No Picture
Classic Cars

Mini Voted Best British Car Ever

A bit surprising considering the competition maybe, but Autocar magazine readers voted the classic Mini ahead of McLaren F1, Jaguar E-type and the Range Rover. And there is nary an MG, Triumph or Austin Healey to be found on the list. The poll also named Norfolk-based Lotus as the most popular British manufacturer, with seven of its models making the 100 best British cars list. Autocar brand editor Chas Hallett said: “It comes as little surprise that the original Mini has topped the list of all-time British greats. “It’s such an iconic vehicle and represents a lot more than the British car industry; the Mini is associated with Great Britain around the world and, in many ways, it was ahead of its time.” He went on: “Everyone loved and still loves an original Mini. It ensured a fabulous drive every time, […]

No Picture
Articles

VotW – The Golden Age of the British Sportscar

We are starting a new feature this week. We have always put a nice little YouTube video over there in the sidebar for your enjoyment, but a lot of folks either didn’t realize it was there, didn’t realize they could blow it up to a larger size to watch, or just generally ignored it because … well, I don’t know. Maybe they thought it was an advertisement or something. Anyway, from now one we are going to feature the video in a post each time we change it, and this should be every week. Hopefully every Wednesday. Why Wednesday? Because it is a pretty boring day in general and we could all use a little something to brighten it up. Maybe a nice little video about some aspect of the British car fascination will do this. Hopefully it will give […]

No Picture
Highlights

Celebrating the 90th Birthday of MG

Set to celebrate its 90th birthday annivarsary, The MG Car Company was founded in 1924 and got its name from Morris Garages, a dealer of Morris cars in Oxford which began producing its own customised versions to the designs of Cecil Kimber. The first cars, re-bodied Morris models, used coachwork from Carbodies of Coventry and were built in premises in Alfred Lane, Oxford. On May 1, 1924, the Octagon was registered as an MG trademark. The marque has come a long way since those early days, with the famous octagonal emblem recognised and celebrated around the globe. After several moves in Oxford, due to a growing demand for more cars to be produced, the MG moved to Abingdon and ever since the town has been the home of the MG. Arguably Britain’s favourite classic sports car reaches its 90th anniversary […]

No Picture
Aston Martin

Rare Aston Martin Auction

Seems to be the month of the Aston Martin, not that there is anything wrong with that. On 17 May, 2014, Bonham’s auction house will conduct a special auction of Aston Martin cars and related books, artwork and ephemera. There are some great items, and collectors are sure to turn out in force. Two examples include a special coachwork ’56 DB2/4 and a 1:8 scale model of the Aston Martin ‘DP214’ 1956 Aston Martin DB2/4 MKII fixed head coupe with coachwork by Tickford, Chassis no. AM300/1241, with a bid estimate of £160,000 – 200,000 (US$ 270,000 – 340,000). A 1:8 scale scratch-built model of the 1963 Monza winning Aston Martin ‘DP214’, built by Javan Smith, with a bid estimate of £1,800 – 2,200 (US$ 3,000 – 3,700).   Also on auction will be the Aston Martin DBS that featured in the British television […]

No Picture
Auctions & Sales

Nearly New MG Midget to be Auctioned

A nearly new MG Midget that has never even been registered is set to go under the hammer this month. With just 162 miles under its wheels, this 1980 Midget’s odometer actually reads 19 after the original faulty instrument cluster was replaced at its first service, which took place 11 months after the car was bought. The car has never changed hands and the current seller bought it new after hearing about the imminent demise of MG. He intended to give it to one of his children after they passed their driving test, but for unknown reasons never did. Anglia Car Auctions (ACA) will carry out the sale on Saturday June 14. ACA’s owner, Lyn George explains: “After 11 months, the car was despatched to Holland Brothers in Sleaford, in a horsebox of all things, for its first annual service. […]

Morgan-Plus-8-Speedster
Morgan

More on the Morgan Plus 8 Speedster

We just received more news on the Special Edition Morgan Plus 8 Speedster we mentioned about a week ago. The information Morgan has provided is as follows… The Morgan Motor Company have been producing hand crafted, lightweight and fun sports cars for 105 years. For the last 100 years, production has taken place at the world famous Morgan factory on Pickersleigh Road in Malvern, Worcestershrie. To mark the 100 years at Pickersleigh Road milestone, Morgan have commissioned a line of special edition vehicles, the first of which is the Morgan Plus 8 Speedster. Following huge interest in the initial launch of the Plus 8 Speedster last week, Morgan are extremely excited to be able to announce further information. A comprehensive list of options and a full price list is now available on the Morgan website as well as the chance […]

No Picture
Corporate Business

Aston Martin Platform Changes and 2013 Financials

Aston Martin has confirmed that it is working on a new platform to replace its venerable VH design, which debuted in the first-generation Vanquish at the start of the century. The new platform will underpin the British automaker’s next generation of sports cars and will be designed to fit new V-8 engines sourced from Mercedes-AMG. They also announced their 2013 finance, and it was a very good year. For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2013, Aston Martin managed to sell approximately 4,200 cars worldwide, an increase of 11 percent on the previous year, and its profits came in at £84.8 million (approximately $142.6 million), up a substantial 22 percent on levels a year ago. For full coverage of these announcements, you can check out the article at Motor Authority  as well as hitting Aston Martin’s own news site.