS Run for cover! Dodge Vipers let loose From the 1970s into the 1980s: why the G-series are the 911s to buy now Mumbai to Abingdon in an MG YT The Octane Interview: legendary Jaguar designer Keith Helfet (Contents may be subject to change)

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ISSUE 246 DECEMBER 2023

ISSUE 244 OCTOBER 2023

Fuelling the passion

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Fuelling the passion

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If you like Octane, you’ll love…

CONCOURS ON SAVILE ROW Two days of the greatest cars and the finest tailoring in the heart of London’s Mayfair. The event is free to visit and takes place from 10am to 8pm on Wednesday 22 and Thursday 23 May. See concoursonsavilerow.com.

1963 Aston Martin DB4 ‘SS Engine’ Series V Convertible Estimate: £700,000 – £900,000 GBP

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IGNITION / Month in Pictures

IGNITION E V E N T S + N E W S + O PI N I O N

ModaMiami, 29 February – 3 March The new event at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables hit the ground running with some 250 concours cars, ranging from a 1954/’55 Mercedes-Benz W196 raced by Juan Manuel Fangio to a McLaren F1. The classics were joined on the showfield by the ‘100 Club’ of modern supercars and hypercars, while there were also a cruise, driving experiences, a huge display of Shelbys and a 122-lot RM Sotheby’s auction that raised $50million. Harry Yeaggy’s 1935 Duesenberg Model SJ ‘Mormon Meteor’ took the Best of Showfield award, voted for by entrants, while the Octane trophy went to Roberto Quiroz’s Ferrari 365P Berlinetta Speciale ‘Tre Posti’ (above).

Images: ModaMiami / RM Sotheby’s

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The Amelia, 29 February – 3 March From an event making its debut (left) to a 29-year veteran vying for enthusiasts’ attention on the same weekend 400 miles north in the same US state. With two major concours awards (for road car and racer), 2024’s big winners of nearly 300 concours cars at The Amelia – which reported over 20,000 visitors – were David McNeil’s 1962 Ferrari GTO and the 1947 Delahaye 135MS of Dana Mecum. Special classes included RUF, while the event honouree was motorsport doyen Rick Hendricks. The Florida auction battle was equally close-run, with Broad Arrow’s Amelia sale totalling $63million on a 92% sale rate. See page 165 for in-depth auction results.

Images: The Amelia / Hagerty

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IGNITION / Month in Pictures

THE POMEROY TROPHY, 17 FEBRUARY

FROM TOP: CHRIS TARLING / YELLOWDOG; JEFF BLOXHAM

The VSCC’s convoluted free-for-all search for the ideal touring car over three contests at Silverstone had as bizarre an entry as ever, ranging in capacity from 998cc to 7.4 litres, and in age from 1913 to 2021. The winner was Theodore Hunt in a 1938 Frazer Nash TT Replica.

22

CONCOURS IN THE HILLS, 18 FEBRUARY

FROM TOP: ROB MAINS / CONCOURS IN THE HILLS; GERARD BROWN / RALLY THE GLOBE

Despite a late rescheduling, the tenth annual show in Arizona attracted 40,000 visitors (more than ten times the inaugural event’s number) to Fountain Hills Park and raised $330,288 for the Phoenix Children’s Hospital Foundation. The 1000 cars on show were a far cry from the 220 displayed in 2014. A McLaren Speedtail took Best of Show.

THE ROAD TO HANOI MARATHON, 27 JANUARY – 23 FEBRUARY

After 7000km, Peter and Louise Morton took classic honours with their Rover P6, while Daniel Sauter’s Chevrolet Fangio, navigated by Martin Reubel and Severin Senn, was first Pre-War car. The story of this Rally the Globe Vietnamese adventure will appear in a future Octane.

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IGNITION / Month in Pictures

RALLYE MONTE-CARLO HISTORIQUE, 31 JANUARY – 7 FEBRUARY

Pierre and Adrien Mare in their 1980 Renault 5 Turbo. See page 132 for Team Octane’s story.

SYDNEY HARBOUR CONCOURS D’ELEGANCE, 1-3 MARCH

Spectacular Australian concours had a wonderful new location on Cockatoo Island.

The Best of Shows (pre- and post-war) were Ferrari 250 LM and Rolls-Royce Phantom II.

BREMEN CLASSIC MOTOR SHOW, 2-4 FEBRUARY

More than 45,000 people attended the huge German indoor event with its 700 exhibitors.

BLUEBIRD K7 RETURNS TO CONISTON, 9 MARCH

Thousands greeted Bluebird as it made its way from North Shields to its ‘forever home’ at the Ruskin Museum.

RIPONIAN STAGES, 11 FEBRUARY

After heavy rain, Nick Elliott and Dace Price were fifth in their Fiat 131 over the six stages.

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CLOCKWISE, FROM TOP LEFT: SYDNEY HARBOUR CONCOURS D’ELEGANCE; ACM / J PEREZ ALONSO; MOTORCAR CAVALCADE; RUSKIN MUSEUM; BEN LAWRENCE; BREMEN CLASSIC MOTOR SHOW

MOTORCAR CAVALCADE, 3-4 FEBRUARY

Sunny Miami show was based at the JW Marriott Turnberry Resort and the Hard Rock Stadium.

Schuppan-Porsche “O N E O F T H E M O ST E XC L U S I V E S U P E RC A RS E V E R B U I LT ” A L A I N D E C A D E N ET I N V I C TO RY BY D E S I G N

K I D STO N S A 7 AV E N U E P I C T ET D E RO C H E M O N T, 12 0 7 G E N E VA , S W IT Z E R L A N D

CR T E L + 4 1 2 2 74 0 19 3 9

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IGNITION / Month in Pictures

OBEROI CONCOURS D’ELEGANCE, 16-18 FEBRUARY

WINTER TRIAL, 28 JANUARY – 2 FEBRUARY

The weather didn’t let down 73 entrants on this 2500km rally, starting and finishing in Krakow.

Pictured are Hugo Kampman and Berend Groeneveld in their Ford Cortina; Rob van der Leeuw and Maurits Verhoeff won in an Alfa Romeo Giulia.

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FROM TOP: OBEROI CONCOURS D’ELEGANCE; WINTER TRIAL / CLASSIC EVENTS

Some 125 entries across 17 classes were judged by a team of 14 (led by Pebble Beach’s Sandra Button and including Giacomo Agostini and Jacky Ickx) at this impressive event at the Oberoi Udaivilas, Udaipur, India. Best of Show was Nishant Doosa’s 1939 Lagonda V12 DHC; pictured is Maharaj Duleep Singh Ji of Jodhpur’s ’35 Delahaye 135MS, most elegant pre-war car.

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IGNITION / Events Diary

19-21 April La Jolla Concours d’Elegance A special class charting the evolution of the Corvette will be among the attractions at La Jolla Cove, just outside San Diego. lajollaconcours.com 20-21 April VSCC Spring Start The members of the VSCC kick off their racing season at Silverstone. vscc.co.uk 21 April Drive It Day at The Classic Motor Hub The Classic Motor Hub in Bibury hosts a get-together on the day that owners of classic vehicles are encouraged to go for a spin. classicmotorhub.com Audrain Veteran Car Tour, 28 April Image: Audrain Motorsport

COMING UP…

Up and down the land, classics are coming out of hibernation to take part in rallies, tours, outdoor shows and race meets 30 March Brooklands Easter Classic Car Day Pre-31 July 1994 cars are invited to park at the museum for this year’s Easter Classic Car Day, which will feature live music and a barbecue. brooklandsmuseum.com 31 March Bicester Heritage Motorsport Assembly Bicester Heritage holds its first themed car gathering of 2024.

Entry is free for paying members of Bicester’s ‘Scramblers’ club, and tickets for everybody else cost just a tenner. bicesterheritage.co.uk 3-7 April Techno-Classica Essen The daddy of indoor classic car shows will again test the stamina of visitors, who will find more than 1250 exhibitors packed into the Messe Essen in Germany. siha.de 28

5-7 April Mugello Classic Group C brutes will be among the cars in action at Peter Auto’s first racing meet of the year, at Mugello Circuit in Italy. peterauto.fr 6-10 April Copperstate 1000 Pre-1974 cars eat up 1000 miles of the dreamiest tarmac that Arizona has to offer. mensartscouncil.com 11-14 April Highland Tour Loch Lomond to Scotland’s West Coast, and then back inland and into the spectacular Highlands. v-events.co.uk 12-14 April The Flying Scotsman This year’s Flying Scotsman starts in Cheshire, and crews in pre-1948 cars will drive through the Derbyshire Dales, the

Yorkshire Dales and the Lake District before tackling the Scottish portion of the route. hero-era.com

21 April Perthshire Classic Car Tour Perth to stunning Glencoe and back. There’s no entry fee in the normal sense, but the event is being run in aid of charities including the Multiple Sclerosis Society, so a donation of £75 per car is requested. perthrotary.co.uk 21 April Simply Italian at Beaulieu Italian cars old and new head to Beaulieu in droves. beaulieu.co.uk

13-14 April Goodwood Members’ Meeting Highlights will include the Ken Miles Cup, a 45-minute race for Ford Mustangs, organised to mark the 60th anniversary of the model. goodwood.com

21-25 April California Mille Just as the original Mille Miglia inspired today’s regularity race, the regularity race inspired this US event. The route for 2024 runs from La Jolla to Westlake Village. californiamille.com

18-20 April Salon Privé London The gardens of the Royal Hospital Chelsea host a ‘Concours de Vente’ featuring 75 first-rate classic cars, all available to buy. salonprivelondon.com

21-27 April Tour Auto Starting in Paris and finishing this time in Biarritz, and featuring four track races in-between, at venues including the Bugatti Circuit. peterauto.fr

18-21 April Terre di Canossa In Italy, crews will motor along the Tyrrhenian coast, across the Apennines and Apuan Alps, and through Tuscany. terredicanossa.canossa.com

25-27 April Manx Classic On the Isle of Man, roads are closed to allow competition on three hillclimb courses, each of them over a mile long. manxmotorracing.com

Mugello Classic, 5-7 April Image: Patrick Payany / Fotorissima

25-28 April Retro Classics Stuttgart Classic vehicles of all types are packed into 80,000m2 of exhibition space in Stuttgart. retro-classics.de 25 April – 4 May London to Lisbon The pre-1991 cars on this regularity rally will follow a 2800km route through France, Spain and Portugal. hero-era.com 27-28 April Classic Car Boot Sale Classic vehicles and sellers of all sorts of vintage goodies roll into King’s Cross in London. classiccarbootsale.co.uk 28 April Audrain Veteran Car Tour Pre-1908 cars from across the USA meet at the Audrain Automobile Museum before setting off on a 50-mile drive around Rhode Island. audrainmotorsport.com 28 April VSCC Wiltshire Tour The VSCC has unveiled an expanded slate of regional tours for 2024, featuring 13 events in total. The first of the year is the Wiltshire Tour, open to Club members in pre-1956 cars. vscc.co.uk 28 April – 26 May Trans-Africa Rally Crews will drive almost 7700km through South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Eswatini. destination-rally.com

2-5 May Simola Hillclimb Furious hillclimbing action in Knysna in South Africa. speedfestival.co.za 3-5 May The Greenbrier Concours d’Elegance Three days of events at the Greenbrier resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, ending with a concours that this year features an interesting special class for light trucks. greenbrierconcours.com 3-5 May Hockenheim Historic Among the machines racing at the Hockenheimring this time around will be a group of classic DTM cars. hockenheim-historic.de

A 5 - D AY D R I V I N G A D V E N T U R E FROM ASTURIAS TO PORTO

4 May Rattletrap Pre-1940 hot rods and pre-1960 motorcycles blast along the sand at Crowdy Bay Beach, four hours up the coast from Sydney. drag-ens.com.au

S U N D AY 2 2 – F R I D AY 2 7 S E P T E M B E R

For our 2024 event we’re returning to Iberia where some of the greatest driving roads in Europe are to be found, taking in the Picos mountains, Castile y León and the incredible Douro Valley before we cross the finish line in Porto.

Our tours combine great driving with a relaxed and informal itinerary, meaning there’s plenty of time to enjoy the fabulous hotels along the way. There will be just 20 cars taking part, and you’re welcome to bring whatever you love to drive, whether that’s a classic or a modern supercar.

4-5 May Donington Historic Festival A busy schedule for 2024 includes the three-hour Royal Automobile Club Pall Mall Trophy for GTs, Touring Cars and sports-racers. doningtonhistoric.com 4-5 May Keels & Wheels Beautiful old cars and boats share the stage at Lakewood Yacht Club just outside Houston, Texas. keels-wheels.com

For further details and to receive the brochure please contact Georgie on 01635 867705 or email georgie@v-management.com v-events.co.uk

Derek Bell 2024 Half Page Vertical OCTANE 96x256mm v1.0.indd 1

29 09:10 14/03/2024

IGNITION / News

Marcello Gandini b.1938 Octane’s Massimo Delbò – who met the maestro many times – pays tribute to a car design legend who passed away on 13 March

FEW PEOPLE can claim to have marked the style of a decade in the way of Marcello Gandini. The ‘wedge shape’ trend of the 1970s was a Marcello Gandini trademark, typified by his Lamborghini Countach. Born in Turin to a musician father who hoped his son would share that interest, at five years old Gandini was captivated by a Meccano set he received as a present. As an adult, his talent was so apparent that, even without specific design schooling, he was hired by Bertone in 1965, when only 27 years old, to manage the style of one of the most important carrozzerie of the period.

Among Gandini’s first tasks was to create the shape for a new sports car, of which the extraordinary rolling chassis had been shown at the Turin motor show of October 1965.

This was the new V12 transverse-mid-engined Lamborghini that would storm the market mere months later when, the following March, the Miura was introduced at the 1966 Geneva show. The car led to the coining of the phrase ‘supercar’, instantly putting the names of Lamborghini, Bertone and Gandini on the map, and it is still considered one of the most beautiful cars ever manufactured.

The Miura also instigated that special relationship between Carrozzeria Bertone, Marcello Gandini and Lamborghini that went on to last for more than 30 years, providing some of the most amazing show-cars and production greats, including the 1967 Marzal, with its transparent cockpit, hexagonal details and long gullwing doors. That same year came the Alfa Romeo Montreal concept, and just one year later the Alfa Romeo Carabo. Making its debut at the 1968 Turin show, the Carabo is considered by many to have been the most transformational concept car ever shown, and 30

its wedge shape stormed the motoring world.

It marked the beginning of a new decade of automotive style, thanks to Gandini.

‘Everybody loved the Carabo,’ Gandini himself later declared, ‘but only Ferruccio Lamborghini had the guts to move forward and enter production.’ It was at the 1971 Geneva motor show that the Lamborghini LP500 Countach ‘idea car’ appeared. It entered production in 1974, almost untouched, and lasted an incredible 15 years, becoming one of the most iconic cars ever, in poster form adorning the walls of millions of teenagers all over the world, and setting a style template for Lamborghini supercars that lasts to this day.

With the making of the Countach, Gandini had the opportunity to express his technical skills, too, something he was always very proud of. ‘It was like working with a colleague,’ remembered Ingegnere Paolo Stanzani, Lamborghini’s technical director of the time.

‘Gandini perfectly understood the technical needs we were facing while transforming an idea into a production car, and could always find a solution that was both correct for the technicians and beautiful to look at.’

Back to 1969, and we can’t forget the Autobianchi A112 Bertone Runabout, which formed the basis of the Fiat X1/9 that entered production in 1972. Then the 1970 Lancia HF Stratos Zero that became the 1973 Stratos rally car. In this decade, Gandini reached his peak.

In 1972 came the BMW 5-Series E12, on which Gandini had consulted with BMW’s Paul Bracq, then in 1975 the Gandini-styled Ferrari Dino 308 GT4 entered production, marking the first time in 25 years that a production Ferrari was not shaped by Pininfarina.

Despite his reputation for designing sports cars, Gandini always said the real challenge for stylists was small, utilitarian cars, for which budget, function and practicality must take priority over performance and looks. As a result, Gandini considered the 1974 Innocenti Mini 90/120 (pictured) one of his most challenging tasks. ‘We made 17 prototypes,’ he remembered. ‘The car was commissioned by Innocenti but, before the first prototype was finalised, the company was sold to British Leyland, and the process was disrupted. I still believe the first proposal was the best one.’

The hugely successful 1982 Citroën BX and 1984 Renault Supercinq followed, but, after 15 years at Bertone, Gandini left in 1980 to embark on a career as a freelance. He recalled: ‘Bertone was something special in my life, and was not supposed to last for so long – I thought I would last no more than six months! And that was a benefit, as I was left free to create, and to be more daring.’ But let’s remember him with this final quote: ‘A blank paper is a world of opportunity, the pure spirit of freedom.’

Farewell, Maestro Gandini.

Dream GTO destination

Ferrari reveals special anniversary tour

FERRARI HAS LAUNCHED an official tour of the Dolomites in the Autumn solely for owners of the 272 examples of the Pininfarina-styled twin-turbo V8-powered 288 GTO. Built for three years from 1984, the model is celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2024 and the sub-€30,000 (for a car and two people) driving experience will take place on 1-5 October. The event will be Maranello’s second ‘legacy tour’, following an F40 jaunt last year in which 39 cars wound their way from Forte dei Marmi through the Apuan Alps and Tuscany to Maranello.

The GTO Legacy Tour will start from Val Rendena and finish in Maranello, where the cars and crews will be welcomed to the factory by the Ferrari Classiche team as well as members of the original GTO team.

The visiting GTOs will be displayed inside the factory gates before the tour ends with a parade at Ferrari’s nearby Fiorano test track.

Andrea Modena, head of Ferrari Classiche, promises more than great roads and stunning scenery, however, saying that Piero Ferrari will also be involved in the tour, and tantalisingly suggests that participants will also be the first in the world outside of the factory to encounter a unique Maranello experience.

According to Ferrari Classiche, the 288 GTO is unique among the company’s classic models in that every single example built is thought still to survive. The tour will use the model’s official name of GTO (minus the 288), but is strictly for the anniversary-celebrating 1980s cars, not their 1960s forebears.

Modena said: ‘The exact details are not yet finalised or public because we are trying to create some surprises for the collectors, many of whom have been deeply connected with the company for a long time.’

Just as important to Ferrari, however, is reconnecting with owners who may not have dealings with Maranello at all. ‘It’s often the case that some of these cars like GTO, like F40, are bought and sold outside of the official network, so we don’t actually have any contact with some owners,’ added Modena. ‘That means we don’t get the opportunity to talk to them, to invite them to get their car certified, or to invite them on this event. So part of it is to try to bring those people back into the company and particularly back to Maranello.’

A healthy turn-out is expected from the UK, though places will be limited to Classiche-certified cars and can be booked (by the end of April) only via Ferrari’s dealer network. Dealers will also help with logistics for owners less willing to drive down to Emilia-Romagna.

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IGNITION / News

NEWS FEED

London show gearing up There will be a Who’s Who of the world’s greatest motor manufacturers at Salon Privé London on 18-20 April at the Royal Hospital Chelsea. The raft of marques that will be on display includes Aston Martin, Brabus, Bugatti, Ferrari, Koenigsegg, Lamborghini, Land Rover, Polestar, Porsche, Rimac and Rolls-Royce.

Meanwhile, cars that visitors can buy in the event’s unique Concours de Vente are being added to daily. Specialists and dealers who will be displaying their wares include the renowned likes of Hilton & Moss and Aston specialist RS Williams. Making its Salon Privé London debut is P&A Wood, offering an elegant 1966 Rolls-Royce Phantom V Touring Limo by James Young, while The Aston Workshop & Car Barn, which took the show’s Prix d’ Honneur in 2023 with its DB 2/4 Vignale, will be selling a 1967 DB6 Volante, uprated to manual and Vantage spec.

Furlonger will be the go-to for Ferraris and other performance greats, while Car-Iconics will be at Salon Privé London for the second time.

Among its offerings will be an astonishingly original – right down to its carpets and tools – 1978 Datsun 260Z. For info and tickets, see salonprivelondon.com/buy-tickets.

Royal reckoning Indian collector Yohan Poonawalla has added to his Royal vehicle fleet by paying a reported £225,000 for the late Queen’s Range Rover. The 2016 Range Rover SDV8 Autobiography LWB joins the Queen’s 1979 Rolls-Royce Phantom VI Limousine in his wide-ranging collection.

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Sounds of the City The 2024 London Concours, held at the Honourable Artillery Company in the heart of The City on 4-6 June, is to have a specific theme for each day. Tuesday will honour McLaren, Wednesday will be Design Day and Thursday’s grand finale will be Supercar Day. See londonconcours.co.uk.

Winterbottom winners The 2024 Oliver Winterbottom trophy, awarded by Team Excel to those who have done most to advance the cause of the Lotus Eclat, Elite and Excel in the previous year, has gone to B-Team Racing, which campaigns a Chevy-powered Elite (the Chotus) in the USA. More at lotusexcel.co.uk/OWMA/2024winners-and-shortlist.

Northern exposure Great Northern Classics, a new classic car-focused business and learning centre in Derby’s former Rolls-Royce Heritage centre, is open to the public from 26 March.

The facility, previewed in Octane 240, is already home to several specialists, and boasts climatecontrolled storage, a 7000sq ft mezzanine, and outdoor events space for more than 150 cars. See greatnorthernclassics.co.uk.

Silverstone marks Senna Silverstone Festival is promising the ‘biggest and best ever’ display of Ayrton Senna’s cars as the centrepiece of its event during 23-25 August. The event has the ‘full blessing and support of the Senna family’, the Brazilian having won more races at Silverstone than anywhere else. 2024 marks the 40th anniversary of Senna’s F1 debut and the 30th of his death at Imola. Information at silverstone. co.uk/events/silverstone-festival.

Ordinary people Hagerty’s Festival of the Unexceptional – billed as the only event to celebrate everyday cars in a concours setting – celebrates its 10th anniversary on Saturday 27 July at Grimsthorpe Castle, Lincolnshire. Organisers promise longer opening, better access, more catering and a new People’s Choice award alongside the concours prize. See hagerty.co.uk/ official-events/hagerty-festival-ofthe-unexceptional.

Quail season is open Four special classes will take centre stage at The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering at Quail Lodge & Golf Club, Carmel, on 16 August. They are the Porsche 911 Turbo (930) at 50, the 30th anniversary of Koenigsegg Automotive, 100 Years of MG, and a tribute to world rally cars.

See peninsula.com/en/signatureevents/events/motorsports.

Grenadier at attention An Ineos Grenadier has taken a class win on the ten-day, 5000-mile Alcan 5000 Rally from Kirkland, Washington, to Anchorage, Alaska. It saw off 16 other competitors in the truck/ SUV class in temperatures as low as –31ºF. The Grenadier was piloted by Andy Lilienthal, with Mercedes Lilienthal on the maps.

Porter press opening Motoring book publisher Porter Press International is looking for a commercial manager to work alongside founder Philip Porter.

Potential candidates with excellent motorsport knowledge and contacts in the industry should contact Julie Porter at julie@porterpress.co.uk.

1953 SIATA 208 CS

■ Ernie McAfee’s intended entrant for the 1954 Carrera Panamericana ■ One-off lightweight alloy competition Berlinetta ■ The only coupé on the shortwheelbase spider chassis ■ Period West Coast competition with McAfee and backer Bill Doheny ■ Original 2-litre V8, twin four-barrel Webers, 5-speed box, long-range fuel tank

14 Queens Gate Place Mews London SW7 5BQ T: +44 (0)20 7584 3503 W: www.fiskens.com E: cars@fiskens.com

IGNITION / News & Obituaries

Your invitation to Sir Stirling Moss’s memorial service 100 Octane readers will be at Westminster Abbey in May A HUGE MEMORIAL service for Sir Stirling Moss is to be held at Westminster Abbey in Central London in May and 100 Octane readers will be among the guests. Sir Stirling’s family has specified that 722 – yes, the most important number in his racing career! – of the 2200 guests should be readers of his favourite magazines who wish to pay their respects to the great man who passed away on 12 April 2020.

Organised by Sir Stirling’s son Stirling Elliot Moss – who will host the ceremony along with Sir Stirling’s daughter-in-law Helen Jane Moss – the celebration of the racing legend’s life will take place on Wednesday 8 May and speakers will include Sir Jackie Stewart, Simon Taylor and The Duke of Richmond and Gordon.

Equally amazing as the activity inside the Abbey, however, should be the silent display of Moss cars in London for the event. They will include the legendary 1955 Mille Migliawinning Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR ‘722’, which it is hoped will be flown in by Mercedes-Benz Heritage and put on display outside

Westminster Abbey. Meanwhile, two more cars are expected to go on show in the famous Rotunda at the Royal Automobile Club in Pall Mall. They are a 1954 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing Coupé and a 1955 Mercedes-Benz W196R. For a week from 9 May the Gullwing is due be displayed there alongside ‘722’.

Stirling Elliot Moss, a renowned chef, said: ‘To be able to do this for my father – a man I admired in just about every way and one whom I still miss very much – is an unimaginable honour. I know that I am not alone in either of those sentiments, so I’m very grateful to Westminster Abbey that they have been so kind as to allow me to celebrate him in a befitting manner and to allow so many of those who feel as I do to be able to pay their respects and come together to remember the astonishing and inspirational man that he was.’

Although he never won the F1 World Championship – if he were less of a gentleman he might have taken the title twice – Stirling Moss was the first real polymath of motor

racing and was the prime mover in defining the modern, professional racing driver.

Born in 1929, Moss started racing in the late 1940s and was prolific from the outset. In a seven-year span from 1955 to 1961 he was four-times runner-up for the F1 Drivers’ Championship and three times came third.

His consistency was matched by his versatility, whether it be his win with Denis Jenkinson on the Mille Miglia in 1955 (his annus mirabilis), racing Sprites with his sister Pat at Sebring, or dominating the Nürburgring 1000km in an Aston Martin.

After his ‘career-ending’ crash at Goodwood in 1962, Moss moved into team management with the short-lived SMART: Stirling Moss Automobile Racing Team. Then there came broadcasting, saloons, ambassadorial duties and even voicing Roary the Racing Car. The thanksgiving service will celebrate all of the above as well as his life as ‘friend, father, gentleman, joker, and international icon’.

Tickets will be available to 100 Octane readers from 27 March. To secure yours, visit tickettailor.com/events/aubreypeck/1187061 and quote the code OCTANE. Tickets will be issued on a first-come-first-served basis with only one available per order. If you would like to support the event through sponsorship or maybe displaying a car owned or raced by Sir Stirling, contact sm@aubreypeck.co.uk.

Arturo Keller

Brian Angliss

One of the world’s greatest car collectors, Arturo Keller, has passed away aged 91. With wife Debra, the Mexican-born US citizen of Swiss descent was a multiple concours winner on the most revered show-lawns in the world. They took the Best of Show trophy at Pebble Beach no fewer than three times, most recently with their fabulous Mercedes-Benz 540 Autobahn-Kurier (see Octane 221). Keller made his fortune supplying automotive upholstery and lived on a secluded 650-acre northern California estate, where his collection was discreetly housed in five themed (by nation of manufacture) buildings and infrequently shown.

He also transformed the estate into a successful vineyard.

Likely to be remembered as much for his lengthy legal scuffles – Shelby wasn’t a fan, and he dramatically fell out with Ford – as the cars he produced, Brian Angliss was Mr Autokraft. Having started selling spares in Chessington in the 1970s, he built a successful parts, replica and conversion (Daytonas) business at Brooklands in Surrey. There he came up with the US-focused Cobra MkIV with AC’s tacit approval (via the Hurlock family), and eventually won the right to badge his car an AC even before he bought the company from the Hurlocks in 1986. His new Ace drove him to the edge, however, and in March 1996 Angliss’s company went into receivership, to be bought by Alan Lubinsky.

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MATT SILLS

NIGEL HARNIMAN / GOODWOOD

Below and left Britain’s greatest racer, Sir Stirling Moss; amazing display of his mounts – including ‘722’ – at Goodwood.

1995 Ferrari F50 Sold in Monterey 2023 for: $4,240,000

1956 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL “Gullwing” Coupe Sold in Monterey 2023 for: $1,930,000

1930 Duesenberg Model J Hibbard & Darrin Transformable Cabriolet Sold in Monterey 2023 for: $1,435,000

MONTEREY JET CENTER AUCTION 15 - 16 AUGUST 2024

IGNITION / Man & Machine

MAN & MACHINE

The devil all the time

For 20 years Peter Dietsch has been making supercars really earn their keep

I WAS ALWAYS going to be a petrolhead. My father Norbert worked for Paul Emery at his Fulham workshops and then joined Paul in the Grand Prix Midget scene, eventually buying and racing an Emery Dastle Mk7. We still have that car, which will get restored this year.

Growing up, we had a lot of Italian cars in the household, as dad’s best friend owned multiple dealerships over the years. A bright pink Lancia Beta Spider looked quite the part in the oncemean streets of Wandsworth where I grew up, whereas a loaned Lancia Y10 put modern-day superminis to shame. Our Touring was loaded with Alcantara and electric windows all round.

Both my sister and I learned to drive in it and I passed my test a few weeks after my birthday.

I immediately bought my own Lancia Y10 Turbo. The clutch gave out on the way home, but I was already hooked. I heavily modified it and it eventually ran 200bhp with an ex-RAC Rally engine. At one stage we had six Y10s.

I then bought a Lancia Delta HPE HF Evo 500, the Series 2 Delta that never made it here, LHD-only and the sole example ever in the UK. It was wonderful, but I had lusted after a Ferrari since driving a good friend’s Testarossa when I was just 18. That dream was realised in 2003, aged 26, while working for McLaren Racing. I found a Monospeccio Testarossa in Switzerland.

It was very cheap, low £20,000s, as no-one really wanted them, and it was just epic.

Over 12 years I used my Testarossa in every way a typical Testarossa wasn’t: the commute, supermarket, track-days, going to the dump.

One day I couldn’t engage gear and a quick call to Elias Elia at Autofficina revealed the diff had exploded… whoops! The guys soon got it fixed.

In 2015 the Testarossa market went so crazy that I felt compelled to sell. The sensible thing was to invest in property, so I bought an S1 Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera. Again, I used it as a car should be used until I found a genuine dream car for sale in 2019, a RHD Lamborghini Diablo SV. I had fallen in love with the Diablo when the same friend with the Testarossa threw me the keys to his at a Silverstone track-day when I was 19. A deal was done with the part-exchanging of my Gallardo and a bit of cash. The Diablo was mine!

Apart from the financially unreachable SE30, the SV was always the one for me. It’s been used on-track at Brands Hatch for a charity called The Not Forgotten, as well as Goodwood at The Supercar Event, which I helped organise for

charity. Sadly, the event is no more but we helped raise over £865,000 over the years.

Obviously a 27-year-old supercar comes with brand-new supercar running costs. I bit the bullet and did the head-gaskets a couple of years ago when the PPI was done. Elias at Autofficina suggested doing a few more things to futureproof the Diablo: timing chains, timing guides, valve guides, new water pump, etc. Not cheap, but it will need all this work at some stage so better to get it out the way. It is a surprisingly usable car and docile in traffic, so it is regularly ‘dailied’ and the plan is for my children – Elliot, seven, and Holly, nine – to take their driving tests in it. Sure beats doing it in a Ford Focus!

I can’t get over how much I love this car and how much presence it has, even by today’s standards. I have covered over 12,000km in it and it’s very much part of the family; my wife Katrina enjoying driving it, too. I’ve connected with Diablo owners around the world, and we have become great friends. The Diablo is finally coming into its own and that’s well overdue.

WHY WE LOVE…

Unhibernating a classic It’s that tricky time of year: bit of daylight left as you leave the office, early flowers blooming, birds singing in the trees, though still chilly and plenty of propensity yet for frost, snow and salty roads. Even so, those glimmers are enough to make worthwhile the effort involved in getting your pride and joy out of the garage and going for a spin on one of those ‘crisp’ (read: cold!) blue-sky days.

I’ll be honest: I gave up properly hibernating my old cars a few years ago. Sure, it saved a few quid on road tax but often did the opposite elsewhere. Cars being tucked away for three 36

months have cost me a master cylinder, a clutch slave cylinder, more than one brake caliper, a heater blower and countless batteries.

To that end, I’m just back from a quick run up the road in my BMW 320i Convertible, roof up – I’m not being soft, but lowering it in cold weather isn’t good for the fabrics or the frame.

It took a booster to start it, too, after chilling in the lock-up for a fortnight or so.

Still, there’s that sense of escape, nearly always early March, when daily use becomes feasible again. In our house it typically coincides with MoT dates and insurance renewal, so the cost of re-entry is high. But the rewards are priceless. Glen Waddington

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15/03/2024 11:24

IGNITION / Gearbox

1 When I saw 1001 Road Trips in a shop, it immediately appealed to me. I always prefer to drive my BMW M8 rather than fly to our office in Leipzig, and I use the time to decompress and think about stuff.

GEARBOX

Lewis James

Third-generation CEO of family business Brian James Trailers, renowned for its high-quality enclosed car transporters

1

2 My grandfather, Brian, settled here from South Africa in 1945 with four children and no money, and started building trailers in his garden. He, my dad and my uncle pioneered the concept of enclosed car transporters, and our latest flagship, the RT7, really moves the game on, both in terms of tech and also for light weight.

3 Mountain biking has always been a hobby of mine and this Specialized Turbo Levo FSR Comp e-bike, which I bought new in 2018, has been a game-changer for someone like me who enjoys the thrill of the downhill parts much more than the slog of the uphill parts!

2

4 The Queen’s Award for Enterprise: International Trade – now The King’s Award – is the UK’s most prestigious, and winning it reflects the effort that our company has put into exports, ever since my grandfather was building trailers seven days a week in his back garden. We won it in 2018 and again during my era of leadership in 2023. Which was nice.

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4

5

5 The Ford Rallye Academy was intended to give a young driver a break into the WRC, but it was canned after just one year, 2003. I worked my summer holidays to pay for it, aged 15, and it was a steep learning curve because I first had to learn how to drive a manual-transmission car…

6 When my wife Ella and I moved to a slightly bigger house, one of the first things I wanted to do was get a pool table.

It’s a great thing to socialise over with friends, and having a removable wooden top means it can double as a dining table.

6

7 I’ve always wanted to do more motorsport than I actually have, but sadly my dad was far too sensible to sponsor me! Recently, we’ve both competed in the Fun Cup endurance racing series, which uses spaceframe VW Beetle silhouette cars. I do a lot of karting, too.

8 Our ‘new’ house is nearly 300 years old and one of the big attractions for us was this Victorian greenhouse. Ella is already growing stuff in it, even though it needs a bit of TLC, but we plan to restore it sensitively and then put it to greater use.

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9 Our 1950 Land Rover was shipped over to Australia as a kit and was stationed in the desert for about 70 years. CKD Shop in Warwickshire brought it back and sympathetically conserved it, and then we used it as our wedding car in 2022.

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10 My parents gave this Methuselah of Pol Roger Champagne to Ella and me when we got engaged, to drink during our wedding. On the big day, we got through not only this but several other bottles!

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07/03/2024 15:24

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13/03/2024 16:38

IGNITION / Opinion

JAY LENO The Collector

A

lthough I’ve never jumped into the ocean to save a human life, I’d like to think I’ve rescued more than my fair share of automobiles. Back in the early 1990s I became enamoured of Bentleys, especially the WOs made between 1919 and 1931. Much like my fellow Americans, WO Bentley believed there was no replacement for displacement.

And rather than supercharge or turbocharge his engines he just increased their size, starting with the 3 Litre in 1919 and ending with the 8 Litre in 1931.

Back 30 or 40 years ago Bentley racing cars were all the rage – and they still are. It’s hard to believe that as late as the early 1990s people were still cutting up perfectly nice Bentley sedans with original coachwork to turn them into Le Mans replicas. I think that would have been the fate of my 1931 8 Litre Mulliner had I not intervened. Believe me, this was not some derelict hulk rotting in a barn somewhere, although it had been at one time. I am told that originally it belonged to the Ambassador of Chile and had been abandoned as a chicken coop when no longer needed.

Someone did a painstaking restoration when it was brought back to the States. It’s an enormous vehicle with a wheelbase of 156 inches. The only car bigger was the Bugatti Royale, with a wheelbase of 169.3in. Even the mighty Duesenberg, with its powerful twin-cam 421ci, 265bhp engine, was shorter at 153.5in.

When I first saw it, it looked OK but needed engine work. The other fella who was interested in it saw it only for what it could be: another full Bentley team car or some Jumbo Goddard look-alike.

I remember back in the 1980s seeing about half a dozen of these 250 GTO replicas that had been built out of Ferrari 330 2+2s or 400is. Donor cars were then in the $20,000-30,000 range and some of the replicas had handmade aluminium bodies that looked pretty good: for less than 10% of the cost of a real one, you could have a ‘GTO’ with an original Ferrari powertrain. I’d love to drive one of these up to the Ferrari Classiche centre and say: ‘So guys – what do you think?’ And then try to get away before they string me up.

When I first got the Mulliner, some of my friends were stunned. ‘What are you going to do with a giant fourdoor Bentley?’ Drive it, I said. Remember, this is a car that scared the hell out of Rolls-Royce at the time. It

bought the company just to keep this car from becoming its main competition.

Like a train, it was designed for travelling across continents. I’m stunned at its ability to maintain speeds above 75mph for hours at a time, all in complete comfort. This car is where WO’s training as a locomotive engineer really shines. The engine’s overhead camshaft is driven not by a timing chain, or even gears, but by conrods like the wheels of a locomotive. Blown head gaskets were a common problem back in the day and are eliminated here because there is no head. It’s all one piece. Does this make engine work difficult? Oh my god, yes! To do a valve job you have to come up through the bottom.

Imagine going to the proctologist for dental work. These cars were built when labour was cheap and technology was expensive. And that’s totally reversed now.

Here’s another example of why a lot of people shied away from these things. When I got it, I noticed a rattle on the lower crankshaft pulley.

The pulley was held on the end of the crankshaft by a key, and the key had worked loose and chewed itself up. A simple enough fix, I thought to myself. I’ll just take off the pulley, make a new key. It wasn’t until I got it home that I realised the end of the crankshaft goes through the frame crossmember and the pulley is on the inside. This means you have to pull the engine to do the job. It also means you can’t pull the engine without taking off the body, or at least a good part of it. And don’t even think about replacing a fanbelt. The only way that can be done is with a leather belt that comes apart in links. This is what you had to do a hundred years ago.

Here’s an expensive lesson I learned the hard way.

Making it look good is cheaper than making it run good.

That’s why they always look great under auction lights.

I’ve enjoyed watching our hobby mature to where almost all cars are valuable, rather than just the top-ofthe-line models. I’m thrilled that, rather than pulling blades of grass from the tyre treads with tweezers to win at Pebble Beach, we now have preservation classes where originality is valued over flash.

When I bought my Mulliner Sedan they were fairly cheap and I had my choice, so I bought the best one I could find. It’s gone from ‘So what are you going to do with that old thing?’ to ‘Thank you for preserving a piece of history.’ You’re welcome.

‘TO DO A VALVE JOB YOU COME THROUGH THE BOTTOM. LIKE GOING TO THE PROCTOLOGIST FOR DENTAL WORK’

JAY LENO Comedian and talk show legend Jay Leno is one of the most famous entertainers in the USA. He is also a true petrolhead, with a huge collection of cars and bikes (jaylenosgarage.com).

Jay was speaking with Jeremy Hart.

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IGNITION / Opinion

DEREK BELL The Legend

N

ASCAR is an alien concept to those brought up on a diet of right- as well as left-hand turns. Cars going round and round, endlessly turning in one direction for three hours. How hard can it be?

Surely, anyone could do it.

You couldn’t be more wrong. I have attempted most forms of motor sport spanning half a century, whether it has been autocross and hillclimbs, or sprints and rallies, in addition to my day job as a circuit racer.

I always enjoyed trying new things. I never did get my bum in a proper stock car, although I raced a close approximation of that when I did the International Race of Champions series during the 1980s. I competed in four races a year in what you might describe as a NASCAR-spec Chevrolet Camaro.

What a series! I raced against the likes of Dale Earnhardt, Darrell Waltrip and Cale Yarborough on Super Speedways such as Talladega and those guys were hard as coffin nails. Sure, our cars didn’t do 200mph like a proper ‘stocker’, but they were good for 185mph. All the while your Chevy would be bucking and weaving. Then one of the Good Ol’ Boys would give the European dilettante a love tap, just to show who’s boss. It was tough, and I wouldn’t have missed it for anything.

I have huge respect for anyone who can handle a stock car, but when there are 40 of them on track, two or three abreast and millimetres apart? That redefines ballsy. The problem is, NASCAR seems to be heading further down the balance-of-performance rabbithole that is blighting other forms of motor racing.

Did you see the end of February’s Daytona 500? There were 18 cars wrecked in one shunt at the last gasp. And there is an artifice in making all ostensibly different cars in effect the same, whether it’s their top speed, how fast they accelerate, or something else. This is what you end up with. It has been going on in sports car racing for a while now, with cars finishing seconds apart after racing around the clock. And I am not a fan. I just hope it doesn’t reach Formula 1.

But, Derek, some might say, who wants to see Max Verstappen scamper up the road and win everything?

Well, that is motor racing. The best driver often wins, especially if he is in the best car designed by the best brains trust. When I started out, Jim Clark dominated

in F1, F2, Tasman; heck, even in saloon cars, too, when he felt like it.

It is up to the teams to beat their rivals. The rules are there to be interpreted so have a go at it; come up with something better. If you take equivalency to its logical conclusion, you will end up with a one-make series, just like the junior formulae. Look at the feeder categories and it’s one chassis, one engine, a control tyre and it’s tedious. I don’t like the fact that ‘the show’ side of things is taking precedence over actual motor racing.

But, hey, I didn’t intend for this column to turn into one long grumble-fest. As to what to expect in F1 this year, I would be amazed if it isn’t more of the same for the reigning World Champion. I am intrigued to see if the inter-team dynamic changes at Mercedes, though, especially given that Sir Lewis Hamilton is jumping ship for 2025.

Why this needed to be announced so early, not to mention so publicly, baffles me, but I understand why Lewis wants to see out his career with Ferrari. I wonder what will happen if George Russell gets the upper hand this season.

Will there be complaints from the other side of the garage that he is getting preferential treatment because he isn’t the one departing?

I don’t know of a racing driver who isn’t armed with a list of excuses for being slower than a team-mate, but it isn’t as though I have the inside line. I am merely curious.

I don’t think there is a driver the length and breadth of the pit-lane who wouldn’t want to race for Ferrari, even if such a move often represents career suicide. It rather depends on whether the team’s fortunes are heading north or south.

Mauro Forghieri was the technical brains at Scuderia Ferrari for more than 20 years. He wrote that the worst period of his career was 1968-69. Those were the seasons that I drove for The Reds. The cars weren’t competitive, not that we necessarily had anything to race. Ferrari withdrew midway through 1969, after all. It didn’t do my career any good, but still I consider myself to be a Ferrari man at heart. I love the fact that I made my F1 and sports car debuts as a works driver; that I broke bread with Enzo Ferrari. I am a motor racing romantic. That is why I cheer for the marque in a way that I simply cannot for a team named after an energy drink. I can admire its achievements, but admiration isn’t the same as devotion.

‘J IM CLARK DOMINATED IN F1, F2, TASMAN; HECK, EVEN IN SALOON CARS, TOO, WHEN HE FELT LIKE IT’

DEREK BELL Derek took up racing in 1964 in a Lotus 7, won two World Sportscar Championships (1985 and 1986), the 24 Hours of Daytona three times (in 1986, ’87 and ’89), and Le Mans five times (in 1975, ’81, ’82, ’86 and ’87).

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IGNITION / Opinion

STEPHEN BAYLEY The Aesthete

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e’re agreed that the aesthetics of electric cars are disappointing. On the present evidence, if the EV is the future, I’d say that the great age of car design is in the past. An Australian correspondent tells me that EVs are known as ‘Covid cars’ because they all appear to be wearing masks.

Not to protect occupants from airborne pathogens, but, paradoxically, to disguise the identity they so forlornly lack. Actually faceless.

Polestar is an exception but Maximilian Missoni has designed something surprising. And that’s rare.

Significantly, he has not taken inspiration from the new propulsion systems, but from mirrors and cameras. Missoni has reckoned that cameras are now so efficient that rear-view mirrors are redundant. He has done something quite radical and reckoned that a back window is redundant too.

So the latest Polestar has none.

This allows the rear-seat occupants to sit in a smoochy aedicule, rather as children enjoy sitting under tables. To seek this sense of pacific enclosure is a fundamental of behavioural psychology insofar as it affects architecture and interior design. People love booths in restaurants and the upper deck of a 747.

So, mildly sedated Polestar passengers can sip smallbatch lingonberry low-alcohol liquor in emotionally protective comfort, shielded from the harsh Northern light, as they fret about where the driver might find charging points beyond the Arctic Circle. Or in England.

As the emphasis on the car experience moves away from get-out-of-my-way dynamics to how most agreeably to occupy a vehicle’s interior, this is the first sign in the real world that car design is off the Glasgow Coma Scale.

Technology has always influenced design. In the Age of Combustion, heat engines required cooling. Mostly by water, occasionally by air. Water-cooling required a radiator placed in the snout of the car, to receive the chilling effects of passing wind. In the first cars, these radiators were rudely exposed, all loops and coils, but soon water radiators became opportunities for shrouding with meaningful decoration so that a ‘radiator grille’ became one of the chief determinants of a car’s character.

The astonishing variety of radiator grilles is evidence of man’s restless ingenuity when in pursuit of status advantage. The majesty of a Mercedes SSK or Duesenberg. The thin, pursed lips of a 1959 Hillman

Minx suggest a salaryman prissiness where delight plays no part. In contrast, that single horizontal bar on an E-type’s aperture seems restrained, but it is a genius touch that emphasises that hole’s erotic character.

Batteries and electric motors require cooling, too.

But as if to testify to how boring batteries and electric motors are, neither has inspired a design cue. Not even Tesla’s bombastic-sounding BMS (Battery Management System) has stimulated a designer because, like so much else in the EV, it is deeply hidden. They say form follows function, but no-one has found a form to describe a byte. I doubt whether future EV cooling technologies – people speak of thermoacoustic and electrochemical methods – will provide better inspiration for designers than BMS. Meanwhile, as the rear window promises to become a thing of the past, reflect for a moment on what will be lost. Rear windows are as rich a semantic source as radiator grilles. Designers categorise them as ‘daylight openings’ and, if you are an apex-predator car-spotter, you can identify any old car from its rear window alone.

Examples? The split oval of the Volkswagen, which disappeared in 1953. The 1937 Bugatti Atlantic! Or that curious reverse rake that appeared on the 1958 Mercury and soon migrated to the Ford Anglia and the Citroën Ami. There is not space here to deconstruct the meanings of the ’62 Corvette’s rear window, nor the Jaguar Pirana concept of 1967, drawn by Marcello Gandini at Bertone.

My successor in this column in 30 years’ time will not have such glories to describe. Why? Because I know where this is going. Already in commercial aircraft, the prospect is of doing away with cabin windows entirely.

This will save weight and add strength (structures with holes in them are inevitably compromised). Instead, passengers will be entertained by quantum dot displays showing what you are flying over.

Next step for Polestar, surely? A car with intelligent cameras will need no windows at all. Passengers (and, indeed, ‘driver’, if such a thing still exists next year) will be able to sit in disembodied isolation from the world that passes by, existing in a state of blissful anomie, about 90% of the purpose of travel vitiated. I mean: it’s about the journey as much as the destination.

To me, this seems a perfect metaphor of the characterless and featureless world of the electric car.

‘THE VARIETY OF RADIATOR GRILLES IS EVIDENCE OF MAN’S RESTLESS INGENUITY WHEN IN PURSUIT OF STATUS ADVANTAGE’

STEPHEN BAYLEY The individual for whom the term ‘design guru’ could have been coined, Bayley was the founding director of London’s Design Museum and his best-selling books include Sex, Drink and Fast Cars and Taste: the Secret Meaning of Things.

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IGNITION / Opinion

ROBERT COUCHER The Driver

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s you will read on pages 104-108, I recently enjoyed blasting around the United Arab Emirates in a 1977 Mercedes-Benz 450 SEL 6.9.

What a great barge. I don’t mean that as a slight; it really was immensely good to drive in hot and sometimes rough conditions. On self-levelling hydropneumatic suspension, it handled rutted desert tracks with the same equanimity as it dealt with the fast, billiard table-smooth motorways that spear through the region’s mountains and sand dunes.

In the 1970s this W116 Benz, one of only 7380 constructed, was the epitome of luxury – expensive and rare, with leading-edge technology including that suspension, a fuelinjected engine and anti-lock brakes. Knocking out 285bhp and 405 lb ft was quite something when the average family saloon mustered well below 100bhp on a good day.

Today the Benz’s single-overheadcam V8 looks quite simple. And that’s the attraction. The Boys from Stuttgart went straight for cubes.

All 6834cc of them.

Until this desert raid, I’d thought the Erich ‘Wax’ Waxenbergerimagined 6.3-litre Mercedes 300 SEL hot rod was the best Benz I’d driven. Although the 6.9 is a bit heavier and makes do with a three-speed auto ’box because of its prodigious torque, it is the more resolved car and feels unburstable. The 6.3 became known for eating its gearboxes and back axles but the drivetrain was beefedup for this big-block. I also tried a later 560SL for a day on the 1000 Miglia event and it proved awful in American spec with a measly 220bhp, but the problem was the way it felt: soft, loose, front-heavy, and every time I closed the driver’s door it slammed like a tin can.

With the 6.9 I had to shut the door three times, every time, because the fit was so tight. Proverbial bank vault.

Motoring through the dunes of Dubai and Abu Dhabi, it struck me how we will all miss the delight of big internal combustion engines. Most of us do already. It was ten years ago that the proper nat-asp AMG V8 was killed off and replaced with ever smaller mills that belied the ‘6.3’ boot badging. The upcoming AMG engine (sneakily badged ‘63’) is a four-cylinder 2.0-litre with an electric turbocharger purported to produce a whopping 412bhp thanks to its Formula 1 technology. The most powerful four-cylinder engine in the world. But the best AMG engine? I’d go and find a modern classic Benz

fitted with engineer Bernd Ramler’s proper, nonturbocharged M156 V8 (actually a 6.2, despite badging that pays homage to Waxenberger). Old skool brawn.

I’m not a fan of these small, highly tweaked little lumps. Sure, our family wagon is fitted with a ubiquitous turbo four and is perfectly functional – and perfectly boring. I attended the launches of the four-cylinder Porsche 718 Cayman and Jaguar 2.0 on scenic roads in Spain and Portugal some years ago, and the driving experiences petered out in embarrassed silence. The engines did the job, but no-one buys an overt sports car for that, so sales remained flaccid and the F-type and Cayman will soon be culled.

Growing up some 6000 miles south of Britain’s Motown – Coventry – there was ample opportunity to experience large engines in South Africa, where simple units from Motown, Detroit, provided tough motivation for cars, pick-ups, vans and lorries. Indeed, I think my first experience of cubes was in… a Mercedes-Benz. Not a concours example, as fresh as it had been when it rolled out of the Benz factory in East London, in the Eastern Cape. It was an unsuspecting, late-1960s 280SE, the W108 with stacked headlights. As with most cars out there it had covered intergalactic mileage, so the original straight-six engine had blown. In its place sat a cubeheavy Chevy 350 lump. The then-owner was an amateur racer, so he took me for a drive and explained that it was cheaper and easier to sling a crate motor into the saloon than to rebuild the complicated and expensive original.

A fairly regular practice also exacted on old Jaguar XJ6s.

My god, my first experience of Detroit’s finest remains embedded four decades later. The brutal muscle-power of the V8 from step-off was a shock. The grunt took hold of the stately old Merc and rocketed it down the road to the accompaniment of the most fulsome soundtrack.

Literally a blast. I suppose the most famous V8 from down there was Basil Green’s Ford Capri Z181 homologation special of 1970. Painted in orange Gunston livery, the V8 lapped Kyalami F1 circuit just 15 seconds behind the F1 cars, thanks to its 302ci Gurney Weslake engine out of a GT40. It completely obliterated the racing opposition, so it was promptly banned.

It used to be received wisdom in the good old bad days that ‘there’s no substitute for cubic inches’. Sadly, that’s being banned once again.

‘THE V8 GRUNT TOOK HOLD OF THE STATELY MERC AND ROCKETED IT DOWN THE ROAD TO A FULSOME SOUNDTRACK’

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ROBERT COUCHER Robert grew up with classic cars, and has owned a Lancia Aurelia B20 GT, an Alfa Romeo Giulietta and a Porsche 356C. He currently uses his properly sorted 1955 Jaguar XK140 as his daily driver, and is a founding editor of Octane.

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IGNITION / Letters

Letter of the month

Of Volvos and V8s IN STEPHEN BAYLEY’S feature on the Volvo 245 in Octane 246 (shame it wasn’t issue 245!), he talked about a lack of French curves when designing the side elevation of the 245. I’m sorry, but did he miss the gentle downward curve of the rear passenger doors? Because the Volvo estate started life as a four-door saloon, to save money they didn’t redesign the rear doors for the estate version.

When I got a job in Norway in the early ’80s, I became friends with a young Scot who was Volvo mad through and through. He didn’t like me pointing out this design ‘flaw’.

My old school buddy, Brian, and I were both in our early 20s then and car-mad. During a

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six-month break before I went back to Norway, Brian decided he wanted to build a Marcos, but not with the Volvo straight-six that was one of the options. So he phoned Jem Marsh and asked whether Marcos had thought about using the Rover V8? Jem said they had, and in their spare time they were putting a chassis together but needed an engine.

Somehow Brian convinced Jem that he, Brian, would build it as a ‘prototype’ for Marcos, and so the fun began. It resulted in many trips to Westbury, Wiltshire, which wasn’t too bad as we lived in Winchester, to ‘tinker’ with the chassis. Engine and five-speed gearbox were sourced from a scrapyard and, funnily enough, we borrowed Brian’s brother’s

Volvo 245 to collect it!

The rear axle needed to be from a 3.0 Capri, and Brian found one in Brixton – about a month after the 1981 riots. The ‘seller’ was a large Rastafarian chap, with a German Shepherd that liked to show off his teeth with a growl.

This gentleman pointed to a rear axle and asked for the £50 it was worth, both of us carried it to our borrowed Bedford van and put it in, at which point Brian got out his tool-box and removed the back cover plate. The diff was not from a 3.0 Capri. I had an almost impossible job to convince him that going back and trying to recover his money was not a good idea. A proper 3.0 Capri axle was found in Portsmouth and the Brixton one was sold locally.

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I wasn’t there when the car was finished and started for the first time as I was back in Norway, although I did see it on trips home. The dash in the picture was later replaced with a walnut one as a big thank you from Jem for helping the company get the V8 Marcos on the menu.

Brian still had the car when I finished in Norway in late summer 1989. He wanted to buy a Rover SD1 Vitesse that was for sale in Boston, Lincs, so we went up there in the Marcos. Ford Fiestas looked like juggernauts to us as we peered up at them, but the worst part was that all the roads around Boston were being resurfaced, so all the manhole covers and so on were standing proud! Brian had already had two sumps replaced.

The walnut dash looked superb but with the heat of the engine it was getting very hot and smelled as if was just about to catch fire.

Yet the car made it there and back without a hiccup. I was deaf for a few days afterwards.

Nick Brunner, Winchester

Mallock and MG It’s a shame that your otherwise superb interview with Ray Mallock [above] in Octane 248 failed to highlight Ray’s involvement with the 2005/06 MG-Lola Le Mans-winning LMP2 car. Just what do you guys have against MG? After all, MGs are pretty much the bedrock of the classic car movement.

In 2004, Ray Mallock Racing ran an MG-Lola EX257 in the 24 Hours and Le Mans Endurance Series. After the design became obsolete due to new LMP2 regulations, RML merged components from the EX257 into the Lola B05/40’s chassis and bodyshell, creating the MG-Lola EX264, which won the Le Mans LMP2 class in 2005 and 2006.

Rex Pengilly, Dorset 49

IGNITION / Letters

EVAN KLEIN

a great way to bookend 30 years of fun in road rallies, sprints and hillclimbs, latterly in a Morgan.

Clive Hall, Cornwall

Bought by Berrone?

I’d like to add a previously unknown (and somewhat mysterious) fact to the story of the 1930 ‘Count Trossi’ Mercedes-Benz SSK number 36038 [above] in Octane 246.

After researching the history of the car on behalf of the current owner, circa 2007, I discovered a handwritten note [inset right] among the papers of Count Trossi’s archive. Dated 24 October 1934 and signed by ‘Berrone’, it declares the purchase of Mercedes-Benz car number 33253 (the Rome numberplate the car had been wearing since 29 November 1932) and releases Count Trossi of all further responsibility for it.

Ippolito Berrone, born in 1901 to an old and important Italian family, was a gentleman who had a lot in common with Count Trossi: both had Piedmontese origins and a deep passion for racing cars and boats.

A name I have often come across in the course of historical research, Berrone raced a lot during the pre-war years with Alfa Romeo and Maserati, and took part in some races under the Scuderia Ferrari colours during the years of Trossi’s presidency, before continuing his racing career in the early post-war years with Osca.

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I had never previously found any document or report suggesting that he owned or raced a Mercedes, however. And yet it appears that, just two months after the famous picture showing Count Trossi with his newly rebodied SSK, the car went to Berrone, a new owner who never officially registered it in his name.

This kind of private arrangement, quicker and cheaper than an official change of ownership, was not unheard of back then. It is important to remember that, in 1934, the 1930 ‘racing’ SSK was no longer competitive and could have been considered as a sort of hypercar that was suitable for road use only.

I therefore now wonder whether the car spent the following 18 months – the logbook shows that it was officially sold by Count Trossi to a new owner in April 1936 – in Trossi or Berrone’s hands?

Dr Adolfo Orsi, Modena, Italy

Jack of one trade Thanks for the article on Aston Engineering founder David Jack in Octane 247. I enjoy articles on those involved in technician ‘hands on’ and engineering roles.

Engineering is not appreciated or rewarded in the UK, despite the politicians banging on about its importance. Indeed, plumbers and plasterers can often earn more than qualified engineers.

Paul Evans, Wirral Racing is life!

It was great to see the pictures from Le Jog in Octane 249.

I started my journey into historic motorsport on the very first Le Jog in 1993, a baptism of fire… or should that be ice! Our Triumph Herald [below] experienced a few engine niggles but the totally novice crew of Mark Bentham and I still managed to attain a Blue Riband.

Thirty years later I was pleased to be marshalling on the first regularity of the 2023 Le Jog,

Where are they now?

A lot has been written about the Ford Mustang driven by Steve McQueen in the 1968 film Bullitt, but what happened to the beautiful Champagne yellow Porsche 356 convertible driven

by Jacqueline Bisset?

I’ve also been watching re-runs of 1960s TV series The Avengers, in which John Steed (played by Patrick Macnee) drove a green Bentley, ‘RX 6180’ [below]. The DVLA website shows it untaxed since August 2017 and its last V5C was issued in 2012.

Is anything known about what happened to these two vehicles after their film careers?

Eric Kwiatkowski, Nottingham We think the Bentley was sold to a Swiss enthusiast in 2017 – MD

Close, but no teddy I hope that you’ll forgive me writing about a piffling matter, but in the Letter of the Month from Peter Avery in Octane 250, describing his time on the 2001 Mille Miglia in an Aston Martin DB2 Le Mans team car, VMF 65, he stated that the car had once belonged to me.

This is incorrect. I did, however, for a number of years own and race a sister DB2 team car, XMC 76.

Rowan Atkinson, Oxfordshire Send your letters to letters@octane-magazine.com Please include your name, address and a daytime telephone number.

Letters may be edited for clarity.

Views expressed are not necessarily those of Octane.

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SCHUPPAN-PORSCHE 962 CR ROAD TEST

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FLAMIN’ BRILLIANT! This is the most extensive ever road test of the fire-breathing Schuppan-Porsche 962 CR. Octane puts Dickie Meaden behind the wheel of a road-legal, race-bred unicorn Photography Aston Parrott

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SCHUPPAN-PORSCHE 962 CR ROAD TEST

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M

ore people have walked on the moon than driven a SchuppanPorsche 962 CR in anger. For a brief time the world’s fastest and most expensive car – a snip at $1.5-1.9m according to authority Karl Ludvigsen – this remarkable Porsche-powered machine rose to prominence in the early ’90s. Outlandish looks, otherworldly performance and exotic construction ensured it stole headlines and captured imaginations, yet the project collapsed with just a handful of cars built.

In the three decades since its troubled existence and premature end, the Schuppan-Porsche 962 CR has attained cult status. Shrouded in mystery and denied the chance to deliver on its abundant promise, the story reads like a bestselling novel: the bold dream of Australian former Porsche factory driver and 1983 Le Mans 24 Hours winner Vern Schuppan (see page 70), shattered by the double whammy of a global recession and less-than-scrupulous financiers.

As for the eponymous supercar? Well, of the handful made at the High Wycombe premises of Vern Schuppan Ltd (VSL), one was destroyed in a fire and the rest promptly disappeared into collections. Art Sports, upon whose 20-car order the project was built, took just three, providing Schuppan with letters of credit of £300k for each.

This much has been known for decades if you cared to dig deep enough. Yet the most enduring mystery of all has always been whether the 962 CR was actually any good. Step forward Simon Kidston – classic car broker, noted collector and inveterate petrolhead – who acquired this example back in 2022. Like every other SchuppanPorsche it had covered single-digit mileage, but unlike every other it finally found the hands of a custodian who was determined it should be driven properly for a meaningful distance, on road and track.

Kidston being in the business of selling cars means generating attention is in his interests, but he is also an automotive storyteller. No wonder the opportunity to tell this untold tale proved irresistible. His idea was to shoot a short film about the car – search YouTube for The Flaming Unicorn – showing it in action and shifting the narrative from oft-repeated tawdry tittle-tattle to the real nitty-gritty.

Namely, how it drives.

To do so, Kidston needed a driver with plenty of supercar experience. And some wheel time in a 956 or 962. Thanks to Porsche specialist Lee Maxted-Page, my name came into the frame. Being a generous sort, I magnanimously agreed to make myself available. And so unfolded two of the more memorable days of my life.

Having lain dormant for years, the CR was entrusted by Kidston for sympathetic recommissioning to Maxted-Page and his renowned team of Porsche experts. After a complete nose-to-tail mechanical fettling and sympathetic sprucingup of the interior and engine bay, it was ready to be put to the test. Uniquely, and rather weirdly, what you’re about to read is the first meaningful test drive of the 962 CR since Alain de Cadenet drove this very car in period while filming his brilliant Victory by Design TV series.

Once Maxted-Page’s crew were happy the CR was ready to rock ’n’ roll, it was loaded into a trailer and towed to

Clockwise, from top left Encouraging words for Octane’s man from Simon Kidston; rare shot of speedo and rev-counter at rest; smoothly resolved carbon bodywork was super-exotic for its time.

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SCHUPPAN-PORSCHE 962 CR ROAD TEST

North Wales. Destination: the spectacular coastal Ty Croes circuit on the island of Anglesey. Once there we’d spend a day driving it as fast as we dared before heading out onto the epic roads of Snowdonia the following day, to see how it copes with some of the best driving roads in Britain.

THE FIRST TIME you see a CR in the carbon is a moment you don’t forget. It’s one thing to pore over images online, quite another to see it edge its way out of a trailer and sit before you on the tarmac. Lower than a limbo bar and wider than a mile, it has massive presence yet is smaller than you imagine. It exudes a sense of stability and grip far beyond any roadgoing supercar of its day.

The broad track, long wheelbase and almost total absence of front and rear overhangs are unusual but, with time to let your eyes explore and interpret the CR’s shape, you come to appreciate that its design is impressively considered. That’s no surprise given that it was penned and shaped in clay by Mike Simcoe – now GM’s Senior Vice President of Global Design. Still, it is perhaps an overlooked aspect of the CR that Schuppan had undertaken to build a ‘proper’ roadgoing supercar and not some rudimentary, roughly converted racer.

The CR’s bodywork and chassis structure are made from carbonfibre; the development of the tub and tooling and production of the first five tubs were handled by Advanced Composite Technology before production was handed over to Reynard. Commonplace now, but almost unheard of in the early 1990s, such exotic construction made the Schuppan a truly cutting-edge machine.

Tom Walkinshaw’s JaguarSport enterprise beat everyone to the punch with the first all-carbon road car when the Jaguar XJR-15 appeared in 1990, but both the Schuppan 962CR and McLaren F1 were hot on its heels. Of that trio 56

‘The CR exudes a sense of stability and grip far beyond any roadgoing supercar of its day’

Left Meaden and the 962 CR in what might be described as their natural environment, on-track in Anglesey – only it turns out that both are just as talented on nearby roads.

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SCHUPPAN-PORSCHE 962 CR ROAD TEST

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‘You don’t just get into the CR like a normal supercar, you finagle your way in like you would a racing car’

there are clear parallels between the Schuppan and Jaguar, with both relying heavily upon proven hardware from Group C race programmes.

There’s no small irony in the fact that the McLaren – famously never conceived to race – would go on to become the last true road car to win Le Mans outright. It was also built in the largest numbers: a total of 106 cars (of which 64 were street cars) versus 50 Jaguars, 16 of which were built to populate the grid of a high-profile, high prizemoney one-make race series.

Schuppan’s project was also predicated on a run of 50 cars, all of which were destined for Japan. Shortly after the first production car was delivered the stock market crashed.

Furious back-pedalling from Schuppan’s Japanese backers saw that number dwindle. First to 20, then a barely viable ten before finally deciding to take only three. Schuppan attempted to hold them to the 20-car contract, but they doubled-down and refused to pay for the second and third cars, which had not only been built but were in the hold of a British Airways 747 en route to Tokyo.

With lawyers fighting while the cars were in the air, by the time they landed at Narita airport Schuppan’s backers had been prevented from taking possession of them, but they were impounded for months. Schuppan finally managed to repatriate CR04 – this very car – and sell it to a US buyer, who elected to keep it in the UK and never use it.

By that point things were so bad that the embattled Aussie had no choice other than to throw everything he had left into fighting his case in the High Court. When he subsequently lost that, he lost everything and filed for bankruptcy. It was a brutal end to a bruising chapter.

THAT WAS THEN. Thankfully things got better for Schuppan. They also got better for CR04, which would be revived from a lifetime of dormancy when Kidston became its owner, the culmination of that quest being his film and this article.

You don’t just get into the CR like a normal supercar, you finagle your way in like you would a racing car. The only difference is that you don’t step straight onto the nicely upholstered seat, instead attempting to thread your left foot over the sill and between the seat squab and steering wheel, which is removable (should you remember).

Once you’ve found purchase you can brace yourself on the roof and then the sidepod, hooking your right leg up-over-in as you do so before slithering down into the fixed-back seat. It’s heavily reclined – think dentist’s chair without the cold sweat and smell of mouthwash – but once you’re in you can’t help but channel your inner Derek Bell.

Or, indeed, Vern Schuppan.

The structure of the 962 CR might be bespoke, but you can’t escape the powertrain’s origins. Nor should you want to, for successive iterations of this legendary turbocharged flat-six powered countless 956s and 962s to glory in the world’s greatest endurance races. Indeed, it was Schuppan’s racing experience (and success!) that led him and his original backers to believe a street car equipped with this bulletproof Porsche hardware would be more than a match for anything on the road.

Chassis 04 is fitted with a 3.2-litre air-cooled 962 motor, its distinctive horizontal fan sat atop the low-slung engine.

Conservatively rated at 600-650bhp, it is mated to the same five-speed H-pattern manual transmission also used in 962 59

SCHUPPAN-PORSCHE 962 CR ROAD TEST

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racing cars. Famously, Porsche’s competition gearboxes featured synchromesh, so while the shift lacked the brutal speed of a dog-box it was easy to operate and far less prone to mis-shifts. Drivers loved it.

The action has some meat to it, likewise the clutch’s, but once you familiarise yourself with the right-handed dogleg gate (pull towards you and back) it really is a cinch to use.

The engine’s tractability helps massively. Yes, its manners have been moderated a little by the fitment and expert mapping of a modern MOTEC management system, but past experience of a full-house Rothmans 962 tells me that, while these motors are ferocious when stoked, they are remarkably easy-going at walking pace. Noise levels are elevated by road car standards, but far from raucous. You certainly don’t need hearing protection as you do in a roadregistered F1 GTR, or indeed an Aston Martin Valkyrie.

Anglesey is a happy hunting ground for me thanks to countless laps driven for Performance Car and evo magazines, but in all my time coming here (just shy of 30 years!) I’ve never pointed anything quite like this CR down the pit-lane.

It takes a few laps to settle into the Schuppan-Porsche’s signals. The steering is weighty by modern standards but easily manageable, and not so physical as a 962 race car’s. It’s direct but nicely intuitive, the lack of assistance giving you plenty of feel and avoiding the ultra-sharp response of some contemporary supercars, which can feel like a bundle of fast-twitch energy.

In contrast the 962 CR is a slow-burn experience, its speed and intensity building with your confidence to push further into the throttle travel and lean harder on the prodigious grip levels. Fittingly the tyres are Pirelli PZeros of the sort you’d have found on supercars of the day.

They’re not as aggressive as today’s hypercar rubber, but the Schuppan-Porsche’s lack of mass (just over a tonne wringing wet), rigid carbon structure, broad track and long wheelbase give it a brilliant blend of agility and stability.

The engine and gearbox are an epic combination. Stuttgart horses always feel that bit fitter, so while 650bhp might seem unremarkable in the context of 2000bhp EV hypercars, the lightweight CR is a monster when its flat-six is fully lit.

Clockwise, from below Not a sight you’re likely to see in your rear-view mirror any time soon; interior is properly habitable but the only driver aid is air-con; 962 CR is entertaining and absorbing at any speed.

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SCHUPPAN-PORSCHE 962 CR ROAD TEST

1992 SchuppanPorsche 962 CR Engine 3294cc mid-mounted air-cooled flat-six, DOHC per bank, twin-turbocharged, electronic fuel injection and engine management Power 600bhp @ 7000rpm Torque 479.4lb ft @ 6800rpm Transmission Five-speed manual transaxle, rear-wheel drive Steering Unassisted rack-and-pinion Suspension Front and rear: double wishbones, coil springs, telescopic dampers, anti-roll bar Brakes Unassisted vented discs Weight 1050kg Top speed 230mph 0-60mph 3.5sec

Clockwise, from right Iconic fan-topped flat-six dominates aerial view of 962’s Group C superstructure; no rear window, just a hungry air intake; turn up the wick here; a sight to gladden the heart of any keen driver.

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SCHUPPAN-PORSCHE 962 CR ROAD TEST

There’s a fierce top-end rush, but it’s the huge swell of torque that’s endlessly impressive, not least because it fires the CR out of Anglesey’s tighter corners a gear higher than you think would be possible.

The brakes are equally monumental, the fabulously firm pedal having just enough give for you to feel how hard you’re working them, but with an underlying resilience that fills you with confidence. With pedals placed nicely for heel-andtoe blip shifts, the 962 CR is the perfect way to dust-off hardlearned driving techniques dulled by the march of technology. By the end of our lapping sessions I’m completely smitten, seduced by the speed and in awe of its competence and capabilities. A McLaren F1 is an experience all its own – one that now transcends regular assessment – but in terms of the way it stops, steers and goes the CR is a far more driveable and exploitable car. Which is just as well, for the roads of Snowdonia await.

Of course, it would have to rain. This is North Wales, after all. Of all the cars in which to be splashing your way onto the mountainous mainland, the Schuppan-Porsche would not be first choice. As Kidston succinctly points out, the only driver aid is air-conditioning. No power steering. No servo-assisted brakes. No ABS. No paddleshift gearbox and absolutely no traction control. Safe operation of the 962 CR is entirely down to me.

As someone for whom the blights of Lane Assist, Emergency Brake Assist and Don’t Forget To Breathe Assist are ruinous to the driving experience of new machinery, the Schuppan is – weirdly – the most relaxing car I’ve driven in a very long time. It’s just you, the car and the road.

All played out to an unmistakable soundtrack that could be a long-lost echo from Le Mans or Daytona.

Negotiating small Welsh villages has my tongue poking out slightly, but visibility is fine and the car itself is eminently placeable, so you can thread your way through traffic with pleasing ease. I would honestly never tire of stalking the streets in the CR. The double-takes and incredulous gawps Below It’s a wrap! Simon Kidston (thumbs up) flanked by Octane’s Richard Meaden (to Simon’s left) and team after testing the 962 CR on the epic mountain roads of North Wales.

‘The flames. Your reward for getting the turbos hot and the combustion chambers gulping gas’ are priceless. They certainly back-up the sense that you’re doing something wholly illicit, though its stealthy hue diffuses the situation just enough to be sure bystanders don’t feel you’re being provocative.

Another surprise is the ride quality, which has unexpected pliancy to take the sting out of the underlying firmness.

Given how well the CR tackled Ty Croes, it’s impressive that it manages to deal so tolerably with the lumpy streets. It certainly bodes well for the rollicking roads that twist and tumble in the shadow of Mount Snowdon.

Nuance is not something you’d expect from a car with the heart of a Group C racer, but this Schuppan has real breadth of ability. The elastic nature of the engine and the easyshifting gearbox are key to this, but still the way you can hold a higher gear and s-q-u-e-e-z-e into the zone of meaningful boost is delicious. Deceptive, too. When a car like this begins to get on top of third or fourth gear it’s time to back-off.

Ah yes. The flames. Your reward for getting the turbos hot and the combustion chambers gulping gasoline (regular forecourt Super Unleaded, in case you were wondering) is the most amazing son et lumière display from the exhausts whenever you lift-off the throttle. It’s a childish party trick, but one this child never gets bored of playing. Especially as you see the large tongues of flame dance and leap in the excellent rear-view mirror, or rather video screen, as there’s no rear window.

The wonder of this car is the pleasure it brings at all speeds. It’s monumentally rapid, sensational when you steel yourself to uncork it, and the experience is completely absorbing whether you’re stroking along at low revs in a high gear or pinned into the seat by unbridled turbo boost. You savour every moment, because it is that rarest of machines: one that makes you feel as if you are its most vital component.

For too long the Schuppan-Porsche 962 CR has been tagged as a great automotive misadventure. Having had the unique opportunity to drive a perfect one, precisely as it was intended on road and track, I’m in no doubt that it should be considered one of the finest machines to emerge in a truly momentous decade for the world’s fastest supercars.

I’ve never met Vern Schuppan, but what I know of him and the tortured tale of the 962 CR suggests it was one of the worst periods of his life. It’s a travesty that such a laudable effort and such a fabulous car should have been tainted by such a toxic chain of events.

I’m sure there have been many times Schuppan wished he’d never put his name to this ill-fated project. For what it’s worth I think he should be proud of the car, for it stands comparison with the very best. Redemption has rarely been longer coming or more richly deserved.

THANKS TO Kidston SA, kidston.com.

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SCHUPPAN-PORSCHE 962 CR: THE INSIDE LINE

Vern’s road racer Back in the day, Ray Hutton had unique access to the inside story of Schuppan’s 962 LM and 962 CR road cars

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AT THE END of the 1980s, the decade of big spenders, the idea of a supercar was moving into a new dimension. The Jaguar XJ220, the McLaren F1 and Bugatti EB110 were in preparation and promised to bring race-car performance to the road. That raised the inevitable question: why not make a contemporary race car street-legal?

Take a Group C sports-racer, fit catalytic converters and silencers, change the engine control unit, add licence plates and (a few) creature comforts and you could have a spectacular road car. That was the thinking that led to the Schuppan-Porsches that flowered for a short time from 1991.

Vern Schuppan – 1983 Le Mans winner for Porsche – ran a highly professional endurance racing team that developed its own carbonfibre chassis and a host of other components for the Porsche 962. As well as competing at Le Mans with Japanese sponsorship, Team Schuppan had been very successful in Japanese sports car racing. In 1988 he was approached by Kosho, which built hotels and golf courses, with the idea of creating a series of street-legal 962 Le Mans cars. Vern’s team, which included F1 designers Ralph Bellamy and Martin Read, plus Ray Borrett, previously head of prototype production at GM Holden, set to work.

The result was the Schuppan-Porsche 962 LM, which was followed by the 962 CR with a specially designed short-tail body. Between the two, Schuppan acquired a larger factory, hired machinists, welders and mechanics, retooled, improved ride and handling, and, thanks to having a different engine, went through the emissions and type approval testing processes again. Vern estimates this switch-up added ‘going on for 18 months’ to his project.

It was an ill-fated project. Half-a-dozen cars were built before Japan’s economic crash.

There was an acrimonious dispute with Art Corporation, owner of Art Sport, an exotic car dealer that had taken over the contract for the initial run of 25 cars. Except for a few dedicated followers, the world forgot about the SchuppanPorsches, a project that, for a moment in time, made Vern Schuppan the maker of the world’s fastest and most expensive road car.

In April ’91 Vern asked me to help publicise his entry into the road car business and I was invited to his HQ in High Wycombe to view and experience the 962 LM prototype. With the LM, what you saw was what you got (for the Japanese equivalent of £820,000): a longtailed Group C sports-racer weighing just 980kg with a 2.6-litre twin-turbo flat-six developing 680bhp at 8000rpm. In fact, the prototype was converted from a Team Schuppan racer, 962/123, which finished tenth at Le Mans in 1988.

Vern’s (and my) friend Howden Ganley,

who had recently wound up his Tiga race car company at the same premises, was helping out as a consultant. Howden and I took the LM prototype out on the local roads to get a feel for what it is like to drive a car capable of 230mph on the Mulsanne Straight in normal traffic and at (ahem…) more-or-less legal speeds.

I wrote at the time: ‘It is fast, of course, but does not really seem it. But then I am told that a 962 only gets into its stride at 150mph… At normal road speeds it isn’t appropriate to talk about “handling”; it just goes precisely where you point it and the (unassisted) steering is much lighter than you might expect. On smooth asphalt it feels terrific but on the ridges of a concrete road the suspension is so stiff that it sends shockwaves through the hull.

‘Those who have seen these Porsches at a racetrack will be familiar with their throaty, metallic sound. On the LM, three silencers do a good job in suppressing exhaust noise but inside there is a din of whirring belts and clattering valvegear directly behind your head.

There could be more insulation but Vern thinks that owners will want to savour the experience.

‘Away from the highway – and the racetrack – the 962’s sheer size inhibits its speed. It is wider than a Testarossa, lower than a Diablo, and provides less visibility for the driver than either, though you sit closer to the front than in anything other than a forward-control van.

Oh, and it’s right-hand-drive – but there is so much car to either side of you that it is effectively a central-seater.

‘You have to be fit and open-minded to get into the 962 LM and once inside it is not for the claustrophobic. The side windows are a few centimetres from your head, the shaded top of the windscreen and the roll-cage the same distance forward. Driver and passenger cannot help rubbing shoulders; the close-fitting leather-covered seats are only a couple of centimetres apart. But the driving position is ideal, the thick, padded and suede-covered steering wheel perfectly placed with the little gearstick a hand’s breadth away to the right.

‘The five-speed gearbox has synchromesh and the shift is easy enough except when engaging first, which can need two hands. Noone who has driven a race car would be surprised by the feel of the brake pedal nor the effort it requires to operate the massive Alcon calipers; in truth, it is not unduly heavy.

‘Since the 962 has no rear window, a video camera is installed in the tail but it gives only a fuzzy view on a tiny TV screen. Traffic regulations have insisted that mirrors be placed on the outside edge of the car. By race car standards the rear view is panoramic but on the road even a lane change needs a lot of care. Manoeuvring into a parking space is a nightmare!

‘As you would expect, it is a marvellous treat to drive a Le Mans car on the road. Other motorists stop and stare when they see this enormous thing, as wide as a truck and as low as a baby-buggy, thundering towards them. As serious road transport, however, it has disadvantages. Not that it is temperamental or uncomfortable – the engine never falters and air conditioning [a Schuppan fitment; a Sanden unit housed in the left-hand chassis side-pod] keeps the cockpit cool. But, two-up, there is nowhere, but nowhere, to put the smallest item of luggage or even your shades.’

This prototype had a John Thompson aluminium honeycomb chassis but the production 962 LMs (two built) used Team Schuppan’s carbonfibre tubs. For road use, the 2.6-litre Group C engines needed electric cooling fans to draw air through the sidemounted radiators. The main modifications to the engine itself were to meet emissions regulations: the fitment of two three-way catalytic converters and a specially adapted Bosch Motronic MP 1.2 engine control system.

The latest electronics meant that a racing engine that might in times past have been unpleasant, if not impossible, to drive at normal road speeds remained docile, even if the idle speed was on the high side, at 1500rpm.

The 962 CR that followed had an identical carbonfibre chassis (except that it was 2in wider inside) and running gear, but the aircooled 3.3-litre engine did not need the side radiators and fans. The fierce single-plate racing clutch of the LM prototype was replaced by a twin-plate unit that would be easier to operate.

The 3.3-litre engines were based on the IMSA racing spec and prepared by Alwin Springer’s Andial Corporation in the USA. Power output was quoted as ‘approximately 600bhp at 7000rpm’ but Schuppan added the novel touch of a turbo boost control in the cockpit that could, in theory, increase maximum power to 800bhp.

Where the 962 CR differed completely from the LM was in its smooth, curvaceous body, produced in response to the call from Art Sports for something more like a ‘GT’ than the long-tailed competition car (they had in mind the Jaguar XJR-15). Schuppan called on Mike

GILES CHAPMAN

‘It is fast, of course, but then I am told that a 962 only gets into its stride at 150mph’

Right Author Hutton drove this prototype, in essence a Porsche 962 LM with exhaust silencers and two catalytic converters.

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SCHUPPAN-PORSCHE 962 CR: THE INSIDE LINE

Right and bottom 962 CR was styled by Australian Mike Simcoe; chassis 06 was last of the line, with elements of both LM and CR.

Simcoe, a fellow Aussie and a senior designer at Holden, to come up with a body design that could fit the existing chassis. Most agreed that Simcoe did an outstanding job, combining recognisable Porsche design elements (911like headlights, 959-style rear wing) into a fresh and sophisticated shape, beautifully executed in carbonfibre and Kevlar. Simcoe was transferred to the US when the CR was in progress and crossed the Atlantic several times to add finishing touches to the buck. He later became General Motors’ VP of global design.

Compared with the LM, the CR had a smarter interior, more typical of a roadgoing sports car. Other changes included lowergeared steering to make it less ‘nervous’ to drive than the LM, which had only 1½ turns from lock to lock, and a slight increase in ride-height to meet UK regulations. The 962 CR cleared SVA, something that had been denied to the 962 LM mainly due to headlamp height. The bid for regulatory approval caused a setback in the programme when the LM prototype caught fire as Howden Ganley was driving it back from emissions certification tests at MIRA .

The car burnt out at the roadside; the cause subsequently discovered to be a faulty fitting at the end of a fuel rail. In his book The Road to Monaco, Howden describes how he went to collect the insurance money and with some ceremony was given a cheque for £250,000 – the insurer’s biggest-ever pay-out for a car. But that was 1992…

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Following the contract with Kosho for 25 LMs, Art Sports initiated a deal for Vern Schuppan Limited to have worldwide rights to sell 50 962 LM road cars, first for Japan and later the US and Europe. As a result VSL moved to larger premises in High Wycombe and its head-count increased to more than 60.

The first two production 962 CRs were delivered – then things started to go wrong in Japan. Art Corporation said it would pay only when each car was sold, and in Japan’s depressed economic climate there were few customers. A contract dispute ensued. As well as staff to pay and a substantial stock of engines, chassis and other necessary components, Schuppan had arrangements with multiple suppliers. Soon the business, set up primarily for the Japanese market, was at the point of collapse.

At that juncture the unique 962 CR 06 – the last Schuppan-Porsche, below right) – comes into the picture. Trevor Crisp, who’d overseen all the LMs and CRs built, had left the company and joined ADA Engineering, another Le Mans racing team. He was asked to build one more ‘contractual’ Schuppan while the dispute was still going through the legal process.

Crisp, who now has his own engineering business, Katana Ltd, and is an acknowledged expert on the Porsche 956 and 962, recalls that the final car was put together in four weeks in 1993. It was, in effect, a ‘competition’ version of the CR, using the chassis, engine and some of the bodywork of the third production LM

(an unfinished car) and a rear body section that combined elements of LM and CR. Which explains why from some angles AS926CR 06/50 looked like a CR and from others an LM. And how it came to have an engine with water-cooled cylinder heads.

When Schuppan’s road car business was liquidated, that final car, along with the second production CR, was acquired by Paul Andrews of PSV Glass & Glazing, a maker of bus windscreens and windows that occupies what was the Schuppan factory. Chassis 06 was housed in the basement for 15 years, never driven, but regularly checked and the engine turned over to maintain it in as-new condition.

From the beginning Vern had in mind that some owners might want to drive an LM or CR on the track as well as the road and planned to offer a competition kit with racing slicks, track-orientated brake pads, stiffer springs, and lower ground clearance. But he and Trevor Crisp confirm that none of the finished cars, LMs or CRs, was ever raced (nor were they intended to be) in period. Unlike Jochen Dauer’s roadgoing Porsche 962, which, thanks to a lapse in homologation rules, went to Le Mans in 1994… and won. Dauer went on to build a total of 13 of his variant, at 251mph unofficially the world’s fastest production car until the Bugatti Veyron came along in 2007.

Vern had been first, but by then he could only look on and reflect on what might have – should have – been. End

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VERN SCHUPPAN: THE MAN BEHIND THE CAR

Original Aussie grit…

There’s more to the man behind our cover car than meets the eye MOTORSPORT IMAGES

Words James Elliott Photography Porsche AG

YOU KNOW SOMEONE pretty well after 12 hours in a waiting room together. The scene was Fiorano, Ferrari’s test track in Maranello, the characters were Vern Schuppan and myself and we were working a photoshoot of Vern’s car around a French Ferrari dealer’s track-day. It was the ex-Steve McQueen 275 GTB that Vern had converted back from a Straman NART Spyder and later sold amid a blaze of publicity at RM Sotheby’s in Monterey, 2014. After a brief burst of activity while the dealer’s clients enjoyed their lunch, Vern and I reckoned we’d probably got the job done. Not so photographer Julian Mackie, who predicted amazing evening light, light for which it would be worth waiting five hours doing nothing except chatting.

Julian was right. Shoot in the bag, the day was rounded off with a few fast laps before increasingly agitated Ferrari circuit workers furiously tried to flag us off the track while Vern maniacally and expertly pedalled his gorgeous Classiche-restored Ferrari and the EmiliaRomagna sun dipped below the horizon. Not the sort of day you forget in a hurry.

Vern frequently visits the UK, not least because his daughter, successful author Paige Toon, lives here, and many times we have met up, whether for a meal with him and his wife 70

of 57 years Jen, or an afternoon chatting at The Warren Classic in Essex. It was at the latter that I realised I always introduce Vern as the ‘1983 Le Mans winner’. Well, that’s true and it’s not a bad calling card, but it’s selling Vern very short.

Everything about his life has been extraordinary, unlikely even, but that indomitable Aussie cando spirit has made a lot happen.

Born in 1943 in South Australia (Booleroo, population fewer than 500 even today), Vern was raised in Whyalla, learned to control a car sitting on his dad’s lap at six and left school to work in the family garage at 14. Having shown promise in karts, he wanted to be a racing driver, but that’s not so easy when you live in far-flung Australia, hundreds of miles from the nearest metropolis. So, in 1967, Vern and Jen headed to Europe in the footsteps of local hero Jack Brabham. Slowly Vern built up a group of contacts and a reputation, though few realised at that point that he was already approaching 25, surely far too old to aspire to a career in F1.

According to Vern, ex-pat Brabham genius Ron Tauranac bluntly told him so. ‘He told me in no uncertain terms to go home, said there was nothing for me here except heartbreak and bankruptcy.’ UK-based Kiwi motorsport journalist Eoin Young was more encouraging:

‘Eoin helped me from the outset and early on introduced me to Ken Tyrrell, which was what kickstarted things for me in the UK. Ken was brilliant, his grasp of racing second-to-none.

I guess you could say he became my mentor.’

The rough and tumble of Formula Ford in an Alexis, followed by excelling in Formula Atlantic for Palliser, then a glittering debut in an F1 car at Oulton Park, all resulted in a test for BRM, then still occasionally competitive (Beltoise won Monaco ’72 for the outfit), and a contract for the 1973 F1 season. Vern went home to Australia over the European winter with the world at his feet, but returned to the UK with nothing after his seat was sold to Niki Lauda in his absence. He regained an F1 seat for 1974, alongside Rikky von Opel and Mike Wilds at Ensign, and raced at the highest level for Embassy-Hill and Surtees, but the BRM skulduggery had been the end of his F1 dream.

‘To win a seat, at my age, in a team capable of getting results, was astonishing,’ says Schuppan.

‘To have that in my grasp and then lose it overnight was crushing. As a driver, I don’t think I ever fully recovered. I was well aware it was just business, just politics, but no racer cares about any of that bollocks; for us it was only about dreams, about racing and winning.’

This page and opposite Schuppan’s biggest moment was piloting the Porsche 956 to victory at Le Mans in 1983, as part of a factory team that also included Derek Bell, Jacky Ickx, Stefan Bellof, Al Holbert and Hurley Haywood – that’s him on the left of the black-and-white image; he campaigned in Formula 1 in 1974 for Ensign (bottom left).

Rather than go home with his tail between his legs, Vern diversified. F5000, Indy (1976 Rookie of the Year at the 500) and Mirage sports cars, the latter triggering 18 starts at Le Mans and the stint with the rather more disciplinarian Porsche team that brought him his finest hour. Lining up against the glamour couple of Octane’s Derek Bell and Jacky Ickx, Vern plus Americans Al Holbert and Hurley Haywood were not the high-profile 956 option in 1983, but with the 956 taking the first eight spots, the underdogs scooped victory from the superstars. Both cars completed the same number of laps (371), hard-charging Bell on his reserve fuel tank barely a minute behind Holbert, who limped his car home with a dead engine. The next nearest team (Philippe Alliot and Andretti father and son) were six full laps behind in the Kremer team car.

Did ’83 open doors? ‘Only to more sports cars! It was great fun, but a distraction from the single-seater racing that I would have preferred to be doing. Don’t judge me, all racers are the same, whether they admit it or not!’

He never strayed far from racing after that, racking up events in his native Australia, using his friendship with the ‘incredibly loyal’ Bernie Ecclestone to play a key role in bringing

Formula 1 to the streets of Adelaide, managing New Zealand Indy legend Scott Dixon and corunning an Indylights team with Stefan Johansson. Now splitting his time between Adelaide, the UK and a host of other places, Vern is a quick-witted businessman, a Member of both the Order of Australia and the South Australia Sporting Hall of Fame.

However, there is an elephant in the room, and it is trumpeting loudly. I nervously broach the subject of the Schuppan-Porsche 962 CR and its aftermath. If Vern found his F1 ‘betrayal’ hard to deal with – amazingly he still has kind words for Louis Stanley: ‘Whatever he did later, he was the first to put me in an F1 car and a CanAm car and you don’t forget that’ – nothing rankles as much as the 962 CR debacle.

It was the dream business that ended in bankruptcy for Vern after he was turned over by his ‘backers’. It is the only time I ever hear him speak ill of anyone and even today he visibly finds the episode difficult to talk about – his body and face contorted in despair and rage – with much of what he says unprintable.

‘The first big mistake people make is equating the huge “list price” of the cars with what we were making. Art Sports wanted to have the most expensive street-legal car in Japan and set

the price at 900million yen [then £850,000] but that had little bearing on the price paid to our company, which was more like £350k.

‘Then the financial crisis hit and out of the blue Art Sports said it would not honour the [initial] 20-car contract, but would pay for each car only when it had been constructed and sold. But, to construct one car per month, we had already taken delivery of five engines, seven carbon monocoques from ACT, and the first three tubs from Reynard, not to mention countless components from other suppliers.’

It was a horribly convoluted spiral but, with a stack of advance orders from his investors for the conversions as collateral, Vern set up the operation to build the 962 CRs in premises he found, but which would be owned by those backers. As the Japanese markets crashed and the world entered recession, they not only reneged on buying almost all their $1.5million cars, post-delivery it should be added, but then also bankrupted Vern with rent demands.

It was all over, just six cars in.

‘I will never forgive and forget; the way I was treated was utterly unscrupulous – thrown to the wolves, by the wolves. It completely changed the way I view human beings. It made F1 look like pat-a-cake.’ Wow, that’s bad. End 71

1907 FIAT 130HP CORSA

Only the

BRAVE This monstrous Fiat 130HP was driven to victory by Felice Nazzaro in the 1907 French Grand Prix. Massimo Delbò dons his goggles and gathers his courage Photography Alessandra Leocata

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1907 FIAT 130HP CORSA

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n the early 1900s, Fiat cars were a roadgoing status symbol. Their trademarks were state-ofthe-art engineering and craftsmanship, and their status was enhanced by success in racing. Today we take the idea that competition improves the breed with a pinch of salt, but back then it was absolutely true, even in that pioneering era.

The company – Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino – was established in 1899 by incorporating Giovanni Battista Ceirano’s business Accomandita Ceirano. As early as April 1900, its 6HP Corsa (powered by a twocylinder 1082cc engine) won on its debut in the TorinoAsti race. Three were built for the works team, and the company established its tradition of creating a special vehicle dedicated to racing (hence the ‘Corsa’ name). The car was very good indeed, the creation of gifted engineer Aristide Faccioli, Fiat’s first technical director, who’d had the same role at Accomandita Ceirano (after leaving Fiat in 1901, he fathered the first Italian aeroplane).

Faccioli was replaced by Ingegnere Giovanni Enrico, a legendary figure in the engineering of early cars. Born in Casale Monferrato in 1851, he brought to newly established Fiat the technical ability and vision necessary to excel. His first design was the 12HP, an important commercial success for Fiat that featured its first bi-block four-cylinder engine, one of the first ever to be equipped with a honeycomb radiator. Among Enrico’s patents were an automatic retard regulator working with a low-tension magneto and the inclined overhead valves that he would adopt on his 1905 100HP design.

The 12HP Corsa was the second Fiat dedicated to racing and soon established itself as a winner. As for the drivers, both had come from Ceirano: Vincenzo Lancia (later to establish his own car company) and Felice Nazzaro, considered among the best racers of the period.

Nazzaro was born in 1881 near Turin. The son of a humble charcoal merchant, at the age of 17 his passion

for mechanical engineering took him to the Ceirano bicycle workshop and then, following the growth of the company, to cars. Branded Welleyes, the Ceirano cars were test-driven by Nazzaro and Lancia, leading to a friendship between the two that lasted their whole lives.

With Fiat they began their racing adventure by taking the wheel of the 6HP at the Padua meeting of June 1900.

The following year, Nazzaro won the two races of the ‘Livorno Summer Celebration of Cars’ in the 12HP Corsa before moving to Palermo in 1902. There he was hired by the Florio brothers to manage their family’s huge garage of touring and racing cars and run them as a nascent scuderia. At the end of 1904, after several successes, Nazzaro was back racing for Fiat, finishing second in the 1905 Gordon Bennett Trophy (the last ever) with the new 110HP Corsa – a bi-block, four-cylinder car of 16,286cc, capable of 110bhp at 1200rpm – which evolved from the 100HP Corsa that was used for other races that year and in which he won the Susa-Moncenisio hill-climb.

Nazzaro’s style was reported to be ‘refined and not aggressive’ – he was known for his calm temperament and wisdom. In 1906 he finished second at the first Grand Prix de l’Automobile Club de France, which took place on public roads outside the city of Le Mans and was created to replace the Gordon Bennett formula. The race called for about 12 hours of driving over two days, six laps per day for a total distance of 1238km (around 769 miles).

The ACF rules imposed a weight limit of 1000kg and fuel consumption of no more than 30 litres per 100km.

Nazzaro’s golden year was 1907, with victories in all three international events of the season: the Targa Florio in Sicily, the Kaiserpreis in Germany’s Taunus mountains, and the Automobile Club de France Grand Prix in Dieppe. Surprisingly, each race had dedicated rules, forcing entrants practically to develop a dedicated car for each one of them. The 28-40HP Targa Florio Corsa featured a bi-block four-cylinder of 7363cc for 60bhp,

Clockwise, from above Felice Nazzaro in the 130HP, on winning the 1907 French Grand Prix; exposed valvegear looks threatening; essential coolant; stub exhausts aflame; scale of bi-block engine is monumental.

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‘NAZZARO’S GOLDEN YEAR WAS 1907, WITH VICTORIES IN ALL THREE INTERNATIONAL EVENTS OF THE SEASON’

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1907 FIAT 130HP CORSA

Clockwise, from this page Ingegnere Giovanni Enrico created the 130HP Corsa specifically to meet French GP requirements; Octane bravely takes a turn at the wheel; racing success and technical innovation made the Fiat name a status symbol in 1907.

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1907 FIAT 130HP CORSA

‘THE STEED FOR THE FRENCH GRAND PRIX HAD TO BE REALLY SPECIAL. THE 130HP CORSA WAS THE RESULT’ an 800kg dry weight and a top speed of about 100km/h.

The ‘Taunus’ Corsa’s figures were 8004cc, 72bhp, 950kg and 130km/h. Meanwhile, the steed for the French Grand Prix had to be really special, and the 1907 130HP Corsa, of which three were built, was the result.

The 130HP was derived from the 1905-06 110HP, and was a real beast with a bi-block four-cylinder engine of 16,286cc and a top speed of 160km/h. On Tuesday 2 July, 37 cars started racing from 6:01am on the 779.9km distance, formed of ten consecutive laps anti-clockwise on a triangular route from Fourche de Neuville in Dieppe to Londinières, before turning to Eu and then back to Dieppe. The fuel consumption format (30l per 100km) was kept the same as for the 1906 race and strictly enforced, as was the starting interval of 60sec between drivers. Michelin wheels with detachable rims, as seen in the ACF GP of 1906, were made mandatory as Michelin was the main sponsor of the event. The system reduced tyre replacement time from 15 minutes to just four.

Vincenzo Lancia was first to take off, in Fiat 130 number F1, while Felice Nazzaro and his riding mechanic Luigi Fagnano were in car number F2 (start time 6.18am); the Frenchman Louis Wagner was in car number F3 (starting at 6.29am). Both Wagner and Lancia were forced to retire, while Nazzaro won the race, having completed the final 78km lap in 38min 35sec for a total racing time of 6hr 46min 33.2sec at an average speed of 113.6km/h. He beat the Renault of the previous year’s Hungarian winner, Ferenc Szisz, by seven minutes. It was a triumph for Fiat and for Nazzaro, too.

The car you see here is the one driven by Nazzaro. ‘It is still widely stamped on most of its parts with “F2” or with “FN” for Felice Nazzaro, while it has “Fiat 2” on the engine block,’ says Davide Lorenzone, the curator of Mauto, the National Car Musuem of Turin, Italy. ‘It is a miracle that it survives, the only one of the three to do so.

We know that it came back to Italy after the 1907 race and remained in Fiat ownership, used in 1908-1909 in several Italian competitions, including the Coppa Florio in Bologna with the other two cars. All three were modified at the rear, including seats and tanks, and were developed to comply with different rules.’

The car went to France in 1910, to Monsieur Auguste Antony, a mechanical engineer who had manufactured engines, bicycles and voiturettes bearing his name in the Douai region. Says Davide: ‘In 1910 he was a Fiat distributor, probably linked with the Paris main dealership Loste, the first Fiat dealership in France, and we believe he received the car as a promotional tool.

Antony kept the 130HP until 1955, using it for some time in local events and carrying out modifications, such as a high tension magneto ignition with spark plugs, and installing a Claudel-Hobson carburettor.’

It’s to Antony’s great credit that he saved the car because in the ’20s Fiat crushed all its Corsas (including the other 130HPs) to prevent competitors copying Fiat technology. However, by 1955, when French classic car trader and restorer F Mortarini bought the car, it hadn’t run for 27 years. ‘It had been parked under some trees, in quite dilapidated condition, with a broken radiator and missing its hood and Michelin rims,’ says Davide.

‘Monsieur Mortarini carried out a restoration, of about 1700 hours. Just to open the rusted bolts he had to cover the car in diesel fuel for two months, but, as was typical of the period, without too much respect to originality, he added gold stripes on the body and whitewall tyres.’

Soon after finishing the job, Mortarini offered the car to Carlo Biscaretti di Ruffia, the Turin car museum founder.

The price was too high, but Fiat CEO Vittorio Valletta sponsored the purchase and presented the car to the museum after some aesthetic work, performed by Fiat, to return the car to how it looked at the 1907 Grand Prix de France, replacing the rear fuel tank and retrimming the seats. From then the car was put on static display at the museum except for special occasions.

At the end of the 1970s the 130HP was handed to Fiat’s own mechanics’ school, which carried out work on the gearbox and transmission; it ran at the Cicuito del Valentino memorial event in 1984 and 1985 but then remained silent until 1999, when Fiat requested some of the cars from the museum, including the 130HP, for its centenary celebrations.

And then disaster struck. ‘The piston of cylinder number one punched a hole in the block, in the oil sump and in the cylinder wall, and the car was left on static display until 2017,’ says Davide. ‘That’s when I joined the museum, to head the new internal restoration centre and to evaluate the condition of the cars. In 2019, after spending six months studying every possible original technical document, we began the restoration, a process that took three years. We were lucky that the Fiat archive had saved all the original blueprints, so we had every possible piece of information we required.’

As many as possible of the original components were kept, and the task of rebuilding the engine went to Gianni Torelli, the Italian wizard of Edwardian cars, from Campagnola Emilia. Says Davide: ‘Gianni has decades of experience with these kinds of engines, and dismantling the engine together was very instructive as we better understood the extent of the damage. The oil sump was too compromised and needed to be replaced. Luckily the two cylinder blocks were in much better condition, and it has been possible to weld a patch to close the hole in the lower part of cylinder number one. It was a very difficult task, as we needed to recreate for the patch the closestpossible type of cast iron.’

Clockwise, from top of facing page Incredible torque of the 16.3-litre engine means a case of foot down and hang on for dear life; ‘F2’ was Nazzaro’s racing number; brass instrumentation is a work of art in itself.

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1907 FIAT 130HP CORSA

1907 Fiat 130HP Corsa Engine 16,286cc bi-block OHV four-cylinder, Fiat carburettor with pressurised tank Power 130bhp @ 1600rpm Torque 100lb ft @ 1000rpm Transmission Four-speed manual, rear-wheel drive by chains Steering Worm and sector Suspension Front and rear: beam axles (live rear), leaf springs, friction dampers Brakes Pedal-operated transmission belt, lever-operated rear drums Weight 830kg (dry) Top speed 100mph

The block was heated before the patch was welded in place, and then came a chemistry lesson. ‘We left everything cooling down for more than 48 hours in a bath of vermiculite, a hydrous phyllosilicate mineral that expands significantly when heated. It allowed the whole structure to cool down in a consistent way, avoiding the risk of new cracks close to the weld,’ says Davide.

‘The valves were damaged, too, so we had to recreate them, as well as the camshaft, conrods and pistons – almost five kilos each! – but we saved everything else. In keeping the original crankshaft, we retained an original mistake that forced us to adjust every conrod neck and forced us to have slight length differences in each conrod,’ he adds. ‘To balance everything, starting from something so uneven, we worked on the new, cast pistons: we kept an excess of material in the inner part and slowly ground away material until we reached an even weight for all four.

As for the radiator, we saved the original brass frame, but the internal cooling element needed to be remade, as in period, using about 8300 drawn brass pipes with a 1mm cavity surrounding them. Paired with the vented flywheel, it cools down perfectly, but the car has to be moving!

As with every racing car, standing still is not allowed.’

With a story as long and momentous as this to consider, sitting behind the steering wheel brings with it certain emotions and endless ‘What if?’ questions. Davide, sitting by my side, reassures me with a smile as off we go.

The torque delivery of the gargantuan four-cylinder engine is astonishing, literally pulling you away; likewise the rate of acceleration. Every straight becomes too short: first gear is long, and it’s impossible to go beyond third without breaking speed limits. To drive this racing car is to be surrounded by loud explosions and visible flames 80

from the exhausts, and I start wondering how Nazzaro and friends were able to race on primitive road surfaces at such speeds as the official reports show!

The steering wheel rim is rock-hard and transmits every possible lump from the road. Braking is more an idea and a gesture that provide little results in real life, with the car barely slowing down. To slow before a corner, you have to do what the racers of the period did: put the car into a (hopefully) controlled angular slide. This technique is effective on dirt roads but rather difficult on tarmac, so you just have to hope that the visual impression the car makes on other road-users is intimidating enough that they stay out of your way.

The gearbox is easy to manage on instinct: you have to feel the right moment to move the lever, and not do so too quickly, as it enjoys a moment’s pause in neutral before being re-engaged. The engine is very sensitive to the correct positioning of the advance-retard lever on the steering wheel, which the driver has to adjust constantly to obtain smooth passage. When everything is set in the correct way, you get an immediate reward from the Fiat’s muscular burgeoning of pace, but it’s hard work.

Later, taking a well-earned shower, I notice the effects on my dirty face of the exhaust and a light spray of oil emanating from the engine bay and below. While scrubbing my hands, trying to bring them back to their regular colour, I feel my eyes burning: they certainly look quite red in the mirror. How did Nazzaro and his colleagues feel after ten hours of sustained high-speed driving all those years ago? For me, it’s a price worth paying. The 130HP is a highly addictive drug. End THANKS TO Davide Lorenzone, museoauto.com.

THE O C TA N E INTERVIEW

Oliver Gavin Le Mans’ own ‘Mr Corvette’, 51-time class-winning endurance racer Oliver Gavin has given up the driving seat to teach others how to follow in his tyre-tracks Words Matthew Hayward

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IF YOU’VE BEEN to Le Mans and attempted to sleep, you can probably blame this man – and his many bright yellow Corvettes – for waking you up at 3am. For more than 20 years the Corvettes have been pretty much the loudest cars on the track, and Bedfordshire-born racing driver Oliver Gavin has played an instrumental part in their success. Making 204 starts, winning 51 of those, and completing 18 full seasons with the team, this man is one of the most seasoned sports car racers in the world.

Gavin last raced a Corvette in 2021, yet he is still very much a part of the team as a brand ambassador, offering driver tuition and experiences through the Oliver Gavin Driver Academy. We meet in the ‘Corvette Village’ at the Le Mans Hippodrome mid-way through the 2023 24-hour race centenary weekend; Gavin and the OG team have been offering incredible behind-the-scenes access to the intense action throughout a race that few people are as qualified to decipher.

‘I still love being here. If anything it’s actually more enjoyable now I’m not racing,’ he smiles. Gavin’s success at Corvette Racing began with his first drive in 2002, but his career was sparked almost two decades earlier during a family outing as a young boy: ‘My father used to take me to Silverstone and we’d watch Saturday qualifying. I was a big Ferrari fan; at the time Gilles Villeneuve was the hero. He was so spectacular to watch – it just seemed

Below, left to right Gavin started his race career in karting, aged 11; at Daytona, 2016 – he won; at Laguna Seca, 2018, after securing pole position.

like he made the thing dance, and that brought the sport alive for me.

‘I vividly remember watching qualifying in ’85, when Rosberg set the fastest-ever lap around Silverstone. That really stuck in my memory: him doing that lap, that speed.

All of these little triggers just got me going. It was around the time that business was going well for my father. He was trying to find a way for my brother and I to do more with him, so he started us karting.’

Gavin was 11, and that went on for seven years. ‘We grew up karting, nationally, and a little bit internationally, racing against the likes of Jan Magnussen, Dario Franchitti, Christian Fittipaldi.’ He describes himself as an also-ran, yet talent and pace were not in short supply: the machinery had been holding him back. All that altered following a switch to single-seaters in the early 1990s.

‘The change in the results was stark. As soon as we started car racing, I started winning. The first full year of racing we did was Formula First in ’91. I won 11 of my 12 races in that – I won the championship with three races to go.’

Gavin entered the Formula Ford Festival at the end of ’91 and had success racing against the likes of Magnussen.

‘He had been ahead of me in karting. I then went to Formula Vauxhall Lotus, and did a season with John Village, who was a brilliant guy to educate young drivers.

He really helped me, and we finished second that year.’

Things were really beginning to move in the right direction for Gavin, who already had his sights set on a seat in F1. For 1993, the hungry racer would take on the British Formula 3 championship with Edenbridge Racing: ‘We finished second in the championship. We were the guys that brought Dallara to Formula 3 in Britain, and put it on the map.’

Keen to maintain momentum, Gavin switched to Formula 3000, though that turned out to be a decision he would soon have cause to regret: ‘It was just the wrong move, so in 1995 we went back and raced in Formula 3, with Edenbridge Racing once again! And we won the championship…’

A shot at a seat in Formula 1 had become a real possibility, thanks to an opportunity to be the test driver for the shortlived Pacific Grand Prix team in ’95. Gavin explains: ‘Pacific had its first season in F1 in ’94, with sketchy results. In ’95 they had a slightly better car – still not fantastic – and they were running at the back of the grid. After I’d won the British F3 championship in September, I was offered a seat in the final race of the season at Adelaide. The team had some sponsorship from me, and I had paid to be the test driver, so they agreed to let me drive the car for this final Grand Prix of the year as part of the deal. They would get all the paperwork done, including the FIA Super Licence.’

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OLIVER GAVIN INTERVIEW

Clockwise, from above Karting family – Gavin, on left, with dad and brother; racing in 1992 Formula Vauxhall Lotus; on the podium after clinching the F3 championship in 1995; on the grid, Formula 3, 1993; with Corvette at Laguna Seca in 2018; the ’Vette driven to a class win at Sebring 2013 by Gavin, Tommy Milner and Richard Westbrook; class winners at Le Mans, 2015.

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After flying to Adelaide, getting fitted for his seat and even being interviewed by Murray Walker ahead of qualifying, something seemed amiss when Gavin spotted Bertrand Gachot – the driver whose car he was supposed to be driving – in the paddock.

Even now, over 25 years and many race wins later, I can tell it’s still an emotional subject for Gavin: ‘The team had said that Bertrand would not compete at that race because he’d had “a jetski accident” in between Suzuka and Adelaide. But then he turned up in the paddock on the Thursday afternoon. Something was not right. The boss, Keith Wiggins, was looking extremely sheepish. He said: “I’m really sorry, there’s been a problem with your Super Licence and you won’t be driving this weekend.”

‘I was angry, and went down and waited outside Bernie Ecclestone’s office for two hours. He eventually came out and was very straightforward. In that classic Bernie way

he said: “Look, Oliver, Pacific are a small team running at the back, they’ve got no money, and they are going to be out of Formula 1 at the end of 1995. You’ve hardly driven the car.”

‘And that was the harsh reality of it. It’s a professional sport and it was a big learning experience for me.’

Gavin went on to do more testing with the Benetton F1 team, the closest he came to starting an F1 Grand Prix.

From 1996 he found himself racing for Opel in the International Touring Car Championship, otherwise known as DTM, then came seats in F3000 and the Porsche Supercup. He even had a stint driving the F1 safety car: ‘You’re this guy who’s leading a lot of races but you’re never winning anything! It was kind of fun to see how it works from the other side, but I had to get out of it.’

That opportunity presented itself in 1999, thanks to an old friend: ‘I was looking to get into sports car racing

in the US, and, as it happened, Keith Wiggins was working for Lola. So I went to Keith and said, “Look, you kind of owe me after what happened with Pacific. Can we try and work a deal here?”

‘I got the opportunity to drive a sports car at Homestead with a chap called Scott Schubot. I qualified the car on pole and finished third in the race, which started to put me on the map in the US. From there, I ended up securing a deal with Saleen to compete in the Sebring 12 Hours in 2001. We won there against Corvette, and they signed me for 2002.’

The rest is history. Gavin soon started to win races for Corvette, racing all over the US and internationally. ‘Just like that, I got myself known as the Corvette driver through the early-to-mid-2000s. Into 2010-11 I’d really established myself as a big name within GT for Corvette.

Lots of great team-mates, lots of great cars – we went

‘GAVIN HAD A STINT DRIVING THE F1 SAFETY CAR: “YOU’RE THIS GUY WHO’S LEADING A LOT OF RACES BUT YOU’RE NEVER WINNING ANYTHING!”’

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OLIVER GAVIN INTERVIEW

through four generations of car – C5R, C6R, C7R and finally the C8R – and I won races in all of them.’

His favourite? I can see it’s actually not an easy question to answer: ‘All of the cars were very special; the C5R was this all-powerful 7.0-litre thumper that was just an absolute monster to drive. Amazing to compete in but each generation of the Corvette just got that bit more refined.’

One era raises a smile. ‘The period that I will always look back on with great fondness is the GT1 C6R. We had big power – over 600 horsepower – and massive torque. We had carbon brakes, we had good aero, great tyres from Michelin. Racing against Aston Martin was just nuts, a brilliant team to compete with. I’m still very good friends with some of the guys I raced against in that period: Antonio Garcia, Darren Turner, David Brabham, Pedro Lamy – when I see him, he’s always got fond memories of it. There was always a rivalry between the two teams: desperately competitive, but each very respectful for what the other side could do. The cars sounded great, looked great, two very different but equally great soundtracks. We generated lap times in different ways, so there were strengths and weaknesses on both sides. It was a very, very special period.’

Trying to pick a stand-out highlight from Gavin’s five class victories at Le Mans is not easy either, but after a few minutes of reminiscing, he decides: ‘The victory we had here in 2015 was very special. Our sister car had crashed in practice, and it was out. Done. There was no spare chassis, and it was very hard for the team to process.

We’d never competed with just one car. Engineers, mechanics, people jumped across from one to the other, just so focused on getting that one car as much performance as possible. Tommy Milner drove brilliantly through the weekend, and so did Jordan Taylor. We had a magical run and came almost all the way from the back to the front, competing with the Aston through the night, and then racing the Ferrari hard. We passed them with about an hour-and-a-half to go, and drove the car to victory. That was my fifth [class] victory at Le Mans, and something I’ll always, always treasure.’

After an interesting season through the pandemic in 2020, Gavin announced his retirement from professional racing, and in 2021 the WEC 6 Hours of SpaFrancorchamps became his final outing for Corvette Racing. He explains: ‘It was a big step-change after competing and racing for the last 30-plus years. My whole focus and sole desire was to race professionally and I’ve managed to do that. Twenty years at Corvette – I had a great career with lots of victories and great moments, but I knew that things were drawing to a close.’

The Corvette association was far from done, though, as Gavin quickly set up the Oliver Gavin Driving Academy.

‘I wanted to try to get something going so that I could share my passion for sports car racing, multi-class racing, and particularly ACO-rules racing and at Le Mans. We started bringing cars here to Le Mans to host guests from the US and Europe, and Corvette owners who were 86

BORRE ZIMMERMANN

Right Gavin enjoying his retirement as Corvette brand ambassador, showing guests around the grid at Le Mans.

‘THE LE MANS 24 HOURS IS SUCH AN EMOTIONAL, CHARISMATIC RACE; I’M JUST TRYING TO BRING ALIVE WHY IT’S SO SPECIAL’ coming over, sharing experiences with us at Le Mans, but also taking them on road trips through France.

‘We’re also here sharing our expert knowledge on what’s happening on the track. I’ve got old team-mates Tommy Milner and Marcel Fassler here – I’ve pulled together a group of guys who are knowledgeable, personable and media-friendly; we can really share our experiences. We’ve had some 47 starts at Le Mans between us and we try to get a little bit more depth into the race and add extra analysis. The Le Mans 24 Hours is such an emotional, charismatic race; I’m just trying to bring alive why it’s so special.’

It’s hard not to be impressed by Gavin’s continued enthusiasm for endurance racing, and Le Mans in particular. Even though he’s no longer competing, his passion is contagious. Finally we get onto the topic of road cars, just as we’re about to dash off to the track.

Surely there’s a Corvette parked in the garage at home?

He answers: ‘Sadly not, although I did have a few C7 company cars back when we were racing them.

Maybe I’ll find the time to enjoy one properly now that I’m not racing…’ End

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‘ T H E G R E AT E S T T R A C K D AY O N E A R T H ’ R O B E R T C O U C H E R , O C TA N E M A G A Z I N E

Veloce brings together legendary racing drivers with some of the rarest and most valuable cars ever built, offering unforgettable passenger rides around Goodwood for a lucky few guests. Since it launched in 2017, Veloce has raised over £800,000 for good causes, and this year we are aiming to top £1m.

Our star drivers over the years have included Richard Attwood, Gerhard Berger, Ross Brawn, Andy Wallace, of course the event’s main hosts Derek Bell and Damon Hill. And the cars have included a Grand Prix-winning Alfa 8C Monza, the Beast of Turin, Bentley Speed Six Le Mans team car, Ferrari 250 GTO and SWB, Ford GT40, Jaguar D-Type, McLaren F1 GTR, Pagani Zonda and a Bugatti Veyron, to name but a few.

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15/02/2024 14:53

HOT ROD IN BEVERLY HILLS

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The Hills are alive with the sound of … …a big-block Chevy V8 stuffed inside a flamed ’32 Ford hot rod. Mark Dixon is given a tour of Beverly Hills by long-time resident (and even-longer hot rod enthusiast) Bruce Meyer Photography Evan Klein

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HOT ROD IN BEVERLY HILLS

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he nice thing about this car is that everybody gives you the thumbs up.’

We’re sitting in traffic in Beverly Hills – does anyone need to be told where that is? – and your average buttonedup Brit might expect that a heavily chromed, garishly flamed, fenderless hot rod would be causing lips to curl and eyebrows to lift in this enclave of Ultra High Net Worth individuals.

But it isn’t. Quite the opposite, in fact.

That’s undoubtedly in part due to the fact that Los Angeles was built on the motor car, and its citizens have always had a special appreciation of what made it great. But in Beverly Hills it’s just as likely that the

inhabitants are acknowledging one of their own: local boy made good, Bruce Meyer.

Throw a stone on Rodeo Drive and you’ll probably hit a property belonging to Bruce; his family have owned the upscale Gearys family store since 1953, Bruce himself opened his first store here in 1968 and he knows everybody. The lovely thing about Bruce, though, is that he’s friendly and open with everyone and anyone, no matter what side of the tracks they’re from.

And, while he was born to parents who were comfortably off, they instilled in him a work ethic that has never left him.

‘I’m a workaholic,’ he admits. ‘For half of my life up to the age of 16, I worked to save money,

and I had enough to buy an OK car – in those days you could buy a hot rod for 100, 200 dollars. But my parents forbade me. Then my great-aunt died, and left me her ’50 Plymouth, which was not a cool car. I made it cool by having it painted Sierra Gold, which was a ’55 Chevy colour, and I did a button interior and put it down in front and added a second carburettor to the flathead six – it didn’t do much but when you opened the hood you could see them and that was all that mattered.’

This was in about 1957, and Bruce’s love of hot rods has been a constant in a life filled with ’bikes and cars, some of them very exotic (Steve McQueen’s Porsche Speedster and the 1961 Le

Mans Ferrari 250 SWB SEFAC, to name just two). It’s fair to say that he single-handedly changed the perception of hot rods forever in the wider petrolhead world when his pleas for a historic hot rod class at Pebble Beach were finally answered back in 1997.

‘Before then, hot rods were at the bottom of the food chain, associated with Hell’s Angels and the like. It took me ten years of begging the guy who ran Pebble Beach, Lorin Tryon; I became borderline obnoxious but I finally broke him down and he was great. It legitimised hot rodding overnight. Until then, no selfrespecting car collector would even socialise with hot rodders but I’ve always believed that

Above Never mind the Prince of Bel Air – Bruce Meyer is the undisputed King of Beverly Hills, where he’s lived and breathed car culture for over half-a-century.

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Right Bruce’s ex-Tom Prufer, big-block V8 ’32 Ford has not been restored since Tom built it, and still features the roll-bar installed by Tom so that he could take it drag racing.

hot rodding is such an under-appreciated art form. It’s the genesis of all we love about cars, working on them and learning about them.’

For many hot rodders, a hopped-up 1932 Ford ‘Deuce Coupe’ is their ultimate aspiration, so it’s no surprise that Bruce owns several of the most significant examples ever made (a book about his collection, Deuce!, was Octane’s Book of the Month in issue 224). And the car in which we’re cruising is the embodiment of that melding of technical skill and artistic vision, built by an aerospace engineer called Tom Prufer in the 1970s.

While Bruce owns no fewer than ten ’32 Fords, some of them with much longer history than this one, he uses this ’32 the most. He’s driven it a couple of thousand miles along the old Route 66, and shipped it to China for a 1000-mile Louis Vuitton rally – which was then cancelled because of a severe earthquake in which hundreds of people died. But this rod has all the go to match its considerable show.

As described by Ken Gross, the author of Deuce!, it originally featured a 468ci big-block Chevy V8 with ‘dual 750cfm Holley quads, a Weiand tunnel ram manifold, [and] a righteous Engle cam’. Praise the Lord! It’s since been made a little more streetable with the substitution of ‘just’ a single Holley four-barrel carb and a milder cam.

Bruce confesses that the big-block V8 is not actually his favourite motor; he prefers a Chevy small-block if, as he puts it, ‘I want to drive stupid’. But, as we circulate Beverly Hills at city speeds and in the kind of traffic that has him tapping the wheel in frustration, it quickly becomes evident that this motor is completely untemperamental. ‘Big-blocks don’t run hot,’ he agrees. ‘And it’s got so much torque. I don’t even know what the redline is…’

It does, as you’d expect, make a wonderful noise. It’s not nearly as outrageously loud as you might think – those side-exiting ‘lake pipes’ are blanked off for road use, and there’s a full-length twin exhaust that exits just behind the rear axle – but at idle it has that fantastic off-beat chunter that’s characteristic of a hi-po V8. It’s a completely unpredictable exhaust rhythm that’s backed-up by the sound of belts turning and ancillaries spinning and – when we’re moving slowly – the rurr-rurr-rurr of the transmission and Halibrand Champ quickchange final drive. ‘When I bought it, it had an 92

automatic transmission but I put a four-speed manual in it,’ explains Bruce.

The acceleration is spectacular. By some miracle we end up at a stop light on Sunset Boulevard with no-one ahead for hundreds of yards. Bruce doesn’t need much encouragement to nail it when the lights change. He guns the engine, drops the clutch, and those massive 10x16in rear wheels lose traction for a few seconds before the Hoosier tyres find their feet and catapult us forwards, transmission whining loudly and the massive V8 hammering away as it finally finds its true voice. Bruce backs off quickly and it’s over almost as soon as it’s begun, but just for a moment we’re grinning like a couple of teenagers.

As we rumble rather more sedately around

the neighbourhood, Bruce explains how he never expected to end up living in Beverly Hills. ‘Growing up in LA, the last place I thought I’d want to live was Beverly Hills. But I didn’t know much then. It’s a safe city; the people really care about it and the way it looks.

The city services are great, the police and fire; it’s a business-friendly city and the commercial area underwrites about 70% of those services.

And people are nice here! It’s not an elitist town. Rodeo Drive is such an attraction to people from out of town that we know which side our bread is buttered.’

For nearly 30 years, Bruce and some friends have organised a concours on Rodeo Drive. ‘It started as a charitable effort by four of us to restore the very first fire truck in Beverly Hills.

1932 Ford Hot Rod Engine 468ci (7669cc) Chevrolet V8, OHV, Holley 4-barrel carburettor Transmission Four-speed manual, rear-wheel drive, Halibrand Champ quick-change differential Steering Worm and sector Suspension Front: beam axle, transverse leaf spring, hairpin radius rods, telescopic dampers.

Rear: live axle, radius rods, coil springs, telescopic dampers Brakes Ford drums, hydraulically operated Top speed 100mph+

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We decided to hold a little car show and after two or three years we had enough to restore the fire truck but decided to keep going. It’s a free show that benefits the local police and firefighters’ associations and we get everything from low-riders to Pebble Beach-class cars – it’s a very diverse mix.’

Bruce recognises that Beverly Hills has become much more upscale since he opened his first store, selling candles and incense, here in 1968. He reels off some of the names. ‘You’ve got every designer: Dolce & Gabbana, Louis Vuitton, Cartier… Then there’s the fashion store Bijan [the custom-yellow Rolls-Royce Phantom drophead commissioned by its late founder Bijan Pakzad can be seen, below] – I know the whole family – and the restaurant Spago. The guy who started it, Wolfgang Puck, began up in the hills selling pizza and casual fare, and now he has restaurants all over the world but this is the premier one. Our store provided him with china and so on, so I’ve known him forever.’

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After more than half-a-century in Beverly Hills, it seems there are very few people that Bruce doesn’t know. A photo-op outside the main entrance to the Peninsula Hotel? No problem. Quick U-turn around a central divider in full view of a cop? Sure, with a friendly wave from the cop and a ‘Hey Bruce, how ya’ doin’?’

We pull to a halt outside the house where Paul Newman used to live. ‘It now belongs to a friend of mine who collects early Rolls-Royces.

Paul was a real car guy, of course, and you’d often see him driving around Beverly Hills.

‘You know, Beverly Hills is not a big city; it only has around 30,000 people. But it boxes way above its weight. It may be small-town USA in scale but it’s world-class.’

You could say much the same about Bruce Meyer. He’s only one individual but he’s done so much to advance the cause of classic cars, not least helping to set up the Petersen Museum in Los Angeles. More than that, he’s managed to remain A Nice Guy all the while. And that is probably his greatest achievement of all. End

‘After more than 50 years in Beverly Hills, there are very few people that Bruce doesn’t know’

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15/02/2024 13:06

BENTLEY MkVI MULLINER

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THE JOY OF

From its brand-new post-war home in Crewe, Bentley redefined itself with the prescient MkVI sports saloon.

Glen Waddington drives the desirable HJ Mulliner six-light version Photography Jonathan Jacob

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early 80 years on, we still associate Bentley with Crewe, in north-western England. It wasn’t always thus; the hulking Le Mans racers of WO Bentley’s era were Londoners and, following Rolls-Royce’s take-over in 1931, Bentleys were built at the parent company’s works in Derby. From that point and up to 2004, all Bentleys were based on Rolls-Royce underpinnings and, until the advent of BMW V8s and V12s in 1998, shared only Rolls-Royce engines, too. They were marketed under the epithet of ‘the silent sports car’ and, when the first of these appeared in 1933, even WO himself declared: ‘I would rather own this Bentley than any other car produced under that name.’ Praise indeed.

While today’s VW-owned Bentley might cite the R-Type Continental Fastback as its greatest inspiration (and who wouldn’t?), perhaps it owes at least as much to a rather more pragmatic saloon that came from Crewe, Bentley’s home from 1938, and which went on sale as close as possible to the end of hostilities. That car is the MkVI Standard Steel sports saloon.

The Crewe location was chosen for a ‘shadow factory’ at which Rolls-Royce could produce the aero engines so necessary for the war effort. The town was well-placed for road and rail links, well away from the concentration of bombing raids from Europe, and offered plentiful availability of flat land. Within only five months, 60 acres of potato fields at Merrill’s Farm became the production line for Merlin aero engines, and by 1943 more than 10,000 people were employed there.

But technology was moving apace. While the Merlin V12 was undoubtedly a superb piece of engineering, and the Supermarine Spitfire just wouldn’t have been the same without it, as the war progressed so Rolls-Royce began to concentrate on jets. When it was over, the company moved its aero engine operation back to Derby – and Crewe became the centre for car production for both marques. With a large and empty factory going spare, and the British Government clamouring for export products, Rolls-Royce and Bentley saw a new opportunity for (by their standards) a radical type of luxury car. Enter William Arthur Rowbotham.

Derby-born Rowbotham had joined Rolls-Royce as an apprentice in 1919, while studying mathematics and engineering drawing at night school. After four years he qualified and became a junior technician under Ernest Hives, who was in charge of production at the Derby works. Back then, Rolls-Royce would supply rolling chassis to coachbuilders such as Park Ward, Hooper and Mulliner. By 1933, annual sales were typically around 1500 cars per year, shared across the Rolls and Bentley marques. The company would seek to increase those numbers after the war.

Rowbotham was tasked with developing military vehicles from 1940, and appointed in November 1941 as the Ministry of Supply’s chief engineer of tank design, directing Rolls-Royce’s Meteor team at Belper, near Derby. There, a new range of military engines was developed, but his attention was beginning to turn to cars as the war drew to a close. In 1944, Rowbotham realised that the market for rolling chassis with coachbuilt bodies would be limited and that any cars the company built after

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the war would need to cost 30% less and be fitted with a standardised body – across both marques.

On the advice of Rover’s Spencer Wilks, Rowbotham approached the Pressed Steel Company, in Cowley, Oxford. Could it tool a suitable bodyshell? Rowbotham suggested 2000 per year – a third above the total pre-war average. Pressed Steel demanded at least 5000 bodies, to which Ernest Hives agreed – the ’shells would cost about half the price of a post-war Park Ward body, and the pressings would need less work before painting. The numbers worked: bodies would be used for both the Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith and the Bentley MkVI, which remained in production for nine years, with 6500 built.

A further 3200 were made with a bigger luggage compartment, as the Bentley R-Type and Silver Dawn.

‘The MkVI was perfect for the age, being as well-engineered as the equivalent Rolls-Royce but more understated’

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And so, immediately after VE Day in May 1945, the Crewe factory waved goodbye to Merlin engines and a new car production line was installed. The chassis was ready in February 1946; there was a press announcement in May at the Royal Ascot Hotel, and Crewe’s first car rolled out in the September. Rowbotham was given the title of chief engineer of cars that year, passed over as managing director of the newly formed Motor Car Division in favour of Dr Frederick Llewellyn Smith from Rolls-Royce’s Glasgow factory. Rowbotham was eventually recognised in 1949, when he was appointed to the main board of Rolls-Royce Ltd. Such a product could have been met with disdain, and yet The Autocar gave the MkVI a resoundingly positive reception: ‘Perhaps the outstanding thought from extensive driving of the Bentley MkVI built by the world’s premier car manufacturers, Rolls-Royce, is that it has no single predominant feature but gains its unique position from a combination of superbly matched qualities that raise it above the level of other cars. Years of painstaking research and development with mechanical perfection as the goal show their results unmistakably. Smoothness and quietness and sheer quality are in the superlative.’

As for The Motor: ‘As an expensive car, the Bentley appeals not so much on account of what it does

(superiority to most other cars being taken for granted) as on account of its being a pleasing possession, something of which an owner can be proud. It is a well-furnished car in which to spend long periods of time.’

Don’t forget, this was radical stuff for the time. The MkVI might have looked patrician but, being smaller than coachbuilt saloons, as well as cheaper, it was designed to appeal to younger owners who would drive themselves rather than employ a chauffeur. In the era of rationing, even those with money avoided ostentation. The MkVI was perfect for the age, being as well-engineered as the equivalent Rolls-Royce yet more understated.

Chief stylist Ivan Evernden had worked initially with Cecily Jenner on the car’s lines; the design was finalised

by John Blatchley, who had arrived as a draughtsman at Rolls-Royce Aero Design in 1940 and moved to the car division in 1945. They were a strong team who would later be responsible for the stunningly sleek R-Type Continental Fastback: Evernden had joined Rolls-Royce in 1916 and by 1922 was working in the design department as a protégé of Sir Henry Royce. Blatchley, meanwhile, started at coachbuilder J Gurney Nutting & Co in 1935 and was appointed chief stylist there a year later at the age of 23 (as a young teenager he’d spent three years in bed with rheumatic fever, and passed his time sketching cars and building models). He went on to style Rolls-Royces and Bentleys for two decades and more, from the Silver Dawn to the Silver Shadow, and became Crewe’s chief styling engineer in 1955.

Yet despite the democratisation of Crewe’s products, Bentley (and Rolls-Royce) weren’t about to leave behind their coachbuilt roots. Around 80% of MkVIs were the Standard Steel saloons, but chassis were supplied to coachbuilders, too, which produced four-door, two-door and drophead models. Sales of the MkVI far outstripped those of any pre-war Bentley, with 4001 examples built, of which 3171 were Standard Steel models. Of the 830 coachbuilt cars, among the most sought-after now are the 241 built by HJ Mulliner. Of those, 125 were four-door, six-light saloons – one of which we happen to have here.

This car was delivered in January 1950 to its first owner, William Lount of the London-based paint maker and plaster supplier Alabastine Co Ltd. It later spent part of its life in Switzerland and joined Bentley’s own heritage collection in 2021. We’ll come back to the obvious delights of its subtly reimagined coachbuilt bodywork and elegantly trimmed interior and concentrate for now on the sweeping authority with which it gathers pace as we leave the historic Pyms Lane site in Crewe and head for Cheshire’s more rural charms.

You sit upright on a plumply plush leather armchair, elbows bent, fingers caressing the slim Bakelite rim of a broad three-spoke wheel. The handbrake and gearlever are down to your right; they threatened to disappear up your trouser leg on entry but are in easy reach. The fact that you won’t be stretching across to your passenger for every shift seems curiously apposite, considering the modest mores of the Bentley’s likely clientele when new.

Above and opposite Bentley MkVI targeted a new post-war market of younger self-drivers, yet it’s still a sizeable luxury car, with a beautiful leather and walnut interior.

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The car needs to be completely stationary when the non-synchro first gear is selected, and it whines as you pull away so you swiftly change to second. Movements are lengthy fore and aft but tight across the gate, and the mechanism feels silken and solid. A swift double-declutch aids smoothness, and the big, torquey straight-six pulls willingly, though it’s no revver. Keep it in its happy zone and it feels unstoppable, exerting itself with quiet decorum, while only a muted sensation of threshing and reciprocation accompanies the breathy exhaust. It’s stoic and refined, rather like a 1950s statesman.

More surprisingly, it’s also encouraging and engaging.

The steering goes without much of the vagueness of many post-war cars and, while relatively soft coil and leaf springs favour ride over handling, the Bentley keeps its weight low, so it settles into bends and moves through them with neutrality. Lumps and bumps go largely unnoticed, and transmit little noise into the cabin.

Time spent in the rear compartment is enjoyable, too.

Maybe the typical MkVI owner preferred not to be chauffeured, but there’s space aplenty to check the financial press, or for full evening dress to go unruffled on social occasions. You emerge facing forwards and upright, thanks to rear-hinged doors, which is a significant difference between this and the Standard Steel body: on those, the front and rear doors are hinged from the central pillar, making it easier for the owner/driver to get in and out while navigating the somewhat inconveniently placed gearlever and handbrake. Chauffeur be damned! This car is all about the back seats, and the more extensive glazing makes the rear compartment a more enjoyable place in which to spend time, if slightly less private as a result.

Outside, the lines are sharper, more graceful, particularly the sweeping wings that flow into the doors

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and running boards. It’s far more crisply detailed than the Standard Steel saloon, and the nature of its construction means it would have been considerably more expensive to buy, yet still it falls short of showiness.

Mechanically it’s identical, featuring a separate chassis with independent coil springs at the front and a live axle and leaf springs at the rear. Hydraulically adjustable rear dampers are controlled from the steering wheel hub, via a switch that operates a valve to provide or release pressure by diverting transmission oil. Drum brakes front and rear are assisted by Rolls-Royce’s transmission-driven servo.

They’re up to the job, but don’t go racing.

Under the bonnet is the F-head straight-six, which has origins in the 1920s, though in the usual Rolls-Royce way was refined, conservatively engineered, robustly built and constantly revised during its career. Known as the B-series (as here, the B60), it was designed with longevity in mind, its engineers having aimed at a service life of 100,000 miles before any need for refurbishment.

Such obvious build quality, all that leather and wood, spacious accommodation, quiet power, and a feeling of indomitability on the road: the MkVI offered a heady combination of talents and, having made its debut in 1946, got a head start on many other manufacturers, most of whom couldn’t release new products until at least two years later. But one tiny detail pleases this driver above all others, and it’s a lever in the driver’s door. While all three other windows are wound up and down in conventional fashion, the driver’s is actuated by a quick-acting crank: push down and the window drops; pull back up and the window swiftly closes. In an era before electric motors were commonplace in British cars, it’s an elegant solution.

If anything typifies the MkVI, it’s elegant solutions.

What better way to redefine the marque? End

1950 Bentley MkVI six-light saloon

by Mulliner Engine 4257cc straight-six, inlet-over-exhaust, two SU carburettors Power 132bhp @ 4500rpm Transmission Four-speed manual (no synchro on first), rear-wheel drive Steering Cam and roller Suspension Front: double wishbones, coil springs, double-acting lever-arm dampers. Rear: live axle, semi-elliptic gaitered leaf springs, double-acting lever-arm dampers, adjustable at rear Brakes Drums, servo-assisted Weight 1804kg Top speed 93mph

BLUE RN

L E MA N S R EP N U MB E R 7

3 4 ½ W I T H O R I G I NAL C O AC HW O R K

MA T CH I N G N U MB ER SP E E D S I X

THRE E GENERATIONS OF ONE FAMILY OW N ER SH I P

A W IN N IN G F O R M UL A

1000 MIGLIA UAE

I’d drive 1000 miles for a camel…

Incredible scenery, superb roads, star drivers: join Robert Coucher for an unforgettable Arabian odyssey on the 1000 Miglia Experience UAE Photography Michael Orth

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COME WET AND chilly December in the UK, Europe and USA, the classic car scene goes into the workshops for spannering or general winter hibernation. But not in the United Arab Emirates! Boasting cobalt-blue skies, warm and dry weather with temperatures around 28ºC, the mostly deserted highways and byways of the UAE are classic car heaven. Think vast open spaces, magnificent backdrops, no traffic, cheap petrol and around 120 classic and performance cars let loose among a few bemused camels and goats amid the most breathtaking moonscape in the world. It has to be the 1000 Miglia Experience UAE. The latest event sees entries from Germany, Italy, Switzerland, France and the UK, participants arriving from 31 countries in total.

Supported by the UAE Ministry of the Interior, a stellar field of competitors is on hand for the second annual 1000 Miglia Experience UAE, including Jochen Mass in a Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing, Stefan Johansson in a Porsche 911, Thierry Boutsen in a Mercedes-Benz 560SL, Dieter Quester in a BMW 328, Valentino Balboni in a Ferrari Testarossa and presenter Jodie Kidd in a Mercedes-Benz 500 SLC, as well as Octane friend and collector Corrado Lopresto with his magnificent one-off Zagato-bodied Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 Aprile.

Things kick off at the mightily impressive Meydan Racecourse, home of the famous Dubai World Cup horserace, which makes Ascot look like a village fête. With registration and scrutineering done, the competitors enjoy an opening gala dinner above the track in the Apron Views Sky Bubble Rooftop overlooking the city of Dubai. It’s an impressive-looking city, huge and with a seemingly endless landscape of glass-and-chrome skyscrapers surrounded by criss-crossing motorways filled with cars and SUVs straight out of Grand Theft Auto.

The 1000-mile rally sets out at a very civilised 9.30am, heading north out of busy Dubai to Ras Al Khaimah where, after 110 miles, a sumptuous lunch is enjoyed at the Ritz Carlton in the Al Wadi Desert, home to Bedouin and desert explorers. The afternoon leg then includes an unforgettable run across the Oman border to enjoy the superb coastal drive along the Musandam Peninsular, with its raw rock features, on the way to Khasab Fort. In the late afternoon sunlight, empty roads provide the crews with a special Arabian memory blasting along the Gulf of Oman. That evening everyone relaxes at the five-star Intercontinental Resort in Ras Al Khaimah.

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Next day, the weather is perfect again and the cars set off towards Jabil Jais. The road to the highest point in Dubai – at 1484m – is an 18-mile ribbon of beautifully smooth switchback tarmac. It’s a dual carriageway on the way up to the restaurant, providing some superb fast driving opportunities. At the top Jochen Mass opens the gullwing door on his Merc and mutters just one word: ‘Incredible.’ That night, supper is taken on the beach in Fujairah with sea-sand underfoot.

The rally continues on day three via the Hatta Fort Hotel for lunch, visiting the cool Flat 12 café at Dubai port before the competitors arrive at their overnight lodgings on the huge Queen Elizabeth 2 moored at the quayside. As rally organiser Martin Halder puts it: ‘What better than for a bunch of classic car enthusiasts to experience a classic ship, the fastest of her day.’ Indeed, sipping soft drinks on the Upper Deck of the QE2 is a memorable experience; fortunately, proper dry Martinis are available at the discreetly expensive pay bar inside.

Having enjoyed smooth and seemingly brand-new motorways through the desert, as well as scenic backroads for the Regularity and Time Trial sections deep in the heart of the UAE, competitors set out for the final day, which includes more open roads and dramatic scenery plus a lunch stop at the Platinum Desert Resort. There, drivers are whisked off into the dunes in classic Land Rovers to eat at a traditional Bedouin tented camp, with camel rides for the more adventurous types. Being seated in carpeted tents while enjoying aromatic flame-roasted meat and fish washed down with glasses of jallab makes this lunch a real highlight of the Arabian adventure. The counterpoint to this desert experience is driving to Abu

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‘At the top, Jochen Mass opens the gullwing door on his Mercedes and mutters just one word: “Incredible”’

Below, opposite and bottom right Incredible scenery is a given – and how about that sky for December weather; every stop is like a concours d’élégance – and celebrated Lamborghini test driver Valentino Balboni was among the entrants; Octane took part in this glorious Mercedes-Benz 450SEL 6.9.

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Dhabi for a timed section at the massive and impressive Yas Marina F1 circuit. The track is huge and fast, and sees much smoke emanating from the brakes of competing cars.

And that’s the encouraging thing about the 1000 Miglia Experience UAE: it’s all about the driving. The largely German contingent in the Mercedes 300SLs have not been hanging about. Even over rough desert roads they have been going for it; in among them is American Jaguar driver Jeffrey Gault with racing ace Chris Ward mapping the way as his navigator. Thinking top racer Ward might be somewhat overqualified for this gig, I ask him how it’s going. ‘We are having a great time. Jeff ’s XK140 is flying and I’m really enjoying the navigational competition. It becomes very addictive.’

Jochen Mass is in a well-used-looking but obviously fit Gullwing, pressing on without complaining about the desert heat, while Boutsen looks as cool as a cucumber in an immaculate, air-conditioned 560SL. Kidd is rushing around with her film crew and doing very well having to drive and navigate on her own, and Rosie Kidston is moving along quickly in an elegant bronze Dino GTS. ‘I’m over 6ft tall but the Ferrari is surprisingly roomy and a blast to drive,’ she says. She has brought her bag-carrying husband, Simon, along in another Dino.

Organiser Imthishan Giado procured a stonking 1977 Mercedes-Benz 450SEL 6.9 for your Octane scribbler and provided a crazy German, Michael Orth, who turns out not to be a navigator but instead a photojournalist. He spends the whole time hanging out of the big limo at serious speed or running off into the desert to take more panning shots.

Actually, he navigates surprisingly well once his eye is removed from the viewfinder, but, needless to note, our Regularity results are dire.

Oh well, so what! Hammering a superb, low-mileage example of the 108

Clockwise, from top left Renowned racer Jochen Mass drove his 300SL Gullwing on the event; Corrado Lopresto in his unique Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 Aprile; incredible Ferrari display by QE2; plenty of beautifully surfaced curves to play on.

thundrous 6.9-litre Benz through the Emirates for four days is a petrolhead’s dream. It costs next to nothing here to fill up so there is no need to save on the juice – flat-out, the big SEL shows off its sports car personality, proving firm, predictable, powerful, sharp yet playful and, with fully functioning air-conditioning, luxurious as well. At the Yas Marina circuit, I must confess the front brakes catch fire, but they soon cool down and all is back to normal operation. A magnificent MercedesBenz from the respected Gargash Collection in Dubai.

The Mille Miglia Experience finishes at the sumptuous Park Hyatt Hotel on Al Maryah Island in Abu Dhabi, with an al fresco final dinner under palm trees on the hotel lawns. Trophies are awarded to those who took the Regularity Rallying side of this seriously. Many did not – they just enjoyed driving their classic cars on some of the best roads in Arabia, through some of the most breathtaking scenery and then relaxing at some of the finest hotels. Overall winners are Salim Rifai and Giordano Mozzi in their Porsche 356 Speedster, second Umberto Galloni with his young daughter Alice doing the hard work navigating in their Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 GT, and third Albert Wetz and François Drazdik in their Lancia Aurelia B20GT. But we’re all winners here. End THANKS TO 1000 Miglia Experience UAE, 1000migliaexperience.ae.

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11/02/2021 11/02/2021 18:09 18:06

JAGUAR E-TYPE RACER

UNSUNG HERO Join Octane at Monsanto Park, Portugal, to drive the ex-Manuel Nogueira Pinto 1961 Jaguar E-type racer – the most successful of its era Words Richard Heseltine Photography Luis Duarte Archive images Edições Vintage Archive

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Above Early-morning peace is shattered by the loud racing exhaust and race-spec twin-cam straight-six – as writer Heseltine reports, the sound is ‘gloriously uproarious’.

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ell, goodness, won’t this be a jolly adventure. It is still dark, but our presence here is causing a sore-thumb resonance for other park-goers. Good morning, please don’t mind us. Jog on by. We will just unload the racing car and fire it up. Locate the kill switch, reconnect this and that, prod the starter and chug, chug, chug… contact! Normally, a Jaguar E-type emits an exhaust note that is crisp and burbly.

It isn’t so vulgar as to be loud. Here, not so much. This straight-six is gloriously uproarious, the non-local doing his best to quell the impulse to flex the throttle. That, and to discharge a frothy comment or two.

The backdrop seems so incongruous: an area of protected woodland in central Lisbon bisected by a busy thoroughfare. However, this same spot in the Portuguese capital once resonated to the sound of Grand Prix weaponry, the street circuit having played host to a round of the Formula 1 World Championship in 1959. It is also the venue at which this ‘flat floor’ roadster once vanquished all-comers in the early 1960s. More than once, in fact. This old warhorse saw action in everything from rallies to the Angolan Grand Prix, and is still being raced in anger. Its appearance here is fleeting before it returns to its latter-day home in London.

Tellingly, it was a competition tool from the outset; one of the few. As we all know by rote, the E-type caused a media maelstrom following its big reveal, the Malcolm Sayer-penned, Sir William Lyons-refined outline entering into legend in an instant. Redolent of the D-type, not to mention the E1A and E2A prototypes, the E-type showcased the Coventry firm’s sporting intent. It didn’t really matter that the shape wasn’t aerodynamically efficient, or that it suffered from front-end lift at high speed: it looked sensational. To arbiters of beauty, that was all that mattered, even if no E-type production car ever managed to reach 150mph as The Autocar famously did aboard the lightly breathed-on demonstrator.

Even so, it was still mind-bogglingly quick by contemporary standards. Here was a car that was comfortably faster than most vowel-laden exotica, but it also boasted advanced monocoque construction and independent rear suspension. The E-type’s competition debut was a belated one, mind, because Jaguar didn’t manage to supply cars quickly enough for privateer entrants John Coombs and Tommy Sopwith to field them at the Goodwood Easter Meeting in 1961. This was in part due to industrial unrest at the body-making plant.

It was left to Graham Hill and Roy Salvadori to ensure the car made an impression in the 25-lap Trophy Race at Oulton Park a few weeks later.

Hill won aboard the Equipe Endeavour entry, with Salvadori third (he led for much of the way, only for his car’s brakes to wilt). As debuts go, it was pretty emphatic.

Ferrari thought so: accepted history suggests that the 250 GTO was created as a response to the perceived threat from Coventry. This being the case, ‘The Reds’ needn’t have worried. The E-type never was a great racing car, even the ‘Lightweight’ edition – built specifically for motor racing rather than adapted to fit (and also benefiting from a certain amount of homologation chicanery) – proving no match for the cars from Maranello. As such, the applecart remained upright.

Which isn’t to say that the E-type didn’t enjoy success, but it was mostly at national level. ‘Our’ car is a case in point. According to the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust, this ‘Open Top Sports’ was completed on 16 October 1961. Resplendent in Opalescent Silver Grey with a dark blue interior, it was imported by Porto’s João Gaspar, a well-connected concessionaire for Alfa Romeo and Ferrari, among others. It was the fifth E-type to enter Portugal, arriving with a few tweaks that included a highcompression head. The Jaguar made its competition debut in January 1962, Manuel Nogueira Pinto and Manuel Mocelek placing second overall and first in class on the Rallye Abertura do Sporting.

The car would in time become inextricably linked with Pinto, a true blueblood whose father José had performed effectively on-track a decade earlier aboard an Allard and assorted Ferraris that included a 340 America and a 750 Monza. The younger Pinto first ventured trackside in 1957, ‘Mané’ starting out in a Porsche 356 1500 Carrera GS. A year later, he joined forces with future Grand Prix occasional Mário Cabral to contest the Nürburgring 1000 Kilometres in an Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint. The young noblemen renewed their partnership for the 1959 running, hiring a Scuderia Centro Sud Maserati 300S. They placed a creditable eighth overall.

The two were great friends early on, less so as their careers diverged, and Pinto made little effort to establish 113

JAGUAR E-TYPE RACER

‘Pinto excelled aboard the E-type during the 1962 season, besting Porsche 550 Spyders and assorted Ferraris’

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himself on the world stage whereas Cabral pursued drives at international level (or at least he did when he wasn’t creating merry hell in Europe’s fleshpots). Nevertheless, Pinto excelled aboard the E-type during the 1962 season, claiming honours at the Montes Claros circuit (the shorter version of the Monsanto Park track used in Formula 1). He bested a pair of Porsche 550 Spyders and a 718 RSK in the process, not to mention assorted Ferraris and other exotica. That same year also included victory at the Lourenço Marques (now Maputo) circuit in Mozambique.

The following season saw Pinto steer the increasingly well-developed Jaguar to repeat honours at Montes Claros. He also contested the Angolan Grand Prix meeting, claiming outright honours in the GT support race while dropping out of the Grand Prix itself. For reasons lost to time, the car was fielded with the rear wire wheels painted black. It was also campaigned with the hood in place (as were all E-type roadsters, it seems), while the boot-lid was invariably propped open: it was deemed the most efficient way of dissipating heat generated by the diff and inboard disc brakes. In addition, ventilation holes were drilled into the boot floor, a demon tweak initiated by Palma & Morgardo, an outfit that enjoyed great success on-track later that decade with assorted Lotus models.

The 1963 season marked the end of the Jaguar’s frontline racing career, while Pinto’s stop-start calling stretched to Formula Vee and national sports-prototype titles before the decade was over. He shone in cars as diverse as a Lotus Elan S3 and a Porsche 908, an Alfa Romeo 2000 GTAm and a GRD S73 sports-racer.

Clockwise, from left Glorious triple-carb twin-cam straight-six now suspected to be capable of more than the ‘book’ 265bhp; as Circuito de Montes Claros, this pretty Lisbon park once resounded to the roar of racing cars; Pinto in action in 1962 at Porto’s Lordelo do Ouro and in 1963 at Montes Claros.

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It was aboard the latter that he placed second in Moçamedes, Angola, in March 1974, after which the father of four hung up his helmet. Regarded as one of the finest Portuguese drivers of the pre-Revolution era, Pinto survived competing at some of the most daunting venues ever to host a motor race, only to die in a house fire in 1981. He was 46.

Scrolling forwards in the narrative, the E-type was acquired by British competitor Marc Gordon in 2019.

Prepared by Nick Finburgh, who shares the car in endurance events, it is every inch the weapons-grade historic racer, and one that is immaculate from stem to stern. However, revelling in the attention to detail will have to wait because time is getting short.

By 7am you won’t be able to move here, such is the traffic expected on this section of what was once the home straight of the Montes Claros circuit. It is at this juncture that a slight problem threatens to end play before it has begun: the race seat is fixed and the disparity in dimensions between its owner/driver and the guest pilot becomes an issue.

Repeat instructions to stop dawdling, time being of the essence and all that, leads to a degree of contortion that your average practitioner of yoga can only dream of. This situation isn’t aided by the close proximity of the chunky roll-cage, but mutterings of discomfort are banished on waking the strident straight-six from its slumber. It 116

sounds angry. The photographer and our minder/fixer/ explainer-in-chief then hurriedly point out where to join the old track, or at least the bits that are left intact. Letting in the competition clutch allows no room for slippage. It is either in or out, which rather focuses your attention as you slot into the ebb and flow of early-morning traffic.

The E-type experience threatens to slide from the poetic to the pathetic as the rush-hour car-conga worsens. Hectoring commuters see no reason to deviate from their chosen line, even if it means encroaching on yours, moped riders cheating death as they divebomb you from all sides before randomly braking. There is plenty to ponder, but strangely not the transmission.

Expecting a battle of wills, early E-type ’boxes being slow-witted on downshifts, here the ‘Moss-plus’ set-up employed on many race examples these days is a joy.

You are certainly aware that it has slotted into gear, such is the pronounced ker-klunk. The spine-compressing sliver of carbonfibre that doubles as a seat is less pleasant, mind, but you can forgive this car anything for the fanfare projecting from the back pipes.

Having taken a time-out and allowed the car (and driver) to cool down, we are off to another section of this historic venue, one that is mercifully free of other road users. It also has a decent straight and testy corners. Given room to stretch its legs a little, the E-type just bolts, barking its impending arrival as the revs rise. This is

Above E-type still wears its rear wheels painted black, as they were back in 1963 – it will soon return to London from Portugal.

1964 -1982 STANLEYS BRICKYARD

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YEARS OF R.S.PANELS

1982-2024

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14/03/2024 10:41

JAGUAR E-TYPE RACER

Right and below Open boot-lid promotes cooling for inboard rear disc brakes and differential – looks great, too; small-diameter wheel is a clue to E-type’s racing past.

1961 Jaguar E-type OTS roadster Engine 3781cc DOHC straight-six, alloy head, triple SU HD8 carburettors Power 265bhp at 5500rpm Torque 260lb ft @ 4000rpm Transmission Four-speed manual, rear-wheel drive Steering Rack and pinion Suspension Front: double wishbones, torsion bars, telescopic dampers, anti-roll bar. Rear: lower wishbones, radius arms, fixed-length driveshafts, twinned coil springs and telescopic dampers, anti-roll bar Brakes Discs Weight 1219kg Top speed 145mph (est)

perhaps the biggest surprise of all. You don’t remember Jaguar sixes being quite so free-spinning. Throttle response is immediate, pedal pressure being way lighter than you might imagine. The precise horsepower figure is a mystery, but we would surmise that it is a wee bit north of the original 265bhp (gross) at 5500rpm.

This is not a car that is happy being shunted back and forth, as is to be expected, but it is in its element once given freer reign. You tend to forget how small E-types are, if only by today’s standards when even the diddiest of sports cars appear elephantine in comparison.

Everything is so wonderfully intimate, the steering being well-weighted, lively and responsive. To use parlance du jour, it is analogue and all the better for it. The car is never less than communicative, and it’s agile when you want it to be. Prior experience of E-types tells you that it will be throttle-adjustable and transition keenly from apex to apex. However, this is a public road and there are speed limits.

Some way off ten-tenths, this fabulous machine is a thing of wonder all the same – only the compromised seating position detracts. That, and perhaps the brakes.

The impressive-looking vented disc set-up no doubt works brilliantly on a circuit once red-hot, but not so much on the public highway when cold. It’s a car that would be better-served by a longer acquaintanceship but even the briefest of dalliances proves enlightening. It serves to dampen a few well-nurtured prejudices. Even if you are inured to all things E-type through overfamiliarity, the hardest of hearts will have a hairline crack after experiencing this car.

Of course, the location helps, even if the Monsanto Park of today is a spectral echo of the former motorsport venue. It was Pinto’s happy hunting ground, which speaks volumes about his talent as a driver. That, and the car in which he claimed some of his most celebrated victories.

Travelling flat-chat here in the E-type must have been eye-widening given the elevation changes, drop-offs, and the small matter of all the trees and other immovable objects. Six decades later, your brain works hard to make sense of it, even if there is little sense to be found. End THANKS TO Marc Gordon and Adelino Dinis.

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13/03/2024 14:34

GLAS 3000GT

THE GLAS The zenith of car production by BMW’s near-neighbour could have been the flagship for all of Bavaria, says James Elliott Photography Josh Sweeney / Shoot for Details

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CEILING

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or a company that has been building cars for 96 years, it is amazing how late in the day BMW forged its own identity and direction. Some would argue that it was really born only with the Neue Klasse. They’d be wrong, of course, but between the 328s and Baroque Angels, the company does have a rich history of advancing itself via the work of others. It started at the very beginning with the Austin Seven/ Dixi, its financial fortunes were revived post-war via Iso’s Isetta bubblecar, but when it tapped into the creative stream of Glas after buying the company in 1966, all it did was rapidly wind down operations – including Glas’s much-admired range-topping V8 coupé.

Why? Well, perhaps because it had only recently euthanised its own V8 coupé (the Bertone-bodied 3200CS) and replaced it with its own four-cylinder Karmann-shelled 2000 and 2000CS, the perfect foundation for the iconic E9 straight-six coupés that were just around the corner, with the M30-powered 2800CS at the vanguard. Or, maybe, it was because the two main reasons BMW bought Glas were its paperwork (cambelt tech and patents) and land (after much redevelopment over many decades, Glas’s Dingolfing plant would become the largest in BMW’s European empire, churning out over 250,000 cars a year) and it had no interest in the actual hardware. Yet, with the stylish Italianate Glas 2600GT barely a year old, might that have been a huge mistake? Clanger or not, it meant that Glas at least went out with a bang rather than a whimper (CityRover, anyone?).

Glas had its roots in agricultural machinery and was just 100km down the road from BMW in Bavaria. The family-run company had itself enjoyed a post-war leg-up from Italy, its wealth being built on manufacturing Vespas in the early 1950s when the seed drill market declined.

Following the almost inevitable trajectory of the boutique manufacturers of the day, after scooters came microcars, in this case the Goggomobils that became the mainstay of the company from 1955. Its rear-mounted and air-cooled two-cylinder two-stroke engines ranged from 250cc to nearly 400 (reflected in the T250, T300 and T400 designations) and the cars’ appeal was obvious in such straitened times – they were less than three metres long, weighed not much more than 400kg and sipped fuel at 50mpg while offering a wholly acceptable top speed of around 50mph. Would you really want to go much faster than that in one? The perhaps now-better-known Dart is a red herring here, an entirely Australian invention based on Goggomobil mechanicals with a glassfibre body.

Though the German-built Goggomobils may be something of a novelty today, in austere post-war Europe these four-speed saloons, coupés and vans sold in their hundreds of thousands and gave Glas the scale and confidence to move into grown-up cars. Not that grownup, as it happens, because its baby GTs – starting with

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an overhead-cam 1300cc engine in 1964 and a 1700cc option (also available as a saloon) a year later – still weighed in at well under the tonne. The pretty corporate styling was supplied by Piedmont’s Frua and the bodyshells were supplied by neighbouring Maggiora.

Meanwhile, elsewhere Glas was pioneering ex-BMW man Leonhard Ischinger’s nylon cambelt tech in its less attractive monocoque 1004/1204/1304 series.

Then, in 1966, BMW came knocking. The GT was thereafter fitted with the BMW 1600 (1573cc) engine until the models were phased out two years later. In fact, all Glas’s products were re-engined, re-badged or dropped, and that included the company’s flagship car, the 2600GT. Originally, this luxury GT had been devised to be a straight-six – which ironically might have fitted better with BMW’s evolving portfolio – but it was rapidly discovered by Glas chief engineer Karl Dompert that doubling up Glas’s 1290cc four on a common crank would be so much cheaper and easier. Hence the 2580cc V8 with twin overhead, belt-driven camshafts was born and was housed in the 1700 saloon platform with a new body from Frua. When the upmarket GT made its debut at Frankfurt in 1965, it was clear that Pietro had been cribbing his own homework and the new German car was instantly dubbed the ‘Glaserati’ for its striking resemblance to contemporary Modena models.

By the time cars started rolling off the production line a year later, it was only two months prior to BMW taking over Glas. The new owner wanted power increased so a new V8 mating two of the 1489cc fours supplanted the 2600cc V8 to offer the new BMW-badged BMW-Glas 3000GT from September 1967. Six months later, despite an unusually reasonable price for such a glamorous, niche car, the Glaserati was gone, after precisely 666 units were manufactured, weighted slightly towards the 3000GT. Octane found this example at the excellent Audrain Newport Concours where it was in Class E, European 1960-80, alongside the highly diverse likes of Ferrari and Maserati GTs and a Citroën SM. It is a 1967 3000GT, which means it is one of those run-out cars post-BMW takeover that was still called a Glas, but usually wore BMW badges and was equipped with the alloy-head Glas 3.0-litre V8 fed by triple Solex 35DDIS carbs and with overhead camshafts.

It is owned by Myron Vernis, and is shown at Audrain by him and his wife Kim. The name will likely be familiar if you are very active on car social media, especially circles known as ‘weird car Twitter’. Or if you watch YouTube, where he crops up often, including on Jay Leno’s Garage, or if you regularly attend any major US concours live. The best way. Myron, from Akron, Ohio, is the grand poobah, the panjandrum of the obscure, without ever entirely tipping over into the La Brea pits of American glassfibre specials of the 1950s and ’60s. Not that he hasn’t had them, but that is more the scene of Mark Brinker, Myron’s co-conspirator on the mammoth book A Quiet Greatness.

This multi-volume work celebrating the Japanese motor industry won Publication of the Year at the 2023 Historic Motoring Awards by a landslide.

But a Glas is not that obscure, surely? Damn right, it is thoroughly mundane by Myron’s standards. His first car

‘WITH THE STYLISH ITALIANATE GLAS 2600GT BARELY A YEAR OLD, MIGHT CANNING IT HAVE BEEN A HUGE MISTAKE BY BMW?’

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was a Porsche 356, which he still has, and that triggered an obsession that culminated in owning the likes of 901 prototypes, 914 pick-up and even a Porsche engine that had once powered a European ski lift. Plus the one-off Paxton Phoenix, a Brooks Stevens-designed, 356-powered car bearing a remarkable resemblance to the Argentinian Justicialista. It was devised by chainsaw and supercharger magnate, and founder of Lake Havasu (yes, the fella who bought London Bridge), Robert Paxton McCulloch, and conceived to be powered by an Abner Doble steam engine (see Jay Leno’s column, Octane 250).

It wasn’t all Porsches, however. There was also the oneoff Hoffman X-8, a diversion into rotaries, many more Loewy designs and much else besides. In fact, of the 75 or so cars currently in the Vernis collection, the Glas ranks

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as one of Myron’s sensible cars… alongside his Mazda Cosmo, Hino Contessa, and Autech Zagato Stelvio AZ1.

He bought the Glas from dealer storage in the Netherlands as a project in 2013 and shipped it to Greece for a sympathetic but complicated restoration before taking it home to the US. Myron says: ‘I’m a big fan of Frua and intrigued by technological innovation, plus my collecting tendencies trend to lower-production vehicles, so this car was the trifecta.

‘It was a targeted search, though. Once I decided on one it took me about two years to find this example. It was in bad but restorable condition because it was complete and had never been disassembled. The body was rusty and the engine was frozen, but, miraculously, the interior was in nice condition.

‘The colour is original. When I bought it, the areas of the body that weren’t rusty were silver paint, but while stripping it my body man discovered the green. He was afraid I was going to be upset so was surprised and relieved at my joy that it was green.’

The restoration took three years, during which the many unique and hand-made features of the Glas, and the scarcity of replacement parts, became apparent. New pistons and rods were made, the block machined and the aluminium heads welded and re-welded several times to fill hairline cracks. It was structurally sound, but the panelwork was extensive and complicated, too. The brightwork and interior were preserved rather than restored and the car was finished in 2017.

Since then it has been put to work, as Myron explains:

‘I drive nothing but older vehicles every day and everything I have gets put into rotation for use. As Kim reminds me, I (may) have too many cars. Coupled with the fact that Ohio roads are coated with salt four-to-six months a year means that there are often longer gaps of non-use than I would like. That’s why I like taking cars to events like Audrain that have driving tours as part of the agenda. Also I think these cars deserve more recognition.’

I have to say it is a handsome beast, this Glas, even battling the north-east coast Atlantic squalls battering Rhode Island, the Frua body shimmering by the ocean in that wonderful Olivgrün Metallic (Olive Green Metallic) paint. The ‘Glaserati’ sobriquet is well-earned and I can see 5000GT, Sebring, Quattroporte and Mexico in the mix, but there is not only Maserati in the details. There

Below, left and right Interior is proper upmarket Euro GT spec, with lots of dials and even a dished three-spoke wheel; rectangular headlights scream Quattroporte, but if anything the rear is more overtly Maserati.

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GLAS 3000GT

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are 911 door locks, a Mercedes window winding mechanism and Merc bus headlights. Plus a special and spectacular Porsche gearknob from a 356. Even so, for a full four-seater GT of the 1960s with a high slab tail and comparatively small lights, it cuts a certain dash.

Inside, the dark tan interior is said to be totally original and it is a lovely place to be, with an enormous glasshouse and an uninterrupted view through it in the manner of Giugiaro or Michelotti. No pesky (from an aesthetic rather than safety point of view) headrests. There are sumptuous, thick and giving vinyl front seats with very comfy cloth inserts; in the rear are two separate seats with a long centre console and a deep parcel shelf. In proper coupé/GT style the rear windows open only a limited distance, and horizontally, via a flick-clasp. The fronts wind down traditionally but are overshadowed by their quarterlights, which are opened with a bulky turning knob and are very useful, especially for clearing that North Atlantic condensation.

The Glas is equipped like a luxury European GT, too, with a fine selection of dials spattered with little V8 logos and a dotted redline at 5500rpm that gets solid at 6000

and goes up to 7000. There are no give-aways in the excellent build or spec that this car comes from a small manufacturer and it feels every bit as aristocratic as its contemporaries from Italy, the UK and elsewhere.

It is similarly regal on the move, but in a more aloof vein, wafting and wallowing with imperious indifference.

That is not to say that there is some sense of detached ennui when it comes to handling, it rides nicely and corners neutrally and flat enough, just that the Glas is not for hustling: it will not be hustled, nor will it even entertain such a vulgar pursuit. And that makes it closer to many contemporary Maseratis than the Modenaists will ever admit.

Driving through a Getrag four-speeder, which is more vague than expected, but easy to master quickly because of the very basic pattern and the thoughtful tilt of the lever towards the driver, the 3000GT is only punching out 150bhp, the same as Triumph managed with its rather more notorious 3.0-litre V8 and 100bhp-plus shy of the 4.7 and 4.9 Maserati V8s. It does feel like that in its performance, but the engine is silkily flexible and freerevving and churns up quite nicely for serene progress.

Clockwise, from below Owner Myron Vernis has over 70 cars at the moment; progress in the Glas is as silkysmooth as its power delivery, but handling is far from sporting; V8 is two conjoined Glas GT motors; driving onto the concours field; as if anyone couldn’t tell, Frua claims the styling.

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You could probably tune it well past its 123mph – no-one ever reached peak output on Solexes, after all – but then you would risk losing its character.

The same approach probably shouldn’t be taken to the slightly underperforming brakes – given the sophistication of the system (discs all-round, inboard at the back), they can surely be made to work better without compromising the car. In action, the clapping wipers, which we are using plenty and are operated by a beautifully delicate switch on the stalk, resemble The Beatles on the cover of Help!

The clutch is nice and light, however, and acceleration smooth through a responsive pedal and the progressive operation of the carbs, one as a default, the other two coming into play when you are pushing it more.

Such suave touches epitomise the non-raucous, effortless pacemaking of the Glas 3000GT. From the cossetting driver’s seat as much as from outside, it would be all too easy to convince yourself that this car is the 128

missing link between the New Class and the E9, that BMW avariciously snapped up Glas simply to get its hands on its wonder-GT to further its own cause. Ignore the 3000GT’s face and the derrière, squint at the lines between, or the seats and the way they are set in the shell, especially the rears, or the shell itself, the panoramic glasshouse, even the grab-handle on the passenger side, and you might even start to believe such a fairytale. But the truth is less romantic: like so many depressing businessy things put together by pragmatists rather than dreamers, it really was not about the actual cars but the intangibles (the landgrab), and the ethereal spirit of Glas did not live on in BMW. It was a shame that the Glaserati, as Italian a German as ever there was, had to be sacrificed on such a pyre of BMW progress, but it was simply one of those different strains of evolution that fails to dominate and so disappears. It’s tough out there. End

1967 Glas 3000GT Engine 2982cc V8, OHC per bank, iron block, alloy heads, three Solex carburettors Power 157bhp @ 5100rpm Torque 173Ib ft @ 3900rpm Transmission Four-speed manual, rear-wheel drive Steering Worm and roller Suspension Front: double wishbones, coil springs, telescopic dampers. Rear: de Dion axle, radius arms, coil springs, telescopic dampers, Boge self-levelling Brakes Discs, inboard at rear Weight 1350kg Top speed 123mph 0-60mph 10.0sec

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Since its establishment in 2021, the HCVA has been instrumental in ensuring that regulators and legislators are aware of the industry’s importance – not only to owners and enthusiasts, but also economically to UK plc.

Electric conversions of classic cars are increasing in popularity, especially for owners who live in towns and cities, and electric motive power can provide a new lease of life for vehicles that otherwise might become unviable. ‘Obviously electric conversions are not for everyone, or every car,’ says HCVA Director Guy Lachlan, ‘but for some people they represent the only feasible option for classic motoring. They are here to stay.’

Surprisingly, there are no official standards for electrical conversions of classic cars, so the HCVA has issued what it calls a ‘Minimum Professional Standards’ document to guide companies considering taking the plunge into electrification.

‘Our goal,’ adds Guy, ‘is to provide companies with a checklist of issues to address during the design, incorporation and use of these complex systems, which are so alien to those of us brought up with internal combustion.’

The document covers areas as diverse as weight distribution, structural considerations and logic protocols in the completed system. The training of workshop personnel and tooling considerations are also addressed.

HCVA hopes to use this document to work with the Department for Transport in building sensible electrical conversion regulations that can be adopted nationally, to the benefit of industry and owners. In the meantime, HCVA member companies can avail themselves of their guidance document via its website.

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by Octane staff and contributors

OCTANE CARS OW N I N G + D R I V I N G + M A I N T A I N I N G

Doris does Monaco 1954 DAIMLER CONQUEST PETER BAKER

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AFTER FAILING to complete last year’s Rallye Monte Carlo Historique, it remained unfinished business for both myself and Doris the Daimler.

Our repeat entry to start from Reims on 1 February 2024 winged its way to the organisers last September, giving me a clear three months to get Doris (and yours truly) super-fit.

When Daniel Hunter of Whitsun Motorsport offered his services, I jumped at the chance, and a couple of weeks before Christmas delivered the 1954 Daimler to his nearby Cotswold workshop. The vastly experienced

Bernard Northmore again offered to navigate, and the thought of a short winter break by the seaside appealed no end to top service crew Paul Steventon and Ken Jones. Just five days before the start, Daniel was giving Doris a final test drive, jobs having included a pre-selector gearbox and final drive overhaul, fresh brakes and, perhaps most important of all, a newly fabricated aluminium fuel tank.

Once the long-suffering Clive Berry had replaced some ancient wiring, fitted a couple of extra-powerful spotlights and installed the latest in tripmeters,

four men and a Daimler set off for Europe courtesy of Paul’s big V6 Land Rover Discovery and trailer.

It was, as they say, game on.

And what a game. Six days of relentless competition, beginning with a 600-mile, 19-hour concentration run with time controls that congregated all 233 crews on the famous Monaco harbourside prior to the Saturday restart. Only then did the rally begin in earnest: over the next four days we could expect 16 regularity stages, most of which had been used on the modern WRC ‘Monte’ only the week before. There followed an almost

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OCTANE’S FLEET continuous string of torturous mountain passes joined at the hip by endless twisty and narrow backroads. Signposts flashed up legendary place names from the past, including Gap, Grenoble, Digne-les-Bains, Saint André les Alpes and, of course, Valence, each town and village vying to be the most authentic backdrop.

Sadly, there was almost no snow.

Only 213 cars attempted the final stage over the infamous Col de Turini. That naturally included Doris who, against team orders, was given one final all-or-nothing blast. Poor Doris, the oldest car still running after the 1954 Sunbeam Alpine and 1953 Riley Pathfinder had dropped out, had been painfully flogged without mercy every inch of the way – only half-an-hour’s lateness was allowed, into which had to be

dialled repairs, refuelling, and post-haste snacks. Never once did she complain, even after a front anti-roll bar link snapped following one too many corner cuts. In fact, apart from a two-pint top-up with Duckhams and the addition of 1psi per front tyre, nothing else needed attention; a credit to the original Coventry factory, and to Daniel Hunter.

We started the rally in a lowly 220th place but gradually improved day by day, crossing the finish line (oh, what a relief!) an amazing 170th overall. Job done and score settled.

ROBERT COUCHER

International editor ● 1955 Jaguar XK140

ANDREW ENGLISH

Contributor ● 1962 Norton Dominator ● 1967 Triumph GT6 ● 1972 Moto Guzzi V7 Sport

GLEN WADDINGTON

Associate editor ● 1989 BMW 320i Convertible ● 1999 Porsche Boxster

SANJAY SEETANAH

Clockwise, from bottom left Monte-Carlo, Monaco, where the 233 entrants gathered from all over Europe; stickered-up, ready for the off; hard driving bust an anti-roll bar link; finish-line was a relief after last year’s failure.

Advertising director ● 1981 BMW 323i Top Cabrio ● 1998 Aston Martin DB7 Volante ● 2007 Mercedes-Benz SLK200

MARK DIXON

Deputy editor ● 1927 Alvis 12/50 ● 1927 Ford Model T pick-up ● 1942 Fordson Model N tractor ● 1955 Land Rover Series I 107in

JAMES ELLIOTT

Editor-in-chief ● 1965 Triumph 2.5 PI ● 1968 Jensen Interceptor ● 1969 Lotus Elan S4

ROBERT HEFFERON

Art editor ● 2004 BMW Z4 3.0i

DAVID LILLYWHITE CHRISTIAN GUIRON

‘Six days of relentless competition, beginning with a 600-mile concentration run to Monaco’

These are the cars – and ’bikes – run by Octane’s staff and contributors

Editorial director ● 1971 Saab 96 ● 1996 Prodrive Subaru Impreza

MATTHEW HOWELL

Photographer ● 1962 VW Beetle 1600 ● 1969 VW/Subaru Beetle ● 1982 Morgan 4/4

MASSIMO DELBÒ

Contributor ● 1967 Mercedes-Benz 230 ● 1972 Fiat 500L ● 1975 Alfa Romeo GT Junior ● 1979/80 Range Rovers ● 1982 Mercedes-Benz 500SL ● 1985 Mercedes-Benz 240TD

ANDREW RALSTON Contributor ● 1955 Ford Prefect ● 1968 Jaguar 240

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OCTANE CARS / Running Reports

SAM CHICK

Photographer l 1969 Alfa Romeo Spider

RICHARD HESELTINE

Contributor l 1966 Moretti 850 Sportiva l 1971 Honda Z600

PETER BAKER

Contributor l 1954 Daimler Conquest l 1955 Daimler Conquest Century

DAVID BURGESS-WISE Contributor l 1903 De Dion-Bouton l 1911 Pilain 16/20 l 1924 Sunbeam 14/40 l 1926 Delage DISS

MATTHEW HAYWARD

Markets editor l 1990 Citroën BX 16v l 1994 Toyota Celica GT-Four l 1996 Saab 9000 Aero l 1997 Citroën Xantia Activa l 1997 Peugeot 306 GTI-6 l 2000 Honda Integra Type R l 2002 Audi A2

SAMANTHA SNOW

Advertising account manager l 1969 Triumph Herald 13/60 Convertible l 1989 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL

JESSE CROSSE

Contributor l 1968 Ford Mustang GT 390 l 1986 Ford Sierra RS Cosworth

MARTYN GODDARD

Photographer l 1963 Triumph TR6SS Trophy l 1965 Austin-Healey 3000 MkIII

DELWYN MALLETT

Contributor l 1936 Cord 810 Beverly l 1937 Studebaker Dictator l 1946 Tatra T87 l 1950 Ford Club Coupe l 1952 Porsche 356 l 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL l 1957 Porsche Speedster l 1957 Fiat Abarth Sperimentale l 1963 Abarth-Simca l 1963 Tatra T603 l 1973 Porsche 911 2.7 RS l 1992 Alfa Romeo SZ

EVAN KLEIN

Photographer l 1974 Alfa Romeo Spider l 2001 Audi TT

From six to two in seven 1971 SAAB 96 V4 & 1996 SUBARU IMPREZA TURBO DAVID LILLYWHITE

I’VE JUST LOOKED up my last Octane Cars instalment; it was in the October 2017 issue, and I was about to leave for what ended up being a year’s stint launching a new website before co-founding Hothouse Media. Now Octane is a part of Hothouse Media and, I hope you won’t be too horrified to hear, I’m back, this time as co-owner and editorial director.

Back in that last Octane Cars, I was a little over-excited to have four out of six vehicles on the road: my then-daily transport 1996 Subaru Prodrive Impreza Turbo wagon, my 2001 Porsche 996 Carrera 2, my 1971 modified MGB GT, and the 1995 Range Rover 4.6 HSE that I’d bought for £1000 for a Land Rover Monthly magazine feature. As I wrote at the time, ‘That just leaves the Saab and the Zipkart to finish…’

More than six years on, even I’m a little shocked by how much has changed. I’d already sold my Citroën SM, downhearted after the unexpected death of SM expert Andrew Brodie, who’d helped me throughout my car’s restoration. I used the Porsche on and off for a year or so, but found that I enjoyed my Subaru just as

HARRY METCALFE

Contributor l 20 cars and 15 motorbikes To follow Harry’s adventures, search: Harry’s Garage on YouTube.

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Right and above David’s Saab was his grandad’s, now a hoot to drive once more; Impreza just keeps on going!

much, if not more, so I sold that.

And then there was the MGB GT. I’ve always thought that a few simple modifications transform an MGB, and my car proved that.

But I needed time and money to launch Hothouse Media, so it went up for sale – to be bought by a good friend, who has since put it through a full restoration. The Range Rover went, too; I loved the vehicle but its 15mpg fuel consumption hurt too much.

When lockdown hit, I decided to concentrate on the 1976 Zip Shadow kart, seeing as my Saab was tucked away in a barn that I couldn’t visit. But the more I worked on it, the more I realised that many of the parts, including the chassis, weren’t as good as I’d hoped. So I sold that, too.

Still in lockdown, I sent my Subaru to a friend for a full overhaul. The rear wheelarches had rusted, and the rot had started to spread into the suspension

turrets – a common problem. The front wings were replaced, numerous little dents eased out and my beloved Impreza was eventually treated to a full respray.

It looks amazing!

Pre-Covid, I’d also dropped off my 1971 Saab 96’s V4 engine for a rebuild, with long-stroke crankshaft, overbored block, Piper camshaft and big-valve cylinder heads. Finally I could collect it, and fitted it – but then sent the car to the same friend who’d overhauled the Subaru to finish.

The result? A realisation that the Saab, which my grandad had bought in the early 1980s, before it passed to my uncle, was much more fun than I ever expected.

With that newly tuned engine and its freewheel, column-shift transmission, it’s absolutely hilarious to drive around the lanes, though noisy on motorways. I’m still tweaking it – more of which to follow.

‘The service and customer relations are first class and the value is excellent because they are able to understand their customers and provide me with a service that is hand-in-glove with my needs. Their newsletters, articles and events make it feel like being a member of an enthusiasts club.’

Saul, FJ Private Client

Going ‘modern’ 1924 SUNBEAM 14/40 & 1926 DELAGE DISS DAVID BURGESS-WISE

LAST YEAR SAW the departure of the 1903 De Dion-Bouton (bottom right) and 1911 Pilain (above) to custodians new, and the arrival of the 1924 Sunbeam 14/40 coupé (bottom left). The Sunbeam is more usable, with weather protection, electric starting and four-wheel brakes – an ideal foil to the 1926 Delage DISS skiff. Their 2121cc engine capacities are identical.

A further coincidence is that in the 1920s both the Delage and Sunbeam marques built successful Grand Prix winners as well as cars that held the Land Speed Record.

The advent of the Sunbeam represents the closing of a

personal circle: I started my vintage motoring career in the 1960s with a Wolverhamptonbuilt car – a 1927 Clyno – and this latest acquisition was also made in Wolverhampton. Like the long-departed Clyno, it has a three-speed gearbox with right-hand change, a once-common configuration with which I learned to drive.

Reacquaintance awaits.

The Sunbeam is now at home, having spent much of last year off-site while I titivated the bodywork and rid it of anachronisms such as the radio incongruously fitted in the rear shelf. Serious road experience can wait for better weather, since the brakes call for adjustment and the carburettor runs a little weak.

Meantime, notwithstanding the doomsayers, the Delage is running happily on fuel with 10% ethanol. Perusal of early 1920s volumes of The Autocar reveals that dosages of 30% alcohol were commonplace as performance boosters for sporting cars before the advent of leaded petrol in the late 1920s. Time, as they say, will tell, but so far, so good.

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135 Footman James_96mm w x 256mm h.indd 1

08/03/2024 16:14

OCTANE CARS / Running Reports

Clockwise, from left James Godfrey-Dunne and a rather large task; Dave Pearson and bribe; gearbox, ’arches, sills all tackled.

Coventry motor panelled 1965 TRIUMPH 2.5 PI JAMES ELLIOTT

WELL, THAT escalated quickly.

Even though I knew that large sections of my Triumph were pretty rotten, let’s not forget that the main impetus for sending it to James Godrey-Dunne of JGD Classic Services (find his company on Facebook) last May was that I was a bit fed up with the ripped headlining that happened when Andy Thompson and I were transporting a few Triumph doors

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in the early 2000s. What we are looking at now is every inch of rust being removed from the car, an exterior (plus engine bay and boot interior) spray, new diff (thanks Matt George), full gearbox rebuild and a bit of engine fettling.

By the end of all that, my Triumph should near as dammit be as good a 2000/2.5PI as there is – it will certainly have been one of the most costly! To be fair, over 90% of the increase over original estimate has been down to the factors beyond James’s control – namely paint and my everchanging whims. Besides, you can’t really put a price on nearly

30 years of loyal service so far, and now hopefully 30 more to come.

Since the Triumph went into the JGD unit ten months ago, James’s progress has been brilliant. And extensive. Even ignoring the myriad little holes he has patched all over the car, from screen surround to subframe mounting points, the Triumph now has new inner and outer sills on both sides, big sections of new floorpan, new outriggers, some inner arches, half the wings and (where not a full wing) outer ’arches, A-post repairs, half nose panel, and basically rotten valances rebuilt from scratch.

That little list really doesn’t do

credit to the amount of work James has done, nor, more importantly, the manner in which he has done it. A former JLR Classic technician, James has really impressed from the outset with his ‘showroom’ approach that goes way beyond the ‘solid and presentable’ that I was expecting. I knew his obsession with panel gaps, which revealed itself very early on in the process, was a good sign.

Another of the many advantages of asking James to do this work (thanks for the recommendation, Tim Bancroft) is the fact that the JGD Classic Services unit is on-site at Dave Pearson’s Canley Classics (canleyclassics.com). Dave not only seems to have an Aladdin’s Cave of just about every part we need, but he has also been persuaded to rebuild my police-spec overdrive gearbox, which he cheerfully decreed one of the worst he has ever seen – the layshaft was so unevenly worn that it looked more like a camshaft. To keep the bills down I have tried to bribe Dave with the gift of a large 1977 Lawrence Watts cutaway of the Triumph 2600 engine, of which Dave has four. Big shout out, too, to the superb Lloyd Reed who has supplied pretty much all the other metal. Thanks boyo!

As I write this, James is just finishing the boot, then The Beast will be off for its paint: the Cactus Green with black roof that it has worn since the early 1990s, naturally. Then back to James for reassembly and then, after that, finally… the headlining.

A SELECTION OF OUR CURRENT STOCK

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£365,000

One of just 40 of the ‘last of the line’ Le Mans special edition, built to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Aston Martin’s 1959 outright victory at Le Mans.

Finished in Mendip Blue with Parchment and Navy Blue hide interior and supplied with the optional quad exhaust tailpipes, one of just three examples with this specification. Fully equipped with all available factory options, including the more powerful 600 bhp engine and 5-speed manual transmission.

With 31,500 miles recorded from new, in excellent condition and known to us throughout its life. Servicing and maintenance has been carried out regularly by Aston Martin and ourselves, without consideration to costs. A Leather-bound binder containing its detailed service history accompanies the car, which is supplied serviced to schedule, prepared to our usual high standards and inclusive of a 12-month warranty.

1961 Aston Martin DB4GT £POA

1965 Aston Martin DB5 Convertible £POA

1965 Aston Martin DB5 £595,000

2004 Aston Martin DB AR1 (LHD) £225,000

2002 Ferrari 575M Maranello £124,950

2015 Aston Martin DB9GT Bond Edition £122,950

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13/03/2024 14:26

OCTANE CARS / Running Reports

Doing it anyway 2004 BMW Z4 3.0i ROBERT HEFFERON

IT WAS EITHER the best time or the worst time to decide to service the car myself. Fear had been holding me back. Maybe a spark plug will get stuck or snap; what if I over-tighten the sump plug? The fear of being without my car lingers in my over-active imagination. It’s half-term and my son is off to Ypres with Scouts, while my younger daughter and wife are heading to Norfolk in the family car, with the idea that I and the boy will join them mid-week.

I need to drop him off early Saturday morning and collect late Sunday. The car needs a big service and I decide Saturday is the better option, as more shops will be open. It should all be simple. And, well, it was. The plugs came out nicely, all lovely and clean. I notice a little foam in the oil cap but I had read about this: the 3.0 will do that if you run short trips. It’s a touch of 138

condensation and nothing that an ‘Italian tune-up’ won’t sort. My DiY car ramps were the perfect height, and the filters took nowhere near as long to change as the paper instructions said they would. I was feeling rather proud.

Then, as I stood back and admired my work, I noticed one of the strut brace mounts had a crack in it (pictured, bottom right). A quick message to the Octane chaps: what do I do? The consensus was to get it looked at soon-ish. Thankfully my local bodyshop, Irchester Motor Bodies, is open on Saturdays so I gave them a call. Kevin the boss answered and, since he happened to be out collecting lunch around the corner from my house, he agreed to swing by and see if it was something they could fix. His son Bradley assured me it was a simple-enough job and they could get me in on the Monday.

Waiting for the coach to arrive at Scout HQ on Sunday night, my oil light came on. No worries, I’m a step ahead: maybe the level has settled and it needs a top-up. I have a litre in the boot for this very reason. On the Z4, the filter element sits inside a plastic canister on top of the engine; turns out I’d not seated the canister’s O-ring properly and it was simply leaking oil.

Fortunately, the securing nut came undone with the added grip from a rubber gym band I also had in the boot (memo to self: next time carry tools) and I was able to seat the O-ring in with my key, tighten the canister down and top the oil back up.

Monday, and I left the car with Bradley. I wandered down later and not only had he grooved out the broken joint and welded it, but he’d also taken off the strut securing nuts and resprayed the top mounts on both sides to match! Tuesday night the Z4 got that Italian tune-up as we headed to Norfolk to join the girls.

I’m not going to think about the what-ifs because somehow everything aligned and the car-gods were shining down on me. They didn’t hang about long, though, as the drive home was less Italian tune-up, more wading through Fenland floods.

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1934 Lagonda M45 Rapide T9 Tourer

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fv @polsonmotorco 08/03/2024 16:11

OCTANE CARS / Running Reports

SUPPORTED BY

The Porsche is all-white 1973 PORSCHE 911 2.7 RS DELWYN MALLETT

HIP, HIP, HOORAY! It’s time for a celebration. The Carrera RS bodyshell is finally finished and pulsatingly brilliant in its freshly applied Grand Prix White paintwork – the last of five preceding coats that from my perspective seemed to go on forever, with panels coming off and being reinstated during the application of each.

These successive coats comprised, in order of application, epoxy primer, polyester primer, final primer and then the base-coat colour, all lovingly massaged to a glass-like finish before the application of three coats of lacquer and a final wet-flat and polish.

Project RS has now moved on

to the fitting-up stage but, before the ‘bits’ could be fitted, 40-odd years of weathering and accumulated crud had to be attended to and another visit to the blasting booth was in order.

Surprise, surprise! The blasting once again revealed some r-u-s-t.

It was in the rear suspension trailing arms, though mercifully very localised, and was quickly cut out and despatched to the scrap-metal bin by Steve.

The tedious task of painting and masking dozens of individual parts followed. With them dangling on wires (bottom left), the spray booth resembled an automotive abattoir or a scene from the Texas Chain Saw Massacre, which, as film fans know, is set in 1973, the year the RS rolled out from Stuttgart.

With all the parts looking nice and shiny at last, new bearings have been fitted where appropriate, and the suspension reattached to the body. Dampers

and front uprights have been painted in the original green and the brakes dismantled, blasted and reassembled. A question, yet to be resolved, remains over the state of the calipers.

It has been a long haul chasing the tin-worm from the body but it has finally been exterminated.

However, fear not, faithful followers, there’s still a considerable distance to travel and more progress reports to file before I can finally ‘fire up the RS’.

Before the glass can go in, a new headlining and the instruments have to be fitted. The original wiring loom is still in the car so I’m hoping that connecting the electrics will not be too time-consuming – although admittedly that has been my hope at every stage so far!

By the time of my next report, the Carrera should be sitting on its wheels and beginning to look more like the mean machine it once was.

OTHER NEWS ‘Heavy flooding where I live, plus the need for a bigger tow car, makes me covet a “modern classic” 4x4.

The one I have in mind is not a Land Rover…’

Mark Dixon

‘Winter has meant that the Boxster has been spending time on the battery conditioner.

It’s surprising the difference that makes to how smoothly it idles when started’ Glen Waddington

‘Sacré Baur! Stripping the interior out of my BMW 323i Top Cabrio has revealed rust to the floorpan, the unique Baur floor reinforcing panels, and the sills’ Sanjay Seetanah

‘After fixing an annoying water leak into a rear light cluster, I dropped the Peugeot 306 GTI-6 in for an MoT at my local garage – and it passed’

E ST . 1 9 6 2

Matthew Hayward

Contact Vintage Tyres on

+44 (0)1590 612261 vintagetyres.com

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2001 SALEEN S7-R GT1 “VITAPHONE”

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1999 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C5-R #002 ­­ ­ ­ ­

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COLLECTION

by Octane staff and contributors

OVERDRIVE

Other interesting cars we’ve been driving

The off-road supercar: take 1 2023 LAMBORGHINI HURACÁN STERRATO NICK HENDRIX

ONLY A FEW times has Lamborghini taken a no-bull approach to its nomenclature.

‘Sterrato’ translates as ‘dirt road’.

Luxury bespoke cars are on the increase, and we all remember the LM-002 fondly, but designing a supercar specifically for a ‘dirt road’ is a niche niche – the Sterrato is for those dusty, rough terrains one might find on the Paris-Dakar. Or the moon. It’s also good for messing around on fields or farm tracks, should those other destinations feel a stretch.

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I’m told by Lamborghini’s wizards that their design ethos is based around three words: brave, authentic, and unexpected. Cue a day of military-grade security at Italy’s iconic Nardò Technical Centre, to investigate whether the Sterrato toes the party line.

We’ll take that ethos one word at a time. With the Reventón, Egoista and Sesto Elemento in the archive it’d be fair to assume that Lamborghini has little fear, yet still it takes serious cojones to make a car that isn’t mass-market.

What’s certainly true is that the Sterrato makes the driver feel brave: it’s such a capable car, such a confident and supportive driving experience that, even if it can’t actually go ‘anywhere’, it feels as though you could traverse the

Rockies or comfortably take on Carlos Sainz (Senior or Junior.)

Each time the needle passes 4000rpm, the orchestra behind your shoulders roars its battlecry.

It’s as though the souls of Moss and McRae are watching over you at the same time.

This most Italian of manufacturers has doggedly held onto its essence even after German adoptors turned up, grabbed Lamborghini by the ears and pulled it into the huge success it is today. In the case of the Sterrato, it feels as though the engineers were given the keys to the workshop and simply told to ‘have a ball’. Apparently, they were testing the Urus on the Strada Bianca (dust road) at Nardò, and casually mused: ‘Wouldn’t it be fun if one of our supercars worked on here?’ Cut to me going sideways in one.

Very few brands would have let this design through the development process. At some point a grown-up would say: ‘OK guys, we’ve all had a couple of beers, shall we get back to work now?’ Authentic: tick.

But is the Sterrato unexpected?

I’m not sure a 610bhp, naturally aspirated V10 two-seater that comes with a Rally mode could be anything other, yet it turns out to be exactly what many people would really want. Brand-new, perfectly flat and uninterrupted asphalt is a rare commodity in the real world of potholes, uneven cambers, speedbumps, puddles, mud and leaves. So, to have a car with extreme performance, exclusivity and prestige that also doesn’t leave you with permanently clenched buttocks and a crippling fear of kerbs, well, it’s an unexpected combination of talents. Though a welcome one.

Sitting 44mm higher than a regular Huracán, with underbody armour, wider front and rear track, greater suspension travel, a roof-mounted air-scoop for dust-free intake and a built-in camera to record all the magical places you can take it, the Sterrato is, even at the £300,000-plus of the fully loaded test car, the most entertaining version of this supercar you can buy. Or could buy, if it wasn’t already sold out.

The off-road supercar: take 2 2023 PORSCHE 911 DAKAR GLEN WADDINGTON

IN OCTANE 248 we learned that this is Jay Leno’s favourite 911. ‘At 60mph on a dirt fire-road, power-sliding with the tail hanging out is really more fun than you should be allowed to have,’ he said.

Before concluding: ‘Sadly, by the time I got to the dealership they were all sold out.’ Just like the Sterrato, then (see left). Clearly there’s something in the whole off-road supercar thing: Lamborghini and Porsche swear they came up with the idea independently, despite the timing, and all found homes. Within these pages we’ve already seen the similarly themed Morgan CX-T and Ariel Nomad.

Maybe there’s logic in a rough-road 911, given its success in rallying: back in the 1980s, Porsche dominated the Dakar Rally, probably the most gruelling driving event on the planet. The 911 Dakar takes the Carrera 4 GTS and then adds a lift kit, rear-wheel steering and extra driving modes to the standard 475bhp, four-wheel-drive package. Despite wheelarch extensions, a carbon spoiler and stainless underbody protection, Porsche has avoided severe weight gain by deleting active aerodynamics and the rear seating, fitting the GT3’s lightweight bonnet, plus lightweight front bucket seats, thinner glass and a lithium-ion battery. There are chunky Pirelli Scorpion tyres and the standard ride height is raised by 50mm over the GTS’s; you can raise it an extra 30mm again, to which it defaults in ‘Offroad’ mode.

On the road you’ll enjoy Sport or Rallye modes.

The former sharpens throttle and damping; Rallye diverts 80% of torque to the rear wheels. Spring rates are decreased and, for both comfort and keeping tyres in contact with road, it’s prudent to back off the damper setting to Comfort.

Those bespoke suspension settings transform the 911’s ability to skim the worst of ravaged surfaces.

It’s fast and absorbent – exactly what you might expect of a rally car in rural extremes. Body control remains superb, however, and the steering is still among the finest you’ll experience in a current production car. In short, the Dakar still feels like a 911, just one with a broader spread of abilities.

Even at £180,000, £50k or so up on a GTS, 2500 people signed up straight away. Let’s hope they enjoy the Dakar beyond its ability to clear speedbumps.

Above and opposite On wet and rough rural roads in the North Pennines, Glen Waddington finds the 911 Dakar enormous fun; Huracán Sterrato similarly handles the loose stuff like no other supercar.

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OVERDRIVE / Other Cars

Old World gameplay 2003 BENTLEY CONTINENTAL R MULLINER MATTHEW HAYWARD

Above Both outside and in, this Bentley is clearly from a now-long-gone era, and yet it offers a rich and powerful allure few cars can match.

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SITTING IN SUCH a gloriously old-fashioned, handbuilt cabin, it’s difficult to comprehend that this car was built in 2003. Around six months after this ‘Final Series’ Continental R Mulliner came into the world, the first Continental GT – a car that, despite turning 20 last year, still feels relatively modern – rolled off the very same production line.

In many ways this two-door grand tourer was one of Bentley’s most significant cars. The original 1991 Continental R was an important stepping stone, as it was the first Bentley with a bespoke body not shared with Rolls-Royce since the 1952 R-Type Continental. The Continental R Mulliner of 1998 introduced this slightly shortened and widened body – the blistered wheelarches make its haunches particularly shapely. There’s a real beauty in this car’s visual brutality.

It really means business, too.

At its heart is the mighty 6.75-litre turbocharged V8, which in this Cosworth-fettled guise produces 420bhp and an even more impressive 650lb ft of torque.

When you get out on the road, that torque – delivered at a fantastically low 2200rpm – makes incredibly light work of propelling the Bentley’s near-2.5ton heft towards the horizon.

Bentley sourced the four-speed electronically controlled automatic gearbox from GM, and it suits the car well.

A 0-62mph sprint in 6.0sec is not to be sniffed at, yet it’s the mid-range punch that really leaves an impression. The fat Garrett TO48 turbocharger takes a moment to wake up but, once the

Bentley gets into its stride, it feels relentless, as though it simply won’t give up until you close in on the 170mph top speed.

To say the chassis is softly sprung would be putting it lightly, though the fully independent suspension has Automatic Ride Control, which just about keeps the body in check. There’s plenty of roll but, once you tune-in to the way it behaves, you can hustle it along at quite an impressive pace.

This certainly isn’t a car to be chucked around, but it flows along the average British A-road rather well – and swallows up the miles in a way that few modern luxury GTs manage. There’s very little feel through the steering, but it’s surprisingly precise and nicely weighted, making the Mulliner far from the meandering boat you might expect on twistier sections.

I count ten beautiful chromerimmed gauges, and cannot help but fiddle with those beautifully engineered vent ‘plungers’. Like all Bentleys from the handbuilt era, the build quality is truly breathtaking. Unlike the relatively mass-produced Continental GT that followed, numbers of these cars were limited. Just over 1500 Continental Rs were built between 1991 and 2003, but of those only 158 were post-1998 Mulliner spec. This car is one of 11 Final Series cars built, and driving it feels a special event.

When it was launched in 1998 this updated model was far from cutting-edge, based as it was on a car with 1980s Turbo R underpinnings (which actually trace their heritage back to the ’65 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow) and with an engine dating right back to the 1950s – it’s difficult to understand how the engineers managed to make it as capable as it is. This really was the last hurrah for the old-school Bentley grand tourer, and what a magnificent thing it still is today.

1959 JAGUAR XK150S 3.4 Correct 3.4 260bhp car from long term ownership and presented in first class condition with a warranty.

Matching numbers with PAS upgrade £149,995

1965 Rolls Royce Silver Cloud III DHC On the button UK registered from long term ownership

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13/03/2024 17:29

OVERDRIVE / Other Cars

A bit more S in this SUV 2024 RANGE ROVER SPORT SV ELLIOTT HUGHES

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SUPER-SUVS ARE no longer the novelty they were. Everyone’s at it: Lamborghini, Aston Martin, Ferrari and Porsche, to name a few. Range Rover, though, was one of the first to blend supercar performance with SUV usability with the Sport SVR in 2014.

Beneath its muscle-bound bodywork was a monstrous 5.0-litre supercharged engine that shot the SVR to 62mph in just 3.8sec and on to 180mph.

Bathed in the Portuguese sunshine, the SVR’s successor, the Range Rover Sport SV, is far more subtle – its smooth lines unsullied

by uncouth wings, vents and angles. The engine beneath its carbonfibre bonnet seems a little more grown-up, too. Here, you’ll find a sophisticated BMWsourced 4.4-litre twinturbocharged V8 in place of the fire-and-brimstone 5.0-litre.

Despite its more subtle appearance, however, the SV is far from the demure descendant it appears to be. Look more closely and spot a redesigned grille, massive air intakes, a carbonfibre splitter and a quartet of carbonfibre-trimmed exhaust tips.

The most eye-catching features on this Edition One model, however, are undoubtedly the massive 23-inch carbonfibre wheels that veil Brembo carbon-ceramic brakes. Together they shave off 74kg of unsprung mass, but is the trade-off in practicality really worth it in a 2.5-tonne Rangie?

A few laps of the Portimão Grand Prix circuit and the roads beyond should provide some answers. First, select SV Mode via the chunky button on the steering wheel and watch as the instruments are bathed in an angry red hue. Squeeze the throttle out of the final corner and the hybridised 4.4-litre V8 unleashes 626bhp and 553lb ft and you thunder to 160mph before smashing the brake pedal into turn one. Ease on a quarter of the steering lock, bleed off the brake pedal and aim a touch to the left of the sausage kerb.

If the performance is impressive (0-62mph in 3.6sec, 180mph top speed), the body control is simply remarkable. This shouldn’t be possible in a 2560kg Range Rover.

The secret is what Range Rover calls 6D Dynamics suspension, which forgoes traditional anti-roll bars in favour of interlinked hydraulic dampers. In short, the system allows the car to combine sports car-like body control with the ride quality more traditionally associated with a Range Rover.

Equally impressive is the fact that the SV has lost little of its mud-plugging prowess, as a short off-road course proves. With the ride height raised, the car shrugs off the wading section, while the impressive torque delivery and all-wheel drive system give the impression of being winched up the steepest incline – all in spite of the car going without low-range transmission.

The international media launch in Portugal certainly confirmed that, at the very least, the SV is a seriously impressive feat of engineering. Yet its combination of talents begs a question: who exactly is this £171,460 car for?

From a purist’s perspective, its ability as a sports car is affected by its weight and ride height, while its potential as an off-roader has been lessened in the quest for Nordschleife lap times.

Objectively, though, these compromises have a considerable upside: this is a car with a range of abilities that is simply astounding.

Incredibly luxurious and practical yet fast and thrilling, it’s a Swiss Army knife of a car and the people who matter seem to agree: all 675 Edition One models are already sold out and Range Rover will surely be taking plenty of orders when the mass-produced SV takes over in 2025.

www.ndr.ltd.uk www.ndr.ltd.uk enquiries@ndrbentley.com enquiries@ndrbentley.com NDRLimited, Limited,MIll MIll House, 119 WD24 7PD NDR 119 Bushey BusheyMill MillLane, Lane,Watford Watford WD24 7PD +44(0)1923 (0)1923220370 220370 +44

1929 4½ Litre3/8 LeLitre Mans 1923 Bentley

1929 4½ Litre3/8 LeLitre Mans 1923 Bentley

Fortune Brave for any tour or rally. This short In excellent all round conditionBecause this is the idealFavours vintageThe Bentley chassis 4½ LitreBrooklands with excellent handling would comfortably any rallywas stage andastour Inspired by the outer circuit racers of the 1930s, this tackle 3 Litre Bentley rebuilt a Because Fortune Brave In excellent all round this the ideal vintageThe Bentley for 40 anyyears tourago. or rally. This short home in comfort. racer incondition the 1950s andistaken to itsFavours current specifi cation With an immensely powerful Bentley 8 Litre engine mated tothis a racing typerally gearbox this is aastour chassis Litre with excellent handling would comfortably tackle any stage and Inspired by the Brooklands outer circuit of the 1930s, 3 LitreDBentley was rebuilt a With 4all½ hard work done, engine rebuiltracers with Laystall counter-balanced crank and shell bearing magnifi cent machine for fast road or track use. home comfort. racer the and taken to its current specifiagile cation years ago. rodsinand ready toingo.

A 1950s real driver’s car: purposeful, robust, and40capable of covering long Beautifully documented withBentley a comprehensive history and detailed maintenance record,this this is is a With an immensely powerful 8 Litre engine mated to a racing D type gearbox

distances with its comfortable and 35 gallon Le Mans tank.

With all hard work done, engineride rebuilt with Laystall counter-balanced crank and shell bearing an enthralling vintage Bentley. magnificent machine for fast road or track use. rods and ready to go. A real car: purposeful, agile and capable of record, covering Beautifully documented withdriver’s a comprehensive historyrobust, and detailed maintenance thislong is ● ● distances with its comfortable ride and 35 gallon Le Mans tank.

RESTORATION PARTS SALES an enthralling vintage Bentley.

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OCTANE_251_NDR_222mm w x 285mm h.indd 1

15/03/2024 13:28

Gone but not forgotten WORDS DELWYN MALLETT

ALAMY

Left John Henry Knight with his son and his benzoline-powered four-wheeler ‘Knighty’, converted from its original three-wheeled configuration.

John Henry Knight He built the UK’s first petrol-powered ‘car’ – and promptly racked up the UK’s first motoring offence IN AUTOMOTIVE TERMS the Surrey town of Farnham, if thought of at all, is usually associated with Britain’s first Formula 1 World Champion, ‘Farnham Flyer’ Mike Hawthorn.

Abbott coachworks may also strike a chord, with its elegant bodies on Lagondas and Bentleys as well as a series of Zephyr and Zodiac Farnham estate cars for Ford in the 1950s and ’60s. Less well-known is that the first petrol-fuelled British car was built in Farnham

by John Henry Knight, and that it was he who committed the first motoring offence.

Born into a well-to-do Farnham family of local bankers, farm and brewery owners in 1847, Knight completed an apprenticeship with marine engineers Humphrey & Tenant in 1868 and built his first steam-powered horseless carriage the same year. Other steam vehicles followed, including a hop-digging machine that featured a trio of multi-pronged reciprocating forks at the front and wouldn’t have looked out of place in a Mad Max movie.

Inventions of a less practical nature included a ‘dish lever’ for tilting a plate when carving, the commercial potential of which ranked among other Victorian curios such as the ‘top hat ventilator’ and ‘anti-garrotting cravat’.

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More successful was the Trusty, a singlecylinder paraffin-fuelled stationary engine designed in 1884, of which 800 were built.

Encouraged by the success of the Trusty and having toured French automobile factories, he converted it to run on benzoline, as petrol was then called, and fitted it into a three-wheeled ‘Motor-Cycle’ of his own design, the first of its kind in Britain. It became known as the Knighty and was constructed at his house, Barfield, on the edge of Farnham, commencing in February 1895, when there were no motor cars on British roads – the first, a Panhard et Levassor, was imported in the June. Engine building was entrusted to the constructor of the Trusty, Farnham’s Reliance Engineering, under the supervision of engineer George Parfitt in a West Street building that still exists – complete with commemorative plaque.

The motor was fitted horizontally into a rudimentary chassis with drive via two ropes running in pulleys of different diameters to give two speeds, with final drive by chain to one rear wheel. Steering was by tiller.

As an engineer, Knight recognised that the 1865 Red Flag Act, designed to protect horses and citizens from the fire-breathing, steam-

belching mobile furnaces of the day, was by then inappropriate, allowing Continental automobile manufacturers to gallop ahead, so to speak, of the British. So, on 17 October 1895, acting as an agent provocateur and chauffeured by his gardener and handyman James Pullinger, Knight chose to venture into the town centre without the mandatory man on foot 20 yards in advance! He was duly apprehended by a constable in Castle Street and came up before the beak at Farnham Petty Sessions, where he and Pullinger were each fined half-a-crown with 12s 6d costs.

Knight was now a marked man as far as the constabulary was concerned and, although he continued to use Knighty, he did so on private trackways but still often encountered lurking constables hoping to ‘nab’ him.

Finding that on rough surfaces the single front wheel was prone to wander, he converted his tricycle to four wheels by the simple expedient of duplicating the front end. As each wheel’s spindle was supported in a simple fork with twin coil springs, this happily created an independent front suspension.

In May 1896 the Knighty was the only British-built car at the first motor show. Held at Crystal Palace, it was billed in that peculiarly cumbersome Victorian manner as ‘The International Horse and Horseless Carriage and Roads Locomotion Exhibition’. The Red Flag Act was repealed the following November.

Knight had barely completed Knighty when he published the first of his motoring books in 1896: Notes on Motor Carriages (With Hints for Purchasers and Users), the cover featuring a photo of the three-wheeler, Knight and wife aboard. Other books followed, including in 1902 A Catechism of the Motor Car, which, as the title and a note on the title page indicates, is a series of ‘About 400 Questions and Answers Explaining The Construction and Working Of A Modern Motor Car’ with, in the 1914 edition, an ‘Additional Chapter On The American Cars’. Henry Ford had arrived.

In 1905 Knight was a founder member of the Motorists’ Mutual Association, soon to be renamed the Automobile Association. At that point the purpose of the club was not to help in the event of breakdown but to warn motorists of speedtraps through strategically posted spotters! Its first members’ run was from London to Barfield, which became a school in the ’30s. Mike Hawthorn was a pupil.

Knight died at the age of 70 in 1917, still inventing. Knighty was presented to the Science Museum by his family in 1958 on the proviso that it be displayed in the Montagu Motor Museum, where it remains.

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Icon

WORDS DELWYN MALLETT

The shipping container It would take a train 44 miles long to transport a modern container ship’s load ON 26 APRIL 1956 the SS Ideal-X, a converted World War Two oil tanker, left Newark, New Jersey, bound for Houston, Texas, carrying 58 pre-packed ‘trailer vans’: corrugated steel boxes measuring 8ft by 8ft by 35ft and designed to fit on a flatbed truck.

As it departed, an official of the International Longshoremen’s Association was asked what he thought of the new innovation, and said: ‘I’d like to sink that son of a bitch!’ And he would not have been short of colleagues ready to lend a helping hand. Not only would thousands of longshoremen’s jobs soon disappear, but many of the city docks where they worked would also close as container ports moved to locations with vastly more space. The shipping container might have been little more than a large steel box, but it is often cited as the most significant invention of the modern era, with a global impact on trade, centres of production, and economies.

A 1954 study calculated that it took 22 longshoremen ten days to load the 193,000 items on a ship bound from New York to Bremerhaven – the same time as it took for the actual crossing, with some loadings taking up to three weeks. Containerisation reduced loading time from weeks to hours and reduced loading costs from $5.86 a ton to 16 cents a ton.

Within a few years it became so cheap to ship goods across oceans that manufacturing gravitated to the cheapest labour sources.

Today over 90% of the goods we buy have been

MAERSK / SEA-LAND

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transported inside a shipping container. And it was all down to Malcolm Purcell McLean.

McLean was born in 1913 in Maxton, North Carolina. His family couldn’t afford to send him to college, but scraped enough together to buy a secondhand truck. With his brother and sister, McLean started a trucking company and, by the 1950s, with 1700 trucks to its name, his company was contemplating shipping loads up the Atlantic Coast of the US using roll-on-rolloff ‘trailer ships’. Realising that the trailers took up much of the space that could be used for cargo, McLean engaged Keith ‘Tant’ Tantlinger, Vice President of Engineering at trailer manufacturer Fruehauf, to design a ‘better box’.

The corrugated steel box was the easy bit; the breakthrough involved reinforced corner posts with eight corner fittings per box and mating twist-locks attached to the lifting crane and the transporter’s base, which enabled the containers to be lifted, manoeuvred, stacked and locked together by a single crane.

Tantlinger’s patent was licensed to the industry in 1967 and became the world standard.

McLean’s shipping business was thriving but the Vietnam War provided him with another opportunity when the US military started shipping enormous amounts of goods to Vietnam. This was in essence a one-way trip, but McLean seized the opportunity to return via Japan and fill his empty containers with goods for the US domestic market, opening up the now-vast Pacific trade route.

McLean’s first container ship, with its capacity of 58 containers, was a minnow compared with the largest of today’s ships that can accommodate a staggering 20,000, equivalent to a freight train 44 miles long.

Around 250million containers are shipped each year and it would be fair to say that shipping containers go round the world and make the world go round.

Inevitably, containers sometimes get washed overboard in storms (estimates vary between the low hundreds and several thousand each year). Most of them sink, but UFOs – Unidentified Floating Objects, more real than the so-far unverified flying versions – litter the oceans and present hazards to smaller craft. In the gripping 2013 movie All is Lost, lone yachtsman Robert Redford collides with an almost submerged container that punches a hole in his yacht’s hull and we witness his exhausting struggle to remain afloat.

One of the more intriguing cases of container flotsam dates from January 1992, when a container loaded with 28,800 bath toys went overboard in the North Pacific. A mixture of yellow ducks, green frogs, red beavers and blue turtles escaped (joining 61,000 Nike running shoes, lost in 1990) but it was the yellow ‘duckies’ that caught the public’s imagination as they drifted around the world, washing up years later on shores as far afield as Australia and Scotland, also providing oceanographers with a valuable insight into the circulation of ocean currents.

Container ports have become a staple of action movie shootouts, where goodies and baddies, from Batman to TV’s Reacher, play hide-and-seek in the canyons of steel, sending sparks flying from ricocheting bullets.

Containers have even made a life well beyond the shipping lanes, recycled with added fenestration as garden sheds, offices, even homes. They have spawned a new architectural sub-category: ‘container architecture’. From Johannesburg to Copenhagen, Glasgow to Berlin, containers have been repurposed as student accommodation or economically priced dwellings in structures containing as many as 500 conjoined units. London has its own brightly coloured ‘Container City’ at Trinity Buoy Wharf.

After a life barely known to the general public, McLean died of heart failure in 2001, aged 87. Forbes magazine in its tribute declared that he was ‘one of the few men who changed the world’. Tantlinger died in 2011, aged 92.

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Streatley on Thames, BERKSHIRE

Streatley is one of Berkshire’s most sought-after village locations, enjoying quick, easy access to the M4, M40 and A34, Silverstone, Goodwood, Brooklands and Bicester are all within easy reach.

The station is within walking distance with regular direct trains in to London Paddington in under an hour.

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Sitting on over an acre and tucked away in an incredibly private position, Ashcote House is nestled into its surroundings with far reaching views over the Goring Gap. The five bedroom house has been significantly remodelled and extended by the current owners and includes a centrally heated garage space for up to a dozen cars, built into the hill. The stunning orangery is perfectly positioned to take in the beautiful views with a games room/office below with wired network and phone points. All five bedrooms have air conditioning, the house also benefits from full fibre broadband with up to 900Mbps upload and download speeds.

This house is a fantastic opportunity for buyers looking for a home for their car collection as well as their family, with the main garage having an inspection pit, washing facilities and wired network and phone points.

The secondary garage at the side of the house currently has a pair of parking lifts giving room for a further four cars.

Even better on the right rubber

There are a number of excellent pubs and restaurants within walking distance. Sited on the ancient Ridgeway, with the Thames Path running through the centre, the Berkshire Downs on one side and the Chilterns on the other, the village offers inexhaustible options for lovers of the outdoors.

The area is well served by great schools, both state and private, including excellent primary schools in both Goring and Streatley.

The best classic car experience is just a new set of tyres away. We stock new tyres in period-correct patterns for cars from the 1890s through to the 1990s. On road, off-road, rallying or racing – itʼs even better on the right rubber and thatʼs all we sell at Vintage Tyres.

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Chrono

WORDS MARK McARTHUR-CHRISTIE

Why Omega’s Chronostop deserves more love Membership of a more iconic subgroup of Omegas might have made this watch significantly more valuable THE AUDIENCE LIGHTS go down and the spotlight swings round. The host of Which Watch, ITV’s new Saturday night gameshow blockbuster, turns to you: ‘Name as many models of vintage Omega as you can in 30 seconds.’ Barely a moment, you’re straight in.

‘Speedmaster, Seamaster, De Ville...’ You might manage Flightmaster, Marinemaster and a couple more before you grind to a halt, but the chances of you choosing ‘Chronostop’ are slim.

It’s not surprising. Omega made comfortably fewer than 200,000 Chronostops in the watch’s brief life from 1966/7 to 1970. Given the firm has shifted more than 1.5m Moonswatches since March 2022, it’s clear that the Chronostop was hardly one of its big sellers. It makes plenty of sense on paper: 35mm case (tiny by today’s standards but neat and unobtrusive); a choice of 17-jewel, 21,600bph movements (original cal.865 or later cal.920). Even better, it has one of the coolest complications out there, a monopusher chronograph: you can start, stop and reset the stopwatch with just one button.

At launch in the UK the Chronostop got top billing alongside the ref. 176.007, the Seamaster Chronograph and the new ref.198.0005 f300 fancypants tuning-fork movement Seamaster Chronometer. The Chronograph would have cost you £105, the Chronometer £129.50 (the 50p mattered back then). The Chronostop came in cheapest at £42.50. Oh, for a time machine. But Omega just wouldn’t leave the Chronostop alone. The firm had planned (as advertising suggested) for the model to fit into the Seamaster collection. But, with an unusual lack of deftness, the marketing people shunted it into the ill-fated Genève line-up.

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That, then, was where Omega sent its watches to die. The plan was to get a cheaper chronograph into the hands of younger (or less well-heeled) buyers who couldn’t stretch to, say, a Speedmaster. The reality was a blizzard of dial, strap and even case options that diluted the watch and confused buyers.

You can tell the firm was grasping at straws.

For example, you’ll hear a lot about the Chronostop ‘Driver’ model that you wore under your wrist: nothing more exciting than a standard ’stop but with the face rotated by 90° by moving the dial feet. Perhaps the cheapest way ever of getting new lamps from old. They

‘THE CHRONOSTOP NEVER REALLY FOUND ITS IDENTITY FOR WATCH BUYERS OR, LATER, COLLECTORS’ claimed this was so ‘you can easily read the time when driving without having to take your hand off the steering wheel’. Unless your wrist has enough metal to make friends with airport X-ray machines, it’s really not that hard to rotate it to read the time in the car with a normally oriented dial. A side-effect is ending up with a crystal (the Chronostop used Hesalite, a form of plexiglass) that looks like ants have been learning to skate on it.

Even better, Omega then tried to sell the strap’s deployment clasp – sitting on top of, rather than underneath, your wrist – as an

identity-plate bracelet. The ads showed it engraved ‘Jacky’, perhaps a cheeky allusion to a Belgian six-times Le Mans winner. That can’t have pleased Heuer.

And this may be the problem: the Chronostop never really found its identity for watch buyers or, later, collectors. It was the kid who grew up in the shadow of its elder Speedie brother and ended up smoking behind the bike sheds. For the cognoscenti who read these pages, though, this is a buying opportunity. The Chronostop’s movement (the only difference between the 865 and the 920 was the latter’s date) is a beauty. It’s in essence a cut-down cal.861, the movement that powered the Speedmaster. The one-minute chronograph might not be hugely useful, but you can’t deny having a monopusher is cool. Above all, that grey pie-pan dial with its orange second hand and castellated 1/5sec track around the outside is nothing short of Omega design at its best.

Your problem will be finding a good one.

Look for three things. Check the case for overpolishing. Far too many watches have been massacred on the wheel, removing the hard-toreplicate brushing on the top edges of the case and rounding off the crisp edges. Look for an original steep-sided Hesalite crystal with the tiny Omega symbol in the centre. And look for loose tritium lume plots – they have a habit of getting into the movement. But there’s no selfwinding mechanism to worry about and the movement’s robust enough to pull a tractor.

At £3000 for something new-old-stock down to a perfectly wearable watch at £800, it’s a bargain – and a lot more exclusive than a £10,000-15,000 Speedie.

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OCTANE_251_MCGURK_222mm w x 285mm h.indd 1

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Chrono

WORDS MARK McARTHUR-CHRISTIE

ONE TO WATCH

Heuer 980.013

Great heritage, that ‘certain something’, and a bargain too YOU REALLY ONLY have two options when you’re collecting late1970s and ’80s Heuers: spend the next 20 years cramming about the almost infinite variations between pre-TAG, transitional and post-TAG models, let alone dial and case variations, or just buy what you like the look of. The 980.013 (and its variants) fits the second approach. It’ll never be worth millions and isn’t particularly rare, but it has that certain something a well-designed vintage diver should have.

At first look, you may think the 980 was intended to be a poor man’s Sub, but not a bit of it. A plain, no-date Sub may have cost over £250 more when it was new in 1981, but the Heuer still weighed in at £108.

And it’s worth remembering that the Rolex was far from the Watchworld ubiquity it is today. Heuer realised there was a market for a well-priced diving watch that would, like the Rolex, have serious lume, easy-toread hands and a graduated bezel. You could see the same approach from Seiko, Citizen and countless others.

You had plenty of choice with your 980. There were 28mm, 32mm, 38mm and 42mm cases with mineral or plexi (the ‘economy’ version) crystals. You could choose plain stainless steel, black PVD or a grungy olive PVD – the latter is now rare because it looks like you keep a toad up your sleeve.

Inside the 200m waterproof case is a quartz ETA 955.114 that seems capable of being seconds-a-year accurate.

Prices are, as you’d expect, all over the place, so there are plenty of bargains. Start around £350 and go all the way up to £1200 for newold-stock. Not much for the Aquaracer’s great-grandfather.

NEW WATCHES

NOMOS ORION NEOMATIK 39 NEW BLACK

SCHOFIELD – THE LIGHT ONE & THE DARK ONE

SWATCH BY THE BONFIRE

In 1991, when Nomos started out, the Orion was (along with Ludwig, Tetra and Tangente) part of the original line-up. Designed by Susanne Gunther, it was the stripped-back, minimalist model of the range. Because there was so little to work with, it was hard to see how Nomos could do much with it – change one thing and you’d changed everything. But the New Black does a fine job. Same 38.5mm case and the DUW 3001 automatic movement, but the Glashütte firm has now inverted the dial from white to black and added some tasteful bling. It’s a win. £3180. nomos-glashuette.com

Schofield’s Giles Ellis has produced unmistakable watches, designing everything (packaging included) with admirable obsession for the last 15 years. Many dial variations but same case, same dimensions. Now this is a whole new redesign. At 40mm, it’s skinny indeed for a Schofield but no less thoughtfully built. Even the way the box sapphire floods the dial with light is deliberate. The movement is a Seiko GMT so you get that rare thing: a unique watch you can find parts for. Your choice of two colours, aptly named The Light One and The Dark One, each limited to 150. £2190. schofieldwatchcompany.com

It used to be that when you thought ‘Swatch’ you thought small, cheap but solid threehanders – the ones that made the Swiss watch industry accessible. Since then, the firm has reinvented itself more times than Dr Who. Now you’re more likely to think of the Moonswatch or even the firm’s new partnership with Blancpain (and who knows who next – we’re guessing TAG Heuer). It’s not all queues and hype, though. Here’s a no-fuss triple register chronograph that you won’t have to wait in the rain to buy – and it’s 3bar water-resistant, so you’ll be fine if you do. £230. swatch.com

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Racing ‘73

Huge air scoops, fat rear wings and even fatter rear tyres.

Celebrate all that was best about early seventies race cars with our cooly distinctive Racing ‘73 t-shirt. Part of our Cars & Driving collection at www.t-lab.co.uk

art & design & t-shirts & more

The Real Car Co 1932 PII Continental HJ Mulliner Two door DHC

1939 Unique 4¼ Litre Experimental Car, Chassis 3B50

www.t-lab.co.uk

EST. 1987

1955 Bentley R-Type HJ Mulliner Continental

Fabulously sporty, stylish & probably unique, 2 seater with dickey seat – one family 1960’s to 2018 & comes with fascinating history.

New cylinder head, original tools, drives beautifully; £250,000

Great history/provenance, 200k driven during WWII on official business, every journey logged, hence the all new MKVI launch in 1946. Very sound, bit scruffy, runs/drives well, MoT’d. See seven page article in The Automobile, March 2024; £97,500

Incredibly original & undisturbed with just four owners & 69,000 miles. 4.9 litre engine with Auto g/box, faded Dragonfly Blue & soft Beige leather piped Blue. Absolute pleasure to drive; £675,000

1968 Aston Martin DB6 Vantage Automatic

1955 Aston Martin DB 2/4 Drophead Coupe

Jaguar Special 2 Door Fixed Head Coupe, 1989/2017

A lovely, sound, smart example beautifully finished in Deep Oxford Blue with excellent black leather interior. Matching Numbers, PAS, Chrome wires, seatbelts. Running & driving very nicely; £225,000

In lovely condition throughout finished in deep metallic blue with excellent red leather. Much work done between 2003-07 inc engine overhaul & paint, goes well & sounds great! £225,000

Strikingly beautiful imagining of a Jaguar that never was! Superb high quality construction based on 1989 XJS 3.6 mechanicals. Lovely Red leather, PAS, Auto, powerful, both a pleasure & easy to drive; £95,000.

A diverse and interesting stock of about 40 cars, visit our website for up to date details, plenty of photos and videos

01248 602649

realcar.co.uk

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Gear

COMPILED BY CHRIS BIETZK

VW BEETLE AND KARMANN GHIA PRINTS BY MAXIMAGION

PH 3½-2½ TABLE LAMP

BY LOUIS POULSEN In the autumn of 1925, workers were racing to erect a new arena in the Frederiksberg district of Copenhagen; it was due to open early the next year, with an international car exhibition. As Forum Copenhagen rapidly took shape, lighting manufacturer Louis Poulsen and young polymath Poul Henningsen were given just eight days to design the lights for the venue. Henningsen recognised that traditional overhead lamps would hammer the top surfaces of the cars with harsh light while leaving the sides in darkness, and so he drew up a version of the multi-shaded lamp that he had recently presented at a show in Paris. Three curved shades were carefully proportioned to diffuse a warm, glare-free light. The optimal relationship between the shades was calculated to be 4:2:1 for use in the exhibition space at Forum Copenhagen, but Henningsen and Louis Poulsen experimented with different proportions as they developed the design for use in other settings, and today the ‘PH’ lamp is offered in an array of sizes and finishes – each model giving off what Henningsen called simply ‘the right light’. £1250. louispoulsen.com

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After completing his studies, graphic designer and petrolhead Max Morel embarked on a ‘one for me’ project, working up portraits of 20 classic cars.

All of them are now available as prints, including his renderings of the VW Beetle and its lipstickwearing cousin, the Type 14 Karmann Ghia.

From ¤13.50 each. maximagion.com

908 T-SHIRT BY DEUS EX MACHINA The Porsche 908/01 won few races but, for reasons apparent to anyone with eyes, the car is still winning admirers. Count Carby Tuckwell, scribbler-in-chief at Deus Ex Machina, is among members of the fan club. £45. deuscustoms.com

SHWOOD x IRON & RESIN KENNEDY CITY GLASSES These handsome specs were designed to tick all the boxes for motorcycle riders: they’re suitable for prescription lenses; the wire arms will slip comfortably inside a crash helmet; and they come with a pair of clip-on, polarised sunglasses, featuring barely-there frames made from brazed steel. £198. ironandresin.com

LEGO MCLAREN MP4/4 Ayrton Senna’s mount from 1988 is the latest car to be miniaturised by Lego, and the man himself has been shrunk down, too, along with his famous yellow lid. £69.99. lego.com

BLAUPUNKT POSTER BY HERVÉ MORVAN In the years after World War Two, Blaupunkt needed no help meeting sales targets: the German company was the first to offer an FM car radio, at a time when demand for in-car audio equipment was exploding. It did Blaupunkt no harm, though, to engage the services of Hervé Morvan, one of the great poster artists of the post-war period, and in 1964 he presented a design so brilliantly simple that the Blaupunkt bigwigs were probably left muttering: ‘Why didn’t I think of that?’ Surviving examples of said poster are scarce, but there’s currently one hanging in the Letitia Morris Gallery just outside Melbourne.

Aus$5500. letitiamorris.com

ROUTEMASTER THROW The AEC Routemaster celebrates its 70th birthday this year, and anybody with fond memories of riding the iconic, Douglas Scott-designed bus will get a kick out of this lambswool throw, which features the same pattern as the seats of the first Routemasters. £110. ltmuseumshop.co.uk 157

Books

REVIEWED BY OCTANE STAFF AND CONTRIBUTORS

Running on Empty GUY DEACON, Ad Lib, £9.99, ISBN 978 1 802471 88 5

Book of the month

McLaren, the Road Cars 2010-2024 KYLE FORTUNE, Schiffer Publishing, £59.99, ISBN 978 0 764367 31 1

It’s hard to believe now, when McLaren has become such a firmly established element of the supercar scene, that its automotive division was only established in 2010, following a largely fallow period after it stopped making the F1 road car (the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren was very much a collaboration). Since then it’s issued a bewildering array of models that, to the uninitiated, seem to differ mainly in nomenclature: there’s always been a strong family resemblance, ever since the MP4-12C was launched in 2010.

Which makes it remarkable that no one has produced a comprehensive account of all the 21st Century McLarens until now. Highly respected motoring journalist and occasional Octane contributor Kyle Fortune has stepped up to the plate, however, and the result is a substantial hardback that boldly bears you through the bewildering variety of McLaren models, right up to this year’s 750S. After a full-page foreword by Jay Leno – a typically generous gesture – and a brief outline of McLaren’s road car situation before 2010, the author gets straight down to brass tacks with the MP4-12C. Pictures of the cars in that signature McLaren orange are a nostalgic reminder of how much of a gamechanger the 12C was, its torque-vectoring chassis tech making it a genuine Ferrari beater – 2.9sec faster around BBC Top Gear’s Dunsfold test track than a Ferrari 458 Italia. Every ‘mainstream’ McLaren that came along thereafter is profiled in similar detail, along with all the hypercars: the P1, Senna, Speedtail 158

and derivatives. Remember the 2020 Senna-based Sabre? It was a 15-off run of ‘show cars for the road’, never officially publicised, and the project gets its own four-page section here.

Making full use of McLaren’s extensive collection of high-quality press shots, this large-format hardback is packed with stunning colour photos, printed on quality paper, and the layout is pleasing – a generous type size and plenty of white space. If we’re being picky, the sheer number of different cars being described does get a little relentless and you start yearning to see some pictures of actual people for visual variety; some of the key figures who are quoted throughout could also have been allocated a page or two for more in-depth interviews to vary the narrative pace.

This really is nitpicking, though. The story of McLaren Automotive needed telling in a ‘proper’ book, and now we have one. It very much deserves its Book of the Month slot here.

MD

A career soldier and a born adventurer and explorer, Guy Deacon was barely 50 when, by then a colonel in the British Army, he was diagnosed with the incurable and crippling disease Parkinson’s. This account of his life before and after the diagnosis focuses on his attempt to drive 18,000 miles single-handedly from the UK and through Africa in a VW camper – soon to be televised as a Channel 4 documentary – both to challenge himself and to raise awareness of the disease. A gritty account that pulls no punches, it’s immensely inspiring without ever dipping into self-pity.

MD

Pontiac Firebird, the Auto-Biography MARC CRANSWICK, Veloce, £35, ISBN 978 1 787118 04 1

A straight reprint of a book first published in 2003 – a year after the Firebird’s 35-year flame was extinguished – this hardback is a colourful, authoritative account of the car that began life as GM’s affordable response to the Ford Mustang and ended it as a possibly superior car – but one that priced itself out of its market. Besides all the minutiae of model changes and variations, there are loads of fascinating snippets, such as the origins of the ‘Screaming Chicken’ bonnet decal. After 21 years, the book holds up well – but £35 for a reprint seems a bit strong. MD

w w w.hortonsbooks.co.uk

Jim Clark: Life at Team Lotus Collector’s PETER DARLEY, Coterie Press, 2007, value £250

Figoni on Delahaye RICHARD ADATTO with DIANA MEREDITH, Dalton Watson Fine Books, £210, ISBN 978 1 956309 13 3

Pre-war car expert Richard Adatto has calculated that more than 100 Delahaye chassis were bodied by Figoni & Falaschi, but he doesn’t attempt to profile every one of them here. Instead, he focuses on arguably the best examples of Joseph Figoni’s work (Ovidio Falaschi handled the financial side of the business), some of which are showcased in glorious studio photographs by Michael Furman – such as chassis 60743, pictured right, which was (rather unexpectedly) sold new to UK holiday camp entrepreneur Billy Butlin.

After a chapter about Joseph Figoni that draws on the author’s long friendship with Joseph’s son, Claude, for direct quotes, the

history of each of the selected chassis is described in detail, with plenty of wonderful period photos and artwork complementing Furman’s studio work. Several design sketches by Figoni also feature, many not seen before.

As fellow author Neil Bascomb says in this book’s introduction, ‘Figoni on Delahaye is a work of art in its own right.’ He is correct: the cover price may be steep but this is a beautiful book.

MD

In the early 1960s, Peter Darley was a young motorsport enthusiast who, besides doing a bit of hillclimbing in a Mini Cooper, liked to take photos at race meetings in his spare time.

He sent some prints on-spec to Team Lotus – and that led to him becoming Lotus’s semi-official ‘works’ photographer during the Jim Clark glory years.

While several books have been published of Darley’s images, this is arguably the best, consisting mostly of previously unseen pictures. There’s not a bad one among them and, being the person behind the

book

camera, he naturally was able to supply caption information for each one, with supporting text by Lotus enthusiast and founder of Coterie Press, William Taylor. The photographs have been reproduced with a pleasing warm tone and are rounded off with an appendix of Clark’s race results for 1964-68.

Launched at the Jim Clark Festival in 2007 and presented in a green cloth-covered slipcase, the book sold well and its value has increased significantly from its original price of £75.

Ben Horton

A Life in Porsche 911 FRANÇOIS BOUET, Les Cahiers de l’Edition, £70, ISBN 978 2 958602 32 1

The Complete Catalogue of the Austin Seven JAMES TAYLOR, Herridge & Sons, £37.50, ISBN 978 1 914929 07 6

James Taylor is that rare creature: a meticulous but always very readable historian.

Combine his expertise with publisher Herridge & Son’s high production values and you have an attractive, colourful hardback that dives deep into areas most Austin Seven books gloss over.

After the expected production history, more than half the book is dedicated to all the different coachbuilt and foreign licensed versions of the Seven – and there were lots of both. A lovely book, packed with interest. MD

In Octane 241 we raved about this French author’s previous work, A Life in Range Rover, and his latest release follows the same very successful format. It’s basically a picture album of period advertising throughout the 911’s lifetime, but leavened with asides about what was going on in popular culture and the wider world at the time. As before, the text and picture captions are in both French and English.

Like Range Rover, Porsche was blessed with some truly inspired advertising from that golden age of the 1980s and ’90s, when manufacturers could be risqué and humorous without incurring the wrath of the moral censors – although you do have to wonder what the 1993 US advert for the 911 Turbo was trying to get across with the bold copyline: ‘It’s not a statement. It’s a hand gesture.’ Come again?

As with Range Rover, many of the most creative print ads for Porsche stemmed from the USA, but there are also plenty of British and Continental examples in here. (Curiously, in more than one ad, Porsche attributed quotes by the legendary DS ‘Jenks’ Jenkinson to ‘DS Jenkins’, which seems unusually slipshod for Porsche.) There are one or two authorial glitches, too – Margaret Thatcher is

said to have been the UK’s Prime Minister from 1979 to 2013, which is an interesting ‘what if’ – and the English text is rather Franglais in places, but if anything that merely adds to the book’s charm.

As the spread, inset below, shows, it’s not just about the cars. In this instance, an ad for the Canon T70 digital camera helps capture the ambience of a particular year, 1984, and there are also longer digressions about individual personalities – Paul Newman racing a Porsche at Le Mans, for example, or Williams F1 sponsor Mansour Ojjeh and his wildly overblown 935 Street. While it’s the Porsche adverts that tie everything together, you don’t have to be a fan of the cars to be fascinated by this beautifully presented, large-format hardback. A great idea, well executed, and with further titles promised.

MD

159

Models

REVIEWS AND PHOTOGRAPHY MARK DIXON

Classic model WORDS: ANDREW RALSTON IMAGE: VECTIS AUCTIONS

ACTION MAN JEEP

by Palitoy

1:18 scale

1967 FERRARI 330 P4

By Werk83 Price £91.95 Material Diecast

Enzo Ferrari was not renowned for his infectious good humour but even he must have cracked a smile when three of his cars – led by the first-placed 330 P4 of Lorenzo Bandini and Chris Amon, depicted here – finished the 1967 Daytona 24 Hours side-by-side, mimicking the famous one-two-three finish of Ford GT40s at Le Mans in ’66. It’s said that the Daytona photo hung in his office for a long while after.

Werk83’s model – made for the company by Ixo in Bangladesh – is in diecast metal, so it feels satisfyingly robust, although it has no opening panels: you can turn the front wheels and that’s it. Conveniently, the winning P4 was the spyder version – the secondplaced Scarfiotti/Parkes P4 was a berlinetta – so you’re allowed a better view of the modelled interior and it’s very well finished overall. Good value.

1971 Pontiac Firebird Pegasus Avenue 43 £126.95 Quirky model of a genuine rara avis, GM’s Firebird Pegasus concept that featured a Ferrari V12.

1935 Opel Stromlinien Brausi £129.95 This resincast of an Erdmann & Rossi show car has the charm of a pre-war Dinky but with 21st Century precision.

1968 Chaparral 2G Marsh Models £215.95 Slightly heavy-looking but very nicely finished – and British-made – replica of Jim Hall’s ’68 Bridgehampton entry.

1964 Jaguar E-type by Frua Matrix £114.95 Lovely model – also available in black – that only goes to show how hard it was to improve an E-type’s styling.

1962 Ferrari 330 TRI Ixo £40.95 This is a reissue of an old model but it still stands up very well – and the price makes it a comparative bargain.

1946 Invicta Black Prince Esval £89.95 Exceptionally fine Chinese resincast of the futuristic (it had a fully automatic gearbox) but ill-fated British saloon.

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Models shown above are to 1:43 scale and are available from Grand Prix Models, +44 (0)1295 278070, www.grandprixmodels.com

When Leicestershire-based Palitoy introduced Action Man – basically a doll for boys – in 1966, it may have seemed revolutionary, but Hasbro had already been very successful in the US with its GI Joe. For the Brits, GI Joe was simply given a new name and remanufactured by Palitoy under licence. Action Man, however, quickly developed its own identity, appearing as a soldier, sailor, pilot or diver and equally happy as a British infantryman, German Stormtrooper or French Resistance fighter!

In the 1969 catalogue, Action Man was issued with his first vehicles: an Armoured Car, Personnel Carrier and Military Jeep. Designed for a hard life, the Jeep was a robust single-piece item in blow-moulded plastic, with wheels, steering wheel and folding windscreen the only separate fittings. It was followed in ’73 by a military ‘Lightweight’ Land Rover, then moulded in hard plastic and with more small components for greater realism, which, of course, made it more fragile.

Consequently, in 1978 Palitoy returned to the blow-moulded method with a new Jeep (pictured) on which details such as lights and dashboard were represented by self-adhesive stickers.

Stand easy: replacement stickers are available if you still have your Jeep in the loft.

By the ’80s, the Star Wars era was beginning – enabling Palitoy to score another big success before succumbing to competition from the far east – and Action Man fell out of favour. Yet, things went full circle and Action Man made a vigorous comeback in the ’90s under the ownership of Hasbro, which, of course, had started it all with GI Joe!

Ferrari 499P Winner

FERRARI 250 GTO WIRE SCULPTURE

The Ferrari 499P was the very welcome surprise winner of the 2023 centenary running of the Le Mans 24hrs beating reigning victors Toyota into second and leaving Hypercars from Cadillac, Porsche, Peugeot, Glickenhaus and Vanwall trailing.

by Chris Twitchell

Chris has blended his background in engineering with his love of art and design to craft wireframe sculptures of iconic cars. This is one of Chris’s recent works, a wireframe sculpture of the iconic Ferrari 250 GTO Series 1.

To celebrate that amazing win, Italian master modelers Looksmart has produced this 1:43 model as well as the #50 pole position teammate. If you prefer your models a little larger, Looksmart will be making the winner in both 1:18 and 1:12 later in the year.

Only £94.46* + £5.00 p&p** *RRP £104.95

Each commission is hand-made and numbered from a limited production of 25 examples. While his take on the Sergio Scaglietti body is painted in the original Rosso Chiaro, individual commissions allow for individual changes both to paint colour and how they are mounted (on a wall or free-standing). Other wireframes include the Mercedes Uhlenhaut Coupé, Porsche 911 Carrera 2.7 RS and the Lotus Type 47 with bespoke commissions also available. See website for pricing and more. www.ctwitchell.com

Quote: OCT499P

Tel: 01295 278070 mail@grandprixmodels.com

www.grandprixmodels.com

ASMotorsport Motorsport ltd AS ltd Poplar Farm, Bressingham, Diss, Norfolk, IP22 2AP Tel: 01379688356 Mob: 07909531816 Web: www.asmotorsport.co.uk Email: info@asmotorsport.co.uk

Even better on the right rubber

The best classic car experience is just a new set of tyres away. We stock new tyres in period-correct patterns for cars from the 1890s through to the 1990s. On road, off-road, rallying or racing – itʼs even better on the right rubber and thatʼs all we sell at Vintage Tyres.

ASM hand build bespoke versions of the R1 roadster, inspired by the Aston Martin race cars that won Le Mans and the world Sportscar championship in 1959.

Contact us for details of commission builds and stock.

01590 612261 sales@vintagetyres.com vintagetyres.com

Poplar Farm, Bressingham, Diss, Norfolk, IP22 2AP

Tel: 01379688356 • Mob: 07909531816 Web: www.asmotorsport.co.uk Email: info@asmotorsport.co.uk I-307295.indd 1

12/11/2019 12:30

ASM R1 Stirling Moss tribute car enjoying track time at Goodwood.

ASM hand build bespoke versions of the R1 roadster, inspired by the Aston Martin ***161_OCT251_AS MOTO_GRAND PRIX_CHRIS TWITCHELL_VINTAGE TYRES.indd 161 race cars that won Le Mans and the world Sportscar championship in 1959.

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15/03/2024 17:26

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HWM Octane MAR 24.indd 1

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15/03/2024 13:51

Edited by Matthew Hayward

THE MARKET BU Y I N G + S E L L I N G + A N A LY S I S

TOP 10 PRICES FEBRUARY 2024 £3,338,500 (€3,910,000) 2004 Ferrari Enzo Bonhams, Paris, France.

1 February

£3,162,500 ($3,995,000) 1954 Ferrari 500 Mondial Series I Spider Gooding & Company, Amelia Island, USA. 29 February

£2,877,500 ($3,635,000)

GOODING & CO

1972 Ferrari Daytona Spyder Gooding & Company, Amelia Island, USA. 29 February

£2,790,500 ($3,525,000)

Record Florida sales results …as RM Sotheby’s and Broad Arrow Auctions go head-to-head WITH TWO RIVAL auction houses – RM Sotheby’s and Broad Arrow Auctions – holding event-headlining sales at exactly the same time, nobody was quite sure how the Amelia Island/ModaMiami results were going to pan out. As it happened, both posted pretty solid results: with a few post-sale deals for both, RM announced a $50m-plus total at its newly established event, while Broad Arrow’s larger catalogue raised a little over $63m. In fact, the combined $186.9m figure posted by all four auction houses toppled last year’s Amelia record $178m.

Despite RM and Broad Arrow going toe-to-toe, it was Gooding & Company’s slightly earlier auction that snatched the top spot, with total sales of $67.3m.

Gooding also boasted the most valuable single car result of all the Florida sales, thanks to the incredibly special Mercedes-Simplex 60HP ‘Roi des Belges’ (pictured top). The fact that it was being offered publicly for the first time in its family’s 121-year ownership made its $12,105,000 sale all the more thrilling to the crowds.

The RM Sotheby’s ModaMiami location seemed to cater more to a younger demographic than The Amelia, yet its top-selling car was a very traditional 1953 Ferrari 250 Europa at $4,295,000. As we saw last year, some very big prices were paid for uber-rare ‘premerger’ AMG Mercedes, especially the R129 SL73

(pictured below) at $610,000. The AMG love continued with a very rare 300TE 6.0 S124 estate, AKA ‘The Mallet’, bringing in $467,000. Not the easiest range of cars to understand, but the market has now well and truly embraced these rarities.

Buyers seemed ambivalent about the virtually zeromile modern super- and hypercars offered.

Broad Arrow’s headlining 1967 Ford GT40 – a Mk1 road car – pulled in an on-estimate $4,405,000.

The 1959 Porsche 718 RSK ‘Lucybelle III’ didn’t sell on the day, with a high bid of $3.2m, although a postsale deal was done soon after for an undisclosed sum.

All of this left Bonhams’ slightly too early, $6.8m sale feeling somewhat squeezed. A slightly weak catalogue didn’t help matters, and a number of the headlining cars – such as a 2004 Porsche Carrera GT and 1959 Lister-Chevrolet ‘Costin’ racer – simply failed to sell. That meant the glorious 1904 Gordon Bennett Napier L48 ‘Samson’ recreation took the top spot at $742k.

2015 Porsche 918 Spyder Weissach Gooding & Company, Amelia Island, USA. 29 February

£2,094,000 ($2,645,000) 1931 Duesenberg Model J Disappearing-Top Convertible Coupe by Murphy Gooding & Company, Amelia Island, USA. 29 February

£1,789,000 ($2,260,000) 1938 Bugatti Type 57C Atalante Gooding & Company, Amelia Island, USA. 29 February

£1,593,000 ($2,012,500) 1957 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster Gooding & Company, Amelia Island, USA. 29 February

£1,571,500 ($1,985,000) 1973 Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7 Homologation Gooding & Company, Amelia Island, USA. 29 February

£1,445,500 ($1,825,000) 2022 Lamborghini Essenza SCV12 Collecting Cars, online.

9 February

£1,377,000 (€1,610,000) 2012 Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport ‘Wei Long’ Collecting Cars, online.

18 February 165

THE MARKET / Reports DAVE KINNEY’S USA ROUND-UP

2007 Aston Martin V8 Vantage Broad Arrow Auctions, Amelia Island, Florida 1-2 March

For an enthusiast looking for something different, is this is the time to invest in a 15-20-year-old exotic as a weekend driver or second car? Of course, anyone who thinks that all the required repairs will have stopped by now on a car of that age and type is kidding themselves, but perhaps a buyer who snaps up a car such as this one-owner, well-maintained Aston stands a good chance of having a positive ownership experience.

Selling for $50,400 – just within the $50,000-60,000 pre-sale estimate – this 2007 Aston Martin V8 Vantage (4.3 litres, a six-speed manual transmission, always garaged) straddles the line between a used car and a low-cost exotic. It’s finished in Vertigo Blue Metallic with Crème leather, and at the time of cataloguing the recorded mileage was just 26,235. A vehicle history report shows only one owner and no history of accidents, and while those forged and painted Charcoal Anthracite 19-inch wheels might not be everyone’s first choice, they give the car an aggressive look.

It’s easy to scoff at the $27,000 maintenance records included in this sale: that works out at just over $1 per mile driven, notwithstanding 1976 Lamborghini Espada SIII Gooding, Amelia Island, Florida

This Espada is a manual European delivery, LHD car, so it has steel bumpers rather than the Federalspec rubber ones. It came with a folder of over 90 pages of service records, including recent service and cosmetic work. With a pre-sale estimate of $120,000-150,000, it sold for $84,000, a bargainbasement price for what is a far from flawless but nice example.

CAR OF THE MONTH the estimated 50%-plus cost of depreciation, as the base price in the US in 2007 was $115,000. Yet if you apply the total of those costs and the depreciation to the Aston’s age rather than its mileage, the figures become rather more palatable.

Equally, you should not overlook the value of this V8 Vantage as a highperformance car lovingly built by a globally respected sporting marque before it had its head turned by SUV production.

Dave Kinney is an auction analyst, an expert on the US market scene, and publishes the Hagerty Price Guide.

1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Broad Arrow, Amelia Island, Florida

This US-delivery Gullwing had a long ownership history in Oklahoma, with an (increasingly more important) chain of ownership history throughout its life. With matching numbers, Rudge wheels, original Rosser leather and excellent patina, this highly original car was well worth the winning bid of $1,545,000, just under its low estimate of $1,600,000.

AUCTION TRACKER PORSCHE 911 GT2 (993) Handbuilt from 1995 to ’98 as a hardcore homologation special to enable Porsche to compete in the GT2 class of endurance racing: this is the ultimate iteration of the air-cooled line. The best road-going 993 GT2s were a rare sight at auction in the early 2010s; the main result of note came at the RM Sotheby’s London sale in October 2012, where a two-owner example with 16,000km fetched £324,800.

RM made headlines at the same event four years later, its 12,730km GT2 in sought-after Riviera Blue (right) the subject of fierce bidding, smashing its £750-850k estimate and finally being hammered away at £1,848,000. The result was seen as an outlier at the time and, unsurprisingly, it prompted a raft of consignments with higher estimates.

A more realistic indicator of where collector-grade cars sat in the

£2,500,000 £2,000,000 £1,500,000 £1,000,000 £500,000 £0

2014

2016

Line charts the top prices for comparable cars at auction.

166

2018

2020

2022

market came in 2018, when Gooding & Co’s Speed Yellow example with 9700km brought $1,485,000 (£1,173,000) at Amelia Island. RM Sotheby’s recently achieved a number of record results with a single-owner collection of Porsches it sold in December 2023, including the GT2 on offer that established a new benchmark at $2,397,500 (£1,894,000).

Tom Hartley Jnr has witnessed the substantial rise first-hand: ‘The values of these cars have shot up dramatically in the last ten years.

‘To put that into perspective, there was a very good example sold at public auction in October 2012 for around £330,000 and we sold that exact same example at the end of 2019 for circa £900,000. That car today would be worth about £1,250,000, although I personally think these cars have plateaued for a while and we won’t see that much of an increase over the next few years.

‘Lots of these cars have had coloured histories and it’s imperative to buy one that’s accident-free and boasts unbroken provenance.

Original paint is a big plus, but not often possible, and the original handbooks – including the service/ warranty supplement – are important, too.

‘I think they will continue to perform well over time but they’re very much like an F40: the very best examples seriously outperform the mediocre cars.’

Glenmarch is the largest free-to-access online resource for classic and collector car auction markets.

Visit www.glenmarch.com to keep up to date.

C HARLES P RINCE

Le Mans

Worldwide Collector Car Sales

1959 Jaguar XK 150 FHC

1965 Aston Martin DB5 Convertible

An outstanding DB5 Convertible with an excellent history. Supplied by us as an excellent original car in 1982, having sinced been the subject of a ground up restoration and upgrade to 4.2 Litres.

1929 Bentley Supercharged Le Mans 1929 Bentley 4.5 Litre Supercharged Le Mans. An outstanding “blower” restored and developed to the highest standards. Uprated chassis, brakes, shocks, differential, and lubrication systems.

We are always eager to buy important collectors cars.

Valuations and advice always available.

Int T 0044 (0) 79 85 98 80 70 sales@charlesprinceclassiccars.com charlesprinceclassiccars.com

2024-03-12_Octane_May-24_converted.indd 1

12/03/2024 15:38

THE MARKET / Auction Previews

Scheckter’s Championship winner RM Sotheby’s, Monaco 11 May

One of a kind Bonhams, Monaco 10 May AROUND SIX YEARS after it was bodied new by Pininfarina, this 1960 Ferrari 250GT was sent to small coachbuilder Carrozzeria Sports Cars. The chassis was shortened and this interesting one-off body was fitted under the watchful eye of Piero Drogo, who had been responsible for a number of successful Ferari racers – not least the 250GT SWB ‘Breadvan’.

Over the years, chassis 1717GT has been seen at various events and historic races around the world. As you might expect, it has changed colour a few times, and 168

also featured a GTO-style front end for many years – which it was wearing when it was shown at the 1985 Geneva motor show.

During a mechanical and cosmetic overhaul in the last few years – including a colour change back to the silver it wore in the ‘as new’ image seen here – the Drogospec front end grille also made a return. It’s presented in ‘fast road’ spec, ready to tour Europe, although it could just as easily be transformed back into a unique, full-on racer. It’s estimated to sell for €2.5-3m. bonhams.com

IF YOU’VE EVER visited Carfest, then you will possibly have seen 1979 F1 World Champion Jody Scheckter behind the wheel of the Ferrari 312T in which he earned his title. The event takes place each year at Scheckter’s Hampshire farm, Laverstoke Park, but in future the legendary number 11 Ferrari will no longer be in attendance, because the South African racer is selling his collection at the RM Sotheby’s Monaco sale in May. Front and centre is the Ferrari, which is significant for many reasons. Not only was it Ferrari’s first full ground-effect Formula 1 car, it was also the last to win a championship during Enzo’s lifetime. It was bought directly from Ferrari by Scheckter in 1982, and was the chassis in which he had scored his three race victories in 1979. It has remained in his collection ever since, and is presented in as-raced condition – even down to the original seatbelts. It’s estimated to sell for €5,250,000-6,500,000.

Other highlights from Scheckter’s collection include a pair of early ’70s McLaren F1 cars.

The ’71 M19A gave the veteran racer his F1 debut (€750,000-1,000,000), while the ’73 M23 was Peter Revson’s 1973 British GP winner (€1,750,000-2,250,000).

The Cosworth DFV-powered 1975 Tyrrell 007 seen here (back row, centre) was driven

by Scheckter in 12 races during 1975 and ’76, most memorably taking him to a third place at Silverstone in the 1975 British GP. It’s estimated at €650,000-900,000.

Just ahead of that is his six-wheeled Tyrrell P34, built during the 2000s using an original spare chassis (€450,000-650,000).

Apart from the Ferrari, all the cars will be offered with no reserve. rmsothebys.com

QUICK GLANCE

AUCTION DIARY Please confirm details with auction houses before travelling 27 March Brightwells, online Charterhouse, Sparkford, UK H&H, Solihull, UK (motorcycles) 28 March Brightwells, online Ewbank’s, Surrey, UK 4-6 April Mecum, Houston, USA

1997 Vauxhall Vectra SuperTouring 24V

1926 AC Six Aceca Tourer

Manor Park Classics, Runcorn, Cheshire, UK 13 April, manorparkclassics.com

H&H Auctioneers, Buxton, Derbyshire, UK 24 April, handh.co.uk

You wouldn’t generally find much love for the Vectra within the Octane office; however, this ‘SuperTouring’ special edition – one of only 500 built – celebrates a very special period of BTCC history. This is the top-spec V6 version, which was specified in the same Glacier White colour as John Cleland’s Touring Car. It’s been well looked after and not ruined like most were, which is why it’s expected to sell for £7000-8000.

The AC Six was the first car to make use of the company’s long-lived overhead-camshaft six-cylinder engine, and this 1926 example – fitted with two-seater coachwork with dickie seat – looks great. In regular use by the current owner from 1994 until 2020, with recent work including a rebuilt magneto and re-lined brakes, it’s now in need of some recommissioning having sat unused since lockdown. Estimated at £10,000-14,000.

6-7 April ACA, King’s Lynn, UK 7 April Iconic Auctioneers, Biggleswade, UK (motorcycles) 13 April Barons, Southampton, UK Dore & Rees, Somerset, UK Manor Park Classics, Cheshire, UK 14 April Bonhams, Goodwood, UK 18-20 April Barrett-Jackson, Palm Beach, USA 19-20 April Branson Auction, Missouri, USA Vicari, Biloxi, USA 20 April Cheffins, Cambridge, UK

1961 Citroën DS19 ‘Le Caddy’ by Chapron

2006 Mazda RX-8 PZ

Osenat, Fontainebleau, France 22 April, osenat.com

Anglia Car Auctions, King’s Lynn, Norfolk, UK 6-7 April, angliacarauctions.co.uk

Henri Chapron built only 34 examples of the ‘Le Caddy’ DS cabriolet in the Levallois factory between 1958 and 1968. This 1961 example features the revised dashboard and engine fitted to a DS of this year but retains the shorter front doors of the standard saloon, which were changed to a longer bespoke type for the Chapron model shortly after this. Recently restored, it’s estimated to sell for ¤160,000-180,000.

You might associate Prodrive with the Subaru Impreza, but the company also turned its hand to improving a few other road cars. The Mazda RX-8 PZ is one such, which although fundamentally already a brilliant-handling car to begin with was given a few chassis tweaks. The usual rotary-engine quirks apply, but this one is said to show good compression readings at 44,000 miles.

Potentially good fun for £2000-3000.

22 April Aguttes, Paris, France Osenat, Fontainebleau, France 24 April H&H, Buxton, UK 25 April SWVA, Poole, UK 26 April Gooding & Company, Oxnard, USA 26-27 April Worldwide Auctioneers, Auburn, USA

ALSO LOOK OUT FOR… In 1916 the British and Colonial Aeroplane Company began work on the Bristol MR1, the first allmetal aircraft developed on these shores. Among the welding crew was the unlikely person of Sybil Andrews – a teenage girl who really wanted to be an artist.

Her family unfortunately couldn’t afford to send her to art school and, with so many of Britain’s men having been sent overseas to fight in World War One, Andrews found herself being taught how to handle an oxyacetylene torch rather than a paintbrush. She was tenacious, though, and when the war ended she put herself through college

20-21 April Bonhams, Stafford, UK (motorcycles)

and then became associated with the Grosvenor School of Modern Art, where her growing interest in printmaking was encouraged.

The outbreak of World War Two would force Andrews to go back to work as a welder, but before then she would win praise for her bold linocuts, which usually reflected her fascination with movement.

The famous Speedway was made in 1934, for a London Passenger Transport Board poster that never materialised. Including proofs, 65 prints were made, and a surviving example will be sold online on 27 March by Christie’s, whose experts think it could fetch £60,000.

27 April Bonhams, Rhode Island, USA Broad Arrow Auctions, Costa Mesa, USA Classicbid, Stuttgart, Germany WB & Sons, Tyne & Wear, UK 28 April Osenat, Paris, France 1-2 May Mathewsons, online 4 May Bonhams, Miami, USA 8 May Brightwells, online

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

169

THE MARKET / Showroom Stars

SHOWROOM BRIEFS

1936 BENTLEY 4¼ LITRE ROADSTER, $595,000 This concours-winning one-off Bentley was started in 1993, and built over 18 years using periodcorrect methods to craft an Embiricos Bentley-inspired aluminium body. Simply stunning. fantasyjunction.com (US)

1952 Jaguar C-type POA from Fiskens, London, UK ECURIE ECOSSE MIGHT best be known for winning the 1956 and 1957 Le Mans 24 Hours with a D-type – as well as racing in one of the most recognisable blue liveries – but Scotland’s worldbeating privateer racing team had plenty of previous success with racing Jaguars. Ian Stewart was one of the team’s original owner-drivers, and in 1951 his XK120 was the first car to wear the metallic blue paint that the team would become known for.

Stewart’s many great results were soon noticed by Jaguar’s Lofty England, who offered him one of the first three customer C-types to be built – XKC-006, the car pictured here. After Stewart sold the XK120 and took out a loan, the C-type was bought and promptly driven to the Jersey Road Race in 1952.

He won the race, followed by a slew of others, including those at Charterhall, Crimond, Turnberry and in the Wakefield Trophy at the Curragh. The C-type was repainted from its factory green to the

gorgeous Flag Blue Metallic before heading to Goodwood and then Castle Combe, where Stewart defeated Stirling Moss driving another C-type.

The success continued in 1953 but, as the team had acquired the ex-works C-type by the end of the year, XKC-006 was listed for sale, and soon exported to Dutch racer Hans Davids. It continued its career in ’54, taking a win at Spa plus several other good results across Europe.

Returning to the UK in 1955, it was used for sprints and hillclimbing before being exported to the USA in 1960. It led a slightly easier life as a weekend cruiser and was eventually repatriated once again – this time into the hands of collector Bill Lake. It was sympathetically restored by Lynx in 1975, a process overseen by guru Chris Keith-Lucas.

Offered today by Fiskens, it’s described as being in ‘outstanding order, presenting with an utterly seductive level of attractive patination’. fiskens.com

2002 BMW Z3 3.0i COUPÉ £19,995 Not a Z3M Coupé but the much lesser-spotted 3.0i Coupé, with an automatic gearbox. Built in limited numbers and in LHD only, this well-maintained German import has covered 42,039km. williamscrawford.co.uk (UK)

1971 PEUGEOT 504 COUPÉ €60,000 An incredibly pure example of one of Peugeot’s most beautiful cars, this 2.0-litre manual has been owned from new by a Peugeot employee. With just 29,200km, it’s in great, timewarp condition. bpmheritage.fr (FR)

1985 ALFA ROMEO GTV6 3.0 POA A rare 3.0-litre GTV6, built in South Africa to homologate the Group 1 racing car. Autodelta built the engine, and the car got a glassfibre bonnet with a huge NACA duct. Freshly restored. crossley-webb.com (ZA) 170

PETER PETER BRADFIELD BRADFIELD LTD LTD

1965 1965 Alfa AlfaRomeo RomeoTZ1 TZ1- -Period Periodcompetition competition history, history, known knownprovenance, provenance,beautifully beautifullyrestored restored

1925 1925 Bentley Bentley3-4½ 3-4½Speed SpeedModel Model--Original Original super patinated patinatedVanden VandenPlas Plaswith withsorted sortedmechanicals mechanicals

1925 1925 Bentley Bentley 3-4½ 3-4½ Litre Litre YKYK 1360 1360 is aisShort a Short Chassis ChassisSpeed SpeedModel Modelstill stillfitted fitted with with its its originalVanden VandenPlas Plascoachwork. coachwork.ItIthas hasbeen beenuprated uprated with with a perky a perky 4½4½ litre litre engine engine giving givingit ita agood goodturn turnofofspeed speedand and mechanically mechanically feels feels good goodon onthe theroad. road.The Thetalented talentedMr. Mr. Getley Getley at at KingsKingsbury bury Racing Racing hashas maintained maintainedit.it.However, However,aanumber number of of previous previous owners owners have havetaken takenaadogged doggeddelight delightininwillfully willfully ignoring ignoring thethe paintwork paintwork and and it has it hasaccordingly accordinglydeveloped developedaadepth depth of of patina patina you could could drown drownin. in.Its Itsbears bearsitsitsbattle-scars battle-scars and and witness witness marks marks as badges as badges of of honour honourand andhas hasappeared appearedwith withdistinction distinction on on at least three three Flying FlyingScotsman ScotsmanRallies Ralliesand andraced raced at at thethe Goodwood Goodwood 1952 1952 Frazer FrazerNash Nash Targa Targa Florio Florio--Unique, Unique, highly highly eligible competition car car good goodroad road manners manners Revival.

Revival.

Concours Concours types types and and‘try-hards’ ‘try-hards’ need need not not apply apply eligible but will will competition suit suitany anynumber number ofwith ofwith bounders, bounders, blaggards blaggards oror cads. cads.

Also Also available available 1934 1934Invicta InvictaSSType Type 1954 1954Bentley Bentley R Type Continantal Continantal 1967 1967Maserati MaseratiMistral Mistral

See See Website Website more moredetails details details See See website website for for more more details 8 REECE 8 REECEMEWS MEWS peter@bradfieldcars.com peter@bradfieldcars.com

00135515_CSC_010424_D_PeterBradfiled.indd 00135515_CSC_010424_D_PeterBradfiled.indd 2 2 OCTANE_251_PETER BRADFIELD_222mm w x 285mm h.indd 1

KENSINGTON KENSINGTON

www.bradfieldcars.com www.bradfieldcars.com

LONDON LONDONSW7 SW7 3HE 3HE Tel: Tel:020 0207589 7589 8787 8787

13/03/2024 13/03/2024 11:2711:27 15/03/2024 10:02

THE MARKET / Buying Guide

Maserati Quattroporte IV

Often overlooked, so now is the time to re-assess this Italian rarity

SOMETIMES CARS THAT weren’t an instant hit when they were launched, or even those that slightly missed the mark, can make for particularly interesting classics a few decades down the road. Take the fourthgeneration Maserati Quattroporte, for example. This compact high-performance saloon was priced to compete against the top executive cars from Germany and, with the company still struggling to shake off a reputation for poor build quality, unreliability and low residual values, it was a model that really struggled to find its audience. Almost 30 years on from its launch, however, this rare Maserati could make a highly stimulating classic purchase.

The Tipo AM337’s unmistakable wedgy profile came from the drawing board of Marcello Gandini, as a big brother to his similarly styled AM336 Ghibli.

Despite being the first new car to be launched in the post-de Tomaso, Fiat-owned era of the company, it was based on a lengthened version of the Ghibli’s Biturbo-based platform. This made it very compact, especially compared with both its predecessor and its BMW 7-series and Mercedes S-Class luxury rivals.

Launched at the Turin motor show in 1994, this new Quattroporte was offered with a version of the Ghibli’s 2.8-litre twin-turbo V6 – as well as a downsized 2.0 version for the highly taxed Italian market. The 2.8 produced a very healthy 280bhp, and boasted a 158mph top speed when coupled to the standard six-speed Getrag manual gearbox. This was a little lower with the optional four-speed automatic.

Although the styling was divisive, the extravagantly 172

trimmed interior was undeniably a thing of beauty.

Towards the end of 1995, Maserati released its flagship version, featuring an updated version of the Shamal’s turbocharged 3.2-litre, 330bhp V8 engine.

With a top speed of 168mph, the QP IV was verging on supersaloon status.

As of July 1997, Fiat sold a controlling share of Maserati to Ferrari, which was great news for the company. Ferrari immediately set about improving the outdated factory, as well as developing a hugely updated version of the Quattroporte for 1998, the Evoluzione. Boasting over 400 new or significantly improved parts, it was a big step up in quality, although sadly it lost the distinctive oval clock of the earlier models. Maserati built just 1670 pre-facelift cars, but the output dropped even further for the Ferrari-era Evo. Sales were sluggish and only 730 of them were built before production came to a halt in 2001. Its far more successful replacement came along in 2003 and the QPIV faded into a quiet retirement where it stayed, largely forgotten and very cheap.

A brief and unexpected appearance in 2021’s No Time to Die suddenly made people take note, however.

Some would say you’d have to be brave to buy a Maserati of this era and we’d agree that it’s not a car for the faint of heart. Like most things, though, it’s all about buying the right one and keeping on top of the maintenance. The later cars are significantly better to live with and have generally survived in greater numbers, but finding any QPIV in great shape will require you to cast a wide net. Matthew Hayward

THE LOWDOWN WHAT TO PAY Thanks to horrendous depreciation when new, it didn’t take long for QPIVs to dip below the £10k mark, where all but the best remain to this day. Expect between £8000 and £12,000 for a decent example – with a low-mileage V8 Evo potentially still worth upwards of £15k.

WHAT TO LOOK OUT FOR Both the 2.8 and 3.2-litre engines are fundamentally reliable, but they need to be properly maintained. Timing belts must be replaced every 36,000 miles – or every three years. Timing chains (these engines have both) also need to be replaced after 50,000 miles, and that is an engineout job.

Check that all of the electrics are working – especially the windows, as the regulators can fail.

As with many 1990s Italian cars, structural corrosion is not uncommon on a UK car if it’s been used all year round.

Later versions were better protected, but all are now of the age at which a thorough underbody inspection is essential before you buy.

The Classic Motor hub_222mm w x 285mm h.indd 1

08/03/2024 16:19

Aston Martin Specialists

Sales | Restoration | Parts | Servicing | Enginology

Visit Aston Workshop at

Techno Classica 2024

DB6 VOLANTE

DB2/4 VIGNALE

DB4 GT ZAGATO

Our 1967 Aston Martin DB6 Volante, upgraded to Vantage specifications, will be returning to Techno Classica Essen this year. Since it last visited in 2022, the car has had a thorough mechanical overhaul and a respray to California Sage.

Awarded Best in Class at Techno Classica 2022, this one-of-one 1954 DB2/4 Vignale will be on our stand this year. Originally commissioned

by King Baudouin of Belgium, our Vignale was painstakingly restored at Aston Workshop in a process lasting over a decade.

Aston Workshop are the global leaders in producing accurate recreations of the iconic DB4 GT Zagato. This car is mid-way through its build, utilising an original DB4 chassis adjusted to GT specifications with a bespoke aluminium body, and is ready for final specification.

Aston Workshop are once again returning to Techno Classica in Essen with a selection of restoration projects, cars for sale and in-house produced parts. Visit us on our stand, which as usual is situated at the top end of Hall 7, for a chat about your own Aston Martin project, enquiries about the sale or purchase of an Aston or even just to share your love of the world-famous marque.

Full National and International transport service operating daily from North East England

aston.co.uk /astonworkshop

astonworkshop

T. +44 (0) 1207 233525 E. sales@aston.co.uk Red Row, Beamish, Durham DH9 0RW

2014 MERCEDES SLS AMG CABRIOLET ‘FINAL EDITION’ (1 OF 35 0)

A 1 owner car presented in obsidian black with black leather and silver contrast stitching. This is AMG’s final goodbye to its iconic SLS. What they gave us was an exposed carbon fibre bonnet and fixed rear wing from the black series and an engine upgrade giving you an extra 20 bhp. The interior is lavished with carbon fibre and high-grade leather from Mercedes’s design department. 1,185 miles

2018 ASTON MARTIN VANQUISH ZAGATO VOLANTE (LHD) Cairngorm brown (Q department colour) with ivory rekona and bitter chocolate leather interior, bitter chocolate hood, number 69 of 99 produced, 1 owner UK supplied car, One-77 steering wheel, satin chrome finish, touring pack, embroidered ‘Z’ logo on the headrests, 364 miles

2015 ASTON MARTIN V12 ZAGATO (LHD) Sunburst yellow (Q department colour) with obsidian black analine hides and contrast yellow stitching, 1 of 61 cars produced, believed to be the only example in this colour, black textured tailpipe finishers, yellow brake callipers, carbon fibre lightweight seats, Bang & Olufsen 1000W audio, 1,375 miles The leading specialist in sourcing the rare and unobtainable. We are always looking to buy interesting cars.

+44 (0) 1772 613 114 | sales@williamloughran.co.uk | www.williamloughran.co.uk

WL_Mar2024_Octane_222x285 B.indd 1

08/03/2024 15:48

2017 Aston Martin Vanquish V12 Zagato Full Pure Black leather interior. 1 owner example, just 69 Miles from new and comes optioned with Villa D’este package. Aston Martin main dealer service history from new. 69 Miles. £389,990

Ferrari 458 Speciale

2022 Lamborghini Huracan V10 LP 640-2 STO

Carbon fibre front spoiler and aerodynamic fins, Carbon fibre side sill fins, Carbon fibre engine bay, Carbon fibre racing seats.

400 Miles. £379,990

Nero noctis contrast package, Sports seats, Multifunctional steering wheel,Titanium rollcage, Lamborghini telemetry, Lifting system, Full body PPF, 20” Hek forged alloys. 590 Miles. £309,990

Full alcantara sports steering wheel, Carbon fibre interior package, Carbon fibre exterior package, Carbon fibre exposed bonnet, 23” Pelope alloys finished in gloss black. 200 Miles. £304,990

MSO Clubsport package, Super lightweight Carbon fi bre racing seats, Bowers and Wilkins sound system, Lightweight alloys with Diamond finish. 4,500 Miles. £292,990

Mclaren 765 LT Coupe

2023 Lamborghini Urus V8 BiTurbo Performante

2020 Ferrari 812 Superfast V12

Lamborghini Aventador LP740-4 S Roadster

2017 Lamborghini Aventador V12 LP 740-4 S

2023 Lamborghini Urus V8 BiTurbo Performante

Suspension lifter, Adaptive headlights with SBL function, Scuderia shields, Rear privacy glass, Titanium exhaust pipes, 20” forged diamond alloys, Ferrari main dealer history 2,400 Miles. £279,990

2018 Lamborghini Huracan V10 LP 640-4

Magneto-rheologic suspension lifting system, Brooke Race Exhaust system, 20” Loge centre lock alloys, Full body PPF, Full main dealer service history from new. 15,000 Miles. £212,990

2017 Porsche 911 991 GT3

Carbon fibre bucket seats, Sports chrono package, 6 point racing harnesses, Carbon ceramic brakes, Reversing camera, Guards red Seat belts . 4,700 Miles. £142,890

Full ADAS package, Carbon fibre package, B&O Surround sound system, Panoramic roof, Rear privacy glass, 23” Pelope alloys finished in gloss black. 250 Miles. £289,890

Fully electric seats, Branding package, Transparent engine cover, Lifting system, 20/21” Dionne alloy wheels finished in Gloss black with Diamond face,12,500 Miles. £244,990

Carbon fibre interior package, Carbon fibre side skirts, Carbon fibre air intake, Carbon fibre engine cover, 20/21” Dianthus forged alloy wheels finished in gloss black. 5,800 Miles. £229,990

Ferrari 812 Superfast

2013 Lamborghini Aventador V12 LP 700-4

Leather headliner, Cavallino stitched on headrests, Passenger display, Red rev counter, Privacy rear windows, Suspension lifter, Scuderia shields.

11,600 miles. £209,890

2017 Aston Martin Vantage Gt8

Full Pure black alcantara interior with Spectral blue stitching throughout, Fully electric and memory seats, Full exterior carbon fibre, High level rear wing. 5,800 Miles. £134,990

Multi functional steering, Navigation, Transparent engine cover, Arancio brake callipers, Dione forged alloys, comprehensive Lamborghini main dealer service history, 1 Owner. 3,200 Miles. £176,990

2019 Ferrari Portofino T V8

Sabbia leather interior, Magneride dual mode suspension, Adaptive headlights with SBL function, Scuderia shields, Black tailpipes, Ferrari main dealer service history. 6,800 Miles. £128,490

BUYING OR SELLING LAMBORGHINI MOTORCARS T +44 01580 714 597 E sales@vvsuk.co.uk W www.vvsuk.co.uk (Viewing by appointment only) Address: VVS UK LTD PARK FARM, GOUDHURST ROAD, CRANBROOK, KENT, TN17 2LJ www.lamborghinibuyer.com Additional Websites: www.justlamborghini.com

OCTANE_251_VVS_222mm w x 285mm h.indd 1

15/03/2024 19:46

AC HERITAGE

1990 AC Cobra MKIV Lightweight Ordered by Drambuie Liqueur Company in corporate colours, 16,300 miles from new. Retains full factory specification. POA

1967 AC 428 Frua Factory prototype & press car, fully restored to the highest standard, 1 of 6 remaining manual gearbox specified convertibles. NOW SOLD

1970 AC / Allard J2X Thames Ditton 428 rolling chassis with factory fitted 7 litre engine and gearbox. The prototype Allard J2X was fitted by Paul Emery of ‘Emery Cars’ fame. POA

1957 AC Ace Bristol 3 owners. SCCA race history. Matching numbers. Goodwood and Mille Miglia eligible. Current FIVA and FIA papers. £315,000

1956 AC Aceca Bristol ‘Prototype’ Works entrant to 1956/57 Tulip Rally. Full AC Heritage restoration. Period racing history, Goodwood and Mille Miglia eligible, FIA HTP valid until 2031. £179,995

For more information about any of these vehicles, please contact our sales team.

AC Heritage · International Broker of Historic & Classic Motorcars · Brooklands Motor Circuit, Surrey, UK Telephone +44(0)1932 828545 · Mobile +44(0)7557 878123 · www.acheritage.com

OCTANE_251_BROOKLANDS CARS_222mm w x 285mm h.indd 1

13/03/2024 10:40

The School Garage www.classiccarshop.co.uk

1954 Austin Healey 100/4 BN1

Original RHD Uk car in Black with red leather trim, Hood and red weather equipment. Overdrive, wire wheels, unique registration number AH1004. A magnificent and rust free example with continuous history. Cherished number plate is also available - AH 1004. One of the finest available.

Serious enquiries only. £79, 950

2006 Aston Martin DB9

Midnight blue with sandstone and blue leather. Usual high specification, alloys, Aircond, Full electric pack, sport’s exhaust, sports seats, 47000 miles only, with Full AM service history plus one specialist, recent tyres, all books tools and documentation, in mint and original showroom condition. Very rarely as nice as this. £32950

2008 Porsche 997 Carrera 2S cabriolet

With sports Tiptronic auto. Alloys, sports exhaust CD. Power Hood, plus superb factory spec.Black with Black full leather trim and red callipers, Stunning showroom condition example done 44000 miles from new with FPSH, all books & tools, keys and documentation. £36,950

1975 Bentley T1 - Rare

In Seychelles Blue with navy blue leather 75000 miles with excellent comprehensive service history, Vast documentation and original handbook pack original build sheets, bill of sale etc.

Stunning example. £34,950

2005 Bentley Continental GT

Dark Emerald Green with Beige leather 2 owners, low mileage, Full documented history in mint original showroom condition.

Very special car. £22,950

1962 Jaguar E-Type 3.8 FHC

Indigo blue with beige leather trim, wire wheels, uprated 5 speed gearbox, matching numbers RHD example, last owner since 1988. Restored several years ago to show winning condition by leading specialist, still in very sharp condition and drives perfectly. £95000

THE SCHOOL GARAGE BOTANY BUSINESS PARK, MACCLESFIELD ROAD, WHALEY BRIDGE, SK23 7DQ T: 01663 733209 • M: 07767 617507 MARTIN J. DALY (EST 1979)

8 FINE EXAMPLES FROM UP TO 50 CLASSIC & PRESTIGE AVAILABLE

2002 Mercedes Benz. SL 55 AMG

In designo mystic Red with mystic Red leather trim, massive factory specification including AMG alloys, Aircond, full electric pack, CD, etc Recent new Tyres and Full service, 48500 miles only, stunning and original, Not to be confused with the normal high mileage/neglected examples on offer, Sold full comprehensive warranty/ delivery etc. £27,950

1964 Jaguar E Type 3.8 FHC

RHD Matching numbers example in Signal Red with original red leather trim. CWW, very original rot free car that drives better than any E Type we have owned. Mechanically perfect, with some areas of cosmetic patination, but if you like driving and rallies this is the car. £79,950

We are always interested in buying part exchanging or selling cars similar to the above. Situated 25 mins from Manchester Airport. Visit our website for more info/photos.

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SPEEDMASTER SPECIALIST IN HISTORIC AUTOMOBILES Tel: +44 (0)1937 220 360 or +44 (0)7768 800 773 info@speedmastercars.com | speedmastercars.com

1993 Courage C30 - Porsche twin turbo First raced at Le Mans in 1993, this car competed at Le Mans 4 times in both Group C configuration as the car is now, and also LMP1 Spider in 1996 and 1997 when the car was driven by Mario Andretti. Always powered by a Porsche 962 engine and gearbox, the car is offered freshly restored and ready to race and with its LMP1 bodywork this is a great car for Group C racing and Endurance Racing Legends, Monterey Historics and many other premier motorsport events.

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MILESTONE MOTORCARS

1967 FERRARI 330 GTC 561 424 6030

For our current inventory please visit our website

www.MilestoneMotorcarsLLC.com

Original Example, in Extraordinary Condition. Original Colors, Fresh Engine & Gearbox. Wire & Alloy Wheels 181

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1974 Alfa Romeo Tipo 33-3/Flat 12: Rare, fantastic race record, Ickx, Stommelen, Reutemann, Monza, Nurburgring, Imola.

All orig., fresh rebuild, race ready.

WE WILL BUY AND CONSIGN ALL FERRARI AND ALL VINTAGE SPORTS RACING & GT CARS PARTIAL TRADES CONSIDERED - FINANCING AVAILABLE

1966 Porsche 910-001: First of 29 910 1951 Ferrari 212 Inter: Vignale / Drogo, racers built. Full frame-up restoration.

Mille Miglia 1952, 1954. Ground up restoHistorical, FIA and title papers. Driven by ration. Race and Rally ready.

Niki Lauda, Hans Hermann.

1968 Fiat Dino Spider: Rare. Frame-up resto; bare metal repaint. Driveline & suspension rebuild; new interior top & chrome. With photo docs. Stunning!

1974 Jaguar XKE V12 Roadster: One of a kind, uniquely built. Bare metal repaint, new interior, 5-sp, Webers, SS headers, Alloy radiator, Two tops.

1982 March 82G: Quintessential GTP car, chassis serial No. 82G/001, raced

by Rahal, powered by 358 cid, 650 HP Chevy engine. Ready for the track or show circuit.

1958 MGA Twin Cam: Rare, disc brakes, Dunlop competition wheels, frame-up, show quality restoration on an iconic sports car.

1962 Lotus Super 7: 22 year ownership.

Super well developed; quick and easy to drive. Known for its winning provenance.

Everything has been rebuilt or replaced.

1963 Alfa Romeo Giulia 1600 Spider: Excellent, orig. condition. Rust & accident free, matching #s, 26k miles, fully vetted, new shocks, brakes, chrome.

www.MotorClassiCCorp.CoM 350 ADAMS STREET, BEDFORD HILLS NEW YORK 10507 914-997-9133 • SALES@MOTORCLASSICCORP.COM

1970 Porsche 917:5 liter, flat 12.

Total comprehensive rebuild by ex-factory 917 specialist. Driven

by Derek Bell, Vic Elford, Jo Siffert; used in the making of Steve McQueen’s movie “Le Mans”.

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Start the concours season with a rotisserie restored Jaguar!

JCNA 100-point Show-Winner

1961 JAGUAR E-TYPE SERIES 1 3.8L OTS CHASSIS No. 875781

Fresh Show/Driver Restoration

1966 JAGUAR E-TYPE SERIES 1 4.2L FHC CHASSIS No. 1E32211

Concours-Ready for the Show Field!

1966 JAGUAR E-TYPE SERIES 1 4.2L OTS CHASSIS No. 1E11897

1968 Alfa Romeo GTA 1300 Junior

Wonderful & very original example Sold new through dealer Palombo & C. to Velletri, Italy Comes with a well documented ownership history

1994 Ferrari 348 Spider

Delivered new through Ferrari Garage Francorchamps Benefits from a major service (Euro 15.400,-) A most amazing colour combination & only 52.000km

Car consultancy since 1992. Call us at +31 252 218980 or visit www.vsoc.nl 184

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EMAIL: ian@barnespublishing.com TEL: 07797 718 719

Finished in Rosso Corsa with crema hide and nero carpets, this superb 4,700-mile example is one of the 68 Spiders officially imported by Ferrari UK, with 57 remaining taxed/SORN’d.

Benefiting from the revised suspension, weight distribution, gear linkage, and a 320 BHP engine compared to the previous 348’s, it is regarded as the true forerunner to the 355.

A comprehensive history from new, with the original service book, handbooks, wallet, and tools, even all three keys!

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M ID D L E BARTON GA RAGE F I A T

A N D

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S P E C I A L I S T S ESTABLISHED 1987

MBG specialises in both parts and engineering for all classic Fiats and Abarths.We can supply most parts and our workshop undertakes servicing, repairs, and restoration of all models.

Please visit our very comprehensive parts section on our website.

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Hayward & Scott Stainless Steel Manufacture Very Competitive Prices • Excellent Workmanship Lifetime Guarantee • Bespoke and Competition Requirements are our speciality

Complete over the frame side exit exhaust on a lightweight low drag E-Type Jaguar

For further information please telephone

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Email: sales@haywardandscott.co.uk 10-11 Nobel Square, Basildon, Essex SS13 1LS I-323825.indd 1

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CLASSIC JAGUAR RACING LTD

07/01/2021 17:02

I’ve been restoring original and building replica Jaguar D-Type, XKSS and E-Types for over 40 years. I restore standard steel E-Types and fabricate alloy panels for vintage cars and aircraft.

FIA accepted copy of any original car using the same tooling.

We manufacture the original Dunlop 16” D-Type and LWE wheels. www.classic-jaguar-racing.co.uk Tel: (+44) 01797 270988

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For further information Tel: 01420 472 273 E-mail: southlandsccs@gmail.com Web: www.southlandscherishedcarstorage.co.uk

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5 Celebrating 40 years of superlative vehicle storage

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These are just four words that describe the car storage service offered by Storacar. Since our inception in 1983, Storacar has been dedicated to the care and security of cherished vehicles and to help remove the worries from classic and premium car ownership.

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Autobiography

INTERVIEW AND PORTRAIT MARK DIXON

Dean Butler American entrepreneur who revolutionised high-street opticians in the US, then did the same in the UK by founding Vision Express I CAN REMEMBER like it was yesterday. It was 1948, I was three years old, and we were having to move because they were about to extend the Philadelphia Airport runway right through our house. My father stopped for directions at one of these old-time American car dealerships, with a little wooden office, the strings of lights over the forecourt, and they had a black, a red and a green MG TC parked outside. I thought ‘Wow!’ I remember asking my father what those cars were, and he said they were MGs. Years and years later, he offered to buy me a new car for my 16th birthday. Then I found out it was going to be a Volkswagen Beetle…

I wanted one of those old MGs! My father was having none of it and said if I wanted an MG I’d have to buy it myself. So I looked in the used cars section of the Philadelphia Enquirer and found an MG TD for exactly the amount of money I had: $800. I’ve owned it since 31 January 1961 and it’s the one car I’d never sell.

Back then, it was very common for young kids to be really interested in working on cars. There was a wrecking yard called Stucker’s that specialised in ‘foreign cars’ – one time I went in, he had over a hundred zero-mile Porsches all stacked up, that had got loose in the hold of a ship and rolled around – and there I found a 1962 MGA that had been hit in the rear. I bought the front suspension out of it and it bolted right into the TD. Now I had disc brakes and wire wheels – at the front! So I bought an MGA rear axle and put that in, and it’s all still in the car today.

I used the TD for my first year at university. Then, while back at home for the summer, I saw an Aston Martin DB2/4 at the Reedman Chevrolet dealership. My father knew Herb Reedman and he told us it wasn’t officially for sale because the engine had blown up, but did I want to buy it and fix it up? And it was a Vantage! Foolishly, I said to Herb Reedman I only had $1100 to my name, and he said ‘Sold!’

In those days, Aston Martin was based in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, just down the road. The guy running it was Rex Woodgate, who’d been an Aston mechanic at Le Mans, and he took pity on me and said he’d give me the good parts from engines that came in for rebuild or exchange.

I did all the work myself and ran the car while I was at university. Then, while I was in Michigan, I traded it for a brand-new Lotus Elan SE. After doing two graduate degrees, in 1969 I went to work in the marketing department of Procter & Gamble. In 1983, I left to start an optical business. A friend at P&G had had to go off and run his late father-in-law’s optometrist shops. I went along with him to see eyeglasses being made in a factory, and realised they only took 15-20 minutes whereas the shop had a 48-hour turnaround. So we built a while-youwait store in Louisiana, the first one-hour optical shop in the world. To publicise it, I did my own TV commercials to save money, and the news anchor at WKRC Channel 12 in Cincinnati tried to get me to hire his son who was trying to get into acting, but I didn’t see the need to pay someone else. The kid’s name was George Clooney…

The business took off like crazy, but it was my friend’s operation. He said he only wanted the states of Texas and Louisiana, and I could have the other 48. So I started LensCrafters, which in four years became the world’s largest optical retailer. I then sold the business in a deal that meant I couldn’t compete in North America. Therefore, in 1988 I moved to the UK, opened the first Vision Express store in Gateshead’s Metro Centre and one in Australia, and ended up operating in 35 countries.

About five years before that, I’d started historic racing. I’ve never been any good at racing but I’ve always really, really liked it, so I bought an Allard J2 for $5000. It had a sidevalve Ford V8 but I then discovered that it had originally been fitted with an Ardun OHV engine, so I found one in a boatyard and got it working. I even figured out how to get the Hilborn injectors running reliably. Setting up the optical business – and the one that came after – enabled me to buy some nice cars, although I then made the mistake of selling them, like we all do. I had Louis Chiron’s Type 51 Bugatti that won the Monaco Grand Prix, and ERA R1A, two very nice Maseratis – the Whitney Straight 26M and an 8CTF that’s now in the Collier Collection; plus the remnants of the Miller Corporation, including the Miller FWD, and some other cars like an Alfa 6C 1750 Zagato Spider GS and an ex-George Eyston MG K3. I still remember sitting in R1A for a race at the first Goodwood Revival and thinking ‘This is stupid; there are six former Formula 1 drivers out here – what am I doing?’ But I had a great time.

That all changed at Phillip Island, Australia, in 2002. I’d gone out with Spencer Flack, who was driving the BRM P25 in the same race as me and who was killed in a crash right in front of me. It happened on the other side of the circuit from the spectators, so they had no idea who was involved, and we were stopped for about two hours. When I finally got back, my wife looked at me and said ‘You’re not doing this again.’ I’ve done other kinds of events since, but nothing in open-wheelers.

At about that time, I came quite close to buying TVR. I knew its PR guy, Ben Samuelson, and we’d put together a replica of the Tuscan S used in the 2001 movie Swordfish and taken it out to the States to judge reaction, which was just phenomenal. The State of Alabama offered us an unbelievable deal: they’d build a factory on their land with their money, pay half the wage bill and, if we met certain goals to do with employment etc, at the end of five years they’d deed the land and the factory to us. So we made a verbal agreement with Peter Wheeler to buy TVR for £8million. Then along comes Nicolai Smolensky, 24 years old, and he offers Peter £15million! Peter asked me what I’d do in this situation, and I said ‘Peter, I’d take the money!’

I wish old cars were still cheap. I started buying them when they were not investments, and I wish they hadn’t gone up in value because then I could have more of them! My youngest car and my daily driver is a Dodge Magnum that I’ve had for 20 years. I’m not into new cars.

Octane (ISSN 1740-0023, USPS 024-187) is published monthly by Hothouse Publishing Ltd, UK. Airfreight and mailing in the USA by agent named World Container INC 150-15, 183rd St, Jamaica, NY 11413, USA. Periodicals postage paid at Brooklyn, NY 11256.

US Postmaster: send address changes to Octane, WORLD CONTAINER INC 150-15, 183rd St, Jamaica, NY 11413, USA.

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2019 JAGUAR XE SV PROJECT 8 TOURING One of 15 UK supplied Touring versions and the only one in black. Two owners from new, 11,000 miles.

Original and unmarked.

T E L : 0124 9 76 0 6 8 6 • T H E H A I R P I N C O M PA N Y. C O . U K T H E H A I R P I N C O M PA N Y C O M P T O N B A S S E T T W I LT S H I R E S N11 8 R H

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* LA PERFORMANCE MÉCANIQUE POUSSÉE À L’EXTRÊME

Ultra-flat manual winding calibre 1.75 millimetres thin 45-hour power reserve (± 10%) Baseplate, bridges and case in grade 5 titanium Patented ultra-flat escapement Function selector Limited edition of 150 pieces