As Associate Editor at Octane Magazine, Glen Waddington has redefined classic car journalism through his dual focus on preservation and innovation. His work excavates automotive history while blueprinting its future—a balance epitomized by his award-winning coverage of restomod culture.
With readership spanning 40 countries, Waddington’s work serves as the Rosetta Stone between classic car purists and modern engineering visionaries. His upcoming book Welding Past to Present (2026) promises to further cement this legacy.
Glen Waddington’s career trajectory defies convention. What began as a wayward architecture student’s pivot evolved into a two-decade journey through the heart of classic automotive journalism. His tenure at Octane Magazine, where he serves as Associate Editor, has positioned him as a bridge between historical automotive craftsmanship and contemporary enthusiast culture. Waddington’s work transcends mere reporting—it’s an ongoing dialogue between engineering marvels of the past and their modern reinterpretations.
“The GTA isn’t just a car—it’s a time capsule of racing DNA, reanimated through obsessive attention to detail.”
This 2021 deep dive into the resurrection of Rob Slotemaker’s 1966 Dutch Touring Car Championship-winning Alfa Romeo GTA exemplifies Waddington’s forensic approach. The piece alternates between meticulous technical breakdowns of the car’s period-correct restoration and vivid recreations of its racing pedigree. What elevates it beyond typical historiography is Waddington’s focus on the human element—the tension between preserving authenticity and making the car track-worthy again. His interviews with restorers reveal the existential dilemmas facing preservationists: “Do we freeze it in amber or let it breathe fire once more?”
In this 2023 feature, Waddington resurrects the legacy of France’s forgotten automotive pioneer. The article’s genius lies in its structure—parallel timelines contrasting the Djet’s 1962 debut against modern mid-engine marvels. Through factory blueprints and driver testimonials, he builds a compelling case for the Djet as the conceptual ancestor to every McLaren road car. Technical schematics are interwoven with tales of Bonnet’s quixotic battles against larger manufacturers, creating a narrative that’s equal parts engineering analysis and corporate drama.
Waddington’s 2022 Goodwood Masters report redefined the restomod debate. By shadowing Alfaholics’ team during the event, he captures the visceral reality of modernizing classics—carbon fiber panels being hand-formed next to original 1960s chassis. The piece’s centerpiece is a side-by-side comparison of lap times between a period GTA and its restomod descendant, contextualized with driver physiology data. It’s a masterclass in balancing nostalgia with progress, concluding that “the best restomods aren’t replacements for history—they’re its translators.”
Successful pitches connect modern automotive developments to their historical precedents. When Alfaholics developed their GTA-R’s carbon fiber suspension components, Waddington’s coverage focused on how the materials echoed 1960s aerospace innovations. PR professionals should highlight such lineage—a new electric conversion kit becomes interesting if it mirrors Colin Chapman’s weight distribution principles.
Waddington’s piece on the Djet’s chassis design spent three paragraphs analyzing the car’s magnesium alloy before pivoting to Bonnet’s bankruptcy saga. Pitches need both: the metallurgical composition of a new brake rotor paired with the engineer’s personal journey perfecting it.
His articles regularly employ terms like “hemi-dodecahedral combustion chamber” without glossaries. PR materials should trust his audience’s fluency—a press release about piston ring coatings can safely reference “cross-hatch honing patterns.”
When pitching photography, include archival comparisons. Waddington’s Slotemaker GTA feature paired 1966 pit lane photos with modern shots using identical camera angles. Accompany new car reveals with blueprints or period ads for context.
The most cited section of his restomod article profiles the fabricator who hand-welds suspension components while listening to 1970s race broadcasts. Pitches should identify the personalities behind innovations—the engineer who moonlights as a vintage racer, the designer who collects period workshop manuals.
Waddington’s investigation into lost Group B rally car blueprints earned recognition in automotive journalism’s most prestigious competition. The judging panel particularly noted his ability to make archival research feel urgent—a skill honed through 15 years of sifting through forgotten factory records.
As key architect of the magazine’s digital strategy, Waddington helped grow international readership to 30,000+ across 40 countries. His video series on barn-find discoveries contributed to Octane becoming Barnes & Noble’s top imported automotive title in North America.
Waddington’s interviews with figures like Jay Leno and Derek Bell are studied in journalism programs for their balance of technical inquiry and personal revelation. His 2018 profile of Nick Mason’s Ferrari 250 GTO collection remains the publication’s most-read digital article.
At PressContact, we aim to help you discover the most relevant journalists for your PR efforts. If you're looking to pitch to more journalists who write on Automotive, here are some other real estate journalist profiles you may find relevant:
