EAGLE E-TYPE FIRST DRIVE OF THE 1M SPYDER GT

5.00 | ISSUE 165 MARCH 2017

CLASSIC & PERFORMANCE CARS

MONTE CARLO WINNING RESTORED: LOLA GT

Prototype that inspired GT40

HOW TO BUY A 250 GTO

The secret world of $50m sales

CLASSICS TO OWN IN 2017

Flat-out with Sandro Munari & his 1977 team Citron Ami to Porsche 911 GT3

OUTLAW AURELIA
MCRAES CHEVETTE
DAYTONA PROTOTYPE
JAGUAR E-TYPES from EAGLE
For the worlds most spectacular choice of cars currently for sale, ranging from original low mileage classics, to our uniquely upgraded,
sports equipped examples, including the Speedster, visit our website www.eaglegb.com or call +44 (0)1825 830966
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Appreciate the Difference
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International Classic Car Challenge
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Genieen Sie vier intensive Tage auf den historischen Straen von Mathilde von Canossa, Knigin Italiens whrend des XII. Jahrhunderts.
Freuen Sie sich auf die perfekte Verbindung wunderschner Autos mit fahrerischer Herausforderung, touristischen Highlights, gastronomischen Genssen und stilvoller Entspannung.

www.gpcanossa.it
 Issue 165 / March 2017

CONTENTS
ID NEVER SO MUCH
AS SAT IN A RALLY
CAR UNTIL I WAS
30 YEARS OLD
JIMMY McRAE AND
CHEVETTE HSR
Page 142

7
 Issue 165 / March 2017

CONTENTS

FEATURES
SANDRO MUNARI
AND HIS LANCIA STRATOS
Page 64
With the 1977 Monte Carlo Rally winner, the car
he drove and the team that made it possible
104
HOW TO BUY A FERRARI 250 GTO
Page 82
Theres one for sale right now

EAGLE SPYDER GT
Page 86
Examining Eagles latest reimagined E-type

RALLY OF THE INCAS

Page 94
Epic 6000-mile escapade in South America
116 94
LOLA GT
Page 104
50-year restoration of the GT40s inspiration

PEUGEOT 205 RALLY CAR

Page 116
Back on the gravel after a 25-year hibernation

FERRARI DAYTONA PROTOTYPE

Page 124
Leonardo Fioravantis flight of fancy made real

LANCIA AURELIA OUTLAW

Page 130
A whole new attitude for Italys graceful GT

THE OCTANE INTERVIEW

Page 142
Jimmy McRae reunited with a Chevette HSR

PRESIDENTIAL CITRON
Page 148
124 At the lyse Palace with De Gaulles DS

9
 Issue 165 / March 2017

CONTENTS
REGULARS
NEWS AND EVENTS
Page 20
Cars to buy this year; BMWs centenary
celebrated; AMG GT R and Bentley tested

COLUMNS
Page 51
Monthly missives from Jay Leno, Derek Bell,
Stephen Bayley and Robert Coucher

GEARBOX
Page 58
20 TVs multi-talented motor restorer Ant Anstead

LETTERS
Page 61
Reader discovers last De Tomasos in restoration

OCTANE CARS
Page 158
Mark Dixon is reunited with his old rally Rover

GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN

Page 170
46 170 Artist who brought colour to cars, Paule Marrot

ICON
Page 172
Keeping campers in hot tea: the Primus stove

CHRONO
Page 174
How Omega has touched the lives of so many

PLACES TO GO
Page 176
166 A private museum hidden away in Albuquerque

BOOKS, PRODUCTS, MODELS

Page 178
Read it, use it, gaze at it, covet it, need it

THE MARKET
Page 187
Auction news, previews, star buys and advice

DAY IN THE LIFE

Page 274
178 180 Joel Baker, restorer of giant Mufer Men

10
 TOURBILLON G-SENSOR RM 36-01
SEBASTIEN LOEB

RICHARD MILLE BOUTIQUES

Didier Gourdon

GENEVA PARIS LONDON MILAN MONACO MUNICH

ABU DHABI DUBAI DOHA BEIRUT

www.richardmille.com

MARK DIXON
EDITORS WELCOME
Waiting for our
star cars
WE LOVE IT when a plan comes together.
Back in August last year, deputy editor Mark
Dixon and I latched onto two fantastic but very
different cars that we just had to feature in the
pages of Octane but weve had to wait this
long to be able to do so.
At The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering, we
saw the just-about-finished Lola GT and knew
immediately that wed found the winner of the
Octane Editors Choice award. The car looks
amazing, as youll see on pages 104-114, but
its the human side the former Shelby
factory race driver waiting 30 years to start the
restoration that really makes the story. Our
photoshoot took place at the very first test-run
of the completed car.
At the McCalls Motorworks Revival event,
a crowd had gathered around a roof-chopped
Outlaw Lancia Aurelia. We knew of the car
but hadnt seen it in the metal; when we did, we
were blown away. Outlaw tends to be more
associated with West Coast Porsche 356s but
the Aurelia was built in the UK, inspired by
the factorys race cars. It sounds contentious
but the reaction to it at the Jet Center was
overwhelmingly positive. Once again, were
finally in a position to show you the finished
creation; see what you think, on pages 130-140.
12
Issue 165 / March 2017
While on the subject of long waits, how
about the owner of the Peugeot 205 rally car on
pages 116-121. He bought it new, rallied it,
blew the engine to smithereens, sold it in
pieces and then 25 years later happened to
see it for sale in exactly the same condition.
What could he do but buy it back, restore it and
then start a rally series especially for the 205?
And lets drag this tenuous theme out to one
more feature car, the cover-star Lancia Stratos,
which won the 1977 Monte Carlo Rally in the
hands of Sandro Munari. A full 40 years on, we
managed to bring together car, driver, co-driver
and mechanics for an emotional reunion.
But it is not really the car itself, more the
magical memories it brings back, said Munari
and who are we to argue. Were just delighted
that the plan worked out so well.
David Lillywhite,
Editor
FEATURING
STEFAN SAUER
MASSIMO DELB
In 1977 I was eight years old, playing
with an Alitalia-livered Lancia Stratos
model. To celebrate the 40th anniversary
I brought together the 1977 Monte Carlo
Rally-winning Stratos, the team that worked
on it and driver Sandro Munari himself.
Its a childhood fantasy come true.
Turn to pages 64-80 for the full story.
EVAN KLEIN
I truly felt privileged to be photographing
the Lola; it played such an important
part in history, as well as being a beautiful
machine. It was a warm desert day, we had
the track to ourselves and, when the owner
fired it up for the first time, the thing roared
and my camera clicked away. Perfect.
The Lola GT is featured on pages 104-114.
GERARD BROWN
When Im covering an event lasting a month
or more its a marathon, not a sprint. Early
starts and late finishes are part of it. Long-
distance events for old cars are a challenge
for all involved but they bring out the best
in man, machine and photographer.
See Gerards stunning photographs of
the Rally of the Incas on pages 94-102.
Important Sports, Competition ENQUIRIES
and Collectors Motor Cars +44 (0) 20 7468 5801
ukcars@bonhams.com
Sunday 19 March 2017
Chichester, Sussex 1961 JAGUAR E-TYPE SERIES 1
FLAT FLOOR 3.8-LITRE ROADSTER
Chassis no. 850151
160,000 - 190,000

ENTRIES NOW INVITED

bonhams.com/motorcars
 Issue 165 / March 2017

NEXT MONTH EDITORIAL

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now back on the road EDITORIAL ASSISTANCE

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1961 FERRARI 250 GT SWB BERLINETTA
Coachwork by Scaglietti; Chassis no. 2639; Ferrari Classiche Certied

1928 BENTLEY 4-LITRE LE MANS SPORTS BOBTAIL

Coachwork by Vanden Plas; Chassis no. KM3088

1971 FERRARI 365 GTB/4 DAYTONA BERLINETTA

Coachwork by Scaglietti; Chassis no. 14115

1937 BUGATTI TYPE 57S CABRIOLET;

Coachwork by Vanvooren;
Chassis no. 57513

The renowned ex-Bob Roberts car; original

chassis, body, engine, and gearbox; never
restored; remarkable known history.

1973 PORSCHE 911 CARRERA RS 2.7 TOURING

Chassis no. 9113601315
AMELIA ISLAND 10-11 MARCH
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IGNITION / News

IGNITION
N E W S + E V E N T S + O PI N I O N

The cars to buy in 2017

Well admit that were following our hearts as much as our heads with
these suggestions but, if you dont do it now, dont blame us later
Words Chris Bietzk, Mark Dixon, David Lillywhite and Glen Waddington

1. TOYOTA CELICA (FIRST GENERATION) 1

8000-20,000
Select lumps of J-tin are now hot property, and
the first-gen Celica is getting there. Handsome
(if you steer clear of the mid-period US plastic-
bumper cars), lively (for the day) and well-
built (no qualifier needed; it was a Toyota),
it deserved its Baby Mustang nickname. CB

2. CITRON TRACTION AVANT

10,000-20,000
Convertibles fetch six-figure sums these days,
but a plain-Jeanne saloon every bit the same
masterpiece of engineering can still be had
for Ford Fiesta money. Cars this influential,
this easy to live with and this good to drive
are rarely this cheap. Forget future values,
because youll probably never want to sell. CB

3. BMW Z4M COUP 15,000-30,000

Many have tipped the E46-generation M3
as the place to put your modern(ish) BMW
money, but 20,000 in a well-kept Z4M coup 2 3
could make more sense if you dont need the
space. Only 200 came to the UK, way fewer
than the roadster. And look what happened
to the breadvan Z3M that preceded it GW

4. JAGUAR 2.4 Mk1 20,000-30,000

The original compact saloon may only be
a 2.4 but it comes with the Dinky Toy jelly-
mould shape and Art Deco spats, and it goes
perfectly well. So much rarer than an XK,
less ostentatious, and a third the price. MD 4
5. LAND ROVER COUNTY STATION WAGON
5000-20,000
If you like your Landy with a dash of comfort,
the 1980s County Station Wagons not only
came in funky two-tone colour schemes with
lairy side-stripes but also had tweed cloth seat
facings. So you can drive a proper old Land
Rover but your bum will stay warm, too. MD

20
5 6. RENAULT-ALPINE GTA 8000-15,000
Name a rear-engined sports car with history
at Le Mans and on the Monte. Now name
one thats not a 911. With Alpine about to be
relaunched, now could be the time to buy a
GTA, once the worlds most aerodynamic car
and still a stunning looker. Turbo version has
performance to match; wide-bodied Le Mans
is the most sought-after. GW

7. SUBARU IMPREZA P1 10,000-30,000

The two-door P1 is the Holy Grail of first-
generation Impreza Turbos. Only 1000
were built by Prodrive, with the (stronger)
Japanese-market body and a 276bhp version
of the turbo flat-four. Prices are only going
one way. Same goes for other limited-edition
Scoobies, such as the RB5 though theyre
still some way behind the P1. GW

8. TOURING CARS 20,000-200,000

Touring Cars of the 1980s and early 90s are
6 7 suddenly big news in UK Historic racing,
with headline races at Goodwood Members
Meeting and Silverstone Classics, and series
with HSCC and CTCRC. Sierra Cosworths
and M3s are core but one of the cheapest ways
in is the good old Alfa Romeo GTV6. DL

9. MGA 14,000-30,000
With the best now asking far more than our
top figure, one of the last bastions of attainable
mid-century automotive glamour seems to
8 9 be trundling (MGAs were always slower than
they looked) beyond the reach of normal folk.
Ignore the potentially vexatious Twin Cam,
buy a tidy car on steels and use it often. CB

10. PORSCHE BOXSTER 9000-15,000

Its scarcely credible that you can get so much
proper Porsche for so little money and a
convertible, to boot. Find out more in our
Buying Guide on page 196. MD

10

21
IGNITION / News

11. PORSCHE 997 GT3 80,000-100,000 11

You know a cars going to end up out of reach
all too soon when it hasnt actually depreciated
from new. Always the purists favourite 911, the
GT3 went without turbos and driver aids to
focus on feedback, precision and involvement
at their height in the 997 generation.
Buy now, enjoy, treat as a pension plan. GW

12. JAGUAR XJ SERIES 3 5000-20,000

Has there ever been a better-looking saloon?
We all know the best Series 1s have become
highly collectable, but the S3 best-engineered
and most refined of the lot is taking a long
time to follow suit. Immaculate and historyd
4.2s are out there for 15,000 and wont
always be; if you can stomach its complexity,
the XJ12 is stunningly refined and brisk. GW

13. CITRON AMI 4000-10,000

The brilliantly kooky 3CV has become a
very rare sight in the UK. The Ami 6 Berline
with its far-out, reverse-rake rear window is 12
priciest; the Ami 8 with better-resolved front
styling remains a bargain. A search for either
will inevitably lead you to the Continent. CB

14. ALFA ROMEO 75 3000-5000

Alfa Romeo had nothing left in the cupboard,
so the 75 looked even weirder than the 1970s
Giulietta on which it was based. But Alfa
gradually honed the bits you cant see, making
this the finest-handling of all its transaxle cars.
If you can find one, a late, unmolested 3.0-litre
manual is a thing of joy. GW

15. ENDURANCE RACERS 200,000-5M

Just as Group B rally cars were given new life
by the Slowly Sideways demonstration group,
so the new 90s Endurance Legends is allowing

JAGUAR HERITAGE
1990-2005 GTs and Sports Prototypes to be
driven on UK and European circuits. Think
Porsche 993 GT2 to McLaren F1 GTR. DL

13 14

15
PAUL HARMER

22
IGNITION / News

NEWS FEED THEY

New era dawns for Donington circuit; a celebration of SAID
streamlining; fuel injection for cars with SU carburettors

Donington Park bought SU launches carburettor-look Jaguar Land Rover goes on Can you check under
by MotorSport Vision fuel injection system attack over Defender defence Alecs vehicle and see
Dr Jonathan Palmers company Following Jenveys launch of a JLR has won a trademark
MotorSport Vision has added Weber DCOE-lookalike injection infringement case against Canadian if theres an oil leak?
Donington circuit whose GP system, SU brand owner Burlen company Bombardier Recreational Forensic officer on BBC1s
Silent Witness, on discovering
history goes back to the Silver Fuel Systems has announced a products, which was marketing a an oil-stained driveway, calling
Arrows of the 1930s to a similar idea to be available initially recreational off-roader badged his colleague about a suspects
portfolio that already includes in an HD8 size as fitted to Jaguar Defender. JLR is determined to Series III Land Rover. Cue mirth
from Landy-owning viewers
Brands Hatch, Snetterton, Oulton XKs. As with the original carbs, protect use of the name and the
Park and Cadwell Park. The lease is each SUi will feed at least two body shape, referring also to the
initially for 21 years and Palmer is
promising some exciting new
cylinders. The kits will include
sensors, wiring and an ECU.
Ineos company that had been
hoping to continue production
We plan a great new
events and even better value. of the original vehicle. era for Donington, with
HCS takes over well-known much enhanced quality
Jet cars to thrust their stuff at UK engineering company Group B rally cars to take to
Santa Pods Easter festival Belgium-based Historic Irelands Kerry stages of experience
Jet engines are to join pistons for Competition Services, run by Following on from 2016s Circuit Ex-F1 driver Jonathan Palmer,
announcing the acquisition
the Pods season-opening Festival Julian Messent, has acquired a Dj Vu, with period rally cars of Donington circuit by his
of Power. Entries include Martin majority stake in the UKs demonstrated on old Circuit of company MotorSport Vision.
Hills FireForce 3 and 4 Funny Cars Formhalls Vintage and Racing Ireland stages, this years Dj Vu
and his five-second FireForce 5 company. Formhalls is renowned event is centred in County Kerry
dragster, Gerd Habermanns for its white-metalling and and will feature machinery from I put the passenger
jet-powered yellow school bus from engine-building services. rallyings most spectacular era, the window down and now
Germany, and Herv Franquins Group B cars of the 1980s. Dates
Peugeot 205 jetting in from France. Test your hillclimb car are 15-16 April. it wont come back up
at Shelsley Walsh New owner of Mark Dixons
Lamborghini Espada, five
Streamlining celebrated The Worcestershire hillclimb, Dan Gurneys Eagles land minutes after taking delivery.
at the Zeppelin Museum Britains oldest live motor sports at Petersen Museum, LA
Set in Friedrichshafen, the home of venue, has a test day in its events Eleven Eagle racing cars from
the old Zeppelin companys wind calendar for the first time. The Gurneys All-American Racers Tingling testicles! is
tunnel, the museum is tracing the Open Practice Day is on Saturday stable (or Anglo-American if its
history and iconography of the 17 June, open to all classes of cars, the 1967 Weslake-engined F1 car) all Im allowed to say
streamlined form in an exhibition and gives the opportunity to hone are on display at the Petersen from after this experience
running until 17 April. It includes driving skills as well as fine-tuning 28 January. As well as the F1 racer, Motor sport broadcaster Henry
stylishly streamlined domestic your car. Runs will be timed and they include a 1968 McLeagle Hope-Frost on Twitter, after
viewing a Porsche 917 thats
objects and covers the symbolism drivers must hold an MSA licence. CanAm car, a 1993 Toyota Eagle under restoration.
of smooth shapes in a streamlined, Shelsleys monthly breakfast club GTP IMSA machine and a 1999
smoothly functioning society. meetings continue for 2017. Gurney Eagle CART racer.
It hasnt been a terrible
life I just lost out on
about a hundred million
Join Octane for our exclusive Goodwood trackdays dollars. Thats all
Fast-living Irish racing driver
A choice of two: Tuesday 2 May and Thursday 5 October Tommy Byrne in the new
must-see documentary about
his career, Crash And Burn.
Goodwood Motor Circuit is full of history. Its also one of the UKs fastest
circuits, and getting the lines right is a real thrill. Our trackdays give you the
time and space to explore your classic cars dynamics and hone your skills, as Flying off to Cape Town
part of a great social event with like-minded enthusiasts.
The days run from 8am to 5pm, and to ensure plenty of track time for all
this afternoon for a hot
were restricting them to 30 cars. EFG Private Banks support has pegged Christmas. Hope to see
MARTYN GODDARD

prices at 299 for one car and driver and 60 for an extra driver. Bacon rolls,
hot and cold refreshments and a two-course lunch in the control tower are
you after 2 January
Email from Robert Coucher to
included, and are available for spectators at 35. Book on octanetrackdaymay. Octane staff as they head into a
eventbrite.co.uk or octanetrackdayoctober.eventbrite.co.uk. Fees apply. difficult December press week...

24
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 IGNITION / News
TRINITY MIRROR / MIRRORPIX / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO
Campbell commemorated
Daughter Gina leads the tributes, precisely 50 years after
Donald Campbells ill-fated water speed record run
Words John Simister
AT 8.51AM ON 4 JANUARY 1967, Donald
Campbells attempt at setting a new world water
speed record ended in disaster as his hydroplane,
Bluebird K7, broke up. On 4 January this year,
50 years to the minute since Campbell was killed,
his daughter Gina laid flowers on Coniston Water
exactly where the accident happened.
It was the most poignant moment in a weekend
of events organised by the Speed Record Club to
mark Campbells death. Speaking at Coniston
Water, Gina Campbell said: My dad did not do
things for public display but I think he would
be delighted to see the public here today. The
enormity of what he did I just didnt grasp for a
long time. Im so pleased and proud its not just
old fogeys like me that have been inspired by
what he did. Its young people, too.
It was beyond these days of risk assessment
and Health and Safety, she added after laying a
wreath at her fathers grave. He went and did
what he did, and he did it most times with huge
success. Gina Campbell held a teddy bear, named
26
GETTY
Top and above
Donald Campbell in reflective mood before the record run;
Gina Campbell and mascot on the lake, about to lay flowers.
Mr Whoppit, which was her fathers mascot and
which was recovered from the wreckage.
Donald Campbell had already set world water
speed records in Bluebird K7, the first in 1955 at
Ullswater, two years after work began on the
steel-spaceframed, turbojet-powered craft with
its pair of front pontoons that caused Donald to
liken it to a blue lobster. That first record was set
at 202.32mph; K7 set six more up to the end of
1964, four of them on Coniston Water, the last on
Lake Dumbleyung in Australia at 276.33mph.
In 1966, K7s engine was uprated from the
3500lb static thrust original to a 4500lb Bristol
Orpheus unit from a Folland Gnat aircraft.
Campbell was aiming for 300mph and, after
solving fuel starvation problems in December
which restricted speed to 250mph, it was time in
January 1967 to go for a new record.
The first run achieved an average of 297.6mph
with a peak speed over 310mph, but a new record
would involve a return run. K7 was just 200 yards
from the end of that run when violent bouncing
and a sudden cut in engine thrust caused the nose
to lift and K7 to somersault and break up.
Work didnt begin to recover the wreckage
until 2000. Campbells body was retrieved the
following year, and buried in Coniston Cemetery.
Bill Smith located the wreck, organised its
recovery and has masterminded its restoration
on behalf of the Campbell Family Heritage Trust
and Conistons Ruskin Museum, to which Gina
Campbell donated K7. The engine, installed in
K7s hull, was tested in November.
Meanwhile, as part of the anniversary event,
Ian Lazenby ran a one-sixth scale model of K7,
itself jet-powered, on Ullswater. Ians father Ernie
began building the model in 2005 and completed
it two years later.
Double bill at Brooklands Double Twelve
June event will feature the re-opening of the Finishing Straight
Words John Simister
THE BROOKLANDS Double Twelve Motor
Sport Festival is a regular June fixture, but the
dates take on a special significance this year.
The events first day of two, 17 June, will unfold
110 years to the day since the Brooklands
circuit opened in 1907. To mark the anniversary,
Brooklands will stage a grand re-opening of the
original Finishing Straight, its uncovering close
to completion as we go to press.
The Finishing Straight has been hidden
Clockwise from top left
Test Hill Challenge promises spectacular starts; Finishing
Straight in its heyday; Wellingtons under construction.
under a Bellman hangar since 1940, when the
former aircraft manufacturing site was given
over to wartime production of the Wellington
bomber. The hangar, itself now a listed building,
has been dismantled and renovated, and it will
be re-erected to the right of the straight as seen
in the period photograph above. A layer of
hardcore was laid on the straight under the
hangars concrete base, leaving the straight
itself remarkably well reserved.
The re-opening will include a reinterpretation
of the 1907 opening parade with veteran cars,
surviving Brooklands racing machinery and
taxi-ing runs by the museums historic aircraft.
The Double Twelve itself is made up of the
Speed Trials (a timed sprint) on the adjacent
Mercedes-Benz World track, Driving Tests and
the Concours, the results aggregated over the
two days. A Test Hill Challenge, car club
displays and live music are also planned.
Well be digging deeply into Brooklands
ambitious renovation plans in the next issue of
Octane, and reporting on the work so far.

Early racing Renault lands on its feet

A pioneer US racing car is donated to the Simeone Museum

A RENAULT IN THE USA? These are not
normally words youd find in the same sentence,
unless the unlikely 1980s joint venture with AMC
is part of the conversation, but this one has been
there since its 1907 birth. It was one of the first
cars to be raced in America, and now it has a
permanent home at the Simeone Foundation
Automotive Museum in Philadelphia.
Millionaire William K Vanderbilt was one of
Americas racing pioneers. He wanted a Renault to
race following the marques victory in the carnage-
strewn 1903 Paris-to-Madrid event (curtailed in
Bordeaux) and in the first race to be called a Grand
Prix, held in 1906 on what later broadly became
the Le Mans circuit. Renault acceded to
Vanderbilts request, but only on condition that he
took 10 cars and found buyers for the other nine.
The 1906 GP winner was a monster machine in
the genre of the time, its 12,986cc distributed
between four giant, slightly oversquare cylinders.
The cars sent to the US were in similar vein, and
Vanderbilt got friends such as Guggenheim, Paine,
Whitney and Dodge to buy them. They scored
many successes, including a 24-hour endurance
race at a converted horse-racing track in New York.
The cars, overtaken by progress, gradually went
to ground, but four possibly five have survived.
This Simeone Museum example had a post-racing
life dragging a large wet canvas around a dusty
horse-racing track before a race, and was rescued
from oblivion in 1928 by Kirk Gibson, in whose
family it has stayed until now.
Gibson and his wealthy friends demonstrated
the Renault during the 1930s along with other
early racing cars, and later it passed to Kirk Gibson
Junior. Now he and his family have donated it to
Top and above
the Simeone Museum, where it is on display with The 1907 Renault racer stayed with two generations of
other pre-World War One racing machinery. Gibsons; its now part of the Simeone Museum collection.

27
IGNITION / News
Pete Chapouris 1940-2017
He resurrected the So-Cal Speed Shop and built some
of the most influential hot rods of the post-war era
Words Tony Thacker
CHAPOURIS GOT HIS start in hot rodding
because his dad worked for Edison, installing
power lines between Los Angeles and Boulder
Dam. Dad earned good money and could afford
to fix up his cars. His first hot rod was a Model A,
as would be his sons.
Pete Chapouriss break into the industry came
through his old friend Gray Baskerville at Hot
Rod magazine. Gray introduced Pete to Jim Jake
Jacobs, as they were both bucking the resto-rod
style that was popular at the time dammit, they
were chopping the tops. Gray put Jakes Coupe
and what became The California Kid on the cover
of the November 1973 issue of Rod & Custom.
Suddenly, Pete and Jake were in business. They
got a call from Batman producer Howie Horowitz
looking for a car for his TV movie called, yes, The
California Kid. The show put The California Kid in
households all across America, initiating Cal Kid
clones around the world.
Hot rod trends seem to shift every 10 years or
so. A decade after The California Kid, Pete and
Jake launched the Fat Attack with Petes purple-
flamed 39 Ford convertible. Hot rodding a so-
called fat-fendered car was nothing new, but
28
Chapouriss marketing strategy once again
jump-started the industry.
In 1986, the Pete & Jakes operation was sold
and Chapouris moved to the Specialty Equipment
Market Association (SEMA) as vice-president of
marketing. He brought personality and pizzazz;
more importantly, he brought passion for hot
rods of all kinds. He helped initiate programmes
that are still in place today, and was inducted into
the SEMA Hall of Fame in 1999.
From SEMA it was up the hill to Crestline,
California, where he overbuilt the neighbourhood
with a huge shop which turned out numerous
significant hot rods including Limefire, the
Pierson Brothers Coupe, the Doane Spencer
Roadster, HogZZillas for Billy F Gibbons of ZZ
Top and, fortuitously, the So-Cal Belly Tank
Lakester for Bruce Meyer.
Being so far removed from the action didnt
work for Pete, so in 1995 he moved back to LA
and opened a new shop, PC3g, in Pomona. It was
a struggle, and Pete didnt know what to do. Then,
one night, he had an epiphany: resurrect the
So-Cal Speed Shop. He made the call to So-Cal
founder Alex Xydias, who had been canny enough
Left and below
Chapouris in the Pete & Jakes
days; with Alex Xydias and the
re-born SO-CAL operations
Roadsters, finished in the shops
famous scalloped paint scheme.
RANDY LORENTZEN
to protect the name since closing shop in 1963.
In November 1997, SO-CAL (now in capitals)
was back in business. Talk about right time, right
place: the hobby was tiring of Boyd Coddingtons
smooth look, and Petes New Traditionalist
approach became the next big thing.
Surrounded by his old cohorts, Pete and
SO-CAL turned out some amazing cars: the Bob
McGee Roadster, Kopperhed for Gibbons, the
Duffy Livingston Eliminator and the iconic red-
and-white scalloped SO-CAL Roadster. It would
be cloned around the world, just like The Kid.
Petes innate skill at being in the right place and
doing the right thing garnered lots of attention.
The first big job was a Bonneville ZT-T wagon for
MG Rover. It didnt set a record but ran 225mph
and returned SO-CAL to its lakes racing roots.
Such a fine guy, with a great eye for line, form and
detail, said MG Rover (and McLaren F1)
designer Peter Stevens of Chapouris.
One of Petes proudest moments came when
he worked with Mark Reuss and Al Oppenheiser
on the GM Bonneville programme, particularly
when they wanted all the cars in SO-CAL colours.
Regardless of all the project cars, though, Petes
enduring mission was to help young people
discover their talents. So in 2010 he co-created
the Alex Xydias Center for Automotive Arts
(AXC) at Fairplex, Pomona.
AXCs goal is to help high-school students
prepare for a career in the automotive industry.
Former SO-CAL shop manager Shane Weckerly
says it best: He took all the young guys under his
wing, and guided them towards greatness.
THE MOST BEAUTIFUL MOTOr CArS IN THE WOrLD

Illustrated 1959 BMW 507 SerieS ii roadSter with hardtop

CLieNt PortFoLio
1953 Ferrari 250 Mille Miglia Berlinetta l 1965 Lamborghini 350GT l 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4
1968 Lamborghini Miura P400 S (6,380km) l 1969 Lamborghini Miura P400 S (original RHD)
1988 Porsche 959 Komfort l 1989 Aston Martin V8 Vantage X Pack (ex-Geneva Motor Show)
1990 Lamborghini Countach 25th Anniversary (6,500km) l 1994 Lamborghini Diablo SE30 (ex-Paris Motor Show, 6,513km)
Please note that to respect client confidentiality not all motor cars available may be shown

FoLLoW SIMON SAYS at KidStoN.CoM aNd K500.CoM

KidStoN S.a. 7 aveNue PiCtet de roCheMoNt, 1207 GeNeva, SWitzerLaNd teL+41 22 740 1939, Fax+41 22 740 1945 WWW.KidStoN.CoM
IGNITION / News
Dont write off books yet
Reports of the death of motoring books may have been exaggerated
Words and photography Martin Gurdon
DO MOTORING BOOKS have a future? Print
media has massively retrenched in the face of
online content and the web has eaten into TV
and music sales, but vinyl records overtook
downloads in December. Could automotive
books enjoy a similar Indian summer?
I think the bleaker days are behind us, says
Mark Hughes, freelance motoring book publisher
and former Haynes editorial director. It was
difficult for about five years after the 2008 crash.
We were getting hit by the internet, and high
street bookshops pulled out of car books because
they were under the cosh from Amazon, and the
books were so niche.
He thinks some formats, such as reference
works and book of the car generic titles, are
dead in the water but that high-end specialist
titles have a future, in part because they are often
beautiful objects. There are still specialist
publishers who produce lavish titles with lots of
pages and good content, says Hughes, adding that
the internet makes telling clients about them
easier. He singles out motor sport autobiographies
and near-bespoke single-marque or model
histories as examples, saying these are often
produced by little enterprises, publishing books
for people who still love them.
Christian Whitehead (above) is Foyles
bookshops transport book buyer. He says that
car book publishing sometimes suffers an
overlapping of genres and repetition, with endless
titles on E-types, Ferraris and VW Beetles.
30
It looks as though the coffee table-sized
photographic histories are here to stay, but only if
done to a high standard. Thats where the market
is changing; you get what you pay for, he adds.
Porter Press International, a long-established,
bigger niche car publisher offering factual titles
and biographies (Sir Stirling Moss was a recent
subject), has embraced some of these trends.
Its a tough old game, agrees founder Philip
Porter. You can publish books on Porsche,
Ferrari and ERA, and the ERA book will fly off
the shelves because there arent many others.
He once asked someone at publishing giant
Simon & Schuster if its success rate was about
one in five. They said one in ten to one in 20.
One of Porters endeavours is biographies of
individual cars, often paid for by owners and sold
in limited numbers. This allows them to be
funded and produced as he would like, keeps
skilled writers, editors and designers busy, and
results in potentially definitive works.
As for eBooks, Foyles Christian Whitehead
thinks theyve come and gone but he reckons
car-themed examples havent reached their
potential. Having quality sound clips and video
would be a tremendous step forward, he explains.
Marque histories are still as important today
as they were. Publishers just need to make sure
theyre investing in new areas of interest.
The consensus seems to be that, like LPs, car
books may have a smaller, more niche market,
but its one that is more than avoiding extinction.
AUTOMOBILIA
Allards Monte winner
Lets be absolutely clear: any resemblance
between this cheaply made, 5in-long toy car
and the real-life Allard P1 is more down to luck
than judgment.
With its grinning driver and passenger
depicted in the crudest possible 3D through
imaginary windscreen and side windows, its
certainly charming, and there are speed-
suggestive whooshes of air around the
wheelarches. The only design sophistication is
a separate tinplate grille and headlights, held
in place by the crimping method which
secures the one-piece stamped body to the
baseplate with its rattly, hollow tin wheels.
Dont get me wrong, I love its naivety. It was
made by GTP, Glamorgan Toy Products. The
company, founded by Jacob Beatus in 1935
and vanished by 1953 (although his packaging
business survives to this day), made simple
tinplate toys that were mostly sold by
Woolworths. The plant was on the Treforest
Industrial Estate in Glamorgan, South Wales.
GTP made several variations on this generic
saloon police car, taxi, re chiefs car,
chauffeur-driven limo and basically they
were just different sheets of printed tinplate
stamped out from the same press. But the
No 533 Rally Car here caused the most
interest, being from the period, 1950-53, when
Sydney Allard was in the unique position of
campaigning a car bearing his own name in
the annual Monte Carlo Rally.
Allard started in 1949 and put in some
spectacular drives until, in 1952, he achieved
the near-impossible and won the event outright
in a P1 saloon. It was one of the coldest,
snowiest, iciest and darkest Montes ever, but
the combination of Sydneys driving precision
and Tom Lushs navigation brought victory.
Allards wife was encountered in a ditch en
route after her own P1 had crashed out; once
they had checked that she was alright, they
simply pressed on!
GTP quickly capitalised on the success,
emblazoning MONTE CARLO RALLY on the
roofs of freshly minted No 533s before they
were dispatched to eager young customers.
As Sydneys win was the rst for Britain since
Donald Healey with his Invicta in 1931, its
rather surprising how little is known about his
epic victory. Thats all down to the course of
history and, as Harold Macmillan reputedly
said, events, dear boy, events.
At almost the exact moment that Sydney
Allard arrived back at Dover, King George VI
passed away, and the mass mourning meant
a deserved and proper heros welcome for
Allard never happened. Giles Chapman
 Carnet de Passages en Douane
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IGNITION / News

If it moves, insure it
UK Government is forced to take action after EU court ruling
Words John Simister

DOES IT MAKE sense for your restoration project,

notified as off-the-road with a SORN declaration
because its in pieces, to require accident insurance?
What if the only way it can be insured is by being
roadworthy and MoT tested, so by being in pieces YOUR QUOTE
its illegal? Thats one of the paradoxes posed by
the Governments review of motor insurance. Theres
a public consultation via an online questionnaire on
Select your veh
RIDE-ON LAW
icle
NMOWER Brian Laban
1948-2016
SEGWAY
DODGEM CAR
the whole business, closing at the end of March. FAIRGROUND
MOBILITY SCO
OTER

Whats going on? In 2007, a Mr Vnuk, a Slovenian FORKLIFT TRU

GOLF BUGGY
CK

farm worker, was knocked off his ladder by a tractors
trailer. He claimed compensation but the problem
was that the accident happened on private land, use
on which the tractors insurance didnt cover.
Mr Vnuk lost his claim twice in the Slovenian
appeals court, but that court then went to the
European Court of Justice which in 2014 ruled in
Mr Vnuks favour. This is why the EU including the
UK, currently is obliged to re-think the areas that
motor insurance covers.
The points at issue are: (1) requiring vehicles to be
insured to cover use on private land to which the
public has access; (2) requiring insurance even if the
public doesnt have access; (3) expanding the
definition of what constitutes a motor vehicle, which
may be far beyond what currently bears a registration
number; (4) deciding whether what is nominally a
motor vehicle is functionally one at a given time, and
capable of being used for its intended purpose, which
a SORN vehicle may well not be.
Theres a minefield of ramifications from this.
Vehicles used in motor sport might need wider-
ranging insurance than they currently have, if indeed
they have any at all. Would the burden fall on the
vehicle driver, the owner or the event organiser?
Vehicles caught in the new net could include ride-on
lawnmowers, Segways, fairground dodgem cars,
mobility scooters, forklift trucks, golf buggies,
electrically assisted bicycles and more. There could
even be a case for including human-powered bicycles,
if the thinking is taken to its logical conclusion.
Would there need to be registry of all such vehicles?
CLE
-ASSISTED BICY
ELECTRICALLY Reporting the passing of a well-known
Intended place
of use motoring figure is a necessary hazard
ACCESS
D WITH PUBLIC in this job, but its especially hard when
PRIVATE LAN
PRIVATE LAN
D WITHOUT PUB
LIC ACCESS
its one of your own. Brian Laban, who
PUBLIC ROAD
OTHER PUBLIC
PLACES
succumbed to cancer just after
Christmas at the age of 68, was truly
the informed motoring and motor sport
journalists informed motoring and
Would a dodgem car need a number plate? The motor sport journalist. He seemed to
consultation sets out two approaches. know everyone and had anecdotes
The comprehensive option, as favoured by the about them all, always told with his
EU, all-embracingly requires that all vehicles being straightforward Yorkshire humour,
used in a way consistent with the vehicles normal bullshit monitor on full alert.
Brians output was prodigious,
function and purpose would be required to have with over 40 books to his name, all
third-party insurance (not necessarily comprehensive, produced while writing or editing for
in the way normally understood for insurance), even magazines, newspapers, websites or
if used only on private land. Whether that includes anyone else. He started on this road in
1973, as the British Automobile Racing
exercising or testing your SORN vehicle is as yet
Clubs press officer, and seemingly
unclear, but use does suggest a functional vehicle. never paused for breath. He thrived on
The UK will have to adopt this approach while it crises, always forging ahead with the
remains in the EU, if the EU so dictates, but the detail next thing and never looking back,
is up for discussion. always panicking about having too
much to do while actually getting nearly
The amended directive option, favoured by the all of it done, apart from getting on top
Government, would still require insurance for a wider of his collection of old motor cars.
range of vehicles than now to be insured when used In recent times this consisted of an
on private land with public access, but otherwise MG TB, a Triumph Dolomite Sprint,
a race-spec Jaguar S-type and the first
leaves things closer to how they are now. The EUs
right-hand-drive, five-speed Golf GTI,
new insurance directive, yet to be enacted, would be but there may well have been others.
amended after Brexit. Either way, premiums will rise, This writer last saw him, and shared a
there will be more forms to complete, more claims car with him on a press launch, in late
will be made, people will be more worried about 2014. Brian looked exactly as he had
done 25 years earlier; he never allowed
using historic vehicles in ambiguous circumstances, himself the time to acknowledge the
and life will get a little more complicated. Find the passing years. Well miss him.
questionnaire on www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/4CWY6/. John Simister

WHY WE LOVE ahead and social progress unstoppable. New Roads

Ranks Look at Life films
It was a gentler world in 1959, when the Rank
Organisation (symbol: man hitting a giant gong)
began its 10-year series of mini-documentaries on,
well, life. They were shown in cinemas before the
main event, and several had a motoring theme.
The tone was one of wonderment and assumptive
optimism, with music to match. The past was
rubbish, with war still a powerful memory for many;
the future was bright, with new technology rushing
For Old shows urban motorways cutting through the
clutter, towering over the rooftops of dilapidated
terraces whose roads lead nowhere, now that the
more important fast traffic has free rein. Transport
Minister Ernest Marples features a lot.
Then theres Down In The Dumps on scrapyards
and the scourge of abandoned wrecks, featuring
a very sound-looking 1930s Dodge (left) entering
the new-fangled crusher. What Price Safety?
introduces seatbelts and has a Rover P6, an E-type
and a DB4 being ragged mercilessly around the
MIRA test track. Its compelling stuff. And,
thankfully, theyre all on YouTube. John Simister

32
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IGNITION / News
Londons classic show is go
Covetable cars and historic racers set to excel at ExCel
Words John Simister
BETWEEN 23 AND 26 February, and separated
only by a wide corridor, two shows covered by
one entry ticket will draw car enthusiasts to
Londons ExCel exhibition centre. The third
London Classic Car Show will celebrate 70 years
of Ferrari, see 60 classics in action on the Grand
Avenue that runs up the halls middle, feature a
pop-up Beaulieu Autojumble and, on the
Thursday evening, host a gala evening on stage
with Jacky Ickx as the guest of honour.
Some of Ickxs past racing cars will form a
major display, and Ickx himself will open the
Historic Motorsport International Show. Here,
exhibitors include event organisers and race
Tables turned on villain
Classic dealer Graeme Hunt foils robbery at Kensington showroom
A THIEF slipped into Graeme Hunts Radley
Mews showroom on 1 December and tried to
make off with a valuable Transcriptors Hydraulic
Reference turntable. Hunt and his colleague gave
chase and pinned the culprit to the cobbles for 20
minutes before the police arrived.
While Hunt was giving a statement a brain
haemorrhage struck, leading to a nine-hour
operation by leading neurosurgeon Mr Nair on
14 December. Octane is delighted to report the
operation was a success and Graeme is recovering
well. We look forward to his No 1 buzz cut growing
back to his usual, more luxurious bouffant.
Meanwhile, business continues at the Mews.
34
series promoters plus famous Historic motor
sport manufacturers and suppliers. Octane has a
stand in each show, shared with sister magazine
Evo in the London Classic Car Show hall, jointly
featuring concept cars past and present such as
Peugeots sleek Oxia supercar from 1988.
Classic car dealers and clubs will abound, but
the centrepiece is the Grand Avenues Perfect 10:
ten categories of body style, from single-seaters
and streamliners to shooting brakes and saloons,
each represented by six examples including some
competition cars. Broadcaster Henry Hope-Frost
will host talks and a Q&A, covering Historic
motor sport and the classic car industry.
PAUL HARMER
HOW TO...
Get on the cam
Mild, hairy, fast road, rally, peaky, full
race many are the adjectives applied to
camshafts, depending on what they do to
an engines demeanour. The history of
sporting cars is full of camshaft lore: BMC
Special Tunings 631 or 749 cams for hot
Minis, a Cosworth A2 in a souped-up
Ford, Isky cams in US hot rods.
Underpinning all camshaft designs, though,
are some undeniable truths.
More overlap the period when exhaust
and inlet valves are both open tends to
boost high-revs power at the expense of
low-down vigour. More valve lift makes
everything better everywhere provided the
ports and valves are big enough. More
duration the length of time a valve is open
allows more intake air in and gives a
bigger chance for the exhaust to escape.
Up to a point, anyway; the valves have to
be shut some of the time, otherwise the
mixture will never be compressed and
therell be nothing for the burning gases to
work against when theyre forcing the
piston down. That time can be short in a
really revvy racing engine, which is why
Cosworths Keith Duckworth dubbed his
early Ford Formula Junior camshaft the
Windmill cam after the famous theatre.
As in: We never close.
So its all a compromise, slanted to suit
the purpose. Knowledge changes, so do
fashions, so do legislative requirements for
emissions and suchlike, so do fuels. It was
usual in past times for camshafts to be
symmetrical in their inlet and exhaust
events, but clever people have found new
ways of getting more out of old engines by
opening minds, shunning needless
convention and observing what designers
of modern engines sometimes do.
Ken Newman, of long-established
camshaft creator Newman Cams (set up
by father David in 1967), describes the
thinking. Therell be a shorter duration on
the inlet valve than the exhaust valve, but
more lift, he explains. Thats actually the
reverse of some very early engines, which
tended to have a mild inlet lobe and a big
exhaust one. Helpfully, more-volatile
modern fuels make for a better tickover
with hotter camshafts, and mapped
ignition or full engine management can
make a tuned engine surprisingly tractable.
Camshaft design is highly complicated
and calls for much mathematics. Or you
can just rely on experience: Its still a bit of
a black art, says Ken. Which, in this digital
age, is strangely comforting. John Simister
1965 Dino 206 P Berlinette Speciale #0840

Online catalogue
RETROMOBILE 2017
THE OFFICIAL SALE
Auction Contact:
Retromobile +33 (0)1 42 99 20 73
Paris - France motorcars@artcurial.com

Friday 10 February 2017 artcurial.com/motorcars

IGNITION / News
MAN & MACHINE
Keeping it cleverly simple
Ewen Getleys Bentley 3/4 Litre
Words and photography Paul Hardiman
EWEN GETLEY learned to drive in this car,
aged 13, in fields. When he was 18 his dad,
whod bought it in 1956 as collegiate transport
before he went up to Cambridge, handed it
over to him. Now, after a career in engineering,
Getley owns and runs Kingsbury Racing Shop
at Bicester Heritage, exploiting the subtleties of
tuning vintage Bentleys accumulated during a
lifetime of tinkering with this car. The art of
understanding the four-cylinder Bentley is:
keep it simple, but do it well.
This is a 1924 3-Litre Red Label, which has
Brooklands history it won a Junior Car Club
race there in June 1933. Its now on a 9ft-
wheelbase chassis, same as a Super Sports, and
it became a 4 Litre or a 3/4 as Bentley
circles term it in 1986. Its about as original as
Old No 1!, Getley jokes.
Thing is, it remains matching numbers
because the Bentley wears its engine number
on one of the bearers cast into the crankcase: to
make a 3 Litre into a 4 you change the block,
which includes the head and valve gear.
Such cross-pollination makes for the
sweetest strain of Cricklewood Bentley, and
this one is quick, probably the quickest one
racing. It delivers a conservative 220bhp (at
4500rpm) and weighs just 1050kg, giving it a
power-to-weight ratio about the same as a 911
2.7 RS Tourings. Getting the weight out of
them is the thing, and making them handle,
says its creator. Theres nothing radically
different about the engine. Its about optimising
whats already there, because what you start
with is pretty good. Compression has been just
36
about doubled to 9.5:1, and it runs 2in SUs to
improve the top end, but is back on Bosch
magnetos. 9.5:1 is as much as I can get before
hitting the valves, says Ewen. Of which there
are four per cylinder, opened by an overhead
camshaft which, remarkably, remains standard.
Flowbench work shows very good breathing
through the engine a consequence of the
work WO did on aircraft engines during WW1
and its dead reliable, according to Ewen.
It pulls 4200rpm in top gear, which equals
about 120mph on Dunlop Racers, though the
Blockleys that Ewen runs on the road would
probably confer a few more mph as theyre
taller, giving a larger rolling diameter.
Its beautifully neutral when you go in too
fast it just slides sideways and scrubs off speed
and the chassis is a bit nervous, but quick to
catch. It has been the quickest vintage sports
car both in the dry and the wet at VSCC sprints
and hillclimbs, and won the Lycett Trophy for
all-round performance in a single car. But its
versatile, he adds, pointing to a picture on the
wall of it ascending Drumhouse on the VSCC
Lakeland Trial. And you can still take three
friends to the pub or the family on holiday: can
there be a better vintage car?
Development continues as Ewen uses it as a
mobile test-bed for new parts produced by
Kingsbury, named after the works in north
London which became Bentleys original racing
shop, but he is determined to avoid the popular
option of a non-standard 5.3-litre engine block.
I want it to be the first 4 to 300bhp and
were well on the way.
Mopar celebrates 80th
The worlds oldest manufacturer-owned
aftermarket parts brand is 80 years old this
year. But Mopar means more than just an
oil filter or a fanbelt. Its also enthusiast
shorthand for any car, particularly a quick
one, produced by the US end of the
Chrysler Corporation and wearing
Chrysler, Plymouth or Dodge badges.
Nowadays Chrysler is merged with Fiat,
which means that Europes Fiats are
serviced with Mopar-branded parts. Back
in the Mopar musclecar heyday, Detroit
wouldnt have seen that coming
MOPAR ANTIFREEZE
The rst manifestation of the Mopar (MOtor
PARts) brand in 1937 was on cans of
antifreeze. Lasts all winter was the promise.
DON GARLITS
The Big Daddy, one of the biggest names in
drag racing, took to Chrysler Hemi power in
1956 and has stayed with Mopar ever since.
He stopped racing in 1970 but has since
promoted the Mopar Drag Pak Dodge
Challenger: 0-145mph in 9.4 seconds.
THE FIRST EUROPEAN CONNECTION
Chrysler UK (ex-Rootes Group) and Chrysler
France (ex-Simca) were served by Mopar-
branded spares. They became Motaquip
when Peugeot bought Chrysler Europe.
CRATE HEMI
Today you can buy a brand new old-style
Hemi engine from the Mopar Pro Shop, ready
to t, in a variety of favourite sizes from 426ci
upwards. Prices currently start at $16,950 for
a 1960s-style Generation Two unit.
IGNITION / Events

LEFT-HAND PAGE: AMY SHORE. RIGHT-HAND PAGE, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: PETER McFADYEN; STUART GALLAGHER; CHARLIE WOODING; JEFF BLOXHAM
SUNDAY SCRAMBLE,
BICESTER HERITAGE, UK. 8 JANUARY
Rain didnt stop play at the former RAF
bases popular bring a classic meeting.

38
 in association with

VSCC WINTER
DRIVING TESTS, BICESTER
HERITAGE, UK. 2 JANUARY
Guy Woodlie-Thomas smokes
away in his Humber 8/18 Tourer.
DETROIT AUTO SHOW,
USA. 8 22 JANUARY
Black magic: Dodges Shakedown Challenger
marries 1971 shell with modern drivetrain.

THE MONTH
IN PICTURES
AUTOSPORT Enthusiasts scramble to Bicester Heritage;
INTERNATIONAL,
BIRMINGHAM, UK.
50 years of the DFV engine at Autosport
12 15 JANUARY International; vintage crews go competing
Amazing! A full grid of 49s,
courtesy of Classic Team Lotus.

HSTA MONTY PETERS TRIAL,

KENT, UK. 10 DECEMBER
Frank Lyons shows the eects of
the g-force generated by his 1172cc
Cannon trials car as it achieves li -o.

39
IGNITION / Events
100 Years BMW
Autoworld, Brussels, Belgium
16 December 2016 8 January 2017
Photography Dirk de Jager
A DISPLAY OF around 50 cars and
motorbikes at Belgiums premier motor
museum rounded off BMWs centennial year.
The vehicles were garnered from BMW in
Munich as well as from international collectors,
and covered every era of the marques 100-year
history, with significant models from the pre-
war 328 racer to todays i8 hybrid sports car.
Representing BMWs 17 Art Cars was the
1989 E30 M3 painted in bright colours by
Australian Ken Done and inspired by his love
for his native countrys landscape and animals.
Of the car he once said: I have painted parrots
and parrot fish. Both are beautiful and able to
40
in association with
move at fantastic speeds. I wanted my BMW
Art Car to express the same qualities.
Competition cars included the 1800 TiSA,
2002tii, 3.0 CSL and the 2016 Spa 24 Hours
M6 GT3. As well as the full-size cars and bikes,
a collection of 200 scale models told the tale of
BMWs success in motor sport. The iconic
M-cars warranted a special display, including
an M1, M535i and E30 M3.
Clockwise from top right
BMW icons on display at Autoworld included
R66 bike; 507 and Glas 1600 GT (behind);
Art Car by Ken Done; 328 in front of 2002s
and 3-series; and Isetta 300 and 600.
 TO
AN E
TR RE
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EN F

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The worlds most iconic

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Octane & EVOs Concept Cars Quentin Willsons Smart Buys
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Six-time Le Mans winner Jacky Ickx joins

us for our Gala Evening celebrations and
receives our 2017 Icon Award
IGNITION / Events
William Medcalf open morning
West Sussex, UK 7 January
Words David Lillywhite Photography Tony Large
SOMETIMES ITS the most innocuous
events that provide the greatest thrills. One
week into 2017, William Medcalf Vintage
Bentley launched the first of its new open
showroom mornings at the company HQ in
Hill Brow, West Sussex. To mark the occasion,
customers and Octane readers were invited
along and the result was a wonderful gathering
of a wide and wild variety of classics.
A team of marshals was needed to direct
visitors around the overflowing car parks, with
pre-war machinery allowed pride of place next
to the showroom, post-war classics next door,
and moderns tucked away round the back of
the neighbouring industrial estate.
A trail of oil led to the heavily campaigned
Itala of David and Karen Ayre, the oldest of all
the cars present. London dealer Gregor Fisken
turned up with wife and kids packed into their
lovely 4 Litre Maythorn Saloon, the last in a
line-up of ten pre-war cars that also included
a tiny (especially noticeable in this company of
behemoths) T-series MG and a fascinating
James Young-bodied Bentley 4 Sedanca
Coup with parallel-opening doors.
42
From top
Inside the showroom; the Royal Automobile Club brought
its mobile catering unit; Louise Cartledges patinated 3 Litre.
in association with
The next car park was less spectacular but
just as eclectic in content. A rorty-sounding
MGB GT, a Riley Special, a Minor Tourer just
restored as part of a wedding hire business,
several Morgan three-wheelers, a Mk1 Cortina,
an XK150, a Defender, Bentleys Mulsanne and
Arnage You get the idea. As for the packed
moderns car park, there was amusement when
someone called out Does anyone here have a
Continental GT? and several hands went up.
The big draw of the morning, though, was
the chance to see behind the scenes at the
Medcalf facility. Nothing was out of bounds,
including the restoration areas, the engine
shop, the stores and the new mezzanine, where
the recently discovered 1928 Le Mans Bentley
chassis nestles alongside the Medcalf family
Minor van and Williams racing Mini.
The company holds 1100 lines of stock
for vintage Bentleys. Complete gasket sets?
No problem. New, stronger differential and
halfshafts? Yes perfect for rallying, which
tends to destroy the standard items.
With all this over, William put out an
attention paddock notice over the PA for
everyone to return to their cars for a convoy to
Brooklands, to view the newly revealed start-
finish straight (see page 27).
Wish you hadnt missed out? The Medcalf
open showroom mornings will take place every
Saturday, from 9am to noon.
IGNITION / Events Diary
COMING UP
A selection of highlights to make the
bleak midwinter seem a little less so
Three Legs of Man, 16-18 March
Image: HERO
3-5 February
Bremen Classic Motor Show
Switching places on the calendar
with Rtromobile this year, the
German show is an inclusive affair,
with all eras and most marques
represented by 650-odd exhibitors.
Special displays this time will
celebrate Zndapp and Karmann.
classicmotorshow.de
8-12 February
Rtromobile
The Porte de Versailles Exhibition
Centre in Paris is filled with top-
notch classic cars, but theres room
for plenty of quirky fare, too; tank
enthusiasts are always catered for
here! Among the key displays at
the 2017 show will be a tribute to
Group B rallying, featuring Audi
Quattros, Lancia 037s, Peugeot
205 T16s and many more mad
machines besides.
retromobile.com
17-19 February
21 Gun Salute
At once a vintage car gathering
and a cultural tour of New Delhi,
21 Gun Salute sees Indias capital
welcome a quality field of cars to
the Red Fort in the centre of the
city for a concours, before they
motor past other historic sites such
Amelia Island Vintage Gran Prix, 16-19 March
Image: SVRA
44
as the Akshardham Temple towards
the Buddh International Circuit.
21gunsaluterally.com
23-26 February
London Classic Car Show
and Historic Motorsport
International
Following the success of last years
inaugural London Classic Car Show
at the ExCeL, the organisers have
announced that the 2017 Show will
be complemented by a motor sport
showcase; entry to both events is
covered by a single ticket. Among
the attractions is a display dedicated
to Cosworths brilliant DFV engine,
which turns 50 this year.
thelondonclassiccarshow.co.uk
24-26 February
Race Retro
The winters traditional historic
motor show will feature an
even noisier Live Rally Stage than
usual, as Group B cars tear around
Stoneleigh Park in Warwickshire.
Inside the venue visitors will enjoy
displays, auction action and live
interviews with racing stars.
raceretro.com
24-26 February
ClassicAuto Madrid
First held in 2010, ClassicAuto has
grown from a purely commercial
event into a bustling show as
The Flying Scotsman, 31 March 2 April. Image: Gerard Brown
Goodwood Members Meeting, 18-19 March. Image: Goodwood
popular with enthusiasts as it
is with the trade; in fact it is
now one of the more important
dates on the calendar for the
many Spanish car clubs.
classicautomadrid.com
2-4 March
WinteRace
A field of 80 pre-1977 cars in six
classes, a 400km route through the
Dolomites and some of Europes
most jaw-droppingly beautiful
mountain scenery, and snow,
snow and more snow.
winterace.it
3-5 March
Antwerp Classic Salon
More than 350 exhibitors from
14 countries are set to attend the
40th Classic Salon, which will
boast a goldmine of parts and
collectables in addition to displays
from clubs, dealers and museums.
siha.de
10-12 March
Amelia Island Concours
dElegance
The winner of the 2016 IHMA
prize for Motoring Event of the Year
will doubtless put on a first-class
show again in 2017, welcoming
some of the best cars in the world
to sun-soaked Florida. Al Unser Sr
has been confirmed as the guest
of honour, and special classes will
include Movie Cars, set to feature
the likes of the Goldfinger Aston
Martin DB5 and Steve McQueens
Porsche 917K from Le Mans.
ameliaconcours.org
16-18 March
Three Legs of Man
Nowhere are classics given a
warmer welcome than on the
Isle of Man, and in mid-March
the motor sport paradise hosts
this two-day, three-leg event
featuring more than 20 tests
and some 15 regularity sections.
heroevents.eu
16-19 March
Amelia Island Vintage Gran Prix
Hot on the heels of the Amelia
Island Concours comes this SVRA-
organised meeting, which should
draw big crowds in its second year.
Fernandina Beach Airport hosts the
action and, if the 2016 list of entries
is anything to go by, there should be
some interesting rarities on show.
svra.com
17-19 March
Phillip Island Classic
The largest Historic meeting in the
Southern Hemisphere, held on
Phillip Island just off Melbourne,
attracts cars from Australia and
New Zealand and much further
afield, too. Grids are organised by
the Victorian Historic Road Racing
Register and cater for Touring Cars,
various single-seaters, sports racers
and pre-war machinery, too.
vhrr.com
18-19 March
Goodwood Members Meeting
Three years on from the revival of
the Members Meeting, we suspect
you know the drill: world-class
Historic racing cars tangle on
Goodwood Circuit in front of
a deliberately limited number
spectators. (No need to sharpen
your elbows to ensure a good
view here.) Were pleased by the
return of the SF Edge Trophy for
spiritedly driven and indecently
quick Edwardian specials, and
a dedicated grid has been added
for Lister sports-racers to honour
the Knobbly (60 this year) and
the late Archie Scott Brown, Lister
pilot extraordinaire.
goodwood.com
19 March
Pioneer Run
As it has done pretty much every
year since 1930, The Sunbeam
Motor Cycle Club will corral almost
400 pre-1915 bikes, tricycles and
Classic Car & Restoration Show, 31 March
2 April. Image: Classic Car & Restoration Show
WinteRace, 2-4 March. Image: Porsche
CLASSIC + MODERN CAR CLASSIC + MODERN BIKE
MULTI VEHICLE COLLECTORS KIT CAR CLASSIC MOTOR TRADE
COMPETITION CAR MOTORSPORT SUPPORT VEHICLE
Pioneer Run, 19 March
Image: David Southcott
sidecars in the Epsom Downs,
before releasing them for a 47-mile
trundle down to Madeira Drive in
Brighton. No other event offers
spectators the chance to see so
many early machines in one place,
so its well worth dragging yourself
out of bed to see the riders off.
The first is flagged away at 08:00.
sunbeam-mcc.co.uk
31 March 2 April
The Flying Scotsman
From the starting point of Slaley
Hall in Northumberland, cars
as early as a 1907 Itala 40 and as
late as a 1948 MG TC will wind
their way along spectacular and
frequently empty roads towards
Gleneagles. Overnight halts at
Edinburgh and Aviemore will
give crews a chance to recharge At FJ we understand every classic vehicle owner is dierent.
their batteries; the hospitality is With FJ+ you can add to your policy from a range of cover
always as good as the driving.
endurorally.com options* including breakdown, agreed value, salvage
retention and spare parts.
31 March 2 April
Classic Car & Restoration Show Call our friendly UK team for a quote.
Birminghams NEC is again the
venue for this spring extravaganza,
which offers displays of pristine
0333 207 6047
restorations and untouched barn or visit: footmanjames.co.uk
finds, an auction, expert advice, and
a trade village packed with parts.
necrestorationshow.com
PROUD PARTNERS OF:
*All cover is subject to insurers terms and conditions, which is available upon request.
Footman James is a trading name of Towergate Underwriting Group Limited. Registered in England
No. 4043759. Registered Address: Towergate House, Eclipse Park, Sittingbourne Road, Maidstone,
Kent ME14 3EN. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Telephone calls may
be monitored or recorded. Sign up to our newsletter at footmanjames.co.uk to receive updates on
all the latest news, events, offers and competitions.FP ADGE674.9.16
45
IGNITION / New Cars
Ring master
So confident is Mercedes-AMG of the GT Rs abilities
at a certain track, it named the paint colour after it
Words Kyle Fortune
SAND-BAGGING. Thats what the people at
AMG did when I last experienced the AMG
GT R. I was at the Nrburgring, in the
passenger seat with AMG racer and GT R
development driver Thomas Jger driving me
around. Afterwards I was quietly pulled to one
side and asked if Id timed the lap. No, was my
short answer. Not for want of trying, but Jgers
ferocity behind the wheel left me unable to do
so. It felt quick, though. Very, very quick. Seven
minutes 20 seconds is around the time we
expect, said the PR man from AMG.
I had been used. Fast-forward a couple of
months and it has managed ten seconds less
than that, AMGs rival to the 911 GT3 RS
monstering its most obvious foe around the
benchmark track. So its fast, but then so is the
GT S from which the R is derived.
Here theres some sophistication, lessons
learned from both its AMG GT3 racer relation
and the extensive development work much
46
of which was around the Nrburgring its
Green Hell Magno paint amusingly nods to. All
this creates a sharper, more immersive and
capable AMG. Helping achieve that is the usual
go-faster recipe of less and more, less being
weight, the GT R shedding 15kg over the GT S
via a race engineers exotic material wish-list, while the suspension retains adaptive dampers
the GT R having more carbonfibre, aluminium
and titanium than any of its relatives.
That 15kg might not sound like so much, until
you consider the mores. Obviously theres more
power, AMGs 4.0-litre biturbo V8 re-worked
to produce 577bhp and 516lb ft via revised
breathing, more charge pressure from faster-
spinning turbos, and lighter, stronger internals.
Theres active aerodynamics, an element in the
front splitter adding 2kg of mass, but generating
a more useful 40kg of downforce when its
extended. It contributes to the overall 155kg
of downforce, that number achieved despite
a reduction in drag over the standard car.
Factor in wider tracks front and rear as well
as those wings and its clear that those in the
aerodynamics department have been extremely
busy indeed. That aero work is enhanced by
rear-wheel steering, improving both agility and
stability, again to the benefit of those lap times,
with variable settings, though its now a coil-
over set-up with adjustability. Then theres the
traction control system, the GT R offering nine
yes, nine! settings, all the electronic
thresholds and controls tuned to suit the GT
Rs more focused, hardcore nature.
December means the Nrburgring is out of
the question for seat time, but Portimao in
Portugal is open for business. Bernd Schneider
is suggesting a few laps in Race mode, which
leaves the ESP on. For now. That a five-time
DTM champion is sensationally quick isnt a
surprise; what is, is that its possible to just
about keep up, despite a serious shortfall

ITS NOT THE WAY IT
GATHERS SPEED THAT
SHOCKS SO MUCH,
THOUGH. ITS WHAT
IT CAN DO WITH IT
in talent. The GT R is immediately a friendlier,
easier car to drive than its GT S relation, the
limits significantly higher, but also delivered
with greater clarity.
The responsiveness of the controls helps, the
engines keenness for revs, the automatic
transmissions deftness in selecting ratios
whether left alone or via the paddleshift, and
the sensational soundtrack from the blaring
titanium exhaust thats been added to it,
bringing a racers edge, and wicked pace.
Its not the way it gathers speed that shocks
so much, though. Its what it can do with it. At
the end of the main straight a brief glance at the
speedometer reveals 165mph. Standing on the
optional, but must-have, carbon ceramic brakes
sees the GT R scrub off its speed with a
physicality thats incredible for a road car. Too
much braking for the first couple of laps, the
fast right-hander that follows can be taken
faster, the combination of the sharper turn-in
response, the greater stability and the sheer grip
it generates allowing it to do so. Reach and
breach its high limits and itll move around, but
the way the GT R communicates whats going
on means that, unlike its GT S relation, its
never intimidating, but something that can be
enjoyed, even exploited.
Schneider suggests ESP-off and that nine-
mode traction control setting to be dialled
around to six. That Im even considering it
underlines how impressive the GT R is, and
Left and above
A little lighter than the
GT S on which its
based, and more
powerful too, but
trick aero and traction
control count for more.
that having multiple modes of traction control
is actually useful, rather than merely a
gimmick. Six is fine for the faster stuff, though
wind closer to completely off and the GT R
will arc out of slower bends with wilful
disregard for its rear tyres.
Juvenile stuff, perhaps, but it highlights the
sophistication of the development work on the
GT Rs chassis. On the road it remains
impressive; its suspension is obviously taut, but
not overly compromised given its focus, the
Mercedes losing some of its civility in favour of
a far more involving, interesting drive. Its
worth it; the GT R is a sensational car.
Theres more to come, too, AMG boss Tobias
Moers recently announcing AMGs F1-derived
hypercar, and not quite admitting (though
neither denying) that theres space for a Black
Series above the GT R. On AMGs current
form, and on evidence of the GT R and the
recent E63S, rivals should be worried.
47
IGNITION / New Cars
Torque of the country
Rather like a well-known type of oven, this Bentley burns oil to hugely impressive effect
Words Robert Coucher
BENTLEYS WERE LONG known for their
low-revving, large-capacity, high-torque engines.
And with this latest iteration, the bloody
thump is back. This Bentayga is Bentleys first
diesel and the specifications are astonishing:
429bhp at 3750rpm, 664lbft at 1000rpm,
0-62mph in 4.8 seconds and a top speed of
168mph from a diesel SUV!
But why would you bother with the fastest
diesel SUV on the market when the W12 petrol
version is more than man enough? Set off on a
600-mile tour (walking in Scotland, wine-
tasting in Bordeaux, skiing in Verbier) and
youll do so on just one tank. Thats why.
The secret is the triple-charged 4.0-litre V8
(co-developed with Audi, whose diesels did
rather well at Le Mans). It employs two twin-
scroll turbochargers, plus an electrically
powered supercharger that primes the first
turbo in the mid- range and the second at the
top end good to see a charger back on a
Bentley once again. This set-up offers the full
664lb ft force at just 1000rpm and a claimed
35.8mpg. The CO2 emissions figure of 210g/
km is the lowest ever for a Bentley, too.
The Bentayga has never been an elegant
machine because, well, its an SUV. But it sure
offers presence, even if its a bit bling. The
signature meshed radiator grille, together with
meaty alloys shod with 285/45/R21 Pirelli
48
Scorpion all-season tyres, signal intent and, yes,
the V8-DIESEL badges are a delete option.
Climb up into the high, bolstered chair and
the interior appointment is supreme swathes
of leather, cross stitching, chrome organ-stop
controls, burr walnut and other twinkling
jewellery. Fire the engine and all of a sudden
nothing happens. You cant hear it. Hop out and
stand next to the bonnet and you can just about
make out a slight diesel tickover. Pull the
chunky, eight-speed auto selector back into
Drive and the 2390kg Bentayga wafts off on its
almost instant mountain of torque.
The power delivery is the nearest any internal
combustion (or even pressure combustion)
power unit comes to an instant-torque electric
motor. The thrust is fabulous, near-silent, silken
and refined. While the acceleration could be
described as astonishing, with so little apparent
effort or drama it is more amazing.
On the road the Bentayga is no sports car
(though it does have a Sports mode) yet it
can be hustled thanks to its four-wheel-drive
traction, powerful brakes, sharp-enough
steering and that smooth, instant power Above and below
delivery. As a car enthusiast you might miss an V8 diesel employs two
engine note because this one simply thrums, turbos and a supercharger for
instant massive torque and
but as a capacious gentlemans GT this diesel country-crossing range on a
SUV delivers and will be more than capable of full tank, though there are few
taking you off-road at your next shoot. clues that its an oil-burner.
 AT HISTORICS,
WE DELIVER MORE THAN
YOU BARGAINED FOR
LD LD
SO SO
RICS RICS
TO TO
HIS HIS
BY BY

1954 JAGUAR XK120 DROPHEAD COUP 1989 PORSCHE 930 CABRIOLET

LD 52% over estimate 39% over estimate

LD
SO SO
S S
ORIC TORIC
T
HIS HIS
BY BY

D D
1967 MERCEDES-BENZ 250SL 1991 FERRARI TESTAROSSA

L 75% over estimate 27% over estimate L

SO SO
S S
ORIC TORIC
T
HIS HIS
BY BY

1978 ASTON MARTIN V8 VANTAGE VOLANT 1992 LANCIA DELTA INTEGRALE EVO 1 MARTINI 6
56% over estimate 75% over estimate

WIth sales full to bursting, flourishing results, an average sale rate of over 80%, and many consignments selling at well above their estimate,
Historics delivers an exceptional auction experience for buyers and sellers alike. So when its the time for you to sell or buy your next classic,
and receive honest, impartial and professional guidance from one enthusiast to another, with attractive commission rates, wrapped around good
old-fashioned courtesy and friendship, youll find theres no better place to do business.

ENTRIES ARE NOW INVITED

THE SPRING SALE, BROOKLANDS MUSEUM, SATURDAY, 4 MARCH TH

All sales shown are from Historics 2016 auctions. For full results, visit www.historics.co.uk

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 Passion. Cars. Expertise.
Experience Girardo & Co.
Available Centre:
1963 Ferrari 250 GT/L Berlinetta Lusso by Scaglietti
Chassis no. 5143. Ferrari Classiche certied

Available Foreground:
Lancia D24 Sport
Chassis no. D24R 0001. Four-cam, Twin-plug Lancia V6

Tel: +44 (0)203 621 2923 info@girardo.com The Showroom, London, SW6 UK

Girardo.com
IGNITION / Opinion
JAY LENO
The Collector
T
he other day I started up my 41 Plymouth,
for the first time in over a year. Every collector has
one or two vehicles that dont get driven as often
as the others. My Plymouth is not special, just a
good old girl. Its unrestored, a two-door business
coupe; the Deluxe model with heater, radio and three-
speed column shifter, with a vacuum assist to make
shifting easier, a 201ci six-cylinder flathead engine and
about 87 horsepower.
Even after sitting for over a year, the engine cranked
about half a dozen times and started right up. The reason
it made me smile is that so many modern cars would
be almost inoperable after sitting for so long. If they
are not turned over every week or two, injectors get
clogged from lack of use. And you have to keep them
on a trickle-charger.
I have a 2002 Firebird that I
had to get emissions-tested. The
battery was ten years old so I
THE LAST REAL
MAINTENANCE I WAS
changed it for the exact same
factory-standard battery. And
swapping the battery confused ABLE TO DO ON A
the computer, so they couldnt
get it to pass the emissions test. MODERN CAR AT MY
The technician said, drive it for 50
or 100 miles and see if it re-boots. OWN GARAGE WAS
Im still waiting.
When I called my Porsche ON THE M LAREN F1 c
dealer about getting a part for my
Carrera GT, he said We dont work on any of the really
old stuff. I said its a 2004! He said hed check to see if
any of the old guys are still around who worked on them.
I mean, how old could they be? Forty-five?
I have a warning light on my 2005 Mercedes SLR
McLaren nobody can turn off. It doesnt seem to affect
anything. The car runs beautifully. But nobody knows
how to deal with it. I wanted to put new tyres on it too
and, like many cars, it has a locking lug nut. So I gave the
tyre guy the key for the lug. And he lost it. So we called
Mercedes and McLaren, quoting the serial number, but
we couldnt get one and couldnt make one. So we had to
torch the lug nuts and cut the wheels to get them off.
The last real maintenance I was able to do on a modern
car at my own garage was, surprisingly, on the McLaren
F1. Ironically the F1 comes with a tool kit. A tool roll,
actually, which contains wrenches, pliers and
screwdrivers, all made of titanium. Was there ever an F1
owner whose car broke down on the motorway, pulled
out his trusty tool roll and got it going again?
Anyway, we had to replace the Vanos unit, which
controls the cam timing. Taking the engine out was
pretty straightforward. And we did it without using a
single tool from the toolroll! As sophisticated as the F1s
powerplant is, its still a car. Its a V12 and compared to
modern cars its pretty straightforward. A good mechanic
can look at that engine and pretty much figure out
what they have to do. Would I try this with my McLaren
P1 or a 918? Not on your life.
Remember the Ray Bradbury book Fahrenheit 451?
Where all the books are destroyed and so each person
needs to memorise one book, and become an expert
on it. Thats what seems to be happening with
supercars. Theres only a few Veyron guys and a handful JAY LENO
of P1 guys. I dont know many Porsche dealerships that Comedian and talk show
could actually work on a 918; there legend Jay Leno is one of the
most famous entertainers in
cant be many.
I feel that the days of the
general mechanic who can work
the USA. He is also a true
petrolhead, with a massive
collection of cars and bikes
on anything are just about over. (see www.jaylenosgarage.
Those lucky enough to be trained com). Jay was speaking
mechanics on machines like the with Jeremy Hart.
McLaren P1 and LaFerrari pretty
much have jobs for life, travelling
the world, re-booting computers on
10-to-20-year-old supercars, many
with very low mileage.
The way technology is going,
collecting modern cars will be
extremely hard. The fun part about working on old cars
is that, if you dont have the proper tools, you can
measure up what you need, go to the lathe, and make
one. On modern cars, if the manufacturer decides to
lock you out of their code then thats it, youre pretty
much done. Unless you have the Ferrari code-reader, for
instance which someone told me is $25,000 youre
not going to get to work on the car. Thats it. So any
work on these cars in the future will probably mean
having to go back to manufacturers. How much is that
going to cost?
Thats fine for rich guys, who will always be able to
have somebody take care of their car. Its the little guy
whos going to get screwed. Unless they stick to analogue
cars from the 1970s and earlier.
In 100 years from now, after my garage has been
buried under some massive earthquake, and some
automotive archaeologist will find my stash and dig it
up, Im guessing the only one theyll be able to drive
away is the 41 Plymouth!
51
 M A X T E D -PAG E
HISTOR IC R ACI NG POR SCH E

Brun Motorsport / Repsol 1990 Porsche 962C | Chassis # 962-163

We are delighted to offer this genuine factory-built Porsche 962 which was supplied new to Brun Motorsport for the 1990 World Championship and liveried in the famous
Repsol sponsorship. Chassis 962-163 was built by Porsche in July 1990, being one of the final 962s constructed at the factory with carbon tub and fully water-cooled
3.0 litre Turbo engine with Bosch MP 1.78 ignition and fuel system.
Raced only twice, its debut at Montreal in 1990 resulted in retirement after just 22 laps, chassis 163 then completed a further 56 race laps in Mexico, before a broken
drive-shaft forced retirement at this, the final round of the World Sportscar Championship. As such and having been in storage ever since, the present condition of this car
is similar to that of an ultra low-mileage road car and is Possibly the lowest mileage and most original 962 in existence - to quote from the book of John Starkey & Ian Briggs
- The Golden Era - The History of Group C and IMSA GTP.
An outstanding, factory-built Porsche 962 with excellent provenance and outstanding investment-grade potential. This car is waiting to be prepared as a highly competitive entry
for the new Peter Auto / Group C Racing series and future historic Le Mans races.

Richard Lloyd Racing

1988 Porsche 962C | Chassis # RLR-200
We are delighted to offer for sale another famous Richard Lloyd Racing Team Porsche - this superbly presented and fabulously documented RLR Porsche 962C,
built for the 1988 season for Derek Bell to lead the World Championship assault for the RLR team. The car went on to compete in the 1989 World Championship season,
also with Richard Lloyd Racing Team, in the sponsorship liveries of Porsche Cars Great Britain and CABIN.
This famous Richard Lloyd Racing Porsche 962 has been in the hands of some great drivers and comes with a superbly documented history file which includes its original,
1988 and 1989 F.I.A., Technical Passports, plus a multitude of original RLR team correspondence and Porsche Customer Racing Services invoices for engine supply and parts, etc.
In 2007, X-Tech Engineering rebuilt the engine and the car once again proved highly competitive in the Group C GTP series, this time in the hands of Andrew Purdie.
Since this time, the car has been beautifully re-painted back into its 1989 Le Mans CABIN livery. The recent amalgamation of the Peter Auto - Group C Racing series,
including a new 2016 Le Mans Classic Group C grid, makes this an exciting time for the historic racer and / or Porsche collector to acquire one of these iconic, yet user-friendly,
racing cars from the golden era of modern sportscar racing - and for less than the cost of a 2.7 Carrera RS Lightweight!

P.O. Box 7039 Halstead Essex CO9 2WL United Kingdom

Tel: +44 (0) 1787 477749 Mob: +44 (0) 7771 922433 (7 Days) Email: enquiries@maxted-page.com

w w w. m a x t e d - p a g e . c o m
IGNITION / Opinion
DEREK BELL
The Legend
L
ooking back, my itinerary in 2016 was of the
eye-watering variety. I may be a former racing
driver, but I seemed to be busier than ever. It was
a wonderful year, though, full of great experiences
that I wont forget in a hurry. I saved the best til
last, too, an eight-day trip to New Zealand with
McLaren Automotive shortly before Christmas,
promising an epic drive. It was all that and more, and
on so many levels.
I used to love racing in the Tasman series back in the
late 60s. I have written about it before, so wont re-tread
familiar ground, save to say that we were always made
to feel welcome when racing Down Under, whether in
Australia or New Zealand. People would often say
that they had been reading about us all year so to
have us in town for a weekend
was pretty special. In-between
cocktail parties, barbecues and the
like, we would often try to
WHAT IMPRESSES
ME ABOUT M LAREN
reciprocate; to give something
back. We would earn our keep by
visiting schools and hospitals. IS THAT IT HONOURS
That sort of thing mattered to a lot
of people, even if I didnt fully ITS HERITAGE
appreciate it at the time.
Its funny how memories WITHOUT BLUSTER
come back unbidden and in
Technicolor and this was AND FANFARE
certainly the case on my first
visit to New Zealand in decades. It is just the most
amazing country and one that I recommend everyone
should visit at least once during their lifetime. Close on
30 McLaren owners took part in the event, which
covered around 2000km of driving on some of the
most amazing roads imaginable, accompanied by scenic
vistas that took your breath away.
As time went by, I started to recall experiences from
when I raced in Tasman; the sort of thing that made me
feel a little wistful. I also thought about Bruce McLaren
who, quite aside from being a superb driver and team
principal, was also a lovely chap. He was that rarest of
things: a natural leader for whom nobody ever had a bad
word to say. I drove for him once, even if my outing in
the 1969 British Grand Prix aboard the four-wheel-drive
M9 remains something of a career footnote.
One thing that impresses me about McLaren, the
marque, all these years later is that it honours its heritage
without bluster and fanfare. It isnt just a case of leeching
off the accomplishments of something that happened
years ago; of marketing opportunities. Its all about
making new heritage, if you will, but not forgetting
where you came from.
As such, our road trip incorporated a special dinner
in association with the Bruce McLaren Scholarship
scheme, his daughter Amanda attending alongside her
husband Stephen. Scroll back to the late 50s and into the
1960s, and several Kiwis came over to the UK on
scholarship deals to become drivers. Whats more, they
were annoyingly talented, with Bruce being very much
to the fore. And thats before you factor in the many
engineers, mechanics and fabricators who set sail for
Blighty and entered into motor racing lore. This mass-
migration of talent ended a long time ago, but this DEREK BELL
programme aims to send a student to Europe to become Derek took up racing in 1964
immersed in racing car design and in a Lotus 7, won two World
Sportscar Championships
engineering. Who knows, the lucky
recipient may end up becoming
equally legendary.
(1985 and 1986), the 24
Hours of Daytona three
times in 1986, 1987 and
c Sadly, New Zealand has had more 1989, and Le Mans five
than its fair share of heartbreak of times in 1975, 1981,
late, our arrival following soon after 1982, 1986 and 1987.
He was speaking with
the earthquake, which left a trail of
devastation in its wake. I will admit
Richard Heseltine.
to being a bit nervous about our
party rocking up in town with a load
of supercars; that it would somehow
appear disrespectful. Those fears
were soon assuaged, though.
McLaren owners are hugely enthusiastic, but not at all
showy. Whats more, they are not wary of letting others
play with their toys. Wherever we stopped, crowds
assembled and people were genuinely pleased to see us.
It was almost like the Tasman years all over again. Kids in
particular were drawn to us like a moth to a flame. They
would sit in the cars and beam from ear to ear. You didnt
need to be psychic to know what they were imagining.
I wouldnt have missed that for anything.
On a personal note, being helicoptered onto a glacier
left me open-mouthed, and the gala do in Auckland
was riotously enjoyable. I was joined on stage by
Bruno Senna and my old mate Stefan Johansson. Weve
all been around the block a few times, and I think the
audience enjoyed us telling tall tales and ripping the
mickey out of each other. But, most of all, what I took
away from that magical eight days was a rekindled love
of a country that is quite unlike any other. That, and a
reinforced appreciation of Bruce McLaren. He left
behind quite a legacy, thats for sure.
53
7 Editio
IGNITION / Opinion

STEPHEN BAYLEY
The Aesthete

T
here are years when more happens than usual.
Caused by climacteric oscillations, who can say,
but 1848 was, for example, a year of remarkable
revolutions in all of Europe. So much happened
in 1913 that Florian Illies recently wrote a whole
book about it with lots of Viennese angst, but only after
Liliane Brion-Guerry had devoted three entire volumes
to the same 12 months with lots of Parisian lan.
Personally, I have always been fascinated by 1957. It
was when the last Jaguar D-type won at Le Mans, the
Space Age began with the launch of the Soviet Sputnik 1,
while Bill Haley and his earthbound Comets landed at
Southampton, introducing Britain to rock n roll. Plus
the Chevrolet Bel-Air, Detroit Baroque at its outrageous
peak. Goodness, what a busy year. Then there was 1967.
One of the most boring tropes
is: All cars nowadays look the
same. I actually never mind when
people are hostile in this way.
ONE OF THE MOST
different artistic expressions for these gloriously different
engines. All cars look the same. Are you mad?
It is tempting to think of 1967 as a miracle year for car
design. Will such variety ever be repeated? Certainly
1977 had less to offer: the year of the Daewoo Maepsy (a
kimchi-flavoured Opel Kadett) and the Peugeot 305, a
car that marks the beginning of that manufacturers
descent from principled ingenuity to anhedonic market-
led banality. We will pass over the Triumph TR7, whose
strange, scalloped lateral panels made Giugiaro say:
Dear me, have they done that on the other side as well?
Yet two 1977 cars demonstrated mans perverse genius
in finding idiosyncratic answers to questions not asked.
Each a big 2+2 with ample power and luxury, offered by STEPHEN BAYLEY
manufacturers with reputations for engineering integrity. Author, critic, consultant,
Winking at each other like Gustav broadcaster, debater and
curator, Stephen co-created
and Hermann in a north European
gay sauna, I give you the Volvo 262C
and the Porsche 928. If I ever
the Boilerhouse Project at
Londons V&A, was chief

Theres no doubt that the
automobile offers only limited
evidence of mans ingenuity
and artistry, while providing
irrefutable proof of his selfishness,
SHOCKINGLY ILL-
become disenchanted with looking
at cars, I will return here to refresh
PROPORTIONED CARS my sense of awe at the superhuman
EVER MADE: ARCTIC curiosity of these machines.
The only explanation for the
executive of The Design
Museum, and fell out with
Peter Mandelson when he
told him the Millennium
Dome could turn out
to be crap.

brutality, venality, stupidity and

general inclination to destroy the SNOW-SHOES WITH
planet and its occupants. Still, its
true that all artefacts created in ARMANI DETAILS!
a common era exemplify the
Zeitgeist or Spirit of the Age, and why should they not?
To be sure, shared circumstances often lead to similar
solutions to shared problems. But 1967 confounds that.
Its the year that gave us the Alfa Romeo Montreal:
Marcello Gandini asserting himself at Bertone. Claus
Luthes NSU Ro80? Still a technical and aesthetic
achievement that astonishes. Dino 206? The most
beautiful Ferrari ever. By contrast, the Fiat 125 was an
Italian Lotus-Cortina, but with better seats and superior
reliability. The quirky Saab 99 was a Mini designed by
aerospace engineers. So that was a good thing.
Or the Citron Dyane, a de luxe 2cv. One version was
called Weekend because, the joke went, it was so slow
that it took two whole days to get anywhere. I had one.
Beige with brown perforated vinyl trim. It took me all
over Europe and I once mended the throttle linkage with
a wire coathanger. So thats a V8, a twin-rotor Wankel, a
V6, a twin-cam four, a single-overhead-cam four that
would eventually birth the first popular turbo, and an air-
cooled flat-twin. And the designers found satisfyingly
Volvo is that, while they were
discussing a personal car for the US
market, someone slipped magic
mushrooms into the lingonberry
compote, promptly called Bertone
in Turin and asked him to turn the cumbersome six-
cylinder 164 into a coup. The result was one of the most
shockingly ill-proportioned, maladroit and odd cars
ever made. Arctic snow-shoes with Armani details!
Superlatively ugly, thus fascinating.
Only slightly less curious impulses gave rise to the
928. Its designer was Wolfgang Mobius, working under
Anatole Lapine who, with or without a knowing
reference to the Hollywood depressive Nathanael West,
told me his education had been at The University of
Hard Knocks. Thus, the company founded by a professor
of daunting academic attainment left the design of its
most ambitious product to an ex-GM Latvian-American
who wanted a German Chevrolet Camaro. Its these
cultural absurdities that make car design so fascinating.
Though the Volvo 262C and Porsche 928 have all but
disappeared, the anthropologists myth of the perpetual
return predicts a comeback. But I am less confident
about 2017s potential for leaving us with future classics.
1967 and 1977? Look back not in anger, but in wonder.

55
IGNITION / Opinion
ROBERT COUCHER
The Driver
B
ritish drivers are generally excellent. You wouldnt
think so from reading the newspapers or watching
television, where driving is reported as a contact
sport with horrendous resulting carnage. Of
course, every road injury or death is a tragedy but
the fact remains that Britain has some of the lowest road
death statistics in Europe, only bettered by Norway and
Sweden. Ukraine is the worst, followed by Portugal,
Italy, France, Germany, then Spain.
Being a small island, Britain suffers terrible traffic
congestion (Londons is the worst in Europe). So it is
remarkable that the vast majority of British drivers are
safe and considerate. I grew up in South Africa (fewer
vehicles, five times the space) where the road death rate
over the Christmas weekend is higher than the annual
UK rate. Driving in Europe is a
pleasure but some of the motorists
are scary. In France, tailgating is
the norm, and in Italy theres no
MY PHILOSOPHY
IS TO HAVE A SINGLE
such thing as forming an orderly
queue, its just a free-for-all. Maybe
thats stereotyping but just try CLASSIC CAR THATS
driving down to the Le Mans 24
Hours or clocking into the READY TO DRIVE TO
regularity sections on the Mille
Miglia! And in America the LE MANS OR THE
undertaking and full lane changes
at 70mph are hair-raising. LOCAL DELI
The one thing that gets a British
driver flustered is infringing their personal space.
Considering the rapidly deteriorating traffic congestion
its a wonder that the drivers here remain so calm and
stoic, but thats the national character on four wheels.
Living in London, one of the greatest cities in the
world, Ive noticed how the traffic conditions have now
reached gridlock in many areas. Figures show London
suffers from 12,776 congestion hotspots, so its no
surprise that in the last year its average traffic speed
has dropped to 7.8mph (down from a less-than-heady
8.1mph the year before). This is slower than a horse and
cart of 100 years ago. And some boffin has determined
that traffic congestion costs the country 4.3 billion a
year. Yet the actual traffic volume has declined and
people are taking fewer bus journeys.
I ride my bicycle nearly every day. It is simply the best
way to get about the city, with no parking problems and
a bit of exercise thrown in without the need to resort to
any Lycra whatsoever. I also use the No 19, 319 and 49
buses, which are rather gentle when not in a hurry, and
56
the Tube is efficient if ghastly at rush hour. It moves
an amazing 4.8 million passengers per day.
Londons problems include a significant rise in
population, economic growth, the cycle superhighway,
mail order deliveries and Uber taxis. Take ex-Mayor
Boris Johnsons cycle lanes. With a worrying number of
cycle deaths in the past, something certainly had to be
done. But reducing the Embankment and other major
arteries down to single lanes cannot be the answer. What
happens during the rush hour is that the Lycra Lads get
annoyed with the Boris Bike plodders, so they cut and
thrust into the traffic lanes, slowing it all down further.
And during the day it is mostly empty. We now learn, just
eight months after the superhighway on the Embankment ROBERT COUCHER
was opened, that a large section of it is to be rerouted. Robert grew up with classic
This causes a knock-on effect for cars, and has owned a
Lancia Aurelia B20GT,
those of us who drive cars, especially
classic cars. Gridlock is taxing for
old vehicles with mechanical cooling
Alfa Romeo Giulietta and
Porsche 356C. He currently
uses his properly sorted
systems and no air conditioning. My 1955 Jaguar XK140 as his
everyday Jaguar XK 140 has been daily driver, and is a founding
upgraded to cope and opening the editor of this magazine.
window does cool things down a bit
inside. The good news is that most
Londoners dont get up early on the
weekend, as a blast across London
along the Strand to the Savoy for
breakfast one Sunday morning
attested. And getting off the
motorways and finding the backroads to Goodwood,
Silverstone or Castle Combe circuits is always a pleasure.
Having cut my classic car fleet down to just the
Jaguar, I feel a sense of relief. My philosophy has always
been to have a single classic car thats in good nick, ready
to drive to Edinburgh, Le Mans, the Alps, or the local
deli multiple cars can become a hassle and a worry in
busy London. Other solutions? Columnist Jay Leno has
a warehouse for his cars in Burbank, California, and if
you have a house in the country with plenty of
weatherproof garaging, then the more classics the better.
Being a denizen of such a large city means adapting.
Im as guilty as any of using belching buses, filling up
trains, relying on home deliveries and the occasional
minicab. Maybe I should find a compact hybrid like
Mark Dixons Honda Insight or borrow Sir Stirlings
Renault Twizy, as I enjoy electric propulsion in town.
In the meantime, Ill enjoy my bicycle (Im trying an
electric one soon) and get up early with the Jaguar,
which now has a sat-nav to help me get lost.
 A Qualifying Round Of The 2017 HERO Cup, In Association With &
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IGNITION / Gearbox

ANT ANSTEAD
Car builder, designer, artist, footballer and TV presenter
Interview and photography Martyn Goddard
1. I carry my life in my Land Rover
Discovery I have always had a workhorse.
I never clean her and have a reputation
for filling her with rubbish. Shes on her
second engine, which was installed to
keep her going for a bit longer.

2. Ive played more than 700 semi-pro

football games at Ryman and Conference
level. I carry my boots in my car just
in case I sniff out a game. The last two
seasons Ive played for Arsenal Legends
team as a Spurs fan!

3. Ive really got into racing and have my

MSA race licence. In 2016 I competed in
2 an Austin A35, VW VR6, Ginetta G50
and the Lotus Elite on Channel 4s For The
Love Of Cars. In fact, I have got the bug to
such an extent that I bought myself a new
Ginetta for the 2017 season
1
4. Im hugely proud of my six-year police
career and these certificates. Being a
member of the Tactical Firearms Unit
3 meant I attended some dangerous
incidents. Being awarded for bravery
twice is something I will never forget.

5. I build loads of unique cars. This new

GT was designed and built from scratch
and inspired by the cars Ive restored over
the years. Although it is unnamed at
present, this one will be available in both
petrol V8 and fully electric form.
4 5
6. Anyone who knows me knows I
ALWAYS wear my rigger boots! I go
through two pairs every year and always
buy the same ones each time. They are
so well-worn they feel like slippers.

7. Travelling is a privilege and in 2016

I made 22 flights around the world. Im
a light traveller so often jump on a plane
in whatever Im wearing plus my passport.

6 7 8 8. My bonkers cockerpoo Teddy Ruxpin.

He causes so much nuisance at home, but
hes also a legend and family member.

9. I am a self-confessed professional cake

eater. I have a strict cake rule for those
attending the workshop and even have
a cake leader board. I eat cake daily.

10. Youre only as good as your tools and

I use the best! I am something of a tool
magpie and a little obsessive. If its
available I need it. I lay them out with
9 10 OCD precision and I get a lot of stick
from the team in the workshop.

58
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IGNITION / Letters

Faster isnt always better

How I agree with Jay Leno in
Octane 164 about how cars have
become too fast. He is in a better
position than most to give his
views on this, given his access to
pretty much all of the latest crop
of cars you cant really use.
Unfortunately, manufacturers
of high-performance cars are in John Bolsters road tests of them.
a constant arms race to provide In all honesty, it has provided
the next ludicrously powerful more fun and driving pleasure
machines, which need massive than anything else I have owned,
Letter amounts of computer technology and it does so without resorting
of the to provide some sort of control to licence-losing speeds. I am now
month for the people who can afford 70 years old and, while I can still
them but do not possess the skills get in and, more importantly, out
to drive them without it. of it, I shall continue to enjoy it.

De Tomasos discovered I have owned some interesting

cars, including a 4.2-litre E-type
Jaguar back in the 1970s which,
The Seven seems to be a car type
missing from Jays collection and
I recommend he rectifies that
THE ARRIVAL OF the latest issue of Octane always guarantees I admit, I drove at reckless speeds situation soon.
an escape from the real world for a few hours. But issue 164, in all over the place. You were much Remember, the paradox of
particular, brought back some fond memories. less likely to get caught then but speed is the faster you go, the
It was back in 1997 when I first visited Modenas motor valley things have changed since in a big less time you have to enjoy it.
Im not even sure it was called this at the time. During a five-day trip way. In more recent times I have Richard Bradbury, Surrey
I visited Lamborghini, Ferrari and a little car manufacturer named driven a Lamborghini Diablo,
De Tomaso. I remember I was pleasantly surprised when I saw the Noble M12 GTO, Honda NSX Action heroes
craftsmanship of this small company. Besides production of the and others, so I am in a position I have subscribed to Octane from
Guara and Bigua there were some historic cars on display. As well as to have some opinion on this. your first year and the standard of
the familiar Pantera there was a single-seater and some engines to be However, my only indulgence photography just gets better. In
seen [bottom right]. as a second car is a 1992 Octane 164 I enjoyed your report
Ever since that visit Ive never forgotten about De Tomaso. Ive Caterham Seven HPC which on the New Atalanta with pics by
even kept both the sales brochures that were given to me during my I bought in 1996 and cherish to Charlie Magee [below].
visit. This young teenager had been infected for life. this day. Back in the 60s I lusted While all the photos are
My love for Italian cars never faded and so we fast-forward to after a Lotus Seven, having read excellent, are they reproduced
2016. In May my partner and I visited the motor valley again, this
time in our own Ferrari yes, dreams can indeed come true. Arriving
in one of their products means you are never short of conversation.
While visiting a classic car dealer in Maranello, I learned that some
of the De Tomaso prototypes had been found and saved.
While talking about cars in general and the fate of De Tomaso,
I was excited to be invited to see the cars! They were undergoing
restoration in a nearby workshop. Seeing the cars in their unrestored
state was painful, as it would be for any car enthusiast, but I knew
they were in good hands, and at last someone was willing to invest
in saving a little piece of De Tomasos heritage.
Reading the article in Octane 164 certainly was a trip down
memory lane: some old memories, some more recent. I hope the CHARLIE MAGEE
story of De Tomaso will never be forgotten and, fingers crossed,
it might even rise from the ashes one day.
Enclosed are some pictures I took of the prototypes during
restoration [Bigua is bottom left, new Pantera at top] and from my
visit in 1997. The readers of Octane may appreciate them.
Maarten-Jan Groenen, The Netherlands The Letter of the Month wins a beautiful Toccata
watch by Raymond Weil, worth 595
This elegant, classically styled mens timepiece features
a quartz movement inside a stainless steel 42mm case,
and a stunning blue galvanic dial with appliqu indexes
and date window, protected by a sapphire crystal.
It is water resistant to 5atm and supplied on a black
calf leather strap with an alligator grain nish.
Raymond Weil is one of a handful of Swiss
watchmakers that remain in family hands. The Toccata
name reects the Weil familys interest in music, which
has led to many of the watch collections bearing
musically themed names. www.raymond-weil.com

61
 IGNITION / Letters
JAMES LIPMAN
direct from the camera or are they
further improved via Photoshop?
Would that be an insult to the
photographer or is it regarded as
a part of the editorial process?
Chris Glasby, Cambridgeshire
Most images will receive a certain
amount of post-production but
action shots like the one pictured on
the previous page are best handled
in camera because its difficult to
add truly convincing motion blur
on a computer. Charlie Magee
confirms that this Atalanta picture
is basically a straight shot taken at
a slow shutter speed on an image-
stabilising lens. He says it helps not
to drink coffee beforehand! MD
Bentleys Boche beater
While I thoroughly enjoyed the
article in Octane 163 about
Bentleys BR1 and BR2 radial
engines in World War One, there
were a couple of errors.
First, the BR1 [top] did not go
into the Avro 504K. That aircraft
used either the 130hp Clerget,
the 100hp Gnome or the 110hp
Le Rhne. The BR1 did go into
the later Avro 504L floatplane but
not many of those were produced.
62
The main recipient of the BR1 was
the Sopwith Camel.
Second, the Sopwith Camel did
not end the Fokker scourge of
1915/16. The aircraft that ended
the Fokker E1-3 monoplanes
superiority were the Nieuport 11
and 16 and the DH2 single-seat
scouts. The Camel did not see
service until 1917, almost a year
after the last Fokker monoplanes
had left the theatre.
John Starkey, Florida, USA
Mystery Midlands XKSS
Reading about the Jaguar XKSS
in Octane 163, I am reminded of
a time in the distant past when
I worked in the offices of the
largest forge in Europe, which
made automotive forgings for all
the car, truck and tractor firms in
the UK and some in Europe.
One day a newly employed and
apparently well-connected young
chap turned up in a very noisy
white vintage sports car (possibly
the White Riley). A while later,
a colleague said Go and see what
so-and-so has turned up in today
and there, parked in front of the
offices, was a bright red, very
modern-looking sports car. I dont
think the E-type was out yet but
the lines suggested Jaguar and I
remember the rivets in the centre
section being very prominent.
The badge said XKSS and the
bright red sports car certainly set
tongues wagging, as it was often
seen being driven enthusiastically
and the squeal of brakes
sometimes announced its arrival
ahead of the exhaust note.
Later we learned that the chap
had wrapped the red Jag around
a concrete column on the newly
opened M5. It had then caught
fire and been destroyed.
Anton Fletcher, Worcestershire
Coincidentally, we also received the
following letter about a red XKSS.
Is it the same car? MD
Vintage red at the Chteau
I loved your article How to build
a new XKSS in Octane 163.
Heres a photo [below] of Bill
Riggs car being driven by his son
Mark at Chteau Impney in 1962.
Im leaning up against the car,
in the yellow sweater.
The Rigg equipe campaigned
this car, which previously was
owned by the chairman of UDT
and registered as UDT 1, at many
meetings but it was spun into the
bank at Becketts, Silverstone,
considerably damaging the
monocoque and front subframe.
After Bill had spoken to Lofty
England at Jaguar I drove their
transporter (the ex-Mike
Hawthorn Green Line bus) to
Browns Lane and picked up the
very last monocoque and front
subframe available after the fire,
according to Lofty England.
The car was rebuilt by Mark,
myself and our mechanic Maurice
Owen, who later became chief
engineer of the Morgan Motor
Company, as a full D-type. It had
always had the works number
XKD 539. The car was raced in
club events until it was sold after
Bill Riggs death in 1964.
Mike Virr, Connecticut, USA
Bentley in bloom
Around three years ago I noticed
an irresistibly beautiful Bentley
parked under a blossom-covered
tree in the car park at a National
Trust property in Cheshire.
As a keen amateur artist, I
decided that I must use the car as
a subject of one of my artworks
and now I would dearly like to
find the owner. Can anyone help?
The cars registration is XK 578.
Philip Johnson, Staffordshire
Fergie in a far-off land
I was astounded to see the
Ferguson TE20 tractor in Gone
But Not Forgotten, Octane 163.
I am a member of our local
historical society and we have just
completed the restoration of such
a machine [below].
Although Im an Aussie, my
family migrated from England in
1948 and I was born in 1941 at
Hitchin, Hertfordshire. I believe
it was very noisy at that time,
something to do with someone
lobbing great lumps of
ironmongery in the direction
of London.
Mike Iverson, Queensland, Australia
Write to
Octane Letters,
Dennis Publishing,
Bedford Technology Park,
Thurleigh, MK44 2YA, UK
letters@octane-magazine.com
Please include your name, address
and a daytime telephone number.
Letters may be edited for clarity,
and views expressed are not
necessarily those of Octane.
 1994 Jaguar XJ220. Sold for (): 275,625

24th - 26th February 2017

Join us at our
Race Retro Sale next sale
Stoneleigh Park, Coventry CV8 2LG

A NEW APPROACH IN AN AGE OLD BUSINESS

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MUNARIS STRATOS

THEY ARE
LEGEND
Sandro Munari and his Lancia Stratos were unassailable on the
1977 Rallye Monte-Carlo. Four decades on, Octane meets both
Words Massimo Delb and Angus Frazer Photography Matthew Howell
Archive images McKlein

64
65
MUNARIS STRATOS

T
he sound comes first, an angry bark all he afforded his rivals as they chased him in vain through
more animal than mechanical that roils the Alpes-Maritimes.
around the Italian countryside. And I love this Stratos, says the Italian. I am fortunate that
then the Lancia Stratos HF that won due to my friendship with the owner, Guido Avandero, I
the 1977 Monte Carlo Rally graces us get to see it and drive it quite often. But it is not really the
with its presence. car itself, more the magical memories it brings back.
The four decades that have passed since that epic When Sandro Munari took the start of the Monte Carlo
victory have dimmed none of the cars brilliance. Even Rally in 1977 he already had three wins in the event under
today its wedge-like shape looks positively futuristic. Its his belt. He rates his first in 1972 as the most important
hard to imagine just what an effect this to borrow a line though, and not just because it was taken in an unfancied,
from The Carpenters interplanetary, most extraordinary understeering, front-wheel-drive Lancia Fulvia 1.6 Coup
craft would have had in a world populated by Ford Escorts HF against the might of the all-conquering, ultra-nimble,
and Vauxhall Chevettes. Harder still to reconcile that, by rear-engined, rear-drive Alpine-Renault A110s.
1977, the Stratos itself was almost something of an The Fulvia Coup was seven years old and not selling
oldtimer, having been unveiled in prototype guise way very well, so at the end of December 1971 Fiat shut down
back in 1971 at the Turin motor show and having gone on the production line and sent 6500 workers home, explains
to secure Lancia a hat-trick of World Rally Championships Munari. But after I won the Monte Carlo people crowded
between 1974 and 1976. into the dealerships to order a Fulvia, the production line
As it spears towards us the Stratos begins to slow, was reopened and the people who had been made
affording us a better chance to pore over it. It is a truly redundant got their jobs back!
imperial sight. There is haughtiness imbedded in those While 1972 was undoubtedly a dream victory, Munari
Bertone-penned lines that, in the Alitalia green, red and knew that after winning the rally in a Stratos in 1975 and
white battle colours, borders on arrogance. 1976, victory in 1977 would give him a hat-trick and
Just as the car pulls tantalisingly level, the driver Monte Carlo immortality. Today, at the age of 76, there is
reapplies the throttle and, with a howl from its Ferrari a slight frailty to the man they called Il Drago and his
Dino V6 engine, the Stratos surges contemptuously away breathing is a little laboured. But he has kept himself in
from us. It almost feels like we have reached out to stroke good shape. He has no problem fitting his slim frame into
a thoroughbred racehorse that has shaken its head his original Alitalia racing overalls and his memory of the
disdainfully and galloped off. drive of four decades ago is as crystal clear as the ice was
As we gaze at the fast-disappearing spoiler, those big, on the Col de Turini in 1977.
round taillights and the oh-so-1970s The Stratos always gave its best on
louvred window, the man standing beside Below and right slippery roads and the 1977 Monte Carlo
us smiles. Perhaps Sandro Munari is Munari (Parmalat overalls) and
co-driver Maiga (moustache)
was absolutely perfect for it because the
recalling that, between 22 and 28 January during the 77 Monte; the car snow did not stop falling, says Munari. The
1977, that particular view of the Stratos was still wears its original livery. car was quite similar to the specification
MCKLEIN IMAGES

66
MUNARIS STRATOS

There is haughtiness in
those Bertone-penned lines
that, in the Alitalia green, red
and white battle colours,
borders on arrogance

68
69
 MUNARIS STRATOS
MCKLEIN IMAGES

of the Stratos I drove to victory in 1976, but Above and right on the brake pedal. I never used the
we adjusted the engine to give a little less In action on the Monte in handbrake to steer the car.
1977; today the car reveals
horsepower and to have better torque at its highly patinated interior
Instead Munari relied on the natural
lower revs for more traction and greater and mechanicals. inertia provided by the mid-mounted
control. We shortened the gear ratios too, engine to create a pendulum effect to set-up
because we were using the 24-valve engine the car for the endless snow-covered
that didnt really pull strongly until 4500rpm and there hairpin bends. As soon as you spot the corner, you start to
were not many very long straights to deal with. turn the steering wheel to move the car around beneath
So Munari had the satisfaction of knowing that his car you. If you understand it, and you are good, then you are
was perfectly honed for the rally. In addition, the Stratos safe and you are fast. If you dont, then the car is in charge.
gave him a huge advantage over the drivers of other, And presumably you are in a snow bank
far less sophisticated cars, as it could very quickly be What a treat it must have been to stand well wrapped-
further modified if the need arose. Removable front up and watch Munari drift the Stratos through the winter
and rear body panels gave easy access to the fully wonderland. And one man had an even better view, at
adjustable suspension, while the ratios of the five-speed least when he wasnt looking down at his roadbook. Silvio
gearbox mounted beneath the engine could also Maiga, now 67, sat just a few inches away from Munari
be quickly changed. guiding him to victory.
With its significantly reworked suspension, where all Sandro is absolutely right in calling it a dance, because
the rubber bushes were replaced with uni-bond joints, I do remember the very same feeling, recalls Maiga. At
Munaris TO N41648 Stratos was far removed from the some points I was able to raise my eyes from my notebook
once-green, 190bhp, 12-valve road car it had been based and find myself captivated by the magic of the moment.
on. With its competition 24-valve engine capable of Snow everywhere around us, the V6 engine singing at its
delivering up to 290bhp, and its chassis sharpened to a best and Sandro mastering the dancing Stratos flat-out in
near-knifepoint, the rally Stratos offered performance and fifth gear. And he made it all look so effortless, he was
handling that few could ever hope to access, never mind always calm, always precise, always master of the situation
master. For Munari, though, it was just perfect. and always, always terribly fast.
I still vividly remember the intense pleasure of piloting From stage three onwards, for mile after mile of snow-
my Stratos by using just the gas pedal to let her dance on covered mountain passes, Munari and Maiga held the lead
the snow always in a controlled drift without any form all the way to the end, keeping 228 rivals behind them.
of roughness, recalls Munari. For me it was easy, steering The huge variety of machinery in their wake included four
with my hands, right foot on the gas pedal and left one works Fiat 131 Abarths plus state-of-the-art Opel Kadett

70
71
MUNARIS STRATOS

Below and right

Stratoss styling is still stunning
even after four decades and more;
Munari and Maiga celebrate their
victory after an eventful rally.

72
73
MCKLEIN IMAGES
MUNARIS STRATOS
Spending time with a Monte Carlo-winning
Lancia Stratos and its crew is very special indeed
GT/Es piloted by the likes of Walter
Rhrl and Jean-Pierre Nicolas.
Not that everything ran
completely smoothly for the crew of
the Number 1 car. As Maiga recalls
with a shudder, disaster struck
almost within sight of the finish.
During the climb from La Turbie to
the Col de la Madone de Gorbio, the
lights, all of them, went out. It was
the last night and there wasnt a light
to show us the road.
Luckily the gremlins struck on a
road section, not a special stage. As
the navigator rummaged in the
fusebox in front of him, the driver
peered desperately up at the top of
the trees to try to determine the
course of the road. The most terrible ten Guido Avandero bought the
minutes ever, is Maigas verdict. Stratos from engineer Claudio
Maglioli Markku Aln had
Luckily a fast-response service team campaigned it after Munari.
headed-up by former British Grand Prix
driver turned principal Stratos development
engineer, Mike Parkes, was able to resolve the problem, at
least partly. With just a few seconds to spare we got to the
start of the Col de Turini, the most important stage in the
most important rally in the world. But we had only two
lights working, not six, remembers Maiga.
For Munari, a man famed for demanding utter
perfection in all machinery, in all people and in all
circumstances, it was not ideal. I do remember very well
these minutes. It prevented me from having a good
perception and view of the side of the road with its walls
of snow. But these are the moments where all the training
work and the testing come into play. I knew the road and
we had a good idea of the conditions we would face. I
simply had to try to go as fast as possible and do my best,
hoping that it would be enough.
And it was. There were a good 25 or 30 cars on the
event capable of winning and we defeated them all, recalls
Maiga proudly. There we were in the Princes Palace of
Monaco with Prince Rainier and his wonderful wife
Princess Grace presenting the trophy. I have only one
regret, that I did not immediately realise how important
that victory would be for us in the future. It was just the
conclusion of a normal, hard-working day.
For us this has been very far from a normal working day.
Even in the occasionally pampered and often access-all-
areas world of motoring journalism, spending time with a
Monte Carlo-winning Lancia Stratos and its crew counts
as something very special indeed. And now things are set
to get even better. It is time to have a ride in the car.
Before we clamber in, though, we take another stroll
around to admire the Stratoss beautiful lines. How did
the cars current owner, Guido Avandero, feel when he
first cast his eyes on it in the early 1970s?
74
I hated it!
What? I hated it, repeats
Avandero with a cheeky twinkle in
his eyes, because it meant the end
for me. Before the Stratos I could
afford to buy a Fulvia and compete
against Sandro on some rallies. OK, I
was never going to beat him, but at
least I could drive a similar car. Then,
after the Stratos came, everything in
rallying changed forever.
The 1977 Monte Carlo-winning
Stratos finally came into Avanderos
care in the early 1990s. Prior to that,
legendary Stratos engineer Claudio
Maglioli owned it, having purchased
it from the factory in 1984. Turn
Above the clock back a little further and
TO N41648s last outing in the World
Championship was in the forests of the UK
on the 1979 Lombard RAC Rally. Sporting
black-and-white Lancia England colours
with Pirelli sponsorship, it was brought
home in fifth place by Markku Aln and Ilkka Kivimki.
The year before that, it carried full black, red and white
Pirelli livery for a second crack at the Monte Carlo Rally
in 1978, this time running with two valves per cylinder,
due to changes in the rules. But the best its crew of Fulvio
Bacchelli and Arnaldo Bernacchini could manage was
tenth place. Today it is fully restored to its 1977 Monte
Carlo Alitalia livery and, of course, the V6 engine runs
once more with the 24-valve cylinder heads.
Unfortunately, not even taking a few moments to recall
all those great names who climbed so elegantly and so
effortlessly into the confined cockpit of the Stratos
guarantees a dignified entry for the novice. Even though
theres no visible rollcage to clamber over (its incorporated
into the monocoque and is therefore hidden by the
bodywork), it still makes for an ungainly experience.
Once nestled in the co-drivers seat, you realise how
very, very close together the crew sat. As Sandro
mentioned to us earlier: The Stratos was a very physical
car to drive; it was very hot inside even in such a cold
environment. I think we were living at about 55 to 60
degrees inside the car. Factor in the extreme length of
rallies in those days and you really would want to make
sure that you and your co-driver exchanged Christmas
gifts of racing-spec endurance sport deodorant.
Such silly daydreams are banished from your mind the
moment the V6 barks into life right behind your ears. Its
visceral cry fills the cabin and your whole world.
Avandero, though, does not embark on a full charge
immediately; instead, he simply lets the Stratos trickle
along at 1000rpm in 3rd gear a task it performs quite
happily. The engine certainly seems to be a little more
tractable now than it must have been in Sandros day.
75
MUNARIS STRATOS

This is a Maglioli engine, he explains proudly, referring
to the previous owner of the car, Claudio Maglioli. If
Sandro Munari was hailed as the man who could always
coax the most from the Stratos from a driving point of
view, then Maglioli is equally lauded as the engineer who
could extract just that little bit more than anyone else
from every single nut and bolt.
A highly successful Lancia racing driver turned
engineer, Maglioli stayed loyal to the Stratos after the
works team withdrew. He worked with the French
importer team and helped Bernard Darniche snatch a late
victory on the 1979 Monte Carlo in the iconic blue
Chardonnet Stratos. The history books recall that, despite
the brilliance of Darniches drive, his slender six-second
victory was ensured only after spectators placed rocks in
the path of Bjrn Waldegrds Ford Escort.
Magliolis workshop was very close to Avanderos home
in Biella, in the Piedmont region of northern Italy. I am
lucky, explains Avandero, there are still some of the
mechanics around who worked on the Stratos in the old
days and they know what to do. As he snaps down through
the crash gearbox and presses hard on the accelerator, its
obvious that those mechanics have not lost their touch
since they kept the Stratos running in the dead of night
four decades ago.
As the V6 howls towards the redline and the Stratos
cuts forwards, again the car seems to exude a sense of
imperialism as if somehow it knows it was put on this
planet purely to win rallies. And you can see how, if you
could master this car, particularly in the snow of Monte
Carlo, that sense of superiority would become infectious
and you would be quite convinced of the peerlessness of
your own abilities.
Its easy to imagine how Sandro Munari might have
thought: Let Ford, Porsche, Opel and even Fiat send
what and whom they want. Ill beat them all. The rally and
the victory will be mine. And thus it proved many times.
Eventually the engine falls silent. We stand and watch
right to the end, until the doors of the lorry the Stratos is
loaded into are closed. And then the interplanetary, most
extraordinary craft is gone from our sight.
Avandero is not sure when he will drive it again. He
takes it out on private roads, tracks and various events
about five times a year. The last big outing was when
Munari drove the car at the three-day Eiffel Rallye Festival
in Germany in 2015. There it was awarded The
Champions Choice by judges including Walter Rhrl,
Hannu Mikkola, Stig Blomqvist and Timo Salonen.
Its reassuring to know that the Stratos casts its spell
on rallyings elite as well as on your average fan. End

1977 Lancia Stratos HF

Engine 2418cc V6, DOHC per bank, Kugelfischer fuel injection Power 270-290bhp @ 8500rpm Torque 188lb ft @ 6500rpm
Transmission Five-speed manual, rear-wheel drive Steering Rack and pinion Suspension Front: double wishbones, coil springs,
telescopic dampers. Rear: MacPherson struts with lower wishbones and radius arms Brakes Discs Weight 960kg
Performance Top speed c130mph. 0-60mph c4.8 sec

76
MUNARIS STRATOS

78
WITHOUT
WHOM
It takes more than a driver and a navigator to win
a rally. These are the men behind Lancias victory
Words Massimo Delb Photography Matthew Howell

SANDRO MUNARI AND SILVIO MAIGA were not Left

solely responsible for the epic rallying success of the Author Massimo Delb
manoeuvres the Stratos
Lancia Stratos. The Lancia Racing Team, managed by with Piero Mario Spriano
Cesare Fiorio, was considered the perfect example of its otherwise known as Piero
type: organised, experienced and full of enthusiasm. The Stratos. Behind them, from left
best engineers and mechanics were part of it, and they all to right, are Sergio Martinetto
(former mechanic with the
have fond memories of that 1977 event. Lancia Corse race team),
Monte Carlo was the greatest event because of the engineer Gianni Tonti, electrical
media coverage all over the world, says Fiorio. We had genius Antonio Scintilla
already won it, with the Fulvia, which was a sort of Giannelli, Sandro Munari and
Elio Cavagnino, also an
miracle, and also with the Stratos. For me, the 1976 rally
ex-Lancia Corse mechanic.
was much more difficult to manage, because when I asked
the drivers to maintain their positons, I had a rebellion
from Bjrn Waldegrd, who was unhappy to be second to
Munari. To convince him not to fight, I had studded tyres
installed on his car before a clear tarmac special stage
In 1977 the biggest topic was the tyres; we had about
800 of them, and to choose the right kind depending on
the changing conditions was not an easy task. I still
remember those tyres, like a sort of porcupine, able to
stop the Stratos in 80 metres on the snow.
Second to that, the main task was to manage the fast
assistance vehicles, which had almost no radio coverage
because of the mountains and piles of snow surrounding
closed roads. We received help in creating radio coverage
from the Italian air force, using a couple of their aeroplanes
as wave bridges.
Engineer Gianni Tonti is one of the fathers of the
Stratos and was dispatched into the field for the 1977
Monte. I remember very well the feeling at the start of the
race, so snowy that the first three special stages from Gap
and Monte Carlo had to be deleted. We knew we had the

79
MUNARIS STRATOS
best car, but we knew too that Fiat was pushing hard to see
its 131 win, so at a political level we felt very vulnerable.
We had three works cars with Pirelli tyres, and a fourth
car with Bernard Darniche, backed by Lancia France
that was the only car equipped with Michelins. We were
very fast from the beginning, and that put us in a strong
position, until Raffaele Pinto lost six minutes plunging
into snow, and Darniche crashed badly. To avoid any
further problems, Fiorio and Daniele Audetto [who was
in charge of Fiat] agreed to keep the team order, and
Andruet, who was fastest in the 131, was not happy at all
with the decision.
I remember helping to prepare some flying assistance
areas, sometimes in such thick fog that it was impossible
to see the nearest white stripe in the road, and, despite
this, the racing guys were achieving times on special
stages similar to those on sunny days.
I was in charge of the assistance where we fixed
Munaris lighting problem, we were waiting for him,
alerted by Parkes. With me I had Scintilla, our best
electrician, and I knew he could fix the problem. What
Sandro did on that snowy Turini with almost no light still
astonishes me. We won, and with only two people in the
technical office, against the 100-plus people of Fiat.
The mechanics obviously played a fundamental role,
and Antonio Giannelli, alias Scintilla, was the star of the
1977 Rallye Monte-Carlo. I was with Tonti in an
assistance area in Peille, just after the Turini. We had been
alerted by Parkes about Sandros problem, so we knew
exactly what to prepare for. It took me no more than four
minutes to dive under the dashboard to check which was
the burnt relay that created the problem, replace it and
change the right fuse. Not very difficult but for the
uncomfortable position I had to work in, upside down
under the dash. Ill never forget the happy faces of Munari
80
We had the best
car, but Fiat was
pushing hard to see
its 131 win, so we
felt very vulnerable
and Maiga when they drove away with working lights. Left
Gianni Tonti led Munaris
Giovanni Gariboldi was the engineer responsible for
support crew for the 1977
Pirelli sport tyres from 1963 to 1981. For the 1977 Monte Monte, and masterminded
Carlo we had the new BS [Battistrada Separato or split the fix when his lights failed.
tread], with a universal-design tread on studded tyres,
allowing us the use of smaller studs, meaning less
unsprung weight. The Stratos was very respectful of the
tyres, but for me it was very easy to see a used set and
recognise who drove it: Munari left them as new; Pinto
was definitely more aggressive.
Monte Carlo was the race, and we prepared the 1977
winter tyres [the 5C], narrower than usual to increase the
specific weight on the tyre for greater penetration in the
hard snow, with 527 studs for each wheel. We prepared a
special CN36 too, a tarmac tyre with studs included in the
tread. The strategy was, when conditions were mixed
usually tarmac, snow, tarmac to have the rubber working
at the start of a hill, then as the rubber was used up the
studs would start working, and then, with the tyres getting
warmer going down, the compound would lose the studs
and we had a tarmac tyre again.
Piero Mario Spriano, known to everybody as Piero
Stratos, was also key to the success of the Stratos. He is
the man who, during the 1976 Monte Carlo, fixed
Munaris gearbox in record time using fresh butter to
speed up his work! He was not a formal employee of
Lancia, but his experience with the car is invaluable.
I grew up as a mechanic at the Maglioli firm in Biella,
and the Stratos was our daily bread. We worked a lot with
the official team, and Mr Tonti really liked me, and when
we were following the Chardonnet Stratos of Darniche, at
the 1977 Monte, we were all mixed together, the works
mechanics and us. I was in the Fiat 242 van with Casarsa,
and I still remember the start from Rome. We had to drive
2000km before the race. To me the best word to define
those days is sleepless.
We were lucky, because the Stratos never breaks, and
we had only to cope with routine emergencies. It is a
simple car, with only an additional condenser, already
used in the Fulvia, to help make sure the platinum-tipped
points do not burn. This device was red in all the other
cars I saw, but in this car it has always been green.
I have only two regrets: that I dont have pictures of the
event, because for us it was just another working day; and
of selling my personal Stratos in England in 1984 for
35,000,000 Lire. Thats about 17,000! End
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 FERRARI 250 GTO

HO W T O B U Y A G T O
Theres a Ferrari 250 GTO available on the open market
right now. What will it take to become its new owner?
Andrew English investigates
Illustration Mark Sommer

PLANNING ON BUYING a car this spring?
Probably not like this one you arent, unless
your butler is reading this article to you on your
private yacht as you lounge in your gold-plated
Jacuzzi. John Collins at Ferrari specialist
Talacrest has on his website an advert for one
of 39 examples of arguably the worlds most
expensive and desirable car: a Ferrari 250 GTO
or Gran Turismo Omologato. If you want it, the
trade reckons youll need to hand over at least
$50 million (US) as he points out, its cheaper
than a Picasso.
Designed by a team that included Giotto
Bizzarrini, the 250 GTO was launched in 1962
with a powerful 3.0-litre V12 and immaculately
honed aerodynamics to go World Sportscar
Championship racing against Jaguar, Aston
Martin and Shelby. All 33 series I, three series II
and three 330 GTO specials were built between
1962 and 1964. Creative use of non-consecutive
chassis numbers and deft vehicle movements
meant Ferrari got the GTO accepted for Group
3 homologation despite the FIAs ostensible
requirement that 100 should be built.
Based on the chassis and a hepped-up version
of the 250 SWB driveline, the GTO was a huge
success. One of the last front-engined GTs, the
GTO won its class in the FIA GT Championship
for three years running as well as countless
endurance races and hillclimbs. As an
investment piece of industrial design, its been
more than superlative, however.
Enzo Ferrari tended to charge private
customers what he thought they could afford,
but in the 250 GTOs pomp of the early 1960s
they sold for about $18,200 (6500 or
125,094 in todays values). In the early
1970s, when their competitiveness had long
disappeared, values fell below $10,000 (4000,
or 51,000 today) and one distinguished motor
sport historian tells of one offered at 2000
with a Dino 196SP thrown in as a sweetener.
Then the investment ramp-up started By
the mid-1970s, Nick Mason was reputed to
have paid $86,000 (43,000, or 222,526 in
todays values). In 1987, Robert Brooks was
working for Christies when he dropped the
hammer on what remained for years the worlds

82
most expensive car, a Bugatti Royale, for $9.7 testing at Monza with Lorenzo Bandini at the And both men concur that theyre also fun.
million US (5.5 million). A few months earlier wheel, it was sold to egregious New York dealer The 250 GTO came at a point in motor-racing
the first GTO to be auctioned had just broken and Ferraris North American distributer Luigi history where successful racing cars could still
the 1 million barrier one fifth of what the Chinetti in March 1962 and raced in the just be raced on a track or a road circuit. Front-
Bugatti made. The classic car boom saw another Sebring 12 Hours later that month by Phil Hill engined and with a conventional layout, they
GTO sold privately in 1990 for 10 million, and Oliver Gendebien. It then sold to Bob have handling benign enough for gifted
before the market collapsed and the same GTO Grossman, who raced it at Le Mans in 62. amateurs to race quite competitively. When
was resold three years later for 2 million. Grossman sold in 63 and it was raced in John Surtees observed that the GTO was quite
Since then theyve recovered spectacularly, various American and Bahamas Speed Week an ordinary car, what he meant was that it had
culminating openly in August 2014, when events for the next decade. It changed hands a no bad habits when it got to its limits and that
Bonhams sold the ex-Fabrizio Violati 250 few times, was crashed, rebuilt in America, allowed an ordinary driver to drive it pretty
GTO chassis number 3851 for $38,115,000 allegedly had a replacement engine and, in quickly. Add in a brilliant power-to-weight
(22,843,633) at its Quail Lodge auction in 1987, was sold by plastic surgeon Dr Ron ratio, a beguiling soundtrack, the magic of the
Carmel, California. This was less than experts Finger to wealthy lawyer Bernard Carl, whom Ferrari name and the breathtaking coachwork,
had predicted, but Violatis collection was being Collins confirms as the vendor. and its small wonder that 250 GTOs have
sold quickly for profit and this was the only What hes not saying is what the arrangement become so valuable.
250 GTO in which its driver was killed; French is between him and Bernie Carl, though it With prices seemingly well on their way to
skiing champion Henri Oreillera died when he doesnt take the soothsaying talents of nine figures, however, as Kidston points out:
crashed into a marshals hut in October 1962 at Nostradamus to glean that this might include There are very few people capable of writing a
the Montlhry autodrome. permission to negotiate around the offer price, cheque in cold blood for that amount of money.
John Collins, like fellow Scot Tom Hartley, is which Collins confirms is $60 million (US) And its unsurprising that the generation of
a breed of granite-hard Granite City used car for the record, in February 1969, 3387 sold to gentlemen drivers who owned them for
dealers specialising at the apogee of the market. Kirk White for the princely sum of $5400. decades are now selling out to the masters of
Based in a fortified headquarters in the Thames Lawks a-mercy, how did GTOs get so the collecting universe.
Valley, hes gruff, to the point and doesnt suffer valuable? Collins says it is because theyre like Fact is, however, most of these deals are
fools gladly. I get the feeling he was a pretty a work of art. If youre a collector, you should leveraged in some way, dependent on time (to
fearless journalist when he worked for The have a GTO. Theyre the holy grail of classics, raise the cash via sales of other cars or assets),
Daily Express. Most of Collinss history and his they put you at the top of the tree.
company, Talacrest, is written by folk employed At the other end of the business spectrum,
by Collins, some of them good writers, some Simon Kidston agrees. Hes the founder of the
not so this Octane commission was not for
the faint-hearted.
eponymous Swiss-based classic-car consultancy
and brokerage, who has orchestrated at least IF YOURE A COLLECTOR,
Collins, though, is also widely respected, three sales of 250 GTOs including the most
liked and trusted by those who knock around
in this weird ber-investment car world, and
recent sale of Hartmuth Ibings car.
Theyve become a billionaires calling card,
YOU SHOULD HAVE A GTO.
when you hear him talking about what it is to
drive a GTO with his faithful German Shepherd
he says. Theres an unequivocal number in
existence and there are not really any GTOs
THEYRE THE HOLY GRAIL
at his side, you can forgive the brusqueness.
Touchingly hes still looking to repurchase his
with horror-story histories. Theyve all been
documented thanks to author Jess Pourrets OF CLASSICS
first-ever car, a 1969 Triumph GT6. painstaking research decades ago.
I got involved in this business because a car
dealer ripped me off in the 1980s, he growls.
I bought my first Ferrari in 1976. I was a highly
paid photojournalist [and] if that car dealer
hadnt ripped me off, I would still be one.
I figured that if he could do it, I could do it
selling, not ripping people off.
And so Talacrest was formed in 1987. Story
goes, Collins begged and borrowed a lot of
money from friends to put down deposits on
some 3-million worth of cars from various
dealers. He then advertised those cars and sold
them for more than the dealers were asking.
Needless to say, they went ballistic, but a
commitment is a commitment and Collins was
in the business. Setting up as a used Ferrari
dealer next door to Maranello Concessionaires
in Egham, Surrey, describes Collinss chutzpah;
you need to get up early in the morning
to out-manoeuvre John.
This car will be the ninth GTO he has sold
In this case its chassis number 3387 GT, the
second GTO to be built. Originally used for

83
 FERRARI 250 GTO

In most cases this involves painstaking
research and discovery, just as if you were
WOULD YOU buying a company or property, but in the case
of Ferrari theres potential salvation in its
SERIOUSLY GO INTO own Classiche programme of authentication.
Collins says the Carl car doesnt have this.
in question had actually been sold at a record
price, which subsequently helped inflate the
value of the other 38 extant 250 GTOs.
Journalists need to have a care not to get
involved in this sort of confabulation.
Like collecting duelling pistols or trophy

A $50-MILLION-PLUS Emmison says that while older buyers

tend to rely on innate or long market knowledge,
a new breed of younger and perhaps less
wives, owing a Ferrari 250 GTO is mainly a
male thing, a form of chest-beating virility
symbol, but they are also very beautiful pieces
CAR DEAL ON JUST knowledgable buyer likes to have the peace
of mind offered by this process.
of design, which hold a special place in dealers
hearts. As Kidston observes: If youre in the
THE SHAKE OF Kidston agrees. Its helpful to have, he says,
especially for less experienced buyers, but
business, of course youd be proud to say youve
sold a GTO, but the reality is that barely one
A HAND? there are cars where the history is so well-
known that the inclusion of Classiche
changes hand every year and no deal is ever
straightforward.
certification is superfluous, time-consuming, So is the GTO safe in its position as Numero
costly and occasionally humiliating, when the Uno investment Ferrari? Collins admits it isnt
factory, which hasnt been in th