Octane

Octane is a premium monthly magazine celebrating over 100 years of automotive design, from classic Bentleys to the latest BMW. We have been at the heart of the motoring industry for seventeen years, so we know our stuff when it comes to classic cars. Written by enthusiasts for enthusiasts, the magazine captures the exclusivity and excitement of the classic car world so you can experience it all wherever you are.

Simple pleasures

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NEXT MONTH • ISSUE 279, ON SALE 22 JULY

Octane

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Ignition • EVENTS + NEWS + OPINION

Dates for your diary

BOOK NOW! • Secure your place; make travel plans

Flurry of launches complements concours season • Restomods, hypercars, special editions and even so-called ‘continumods’ galore

BICESTER’S TEN-YEAR MASTERPLAN • Hotel, expanded business park and more on the horizon

Petersen gets the Benz

Countach wins in the City • Lamborghini lords it over London opposition

Motor city is turning

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Jay Leno • The engineers are back in charge. Time to celebrate

Derek Bell • Lamenting some recent decisions by Porsche and Ferrari

Stephen Bayley • The unholy mess unravelling in Modena

Robert Coucher • The case for the defence of the indefensible

British understatement

The old ways are the best • It’s 25 years since Lamborghini launched the Murciélago, entering a brave new era with a supercar rooted in tradition. Time to revisit Sant’Agata’s last great analogue hero

Bloodline • The Murciélago was last to play host to an engine that defined Lamborghini from its inception. Matthew Hayward is your guide

What price V12 heaven? • John Mayhead plots the Lamborghini Murciélago value curve. Clue: it’s on the up…

THE RUNNING OF THE BULLS • To celebrate the car’s 60th anniversary, Lamborghini Miura crews from Europe, America and Asia drove 500km on iconic Italian roads in the 2026 Polo Storico Giro

WHEN BRITAIN TOOK ON ITALY’S STYLE GIANTS • For a time in the 1980s and 1990s, unremarkable sheds dotted around Britain could rival the great carrozzerie of Turin. Giles Chapman meets the heroes involved

DRAMATIC TIMING • BMW’s 2002 Turbo was the boosted Bavarian that arrived too soon for its own good yet still taught the world a lesson. Glen Waddington your guide

Mike Fairholme • Joe Twyman, author of The Art of Racing: Helmets, meets the helmet-painting legend who has become the authority on authenticity

Tour d’élégance • An epic journey from the UK to Malta and a prestigious concours d’élégance in a 1959 Aston Martin DB MkIII turns out to be even more rewarding than expected

Delayed Reaction • Overdue for recognition and now fresh from its victory at the Anantara Concorso Roma, the incredible tale of the unique 1932 Maserati V4 Sport 16 Cilindri is recalled by Massimo Delbò

CLASS ACT • Having been through several iterations and raced all its life, this HRG Lightweight has won its class many times. John Simister recounts its remarkable history

Goodbye – and good buy! • 1967 Lancia Flaminia GTL

OCTANE’S FLEET • These are the cars run by Octane’s staff and contributors

Get out and drive? Almost… • 2007 Porsche 911 GT3

All in a flap • 2001 Audi TT

Season’s starting • 1965 Triumph 2.5 PI

OTHER NEWS

Golden years • 1976 Morgan Plus 8

How to join the 200mph club • Auto Vivendi 200mph Challenge

For electric dreamers • Rolls-Royce Corniche by Halcyon

Lord Selsdon • Remembered for one inglorious hour at Le Mans, perhaps unfairly

Karl Ludvigsen • Longstanding...