Month: November 2016

The Jaguar I-PACE Concept car is the start of a new era for Jaguar.  This is a production preview of the Jaguar I-PACE, which will be revealed next year and on the road in 2018. Jaguar’s engineering and design teams have torn up the rule book to create a bespoke electric architecture, matched with dramatic design. The result is a no-compromise smart, five seat sports car and a performance SUV in one.

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars is delighted to be honoured with the Best British Luxury Craftsmanship award at the 2016 Walpole British Luxury Awards. The award was presented during a glittering ceremony attended by luminaries of the British luxury scene by Rory Reid, BBC Top Gear presenter, at the Dorchester, London.

After handing down a stylised sketch earlier this month, Chinese-owned British brand MG has now released two revealing previews of its upcoming compact SUV, reportedly set to wear the badge ZS. Destined for the Guangzhou motor show on November 18, the new compact offering is being reported overseas as a rival to the Nissan Juke – which, although an aging offering, remains the compact SUV to beat in the European market.

Aston Martin has unveiled the ultimate collectible to set your heart racing, as the iconic wings that have adorned its V8 Vantage GTEs for the 2016 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) are now available for sale as a limited-edition set. Limited to 250 pieces worldwide, each collection is framed and includes all nine iconic ‘WEC’ wings badges mounted on a clean white mount. To ensure their authenticity, each case is individually numbered.

Briggs Automotive Company (BAC) landed two prestigious awards at the Northern Automotive Alliance (NAA) Awards on 10 November in Manchester, seeing off stiff competition from high-profile companies from the region. BAC won the highly acclaimed International Trade Award as well as the Logistics Excellence Award to once again prove that it’s one of the most exciting and innovative businesses in the UK.

The British Sports Car Hall of Fame was established by Moss Motors as an independent entity in 2016 to preserve and perpetuate the legacy and impact of these legendary vehicles and to honor the men and women responsible for their success. Induction into the Hall of Fame is reserved for those who have made a significant and lasting impact on the British sports car industry and hobby, making it a singular honor for a lifetime of achievement. By celebrating the memory of the dedicated individuals that played key roles, the Hall can serve as a touchstone for British sports car enthusiasts of all ages and interests, furthered by its various preservation and education initiatives.

Congratulations to Mike Harvey who has been awarded the Pre-War Car Michael Sedgwick Award 2016 for his publication ‘Skinners Union – A History of the skinner family and S.U Company‘. The award, that takes the form of a plaque and £250 given by the Michael Sedgwick Memorial Trust, hopes to ‘encourage new research into motoring history and to make the finding available to the public’. The winner has to demonstrate excellence in research, presentation, readability and novelty, that will materially further our understanding of the subject. A short list of nominated books were assessed by a panel of judges, who are themselves respected authors and highly knowledgeable enthusiasts. The panel was headed by chairman Guy Loveridge, motoring author and broadcaster and Deputy Chairman of the Guild of Motoring Writers. ‘Skinner’s Union – A history of the Skinner family and the […]

Often described as the “mother of all rally races” the Dakar Rally is, without doubt, the most arduous and demanding automotive race in the world of motorsport. Participation in the Dakar Rally involves months of planning by the teams, the very best of drivers, co-drivers and support crews and, of course, their weapons of choice – with the MINI ALL4 Racing it is a proven, reliable performer that has claimed four consecutive Dakar wins (2012-2015) and four consecutive FIA Cross Country Rally World Cup titles (2012-2015). Lady luck, experience and respect for the terrain the competitors will cover are also major players on the final outcome of this two-week off-road racing spectacle. MINI and its motorsport partner X-raid are pleased to reveal eight crews to participate in the 2017 Dakar Rally at the controls of MINI rally cars. Three of […]

For our Video of the Week this go round I want to go back to something that gives folks a lot of headaches – tuning a dual S.U. carburetor setup. We are also going back to an old friend for this, John Twist of University Motors. While this video specifically addresses the HIF4 carbs of the MGB, the same basic principals of tuning and balancing apply to all dual SU setups. We covered the basic theory and operation of the S.U. side drafts in the past, but this video is more specific to their actual tuning. [Corrected, see below] By the way, do you know what the “I” in the “HIF” stands for?  It means “integrated”, as in the float bowl is in-line with the carburetor itself, in this case directly under it. If the float bowl is to the side […]

Jaguar has won Germany’s top car award, the Golden Steering Wheel. The Jaguar XF was voted ‘Best Saloon’ in the Mid-Full-size category, ahead of the Mercedes-Benz E-Class and Volvo S90. Jaguar had further reason to celebrate in the Large SUV category, with the F-PACE taking second place.

Chinese-Thai joint venture SAIC Motor-CP, which produces and markets MG cars in Thailand, has broken ground on its second assembly plant in the Kingdom, the Bangkok Post reports. The factory is located at the Hemaraj Eastern Seaboard Industrial Estate 2 in Chon Buri province. In May, the company announced plans to build a second 700,000 sqm plant that will handle MG vehicle production processes such as body assembly, vehicle assembly, and painting under one roof. The total investment in this second plant was not disclosed, but the report estimates around 30 to 40 billion baht.

From sweltering Hong Kong to the labyrinthine souks of Marrakesh – Panasonic Jaguar Racing’s second race in the 2016/17 FIA Formula E Championship will offer a striking contrast thanks to the heady flavours of Morocco, as both the all-electric Jaguar I-TYPE and the series make their first appearances on the African continent on November 12. The British manufacturer made a solid start to its motorsport return in October, but is hoping to use the lessons learned on the Hong Kong harbour-front street circuit for its second race. Britain’s Adam Carroll finished 12th in a hectic, safety-car interrupted race, while New Zealander Mitch Evans was forced into retirement by a technical issue.

Speeds of 96mph, 75 percent gradients and a 7,119 ft. descent, the Range Rover Sport has conquered it all on an Alpine ski course that has been the downfall of many skiers (1). The Range Rover Sport is the first-ever production vehicle to attempt the fearsome ski run. Piloted by renowned race and stunt driver Ben Collins, the all-terrain super-SUV tackled the treacherous terrain on the 9.25 mile downhill route at Mürren in Switzerland, completing it in 21min 36sec. During the 7,119 ft descent, the Range Rover Sport followed the route used by skiers on the tough Inferno Mürren, one of the oldest and most challenging downhill races. It tackled snow, ice, loose rock, mud, broken asphalt, grass and gravel, helped by Land Rover Terrain Response ® technology (2). Introduced in 2013, Range Rover Sport is a genuine Land Rover […]

Following the most successful season in GT racing to-date for McLaren, with the 650S GT3 enjoying success across all continents on which it has competed, the customer racing team line-up has been further strengthened by Strakka Racing. The British-based team will field a minimum of four examples of the 650S GT3 in the full 10-round Blancpain GT Series throughout 2017, including the world-famous Total 24 Hours of Spa. The announcement marks the start of a long-term partnership with Strakka Racing, focusing on talent development. As part of the programme, McLaren GT Academy Drivers will complete the driver line-up in one car, while Strakka Racing founder and driver Nick Leventis has also been confirmed. The remaining seats will be filled during an extensive testing programme over the coming months with the full line-ups to be confirmed ahead of the first Blancpain […]

The MG Vintage Racers Newsletter is celebrating its 35th anniversary this December 2016. It has been around longer than many vintage racing organizations! The newsletter was founded in December 1981 by MGTD racer Greg Prehodka, with 40 MG vintage racers, as a way for them to stay in touch with each other and to share information. Today its ranks include over 250 MG racers in North America. It is a grassroots newsletter, sans advertising, just for MG racers. It was awarded Moss Motors “Journalism Award” in 1995. In July of this year, MGVR celebrated its 35th anniversary at the Waterford Hills Historic Races in Michigan, where MGVR also celebrated its 20th anniversary “Focus Event”.

Land Rover BAR is preparing to unveil Britain’s latest America’s Cup racing boat, which uses industry-first aerodynamic testing by Land Rover engineers to exploit and explore new areas of performance gains to make the boat faster through water and the air. Land Rover’s engineers have worked on the boat’s giant 77ft high wingsail using their understanding of aerodynamics and the computer technology gained on developing cars, including the all-new Discovery. The team has created sophisticated software to explore the detailed and dynamic performance of the wingsail, analysing 80 million computational cells in each test, which will seek definitive results to help further performance gains.

Jaguar has picked up two Scottish Car of the Year Awards, with the F-PACE named ‘SUV of the Year’ and the XF crowned ‘Luxury Car of the Year’. The accolades mark a decade of success for Jaguar at the annual awards, with the brand collecting 15 wins since 2006, and every new Jaguar winning an award since 1999. These awards are the latest in a line of major UK industry honours for the XF and F-PACE, with the British-built saloon having won seven accolades since its launch just over a year ago, and the F-PACE named Auto Express ‘Car of the Year’ and ‘Best Premium SUV’ by Telegraph Cars since its April introduction.

Aston Martin Racing has secured a third consecutive GTE Am victory in the FIA World Endurance Championship, as the team’s #98 V8 Vantage GTE stormed to the chequered flag at the 6 Hours of Shanghai. After securing pole position in yesterday’s qualifying session, the trio of Paul Dalla Lana (C), Pedro Lamy (P) and Mathias Lauda (A) performed yet another faultless display to take their fifth victory of the season.