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Carbon Footprint 510bhp BMW M3 F80

Many a modded enthusiast would argue that there’s no such thing as too much carbon, and for anyone addicted to the mesmerising black weave, this F80 M3 will give you the fix you need.

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1993 BMW 850CSi E31

You can keep your rare Ferraris and Lamborghinis because if you really fancy a true one-off machine, you need an original owner with imagination and a little bit of help from BMW Individual.

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470hp 4.0-litre V8 1UZ, Holset HE400 turbo BMW E36 Drift

Built for serious sideways action, this hardcore E36 drift machine is packing some hefty turbocharged V8 power under its bonnet, and it’s given this Z Series a distinctly Asian flavour...

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Thunder and Lightening 361bhp BMW M3 CSL E46

The BMW E46 M3 CSL is the pinnacle of the fourth-gen 3 Series range, but iconic as it is, there are some areas where it fell short, and the owner of this M3 set out to build himself the ultimate E46 that would surpass even BMW’s own effort.

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1967 Glas 3000GT

The zenith of car production by BMW’s near-neighbour could have been the flagship for all of Bavaria, says James Elliott.

Editor's comment
JOSH SWEENEY

‘The BMW-Glas V8 has a distinctive appeal with a sporty yet classic vibe. Attention to detail in both exterior and interior design elements is what sets apart iconic vehicles and contributes to their timeless fascination.’
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1961 Jaguar E-type OTS roadster

Join Octane at Monsanto Park, Portugal, to drive the ex-Manuel Nogueira Pinto 1961 Jaguar E-type racer – the most successful of its era.

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1950 Bentley MkVI six-light saloon by Mulliner

From its brand-new post-war home in Crewe, Bentley redefined itself with the prescient MkVI sports saloon. Glen Waddington drives the desirable HJ Mulliner six-light version.

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1907 Fiat 130HP Corsa

This monstrous Fiat 130HP was driven to victory by Felice Nazzaro in the 1907 French Grand Prix. Massimo Delbò dons his goggles and gathers his courage.

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1992 Schuppan-Porsche 962 CR

This is the most extensive ever road test of the fire-breathing Schuppan-Porsche 962 CR. Octane puts Dickie Meaden behind the wheel of a road-legal, race-bred unicorn.

Editor's comment
The lengths we’ll go to
More often than we would probably like to admit, amazing stories fall into Octane’s lap and a tentative email with a picture attachment sets in motion a chain of events that ends with you reading about a very special car. Every one of those easy wins, however, is counterbalanced by something that takes a lot more time, effort and, inevitably, money to put together. And in 28 years in this game I cannot remember a more fraught process than our collective quest to get a Schuppan 962 CR into Octane. The reason for wanting to is obvious – great car, great story, plus the compulsion finally, and for the first time, properly to tell the world how this remarkable Le Mans car for the road measures up to its billing.
The reasons we had to go the extra mile were myriad, but with a pool of fewer than ten cars to choose from it was never going to be easy. The first car we lined up was actually the one we ended up featuring, but when under a previous ownership. Photographing it and writing about it were fine, but driving it, we were told, was a strict no-no. Now, I don’t want to come across as all prissy here but, though we were extremely grateful for the offer, we reckoned we were probably only going to feature a Schuppan once and not to drive the thing on a public road would leave the biggest – to my mind, the essential – question, unanswered. It would be to deny the car’s raison d’etre.
Next up was the final car, tracked down in the USA. An excellent example as it turns out, but such was our fanaticism by then that the fact it was built as a prototype and later converted was enough for us to discount it. With hindsight, we were being overly pedantic. Then came the freshly restored winner of the 2023 London Concours. We chased, followed, harangued, a date was set to drive it between its concours victory and its shipping to the US – then it rained on the day and it wasn’t allowed out to play. After that the trail went cold. I had just about given up when Simon Kidston, not noted for letting any car stand idle regardless of its rarity, value or mileage, wondered aloud to racer-writer Dickie Meaden whether Octane would be interested in giving that very first car we set out to drive a proper seeing-to (on track as well as dream roads) in Wales. Unsurprisingly, we were. So what you see in Octane this month may look like other stories on the surface, but it is actually the product of more than five years of work and at least three times the investment of a normal article (shhh, don’t tell the bosses). Because you are worth it.
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1992 Alpine A610 vs. 1997 Venturi Atlantique 260

In the 1990s, France produced a showdown between two glassfibre-bodied supercoupés with boosted Renault V6s: the Alpine A610 and Venturi Atlantique. Do they deserve to remain in perpetual obscurity?

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1951 Ferrari 212 Inter Cabriolet by Vignale

This Vignale-bodied 212 Inter was owned by one of the first privateers to campaign Ferraris in motor sport. It’s in the UK after a 50-year absence – a chance for us to drive back to the early days of the marque.

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1981 Saab 99 Turbo

Clive Moore has lusted after the Saab 99 Turbo for decades, so we put him behind the wheel of one for a day to see if it lived up to his dreams.

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640bhp 5.2-litre V10 Audi R8 Type 4S

There’s a school of thought in this glorious scene of ours that a good modified car is never truly finished. Serial modder Steve Fraser not only subscribes to this notion, he has a YouTube channel and social media presence dedicated to documenting the constant evolution of his fleet.

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500bhp of turbo’d VR6 Volkswagen Golf Mk2 4Motion into a subtly re-worked

Cramming 500hp of turbo’d VR6 and 4Motion into a subtly re-worked Mk2 shell, Tim Dunn’s Golf might look like it’s picking the best of the Volkswagen parts bin – but it’s heavily inspired by something a little further afield.

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770kg seam-welded 1980 Volkswagen Golf Mk1 with 206hp 16v motor

In the relentless pursuit of power-to-weight saving, Frank Wolkers set out his goal to build a sub-700kg Mk1 track car. Here’s how he did it.

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