Automotive
Octane
The baseball
It's a simple, stitched, leather-covered and who has propelled it - matters a lot. So does the mud sphere, but what's inside -
3 min |
January 2023
Octane
Gone but not forgotten
Sir Roy Fedden, Celebrated aero engineer and workaholic who twice tried, and failed, to trigger a revolution in car design
4 min |
January 2023
Octane
OVERDRIVE
Other interesting cars we've been driving, Art of the estate
8 min |
January 2023
Octane
OCTANE CARS OWNING+ DRIVING + MAINTAINING
I HAVE FORM when it comes to Lotus Elans. The reason is simple. It is a sports car so good that it makes even a tepid shoe like me resemble a highly competent driver, and it’s the best of its generation by a country mile.
9 min |
January 2023
Octane
A class of its own
As insurance partner to Octane, Classic Insurance Services is delighted to be the headline sponsors of the Historic Motoring Awards, celebrating excellence throughout the classic and performance car sector.
2 min |
January 2023
Octane
FLIPPING ITS LID
The Ferrari 575M was a watershed modern-era Ferrari. But it was the Leonardo Fioravanti-developed Superamerica that really opened it up
8 min |
January 2023
Octane
Jenson Button
The 2009 Formula 1 season is the stuff of legend, and it certainly made one of Button. Time to look back at how it happened, and ahead to what's still in store
8 min |
January 2023
Octane
FLYING WITH MANTUANS
Is anything more idyllic than three days of spirited driving in Italy in a pre-war Aston Martin? That might depend on the weather, says James Elliott
9 min |
January 2023
Octane
DREAM INTO ACTION
For one entrepreneur, the lure of Italian beauty with American power was not enough: it needed German build quality, too. The result was the Bitter CD
8 min |
January 2023
Octane
DESERT RIDER
In 1986, one privateer tackled the Paris-Dakar in his own very special Range Rover Audi Quattro Proto. This is its story
7 min |
January 2023
Octane
Heat & light
The Maserati A6G/54 is a thinly disguised racer with just enough civility for the road - beautifully wrapped in ultra-lightweight Zagato bodywork. Peter Tomalin is treated to a rare thrill
9 min |
January 2023
Octane
The factor
2023 marks the 60th anniversary of the Mini Cooper S and this example is the oldest survivor. Mark Dixon tells the story of a Mini that has truly lived a life
10+ min |
January 2023
Octane
The friendlier face of Ferrari
AN OLD MATE of mine, whose parents were Worcestershire farmers in a village just a few miles from where I live, tells a wonderful story from the early 1960s. Knowing him as I do, m absolutely certain it’s true.
6 min |
January 2023
Octane
ROBERT COUCHER The Driver
The expression giant killer’ has become hackneyed these days, but back in the mid-Sixties it certainly applied to John Cooper's reimagining’ of his friend Alec Issigonis’ revolutionary small car.
3 min |
January 2023
Octane
STEPHEN BAYLEY The Aesthete
Prometheus stole fire from the gods, who punished him for his creative impertinence.
3 min |
January 2023
Octane
DEREK BELL The Legend
Just so you know, this column is being lovingly crafted on my birthday.
3 min |
January 2023
Octane
JAY LENO The Collector
There’s nothing quite like opening the throttle of a steam-powered vehicle and feeling the massive torque pushing you forward, like the hand of God.
3 min |
January 2023
Octane
Alex Hornoff
Motul’s oil doctor by day, historic house renovator by night
4 min |
December 2022
Octane
Looking a proper Charlie
I WAS FASCINATED to read about the late Tony Dron and his marvellous Austin Seven above] in Octane 233.
6 min |
December 2022
Octane
MAN & MACHINE True Brit's American muscle
Meet John Hogan and his daily-driven V8 Jaguar XJ6
2 min |
December 2022
Octane
Roaring start for Alpine club
Motorsport-linked Swiss village rejuvenates a prestigious past
2 min |
December 2022
Octane
Big progress on new fuels
Tests of synthetic fuels in historic cars suggest they could be a viable alternative to rampant electrification
4 min |
December 2022
Octane
FIRST of the FEW
In 1925, Bugatti offered a more customer-friendly version of its Type 35 Grand Prix car, which it named the 35A. Mark Dixon drives the prototype
7 min |
December 2022
Octane
CLASS ACT
IT DASHED THROUGH THE MARKETPLACE AND DOWN A FAST FOUR-MILE STRAIGHT WHILE THE ATTENTION OF LOCAL POLICE WAS ELSEWHERE'
8 min |
December 2022
Octane
Robin Shute
From the flattest corner of England to three victories at Pikes Peak, the most celebrated hillclimb in the USA: meet the new (British) King of the Mountain
8 min |
December 2022
Octane
SWISS HIGH-ROLLER
The Basel-based supercar-builder Monteverdi was long shrouded in mystery. After a lifetime of dreaming about it, Marc Sonnery finally gets to drive its definitive GT: the Berlinetta
7 min |
December 2022
Octane
WHEELS & WAVES
A cruise along the central western coast of Portugal uncovers a unique but growing classic car scene driven by surfers, who chase the swell in vintage vehicles
8 min |
December 2022
Octane
HOW TO WIN PRIZES (and influence judges)
Take a rookie concours entrant, an obsessively restored Ferrari, a curious Octane editor and set them loose at Salon Privé. James Elliott reveals all
9 min |
December 2022
Octane
THE MAN, THE MYTH, THE LAGONDA...
...and so much more. Peter Tomalin celebrates the life and works of a remarkable design talent - with special guest stars from Aston Martin, including DBS V8 and Bulldog
10+ min |
December 2022
Octane
Scheckter's timely stash
For someone claiming little interest in watches, the F1 star has quite a collection
3 min |