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Highlights

Land Rover Considering Grande Evoque

While Mercedes calls its cars “uber” internally when they want to give them steroids, the British marketing teams at Land Rover are currently considering a “Grande Evoque”, which will fill the gap in the lineup between the compact Range Rover Evoque and the Range Rover Sport. Once again, this is a car that’s being analyzed from a marketing point of view first and then from an automotive perspective, but we’ll let it slide because we like the new design direction the British firm has. According to Autocar, inside sources say that a final conclusion on whether to give the go-ahead or not is close to being reached. Land Rover wants to bridge the gap in price between the range-topping Evoque and the entry-level Sport. The Grande Evoque could be a five-door machine that takes the recently introduced shape and blows […]

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Corporate Business

McLaren Opens Retail Flagship in London

The first of McLaren’s 35 dealerships set to open in 2011 opens its doors tomorrow in London’s One Hyde Park. McLaren’s first dealership opens in one of London’s newest and most prestigious developments – fitting for the all-new supercar. Although the MP12-4C is not McLaren’s first foray into street legal super cars it will offer more than four times the sales and service support than it did with the F1 and its eight worldwide dealerships. This time instead of flying a technician to the owner of the car or service center McLaren claims it “is stocking its retail network with a spare of every serviceable part for the MP4-12C.” McLaren calls it “its ‘pit stop’ service concept that ensures fast and efficient repair.” Good thing too because the MP4-12C is the first in a full lineup of carbon-fiber based sports […]

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Highlights

Robbie Williams Can’t Drive

Robbie Williams has admitted he still can’t drive a car at the age of 37. The British singer struggles to get around Los Angeles, where he lives with wife Ayda Field, because he has never passed his driving test. He said: “I don’t have a driver’s licence. In London you just don’t drive because the traffic is terrible, so you get cabs to go everywhere, which has left me being 37 and still without a driver’s licence in Los Angeles.” Although he can’t drive, the Take That star – who has teamed up with country music star Bob Paisley to record ‘Collision of Worlds’ for the forthcoming ‘Cars 2’ movie – is fascinated by cars and loves watching motor racing on television. In an interview organised by Disney and posted on Robbie’s official website, he said: “We have Formula 1 […]

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Corporate Business

Only 140 Goodwood MINIs to be Sold in USA

The Mini, inspired by Goodwood, is an exclusive special edition that adds another layer to the MINI brand experience with a generous dose of automotive luxury and exclusivity in its highest form. The MINI, will have only 140 vehicles coming to the United States. The Goodwood MINI has had a close collaboration with the Rolls-Royce Motor Cars design team at the development center of Rolls-Royce in Goodwood, England, and has produced a limited-run special edition MINI, whose exterior and interior design is inspired by fine materials and the British luxury car marque’s commitment to absolutely flawless workmanship. “The Mini, inspired by Goodwood is a limited edition model that will combine typical Mini driving fun with discerning craftsmanship,” said Darren Richie, Irvine, Calif., Mini’s General Manager. “We’re excited for its arrival to the U.S and we’re excited to see our Mini […]

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Classic Cars

Austin A40 Countryman 1966

I know nothing about this car, have no stake in its sale, and can do no more than to point you towards the advertisement. But, I just think this Austin A40 is very, very cool. See more of this Austin A40 Countryman for sale at http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/vintagecars/2259843

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People

Sad Day – Stirling Moss Retires

Racing legend Sir Stirling Moss OBE has retired from racing, closing the door on a competitive racing career that has spanned more than 60 years. During qualifying for the Le Mans Legends race at the wheel of his Porsche RS 61, Moss made the decision to retire from the sport he loves. On his retirement Stirling said, “This afternoon I scared myself and I have always said that if I felt I was not up to it or that I was getting in the way of fellow competitors, then I would retire.” Moss leaves motor racing as one of the most recognised racing drivers in the world, having raced from the age of 18, winning the British Grand Prix twice, the Monaco Grand Prix three times, the Mille Miglia, the Targa Florio and the Tourist Trophy, as well as countless […]

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Corporate Business

MG Motor UK Cuts Losses

Longbridge has drastically cut its annual losses from over £12 million to just £392,000 as the rebirth of Birmingham’s most famous factory gathers pace. Results for MG Motor UK for 2010 showed that sales of parts to China had helped slash cash losses at the car firm, which launched production of the MG6, its first all-new MG, in April. Meanwhile, a capital injection of £7 million from the Chinese parent company also helped to bolster the firm’s financial status, the report revealed. The vastly improved results came as sales of Longbridge’s first all-new MG for 16 years generate increasing revenues for the Birmingham factory following the relaunch of volume production. The MG6 generated over £3 million of business in its first two weeks in showrooms, leaving many buyers facing a waiting list of up to six weeks for customized vehicles. […]

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Racing and Competition

Team Lotus in Deal with General Electric

Formula One’s Team Lotus on Tuesday, 6/14/2011, announced a broad sponsorship deal with General Electric that will see the U.S. industrial giant’s branding on its cars starting from the British Grand Prix in July. Team principal Tony Fernandes, who is also the chief executive of AirAsia, said in a statement the tie-up would showcase GE “in race and non-race markets alike”. The deal comes as Asia’s largest budget airline negotiates a potentially massive plane order with Airbus, for which G is competing with United Technologies unit Pratt & Whitney to supply jet engines. Analysts say the possible order for at least 150 Airbus planes and the related engine order are among the biggest deals expected at the Paris Air Show next week

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Corporate Business

10-Strong MINI Model Lineup Coming

According to AutoEvolution.com, despite being ideal vehicles for hairdressers and looking like retro hatchbacks, we actually like the cars that MINI makes. However, there’s always that nagging thought in the back of our minds that they are as British as a bratwurst. There’s still hope though, as MINI recently announced a big investment plan in its plant in Oxford, UK to prepare for production of its third-generation Cooper model, a test mule of which was recently spotted while undergoing road trials. The new model, will be based on a new front-wheel drive platform dubbed UKL, which will be used by BMW for its own range of entry-level hatchbacks. A new Cooper isn’t the only kind of ammo that MINI has ready to load, as the company boss Norbert Reithoffer has revealed to What Car? that a 10 model lineup is […]

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Aston Martin

Aston, Maybach To Team-Up

Aston-Martin and Maybach are discussing building a concept car together, possibly for the Frankfurt show in September — and the move could signal an impending partnership between Aston 
and Mercedes-Benz. Little is known about the concept, except that it is likely to be a luxury car, with a high-quality interior finished to the hand-crafted standards of a British luxury saloon. Aston is understood to have approached Mercedes with an idea for at least one concept, although a source suggests that two projects are the subject of discussions. Neither Aston Martin nor Mercedes would comment. But Mercedes is understood to be close to selecting a partner to co-develop future Maybach models. In an interview in Germany, Daimler boss Dieter Zetsche recently put a date of “the end of June” for a decision, which is pressing because Maybach needs to finalise replacements for […]

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Corporate Business

SAIC Starts Selling MG in Brazil

MG Motors UK, which is majority-owned by the Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC), has started selling two of its models – the MG550 and the MG6 – in Brazil, the Brazilian press reported. The MG motors models, which are represented in Brazil by Sao Paulo based company Forest Trade, will be sold for between 94,000 and 100,000 reals (between US$59,000 and US$63,000), with a number of items as standard including DVD player, satellite navigation, ABS brakes, light and rain sensors and 17-inch tyres. The MG Car Company was founded in the 1920s and produced cars continuously until the autumn of 1980. After two attempts to re-launch production, the second of which was commercially successfully, the MG brand and the Rover brand, merged to become the MG Rover group in May, 2000, and production came to a stop in April, 2005 […]

Monterey Poster 2011 - Jaguar E-Type
Classic Cars

Artwork Pays Tribute to Jaguar E-Type 50th Anniversary

The speed and elegance of one of motoring’s iconic cars of all time — the sleek Jaguar E-Type — reveals itself as the inspiration for the official poster art of the 2011 Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion. Jaguar is this year’s featured marque and will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the E-Type at the annual gathering of historic race and sports cars to be held August 19-21 at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca during the Monterey Classic Car Week. Renowned artist Bill Patterson, who is the official artist of Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, says the E-Type is true art on wheels. “Having fallen in love with racing and fast cars in the ’60s, the E-Type represented the perfect blend of design, technology, performance and sex appeal. It still looks fantastic today, 50 years after it was first produced. And to have been […]

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Auctions & Sales

1926 Rolls-Royce To Be Auctioned

RM Auctions, the world’s largest collector car auction house for quality automobiles, is now on the countdown to its inaugural sale at London’s Salon Privé luxury car show and Concours d’Elegance on 23rd June, 2011. The sale, which is only open to British-built automobiles, has attracted fifty-seven stunning examples of ‘Quintessentially English’ cars including some significant collections of Aston Martin, Jaguar and Rolls Royce automobiles. Max Girardo, Managing Director, RM Europe says, “What is nice about this sale is that we have selected some genuinely rare and interesting cars and motorcycles while also offering a very comprehensive selection of British marques that represent a wide cross-section of some of the best loved and most keenly collected models.” The star Rolls Royce lot is unquestionably the unique and historic 1926 Rolls-Royce Phantom I Experimental Sports Tourer, ‘10 EX’, the first prototype […]

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Corporate Business

MINI Production Plan is Second Lift

A beleaguered British motor industry delivered its second boost to the economy in as many days yesterday as BMW announced plans to build its next generation Mini in country. The German car giant said it will make a fresh investment of £500 million to build the new Mini coupe and Mini Roadster models in the UK. The news followed an announcement on Wednesday by Nissan that it was investing £192m to build the next version of its Qashqai model in Britain. Both announcements safeguard thousands of jobs. Business leaders, unions and the government welcomed the development, which the Prime Minister said was a “tremendous vote of confidence” in BMW’s UK workforce. The Mini coupe will be launched later this year and the Mini Roadster in 2012, both produced in Oxford, where more than two million Minis have been built since […]

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Austin

ADO16, MG1100, Austin America

I have to admit it, I am a die-hard fan for the BMC 1100 family of cars. Say what you want about the British Motor Corporation, BMC, and its later incarnation BLMC, British Leyland Motor Corporation, these were innovative cars. This includes the MG1100 Sports Sedan, MG 1300, Austin America, Morris 1100, Vanden Plas Princess and even Wolseleys! To that end I want to call your attention to the fantastic site by my friend Todd Miller at AustinAmericaUSA.com. Not only does he have repair information, historical details, and an Austin America registry, but he also has reproduced some hard to find parts such as rubber vent window inserts. Oh, and want something really wild? He has been in personal contact with Dr. Alex Moulton, the inventor of the revolutionary hydrolastic suspension system used in these cars. Some of the emails […]

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Aston Martin

Aston Martin Rapide Production To UK

Aston Martin is planning to move production of the Rapide sports saloon to the UK in 2012. The production will be moved to the British automaker’s Gaydon headquarters in Warwickshire in the second half of 2012. After the conclusion of a six month feasibility study, the automaker had decided that the production of the Rapide is not feasible in Gaydon due to some constraints. Therefore, in 2008, the company joined hands with Magna Steyr to manufacture this car and the latter established a dedicated facility in their Graz facilities in Austria. The pre-production of this car began in late 2009 and full production began in 2010. Explaining the decision to move the production of this car, Aston Martin’s chief executive, Ulrich Bez, said that the facility restrictions in Gaydon would have created problems in production of other cars if the […]

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Highlights

Lotus To Build Own V6 and V8 Engines

Lotus is doing a bit of rearranging in their kitchen now that plans for the Elan sports car have been placed on the backburner. Apparently, the British manufacturer is using the money that had been set aside for the Elan to develop their very own lineup of V6 and V8 engines. During an interview, Project Boss Dany Bahar said: “This is a big [financial] hit because it’s expensive to do 
an engine,” says Bahar. “But 
because the Elan is not happening now we have got capital expenditure headroom 
for engine development.” The first engine cooking is a V8 that will set up the competition for Ferrari’s V8 engine as seen in the 458 Italia. The new Lotus V8 will deliver between 550 – 570 HP and will undergo testing in July 2011. It will be dropped in the new Esprit […]

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Classic Cars

Capturing Mini’s Big Impact On Film

A Mini mad student has photographed one of the original cars back at the plant where it was built 50 years ago – alongside an engineer who worked on the first prototype. For the last project for his University of Derby BA (Hons) Commercial Photography degree course Simon Thompson took his own 1960 model Mini – one of the first sold – back to the Longbridge Plant in Birmingham where it was built. Simon photographed his car at the plant alongside Doug Adams, 91, who worked on the Mini prototype alongside its creator Sir Alec Issigonis, when the two men became friends. Doug still lives on the Longbridge Estate in Birmingham, established by the Austin motor company at the end of the First World War. The photos by Simon will be on public display at the University’s Markeaton Street site […]

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People

British Motorists Lose Their Cars

More than half (56 per cent) of British motorists have at some point forgotten where they parked, according to a poll. And three per cent of these forgetful motorists have called their breakdown service to help them find their car, the survey by Confused.com found. Women appear to have more memory lapses than men, with 63 per cent of female drivers forgetting where they parked compared with 43 per cent of males. The survey did not report on whether or not the women misplaced their cars, and perhaps the associated male drivers, on purpose. One has to wonder!

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Corporate Business

Over £3 Million In Orders For New MG

Longbridge’s first all-new MG for 16 years has drummed up over £3 million of business in just two weeks – with 180 cars sold. The MG6 has got off to a flying start since the official VIP launch in April, with buyers facing a waiting list of up to six weeks as dealers cope with a flood of orders for new MG model. Sales of the new MG6 follow the relaunch of volume car-making at the Birmingham car factory six years on from the collapse of MG Rover in April 2005, when 6,500 jobs were lost. MG Motor UK PR and Events Manager Doug Wallace said the Chinese-backed company was delighted with the response to the MG6, which sells for between £15,495 and £18,995. “The value of MG6 GT fastbacks sold or ordered is just over £3 million – we […]