Marc Amblard founded Octave Engineering in 1990.

In 2004 Marc Amblard and Octave Engineering are an internationally acclaimed force in motorsport and engineering.

Marc first worked for Cosworth Engineering in Formula 1 engine development. He moved to the Ford World Rally Championship Team in 1992.

He was to be engineer in charge of the development of the Escort Cosworth GpA rally engine to meet the 1993 regulations. During the '93 season Marc designed and developed the suspension and chassis package for the gravel specification GpA Escort Cosworth. The car won its first event. The following year Marc set up a development team to produce and test new ideas. He developed and applied new technology for suspension, transmission and engine control (incorporating a new engine management system); as well as commissioning a data acquisition system. All developments were adopted for world championship rallies.

1994 -95 saw Marc developing and marketing an engine management system for turbocharged rally cars. He also took a leading role with the Mitsubishi World Rally Championship Team. He became responsible for the entire on-event engineering and car settings for two championships, as well as test strategy and parts planning.

He won both challenges with Mitsubishi, helping them in becoming Asia Pacific Rally Champions in 1995 and World Rally Champions in 1996.

In 1997 Marc set up a team of engineers at Ford and created the concepts for the engineering development of a new transmission, suspension package, car layout, engine specification and a new set of chassis electronics. Marc was overseeing all aspects of the work from contract negotiation with suppliers to race-engineering the final solutions. The team finished second in the World Championship with twelve podium finishes.

In 1998 Marc developed a revolutionary four-wheel drive transmission including the electro-hydraulic control of the differentials. Three world championship teams have now adopted this design.

He was responsible for the performance engineering on the turbo-charged ZETEC engine, selecting the turbocharger and developing the engine control, inlet and exhaust systems; the engine exceeded all performance targets for power, torque durability and response.

Forced by customer demand, Marc has now developed one of the most exciting new vehicles in motorsport. An all-terrain single-user off-road vehicle for sports and recreational use.

Hotbuggy Rally Kart offers a unique insight into the performance available to the current leaders of the World Rally Championship and it has been designed to be an affordable high-performance car.