Readers of one of Britain's top motoring magazines and a group of legendary motor racing drivers are being asked to vote for the world's greatest racing car.

In a unique survey, readers of Octane magazine and visitors of its website as well as the famous drivers including: Sir Stirling Moss, Brian Redman, Damon Hill, Derek Bell, Carroll Shelby, Andy Wallace and Bobby Rahal have been asked to nominate the car.

The managing editor of Octane, David Lillywhite said: "There has been a huge debate over the years as to which car would ultimately be nominated for this accolade but no one has ever put it to the test. We decided that we would ask over 33,000 magazine readers and more than 100,000 users of the Octane website to vote.

"We also wanted the views of some of the most famous drivers in the world who have actually experienced using these famous cars over the years. The cars that have been nominated include: A Maserati 250F, Auto Union Type C, Lotus 49, Porsche 917,Cobra, Mercedes-Benz W196 and Toyota TS010 Group C.

Octane will reveal the car at a picture call in London after Christmas. David Lilywhite added;" We have had feedback from all over the world and it will be interesting to see which car is finally chosen.

Porsche 917 one of the famous racing cars nominated