''Octane'' is a British car
magazine
A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...
, published monthly, and concentrating on classic and performance cars. It was launched in 2003, and is now published by Autovia Limited. The magazine features news, road tests and buyers guides of both classic cars and some modern performance cars. It also has an "For Sale" section that lists cars from all around the world.
It has a cover price of £4.70 in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
, and sells an average of 35,000 copies.
The Octane office is situated in
Wollaston, Northamptonshire
Wollaston is a village and civil parish in North Northamptonshire, England, about south of the market town of Wellingborough. The 2011 census recorded the population of the parish, including Strixton, as 3,491.
Wollaston is from above sea le ...
.
History
''Octane Magazine'' was launched in May 2003, following a chance meeting between David Lillywhite and Geoff Love. They were invited to a meeting to discuss the launch of a motoring magazine (eventually to be launched as
''Practical Performance Car''), but came away with the idea for a classic magazine that focused on the upper end of the market.
A team was quickly put together consisting of Robert Coucher, previously editor of ''Classic Cars'' during its heyday; Sanjay Seetanah, ex ''Classic & Sports car'' and ''Classic Cars'' Advertising Manager; David Lilly white, ex-deputy editor on ''Classic Cars'' and freelance writer for a number of publications, and Geoff Love, ex Publishing Director at E MAP (now Bauer) Automotive.
''Classic & Sportscar'' and ''Classic Cars'' were publishing magazines that targeted a broad range of cars from restoration projects to exotic supercars but there was nothing really targeting the serious collector, the historic racing driver or the serious enthusiast. This was the market opportunity that the team of four identified and where ''Octane'' was to launch into.
The editorial concept was established and the business plan created. All the team now required was funding. Obtaining finance for a magazine launch is not easy, but Sanjay was a Crystal Palace fan and knew another fan who revealed he had Simon Jordan's phone number on his mobile. In a drunken moment Sanjay challenged his friend to call the Crystal Palace Chairman and see if he wanted to invest in a classic car magazine.
As luck would have it, Simon was looking for investments, and a couple of weeks later the four found themselves in the boardroom of the Grosvenor House Hotel being grilled by Simon, his tax adviser, and financial advisor in a scene reminiscent of the ''
Dragon's Den
''Dragons' Den'' is a reality television program format in which entrepreneurs pitch their business ideas to a panel of venture capitalists in the hope of securing investment finance from them. The program originated in 2001 in Japan, where it is k ...
''. During the day, Simon had been presented to by five other potential entrepreneurs, and the ''Octane'' presentation came at 5.30pm.
After an hour of tough questions, Simon turned to his advisers and agreed to invest the money.
That was February 2003, and the magazine launched on 15 May of that year. The magazine achieved critical acclaim within the market very early on, and advertisers were prepared to support the magazine. Commercial success was slower to follow, but over time circulation grew to over 30,000 per issue.
The initial business plan outlined a trade sale within a three to five-year period as the most likely exit strategy for Simon Jordan, and it also identified Dennis Publishing as the most likely buyer. It was no coincidence that ''Octane'' took ''
evo'' as its template in terms of production values and physical size. Remarkably, Dennis Publishing made an initial contact to say they liked what ''Octane'' was doing within six months of launch, and indicated they would be following its progress.
They had recently acquired ''evo magazine'', so ''Octane'' would make a good fit in their portfolio.
It was three years later that Dennis expressed a real interest in the acquisition of Octane magazine, and this led to the purchase in May 2007. Since then the magazine has gone from strength to strength, with the founding team still at the helm. In addition to the version for the United Kingdom, Octane is now published in Italy, The Netherlands, Germany and Sweden. A Japanese and an Argentine edition launched in 2013.
In 2021, ''Octane'' and the rest of Dennis Publishing's automotive assets were spun-off as independent company called Autovia.
The team
Editor: James Elliot
International Editor: Robert Coucher
Deputy Editor: Mark Dixon
Production Editor: Glen Waddington
Art Editor: Mark Sommer
Designer: Robert Hefferon
Staff writer: Matthew Hayward
Columnists:
Nick Mason
Nicholas Berkeley Mason, (born 27 January 1944) is an English drummer and a founder member of the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. He is the only member to feature on every Pink Floyd album, and the only constant member since its formation in ...
,
Jay Leno
James Douglas Muir Leno (; born April 28, 1950) is an American television host, comedian, writer, and actor. After doing stand-up comedy for years, he became the host of NBC's ''The Tonight Show'' from 1992 to 2009. Beginning in September 2009 ...
,
Brian Johnson
Brian Johnson (born 5 October 1947) is an English singer and songwriter. In 1980, after the death of Bon Scott, he became the third lead singer of the Australian rock band AC/DC. He and the rest of the band were inducted into the Rock and Rol ...
,
Tony Dron
Anthony Middleton Dron (29 August 1946 – 16 November 2021) was a British racing driver, motoring author, and journalist.
Racing history
Dron was best known for racing Touring Cars in the 1970s (Triumph Dolomites for the works BL/Broadspeed t ...
Content
Regular features include:
*Glossy features on the finest classic and performance cars
*News and market analysis
*Icon
*Gone But Not Forgotten
*Day in the life of
*Time with
*Automobilia
*Buyer's guides
References
External links
Octane Magazine's new URLOctane Magazine's existing URLDutch version of Octane MagazineGerman Octane Magazine
{{DEFAULTSORT:Octane (Magazine)
Magazines established in 2003
Automobile magazines published in the United Kingdom
Monthly magazines published in the United Kingdom