Automotive
Octane
THE DEFINITION OF SPEED
First owned by racing driver Pierluigi Martini, his Countach 5000 Quattrovalvole proved Lamborghini's reputation for building the fastest car of the day
8 min |
November 2025
Octane
Convenience shopping - 2005 BMW 330Ci Glen Waddington
THAT PORTAL TO everything that could be delivered to your door - eBay - commissioned a survey, asking motorists which technologies they couldn't live without.
2 min |
September 2025
Octane
Overdrive
Other interesting cars we've been driving
2 min |
September 2025
Octane
A watch fit for a hero
The price you paid for an IWC MKXI navigators' watch was to lay your life on the line
2 min |
September 2025
Octane
Is modified the new original?
Traditionally, upgraded classics were less desirable – today the data suggests otherwise
3 min |
September 2025
Octane
Trolleybuses
More versatile than what came before, cleaner than what came next
3 min |
September 2025
Octane
DON'T LOOK BACK
Pondering 60 years of cars, music, design and ambition with the king of lightweight, Gordon Murray
10+ min |
September 2025
Octane
THIS GIRL CAN
An altruistic dream and a display of incredible fortitude saw this eight-year- old and her pedal car set a new Goodwood lap record
4 min |
September 2025
Octane
All his own work
From city-cars to supercars via Grand Prix racers and a mini-truck, Gordon Murray has applied the same depth of thought to every vehicle he's designed
5 min |
September 2025
Octane
SUPER CHARGER
One man's passion project for the past 45 years, this Frazer Nash SS is now a highly competitive racer in historic events
9 min |
September 2025
Octane
Mark Roberts
Originally a technical illustrator at Lotus, who moved to McLaren and ran the design studio for 30 years, and is now a creative consultant
2 min |
September 2025
Octane
Saab 99 Turbo
It might not have invented it, but Saab proved that turbocharging was the way forward
2 min |
September 2025
Octane
£2.6m Ferrari 275 GTB/4 tops flat season of European sales
Online auction results dominate in a quiet month for live sales – has the tide turned?
1 min |
September 2025
Octane
Salon Privé's garden of delights
20th anniversary party promises top cars and much more over five days
2 min |
September 2025
Octane
The Aesthete Stephen Bayley
An uncomfortable truth: beauty has died
3 min |
September 2025
Octane
2002 TVR Tuscan S 4.0 Targa - £43,000 from Str8six, Oxfordshire, UK
THE EARLY YEARS of TVR's homegrown Speed Six engine were not shrouded with glory, but you have to applaud the small UK manufacturer's bravery when designing and building its own engine.
1 min |
September 2025
Octane
Dick Teague
This stylist got off to a shaky start before discovering the magic of platform sharing
3 min |
September 2025
Octane
A rather Specialised F50
REGARDING your cover story in Octane 265 about the Ferrari F50, in the 1990s I worked for a Ferrari garage (Specialised Cars of Knutsford) that race-prepared an F50 for the Maranello Ferrari Challenge.
5 min |
September 2025
Octane
F1 set to sizzle at Silverstone
NO FEWER than five legendary Williams single-seaters will be at the Silverstone Festival on 22-24 August, when it marks the birth of the Formula 1 World Championship at the Northamptonshire circuit with an unprecedented collection of British (and other) winners.
4 min |
September 2025
Octane
The Driver Robert Coucher
The appeal and otherwise of driving American cars - outside the US
3 min |
September 2025
Octane
The Collector Jay Leno
Revealing the peculiarities of The British Experience
4 min |
September 2025
Octane
Location, location, location
The trials and tribulations of the cars we live with
8 min |
September 2025
Octane
The pursuit of perfection
‘Uncompromising’ perhaps best describes Gordon Murray's approach to engineering the epochal McLaren F1. Here's why...
10 min |
September 2025
Octane
Flying high - 2025 Aston Martin Vanquish Volante
LAST YEAR Aston Martin gave Ferrari a less-polite version of the Churchillian two-fingered salute by launching its 824bhp Vanquish Coupé a fortnight after Ferrari showcased its 819bhp 12Cilindri, those extra five brake horsepower giving the Vanquish an unbeatable hand in hypercars Top Trumps.
2 min |
September 2025
Octane
Lamborghini Diablo
When it comes to classic Lamborghinis, a younger generation is leading the charge
1 min |
September 2025
Octane
Gordon Murray's Pretty Little Things
The cars that enchant this re-inventor of hypercars are smaller, lighter and daintier than you might expect
9 min |
September 2025
Octane
KING OF 3085
German tuner Willy König found his Ferrari 308 a little underwhelming, so he doubled its power and created a 1980s icon
7 min |
September 2025
Octane
TORPEDOED!
This stunning car was known for advanced engineering and controversy that sank the company – but the Tucker should have been a surefire style icon, as Stephen Bayley uncovers
8 min |
September 2025
Octane
Comebacks and collapses: what on Earth is going on with UK car-makers?
After a flurry of eyebrow-raising announcements and disturbing rumours of major closures and job losses in the UK, it's time to find out what's really going on with long-dead Marcos and Jensen, as well as Lotus, Morgan, McLaren et al
6 min |
September 2025
Octane
Only fans
Murray's glorious Brabham BT46B 'fan car' proved that, if being a little bit naughty was wrong, he didn't want to be right
4 min |