Month: November 2015

The Royal Automobile Club has won the 2015 Rally of the Year at the International Historic Motoring Awards for the second consecutive year for the 1000 Mile Trial. The awards ceremony, which took place on 19th November at London’s St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel, resembled a ‘Who’s Who’ of historic motoring as famous names from the world of motoring, motor sport and industry gathered together for the events’ fifth annual awards. The Club’s Motoring Committee Chairman, Peter Read, who collected the award, said ‘The 1000 Mile Trial has received many accolades since its relaunch in 2014 we are delighted to have won Rally of the Year 2015 for the second consecutive year, especially against such a high calibre of contenders’.

Aston Martin will start the Six Hours of Bahrain from pole in the GTE Am class, while also enjoying a return to competitive form in the GTE Pro category. Despite the distraction of a restarted qualifying session due to technical difficulties at the circuit, the #98 GTE Am pairing of Paul Dalla Lana (CA) and Pedro Lamy (PT) were capable of pulling together two strong lap times, clinching pole position for tomorrow’s race with an average of 1m58.659.

In honor of its 45th anniversary, Land Rover has driven its flagship Range Rover luxury SUV across a bridge made of paper. The freestanding structure in Suzhou, China, spanned five metres without glue or bolts to hold it in place. Land Rover commissioned the unique bridge to mark the 45th anniversary of its Range Rover family and to highlight 45 years of Range Rover innovation ahead of the Guangzhou Motor Show in China. The hand-built paper bridge took three days to construct in the ancient water city of Suzhou, which is famous for its bridges and nicknamed ‘Venice of the East’. The unique crossing was made of high-quality paper supplied by specialist British manufacturer James Cropper PLC.

Leading classic car restorers Classic Motor Cars of Bridgnorth (CMC) have restored a 1936 Squire, one of only seven built, which has now been shortlisted for Restoration of the Year at the prestigious International Historic Motoring Awards 2015. This charismatic, costly and extremely rare British sports car was displayed at the 2011 Retromobile event in Paris in a very sorry state, its upholstery had been providing home to a family of rodents and it had been completely stripped of paint. Peter Neumark, chairman of Classic Motor Cars (CMC), saw its potential and a deal was made for the Squire to undergo a complete rejuvenation at the company’s workshops in Bridgnorth, Shropshire, in the UK.

The all-original and complete set of body panels for the Series 1 Jaguar E-type and selected parts of Series 2 and 3, are now available to order from Jaguar Heritage Parts. In order to provide world-class quality for E-type customers, Jaguar’s skilled technicians and engineers employed state-of-the-art scanning technology to digitally map every inch of an E-type in 3D. Once scanned, the highly detailed scans are transferred to CAD images to create a complete and virtual model of the car to ensure perfect panel alignment. The exact dimensions and shapes of the inner and outer surfaces and recorded to within a fraction of a millimetre. Once the entire car is digitally mapped, Jaguar Heritage is then able to test the quality and accuracy of each panel plus the original tooling used to make it.  Each part is meticulously measured on […]

A very special Range Rover Sport first owned by David Beckham will be offered by Classic Car Auctions (CCA) in its sale on 5th December at the Warwickshire Exhibition Centre. The 2007 car was exclusively designed and upgraded for the ex-England football captain by Kahn Conversions at a cost of £100,000. It’s now offered for sale at auction, estimated at between £23,000 and £25,000.

Land Rover has unveiled its first luxury compact convertible SUV along the iconic coastline of Los Angeles in Santa Monica, CA. SPECTRE actress Naomie Harris was one of the first to view the newest member of the Range Rover family, as it was revealed for the first time ahead of the Los Angeles Auto Show. Following the recent global release of SPECTRE, the 24th James Bond adventure, which features vehicles produced by the Jaguar Land Rover Special Operations division, Harris joined the brand to receive an exclusive first look at the new Range Rover Evoque Convertible as it debuted in the US.

Jaguar North America has announced it will expand the price range of the F-TYPE lineup in the U.S. for the 2017 model year to include new entry-level coupe and convertible models which lower the introductory price of the F-TYPE Coupe & Convertible to $61,400 and $65,400 respectively. The 2017 line-up of Jaguar sports cars will continue to consist of the F-TYPE, F-TYPE S and the range topping F-TYPE R. The addition of a new entry price level for 2017 Jaguar F-TYPE builds upon the pricing realignment strategy announced as part of The Next Generation of Jaguar for the 2016 model year in which an improved competitive value position was brought to market through a combination of new entry priced models, increased standard equipment and lower MSRPs that all help the brand target the heart of the luxury market.

OK, I will admit it, I love Minis. I love old ones and new ones and large ones and small ones and … well, you get the picture. Something about the A-series engine, the transverse drivetrain, and the squat looks just appeal to me. Yes I drive a Vanden Plas Princess 1100, but in truth, all forms of the ADO16 are just large Minis. Yes, I said it. And I mean it. Anyway, our video this week is titled “Owning A Classic Mini”. Just below the clip you will see the information about the young man who made the video and why. I think it is a wonderful effort and just goes to show the kind of devotion these cars inspire.   Here is a short look into what it’s like to own a Classic Mini. Before I brought the […]

Legendary racing driver and 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Andy Wallace relived his 1988 victory by taking to the Silverstone circuit to drive the Jaguar XJR9-LM during day and night back-to-back with the new 550PS, 5.0-litre Supercharged V8 Jaguar XJR. Wallace discusses his experiences in the XJR9-LM and the new XJR in an exciting new film. Driving at night on the Silverstone circuit gave Wallace the opportunity to test the new LED headlights on the new XJ, which are a first for Jaguar.  “Driving at Le Mans back in 1988, it was so hard to see at night,” said Wallace. “We were travelling at around 240mph and it was too fast to see the road ahead. We used the lights more to catch glimpses of landmarks as they whizzed past, so we knew where we were.

A brace of victories for McLaren GT factory driver Shane Van Gisbergen with teammate Klark Quinn saw the 650S GT3 secure the coveted Highlands 101 title at the Australian GT season finale weekend which took place at Highlands Motorsport Park, New Zealand. With victory in the weekend’s opening race, followed by the win in the three-hour endurance race, Van Gisbergen secured his first wins on home soil with the 650S GT3. The first race of the weekend saw Van Gisbergen and Quinn qualify the Darrell Lea McLaren on the front row, narrowly missing pole position by just 0.044 seconds. A strong start by Quinn saw the Australian take the lead, which he held until a racing incident further down the field close to half-distance brought out the Safety Car. With the race neutralised, teams looked to optimise race strategies with […]

Jaguar is pleased to announce a major new chauffeur deal with Crawfords of London, underlining Jaguar’s fleet success this year and its status as a major player in the luxury private hire market. Crawfords of London will be adding 50 2016 Model Year XJ LWB Autobiography models to its fleet of luxury models, transporting its most demanding customers in a car that is the pinnacle of Jaguar’s line-up. As standard it comes with heated and cooled reclining rear seats, rear business tables, wi-fi and sunblinds.

Aston Martin Racing has announced that six of its Evolution Academy drivers will test the Vantage GTE at the final round of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) in Bahrain, before the panel decides who will be offered a 2016 works team contract. Dan Lloyd (GB), who helped Craft-Bamboo Racing secure the GT Asia Series championship title, will be joined by British GT Championship GT4 class-winners Ross Gunn (GB) and Jamie Chadwick (GB). The 24H Series GT4 class-winner Devon Modell will also take part, alongside British GT Championship GT3 stars Matt Bell (GB) and Jody Fannin (GB).

Burlen Ltd, maintainers of the S.U. brand, are happy to announce the release of ‘Skinner’s Union – A History of the Skinner Family and the S.U Company‘, a book which gives a comprehensive history of the S.U. Company and the members of the Skinner family involved. This new book by Mike Harvey comprises over 300 pages with copious photographs, drawings & illustrations (many not previously published). The book focuses on the period from 1908 when the leather bellow carburetter was introduced, through to Carl Skinner’s retirement in 1947 when the S.U. carburetter company became part of the Nuffield Organisation. The book also covers Barbara and Peter Skinner’s hill-climbing and other racing activities and gives details on the skinner specials, as well as the companies contributions during WW2 manufacturing carburetters used on Rolls-Royce Merlin engines for the RAF. This book is available […]

As the only car marque supporting the SalonQP Fine Watch Exhibition, Lotus Cars is proudly exhibiting two of its high performance, handbuilt, pure sports cars, the new and recently launched Lotus Evora 400 and the exciting Lotus Exige Club Racer. Jean-Marc Gales, CEO of Group Lotus plc says, “We are delighted to be an official partner to SalonQP this year and to take the opportunity to showcase two of our handbuilt sports cars to an audience appreciative of fine design. Every car that comes out of our Norfolk Headquarters is built to order and bespoke to each customer’s requirements. Whether it is the hand-spray painted lightweight body or the craftsmen and women who stitch together high quality Scottish leather for the interior, each stage of the manufacturing process is a perfect example of passion and commitment.” Accompanying the Lotus Evora […]

Heritage Motor Centre said the British Motor Industry Heritage Trust at Gaydon had gained “designated” status from Arts Council England, confirming its vehicles were of national significance. It shuts for the work from 30 November and will reopen on 13 February. A new £4m Collections Centre, featuring about 250 vehicles, mostly previously unseen, will open on the same day. Heritage Motor Centre, which claims to have “the world’s largest collection of historic British cars,” said visitors would be able to “look under more open bonnets” and enjoy new interactive content including sound and film, following the revamp. The new museum will boast zones telling the cars’ stories in more detail, a new entrance and a new area for education programmes. For more information, check out the official British Motor Museum website.

The UK automotive sector’s workforce is one of the world’s most productive – but action is needed to address a shortage of skilled engineers and operators, according to new research by the Automotive Council. The report1, which ranks the UK’s strengths and attractiveness for automotive investment against other European and global countries, places the UK’s automotive ‎productivity in top position in Europe. The UK’s strong performance reflects a culture of constant improvement in the industry and a trend towards more efficient processes adopted since the global financial crisis – as well as the shift towards high-value manufacture of premium vehicles. The UK also ranks highly for collaboration between industry and academic bodies – essential in spearheading excellence in research and innovation. Labour flexibility is identified as another area where the UK excels – providing flexibility with working patterns and managing labour demands, vital in […]

Land Rover continues to broaden the appeal of the Discovery with the launch of – the Landmark and the Graphite. New distinctive exterior design features to both enhance the design of the fourth generation Discovery, while unique interior touches to the Landmark bring more luxury and exclusivity. These models give the Discovery even greater on-road presence than ever before. Available to order now, they will be seen on the roads from January 2016 onwards. “The appeal of the Land Rover Discovery has just got even greater. We have launched two new models – the Landmark and Graphite, which offer the customer greater on-road presence and enhanced comfort to complement the Discovery’s existing versatility and capability attributes,” says Finbar McFall, Jaguar Land Rover Product Marketing Director.