James Elliott, editor in chief
EDITOR’S WELCOME
WELCOME TO THIS special 250th issue of Octane. To mark such an auspicious occasion we have a superb selection of 250-themed articles, ranging from a unicorn Ferrari to a brace of more recent, more affordable power-brokers, via what is to my mind the greatest and most beautiful front-engined F1 car of all. Sandwiched between them are articles on the race to build the first 250mph road car, the first people and craft to hit the magic number on land, sea and air (and two wheels – above), plus a 250cc hero and a host of other achingly desirable 250-related icons. We hope it is as much fun to read as it was to put together.
Rest assured that there is also all the usual great Octane content, including a spectacular revisiting of the 1932 Le Mans-winning Alfa Romeo 8C 20 years on, and a pair of Jaguar SS100s, the owners of which have cherished them for decades longer than Octane has even been in existence.
All of that cements my theory that very little in life is as reassuring of quality as longevity. It’s very sad that in the modern world such durability seems to be frequently (and wrongly) equated with stasis or stagnation when, to me, it represents the very opposite: loyalty, excellence, authority, credibility, experience, expertise, consistency (when did that become a negative?), plus a load o
