OH MY WORD! Central accelerator pedal, crash gearbox - learning to drive a vintage Bentley, my first proper' old car, was certainly a challenge. I'd had a lesson with an expert after buying the Bentley but it and its two sister cars were due to be shipped out to Mongolia quite soon, so we probably put in only about 100km practising on local roads in the UK.
The reason for the trip was that my father, Jim Ratcliffe [founder and CEO of the INEOS Group, which makes the Grenadier 4x4], was coming up to his 70th birthday and we wanted to celebrate it in style. We'd already done a couple of marathon motorbike journeys: for his 60th, about 15 friends and family rode across Africa, doing as much off-road as possible some 17,000km in 100 days - and about four years ago we rode from the top of Argentina to the bottom of Chile. To do that first trip, I also had to learn to ride a motorcycle.
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Esta historia es de la edición 250 - April 2024 de Octane.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 8500 revistas y periódicos.
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Nathalie McGloin
The only female tetraplegic racing driver in the world and co-founder of Spinal Track, charity supporting disabled drivers
Atomium
An iron molecule, 100m tall and scaled-up 165billion times, was the future in ’58
The Valjoux 7750
Rendered obsolete in the late 1970s, Edmond Capt's wonder movement is not only back, but selling 200,000 units a year
Lucy O'Reilly Schell
The first American woman to compete in a Grand Prix was also a distinguished rally driver and team owner
OCTANE CARS
OWNING+ DRIVING + MAINTAINING
OUR MAN IN JAPAN
James Elliott joins an exclusive Japanese classic tour in an exquisite Alfa Romeo Junior Zagato 1600
LONG-TERM LEGENDS
These two SS100 Jaguars have been in the hands of well-known and dedicated enthusiasts for five decades and more. Chris Mann divulges their entertaining histories
Micky Pople
Octane meets the 95-year-old and talks about his life with the stars as one of Bristol's Filton Fliers'
LEADING FROM THE MIDDLE
The René Bonnet Djet was the world's first mid-engined production road car. Glen Waddington enjoys a momentous French Lotus rival
BACK AGAIN FOR MORE
This Le Mans-winning Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Zagato Spider appeared in the very first issue of Octane. More than 20 years on, Robert Coucher acquaints himself and finally gets behind the wheel