Month: March 2017

Morgan Motor Company has announced a special Run For The Hills (RFTH) event that will take place at the Malvern Three Counties Showground on August 26-27. Held in association with the Morgan Sports Car Club, RFTH will see thousands of Morgans return to their birthplace for two days and nights of live entertainment, Morgan themed events, trade stands and much more. 

The Royal Automobile Club has won the 2017 Surrey Heritage Award in recognition of its conversion of an 18th-century barn at its Woodcote Park estate, into a home for the Club’s heritage vehicle collection. Presented by the Surrey Historic Buildings Trust, the award was created to celebrate Surrey’s rich and diverse architectural heritage, highlighting best practice in historic building conservation and restoration. The winner was announced during a ceremony on 29 March at Loseley Park, Guildford, hosted by Michael More-Molyneux, Lord Lieutenant of Surrey and Patron of the Surrey Historic Buildings Trust. Dame Helen Ghosh, Director-General of The National Trust, was the guest speaker.

Formula One legend Sir Jackie Stewart OBE has asked motor sport enthusiasts across the world to back a £300,000 crowdfunding charity campaign for a new Jim Clark Museum which was launched at Race Retro 2017. The campaign was announced alongside the unveiling of Jim Clark’s historic 1965 Lotus 33 R11. Jim Clark inspired a generation with his courage and skill behind the wheel, and his dignified and humble personality when not racing. Widely regarded as one of the greatest motor racing drivers of all time, he became a national hero and international icon of the 1960’s.

New season. Same spirit. Aston Martin Racing is back with a trio of V8 Vantage GTEs, fighting once again for honors in the world’s premier endurance racing series; the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC). https://youtu.be/Mil9WjNIJ1Q

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars is delighted to announce a series of nine remarkable Wraith ‘Inspired by British Music’ cars, created in collaboration with, and celebrating the legacy of, some of British music’s most revered rock and vocal artists. The first four of these Bespoke cars have been unveiled for the first time today at the Sanderson Hotel in Fitzroia, London by the artists who created them in partnership with Rolls-Royce Motor Cars: The Who frontman Roger Daltrey CBE, Sir Ray Davies of The Kinks, and Giles Martin, son of songwriter and producer Sir George Martin and a world-renowned producer and songwriter in his own right.

Featuring a video from the talented folks at Petrolicious, this week we take a ride in Bjartur Gudmundsson’s Pininfarina-styled MGB GT track car, gravel road slinger, and daily driver through some of Iceland’s most stunning back roads. “It’s loud, it smells of gasoline and fumes, but that’s part of the car. It is loud so you’re not allowed to think. You can’t. You just have to drive,” chuckles Bjartur as he revs the stylish British coupe before sidestepping the clutch. It’s evident this petrolhead has mastered the “it’s more fun to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow” mindset, as he’s caught sliding the flickable classic sports car down wet tarmac and fearlessly flogging over narrow muddy gravel paths.

A note of good luck to our friend and occasional contributor Robert Morey as he and John Scott take on the 9th annual Flying Scotsman Rally going from Slaley Hall to Gleneagles. They will be at the wheel of this beautiful 1937 MG VA. Departing from Slaley Hall on Friday 31st of March the 9th running of the iconic Flying Scotsman,  Britain’s Premier competitive Vintage car rally will be another epic adventure set in the glorious and big sky countryside of Northern England and Scotland. The schedule is … Day 1 – Slaley Hall to Edinburgh – Friday, March 31 Day 2 – Edinburgh to Aviemore – Saturday, April 1 Day 3 – Aviemore to Gleneagles – Sunday, April 2 A list of the participants’ vehicles includes some astounding cars, for the record Robert and John are in car #96. The parade of cars […]

Following a positive performance for Panasonic Jaguar Racing in Buenos Aires, the British team is looking forward to racing at the historic Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City. Located in the heart of the capital, the 2.09km, 18-turn circuit is one of only two dedicated racetracks on the FIA Formula E calendar. Racing at 2,250m above sea level, the team will face their toughest physical challenge of their debut season to date. The Formula E track incorporates part of the historic grand prix circuit, with long curved sections between fast chicanes that offer few opportunities for the drivers to draw breath between corners.

According to an article on Yahoo News, a buyer has been found for Zenos Cars after the company went into administration earlier this year. A consortium led by AC Cars – the creators of the reborn Cobra – has bought the sports car maker. AC Cars had previously announced its intent to grow, with this announcement only proving its desire to expand. However, the sum it paid for Zenos Cars remains undisclosed.

Whether you know it or not, you very possibly already have a part produced by Clark & Clark Specialty Products on your car. I met Robert Clark at the recent BMTA conference, and he explained to me that their parts for a variety of marques and ranging from seat belt retainers and battery boxes to hood lifts and carburetor caps are sold by mass-market vendors including Moss, Victoria British, and The Roadster Factory. After discussing the ins and outs of engineering, development, and production, we then got down to the real business of the parts he produces. One of the newest items in their line was of particular interest to me – a replacement for the telescoping trunk support used by my Triumph Spitfire 1500. The original type supports are quite common on all types of MGs and Triumphs, and while […]

NEO, a maker of high-quality 43rd scale models produces an extensive range of car models from foreign manufacturers as well as US car makers. They have added another MG to their range which previously included the MGTD and Arnolt MG coupe. Their latest is a 1933 MG F1 Magna Salonette a small four passenger two door closed car. There were MG Magna roadsters produced as well but no scale models as of yet. These Magnas made use of a small 1271cc overhead cam engine which William Morris had acquired after he purchased Wolseley and added it to the Nuffield group.

It was 15 years ago today (well yesterday now, the 22nd) that a feisty, little-known car company came ashore in the United States and captured the hearts of Americans from coast-to-coast. Since 2002, MINI USA has sold and delivered more than 725,000 MINIs to delighted customers across the country.

Jaguar’s remarkable XJ220 is the latest classic car to receive the record-breaking treatment at the Silverstone Classic. It’s 25 years since the dramatically-styled, mid-engined, two-seater supercar was first introduced, quickly becoming not only Jaguar’s fastest ever production car (an accolade it still holds today) but also the fastest production car in the world when clocked at a – then peerless – 212.3 mph.

For some reason that is quite unknown to me, Land Rovers are often viewed differently than other British cars and trucks. I have been surprised by the lack of Land Rovers at British car shows, and when you look through all sorts of resources these vehicles are grouped apart from MGs, Triumphs, Healeys, and even their corporate sibling Jaguars. Maybe it is because they aren’t sports cars or because they are such utilitarian vehicles, but they sure are fun and interesting. Regardless, I want to make sure they are included, and to that end, I would like to point out a couple of lesser-known resources for Land Rover owners – the CentreSteer Podcast and the new Alloy + Grit magazine.

Rising stars wishing to be considered for this year’s Autocar Great British Women in the Car Industry shortlist must be nominated by 3 April. Run by Autocar, in association with the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) and backed by Direct Line Group, Ford and Jaguar Land Rover, the aim of the event is to identify and promote the sector’s most promising female rising stars and highlight the career opportunities within the industry.

The London Taxi Company (LTC) today announced the official opening of the UK’s first car plant dedicated solely to the production of range -extended electric vehicles. This new, state-of-the-art, vehicle plant in Ansty, Coventry, is where the world’s first purpose-built, mass-market electric taxi will be built. LTC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Geely, has invested more than £300m in the new site and the next-generation London taxi, which will be produced at the plant and exported around the world. The investment and expansion of LTC has created more than 1,000 new jobs, including 200 engineers and 30 apprenticeships.

McLaren Automotive has released a new design sketch of its forthcoming ‘Hyper-GT’. Codenamed BP23, the car will be the most powerful and most aerodynamic road-going McLaren ever produced. Development of BP23 is currently underway at McLaren Special Operations (MSO), the bespoke division of McLaren responsible for designing and crafting the luxurious new addition to the McLaren Ultimate Series product family. The BP23 codename is taken from the car being MSO’s second Bespoke project and it having three seats. Production will be limited to 106 examples, the same volume as the McLaren F1. BP23 owners will work alongside MSO to select colors, trim materials and other points of personalization unique to them. The first examples of BP23 are expected to be delivered in 2019. Note: Press release courtesy of McLaren Automotive.

Our Video of the Week this go round shows the creation of one of the single most recognizable features of any British car – the Rolls-Royce grill.  The grill of the Rolls has been copied, satirized, objectified and outright stolen since it first came on the scene. What’s more, they have been used as the inspiration for everything from barbecue grill and candy, to jewelry and furniture. And seriously, let’s not talk about all the other cars they have been grafted on to in a failed attempt to make the poor thing look “classy”.  Nope, the grill just doesn’t seem to look quite right on anything except the cars of Rolls-Royce on with they were originally fitted. Once you are done watching that fine bit of hand-crafting, take a look at the new Rolls-Royce and what might be called “hand-crafted […]