Octane

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

Celebrating innovation

FEATURING…

Lamborghini Miura at 60 • The inside story on what it takes to restore one – and what it took to create it originally

Octane

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Ignition • EVENTS + NEWS + OPINION

Dates for your diary

BOOK NOW! • Secure your place; make travel plans

Essential concours for 2026 • World-leading events you can’t afford to miss!

Winter is the new spring for launches • Avoiding ‘new car season’ has become the norm for a wealth of restomods and other niche vehicles

REVIVED DB5 DRIVES MEDIA STORM

Concours charity bonanza

3 ISSUES FOR JUST £5*

Jay Leno • A blast from the past can still teach a few lessons

Derek Bell • Horses for courses, but can you change steeds?

Stephen Bayley • What’s in a name? More than you ever realised

Robert Coucher • Get behind the wheel of a proper car – while you still can

Smart thinking

cars that changed the world • We are now 140 years on from the world’s first car. These are the game-changers… so far

5 NEW CARS THAT ARE CHANGING THE WORLD

TAG TEAM PARTNERS • Shelby’s GT40s failed at Le Mans in 1965, but these two special cars – the ex-Dan Gurney Daytona coupé and ex-Bob Bondurant Cobra – took the fight to Ferrari that season… and won

THE ‘KEN MILES COBRA’ STORY

LEGACY OF A LEGEND • Join Octane for a guided tour of the Shelby American Collection, a museum dedicated to the rich heritage of the cars of Carroll Shelby

AARON SHELBY • What was it like to grow up with Carroll Shelby as a grandfather? Was it all tough love or was he just a big softy? Aaron Shelby remembers it all

REAR OF THE YEAR • Zagato’s latest collaboration with Alfa Romeo has resulted in the 8C DoppiaCoda – a car with twin inspirations for its radical tail, and which stunned onlookers at Villa d’Este. Massimo Delbò reveals all

TRY THESE FOR SIZE • Octane visits the National Microcar Rally and samples some of the smallest machines ever to call themselves a car

GREEN KING • Former F1 racer Johnny Herbert takes to the track behind the wheel of the ‘ultimate’ ex-David Piper Lola T70

UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT • Till Bechtolsheimer on his vision for ‘new’ Lola

Big in Little Italy • The 1953 Ghia Cadillac translated Italian style into Stateside metal. Stephen Bayley imagines a life with the stars in the city that never sleeps

GOOD SPORTS • Caught between the lairy Escort Mk2s and the giant-killing Sierra Cosworth, the front-wheel-drive Escort RS1600i and RS Turbo had their day on the track – and on the road, too

TAKING IT HOME • What better destination for a road trip than the Lancia family villa in northern Italy? Mark Dixon explains why this was a particularly emotive journey

Channel hopping • 2004 BMW Z4 3.0i Robert Hefferon

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

Beauty treatment • 1969 Alfa Romeo Spider Sam Chick

Moretti’s last orders • 1966 Moretti 850 Sportiva Richard Heseltine

Another round of Golf • 1991 VW Golf Mk2 GTI David Lillywhite

OTHER NEWS

Are you experienced? • Elliott Hughes tries out the Goodwood ProDriver Experience

Chris Lawrence • The...