ROBERT COUCHER: The Driver
Octane|250 - April 2024
'WHEN I ARRIVED IN LONDON IN THE 1990S, THE STREETS WERE LINED WITH CHOCOLATE BROWN CLASSICS'
ROBERT COUCHER: The Driver

What goes around comes around. As regular readers will know, some 20 years ago four optimists launched Octane. Hailing from motoring magazine backgrounds, publisher Geoff Love, managing editor David Lillywhite, advertising sales director Sanjay Seetanah and myself (plain old editor) decided to create a classic and performance car magazine – a publication that reflected the changing times in the classic car world.

It had moved along fast from simply being a hobby for hairy blokes who liked getting their fingers dirty – hell, we still do! – to vintage, classic, historic racing and rally cars being much more aspirational, collectable and part of the mainstream social fabric, as reflected by such events as the ever-popular Goodwood Festival of Speed and the swish Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. The car game had changed, and we managed to ‘effectively tap into the zeitgeist of the historic car world: the people, the events, the action, the excitement’, as I optimistically wrote in the first Editor’s Note.

Denne historien er fra 250 - April 2024-utgaven av Octane.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra 250 - April 2024-utgaven av Octane.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

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Will China Change Everything? - China is tearing up modern motor manufacture but is yet to make more than a ripple in the classic car world. That could be about to change dramatically
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China now dominates the automotive world in a way even Detroit in its heyday would have struggled to comprehend.Helped by Government incentives, the new car world is dominated by China's industries: whether full cars that undercut Western models by huge amounts, ownership of storied European brands such as Lotus and Volvo, or ownership and access to the vast majority of raw materials that go into EV cars, its influence is far-reaching and deep. However, this automotive enlightenment hasn't manifested itself in the classic world in any meaningful way - until now.

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