CATEGORIES

60 years of FORD PERFORMANCE

From RS to ST, Ford's sporting sub-brands have been delivering high-speed thrills to British enthusiasts ever since the Lotus-tweaked Cortina appeared in 1963

INDUCTION CEREMONY

The BMW 2002 turbo was a poorly timed but appealing statement of intent that heralded a new wave of mid-'70s performance motoring

UP FRONT DOWN UNDER

The National Motor Racing Museum at Bathurst celebrates Australia’s rich motorsport history

Mick WALSH

FROM THE COCKPIT

The Grand Tour

These modern-classic luxury super-GTs from Bentley, Aston Martin and Ferrari each uphold their brand values in subtly different ways

MID-SIZED MAESTRO 2023 KTM RC 8C

The second-generation KTM RC 8C took all of two minutes to sell out its 200-unit production run. Cathcart was not lucky enough to have bought one, but he bagged another golden ticket – to try one out for size around Valencia.

BIKES THAT HAVE BOOMED...

Ducati 916 - Like all the bikes in this category, the 916 should really not need any introduction, but as an example that in recent times has gone mad in value, this shines.

Kyle Ryde

Every now and then, it seems like there’s a bit of a changing of the guard in the top race series. The big names you’ve grown accustomed to begin to drift down the results sheets and new, less familiar names start to rise to the top.

HIDDEN TREASURE

Remember the 2005 YZF-R6? This one-hit wonder is worth searching out...

BEEN THERE, DONE THAT...

So, there you have it… you’ve got our take on the bikes to buy, the bikes to salivate over, and the bikes to take a punt on. But before we sign off and leave you to a weekend of scrolling online ads for overlooked bargains, we thought we’d give you a bit of insight from a bloke who’s built up an impressive collection of bikes on the back of buying them at the right time and for the right price.

WORTH A PUNT...

2004 Fireblade - The 2004 Fireblade is the result of Honda deciding it wanted to go superbike racing, abandoning its ‘less is more’ approach to superbike design and going all in with a 1000cc example. It also drew heavily on Honda’s design philosophy of mass centralisation it was using to great effect on the V5 RC211V MotoGP bike. And it was the first non-Baba designed Fireblade, which, unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past 20 years, you’ll know is significant.

THE Fairy-tale TT

The dust might only just be settling on this year’s epic TT, but we want to take you back to 2017 and one of the most magical wins around the Island ever. To a Senior TT victory that could, and maybe even should, have gone very differently. It’s time to talk about Michael Dunlop and the Hawk Suzuki GSX-R1000R…

Christian Iddon

Iddon's one tough cookie, as we're sure you'll agree after reading this.

ON THE UP...

2009 Yamaha R1 - In 2008, when Yamaha released the teaser adverts for the upcoming replacement to the ever popular R1, all they did was publish a photograph of a crankshaft.

HEDGING YOUR BETS...

We all have that list – bikes we wish we still had and can’t believe we sold for what we did, because since then they’ve gone on to become icons that everyone wants... but when we owned them, they were just what we got our kicks with.

THE FINALE - ROAD TO THE TT YAMAHA R7 PROJECT

Now the dust has settled, it’s time to tell the tale of how Rutter’s R7 cut it around the 2023 Isle of Man TT.

Heal like Wolverine

Unfortunately, crashing is part of the job when it comes to racing motorcycles, and completing an entire season without copping for the odd spill is relatively unheard of... even the most successful riders get a little too intimate with the tarmac every now and then.

GOLDIE'S GOLDEN YEARS

John Mayhead discovered a treasure trove of candid shots from Goldie Gardner’s lifetime of recordbreaking while researching his biography

IT MIGHT BE GIANT

The AMC Mighty Mite was developed for US Marines to transport by helicopter. Massimo Delbò drives a tiny unsung hero of tactical warfare

No time to dive

For most the cost of an unreliable watch is being late; for a few it could be life or death

Patrick Watts

From the British Touring Car Championship to historic endurance rallying in a 400bhp Sunbeam Tiger

WORKS FORCE

Abarth's 124 Spider is often overlooked as a rally hero. Richard Heseltine reckons it's time to set the record straight

ROUTE EV6

Charging an electric car can be fraught in the UK - but how about in the deserts of the USA? Mark Dixon takes Kia's new EV6 GT on a Route 66 road trip to find out

Chanel No.5

Plain presentation belies the sophistication of the world's most famous perfume

Concours clash off the calendar

Leading UK event date tweak could be a boon for enthusiasts and collectors

Sanjay Seetanah

One of the four founders of Octane back in 2003, and still running the advertising department 20 years on

Luis Fontés

A skilled driver fuelled by a ruinous cocktail of wealth and extreme recklessness

Fire up the March

South Africa's Charles Arton had to bring his March 79B back from the dead

HOW TO WIN LE MANS

The 956 was Porsche's object lesson to the world on continued domination of the fabled 24 Hours with a brand new design. Matthew Hayward uncovers the secrets of chassis one

GOLDIE OPPORTUNITY

Purely by chance, one man became obsessed with record-breaker Goldie Gardner. Then his MG TC came up for sale...