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.

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.

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

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

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

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

DESERT RIDER

In 1986, one privateer tackled the Paris-Dakar in his own very special Range Rover Audi Quattro Proto. This is its story

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

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

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.

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.

STEPHEN BAYLEY The Aesthete

Prometheus stole fire from the gods, who punished him for his creative impertinence.

DEREK BELL The Legend

Just so you know, this column is being lovingly crafted on my birthday.

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.

Alex Hornoff

Motul’s oil doctor by day, historic house renovator by night

Looking a proper Charlie

I WAS FASCINATED to read about the late Tony Dron and his marvellous Austin Seven above] in Octane 233.

MAN & MACHINE True Brit's American muscle

Meet John Hogan and his daily-driven V8 Jaguar XJ6

Roaring start for Alpine club

Motorsport-linked Swiss village rejuvenates a prestigious past

Big progress on new fuels

Tests of synthetic fuels in historic cars suggest they could be a viable alternative to rampant electrification

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

CLASS ACT

IT DASHED THROUGH THE MARKETPLACE AND DOWN A FAST FOUR-MILE STRAIGHT WHILE THE ATTENTION OF LOCAL POLICE WAS ELSEWHERE'

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

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

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

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

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

Scheckter's timely stash

For someone claiming little interest in watches, the F1 star has quite a collection

Compact Disc

It was the future, once. And there's still something good about holding a physical embodiment of a sound source

Ford Thunderbird

After 20 years, is this retro-styled T-Bird worthy of re-evaluation?

National Museum of Arts and History, Dublin, Ireland

Ireland's turbulent past explained - and a Guinness to enjoy