Month: June 2017

Aston Martin’s wildest-ever car – the track-only Aston Martin Vulcan – has been taken to breathtaking new extremes with a performance upgrade package developed by the luxury marque’s new performance brand, AMR. Making its public debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, the Aston Martin Vulcan AMR Pro sports extensive aerodynamic enhancements and shortened gearing to produce increased downforce, greater responsiveness and reduced lap times – improvements that underline its status as one of the world’s most extreme and exclusive track cars. Built in a strictly limited run of just 24 cars and delivered to customers throughout 2016, the 820BHP Aston Martin Vulcan was conceived and engineered to deliver the excitement and exceed the performance of Aston Martin’s Le Mans-winning race cars. Over the last two years, Aston Martin Vulcan owners have received step-by-step driver training by Aston Martin’s expert […]

UK automotive magazine Auto Express is the latest publication to recognize the new Land Rover Discovery, awarding it the coveted ‘Car of the Year’ title at its awards ceremony in London last night. Recognized for its unique blend of practicality, versatility, refinement and off-road credentials, this latest accolade celebrates the evolution of the Discovery lineage. Jeremy Hicks, Managing Director, Jaguar Land Rover, said: The latest Land Rover Discovery is a real step up in terms of technology, design and capability from its predecessor. It’s the ultimate expression of Land Rover’s blend of ability, luxury and practicality, and we are thrilled that it is getting the recognition it deserves with this ‘Car of the Year’ title.

The Jaguar XE has picked up its 60th major global award, winning the prestigious Auto Express Compact Executive Car of the Year title for the third year running. Before the XE’s arrival, the last time a non-German manufacturer won Auto Express’ Compact Executive title was more than a decade ago. Jaguar’s disruptive all-electric I-PACE, arriving in 2018, also picked up the Design Award, voted for by Auto Express readers.

Chinese auto maker SAIC Motor Corporation will enter the India market with its once British MG brand for which it plans to have its fully-owned car manufacturing plant in the country. The company expects to commence operations in the country by 2019 and is in the process of finalizing its manufacturing facility, SAIC Motor Corporation said in a statement. Besides, the company said, it is firming up product strategy for the market here, details of which will be announced later.

After its successful global introduction in 2016, Aston Martin’s definitive GT – the acclaimed DB11 – is now available with a 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8 engine. Perfectly complementing the DB11’s existing 5.2-litre twin turbocharged V12 engine, this new powerplant has provided the opportunity to reveal more of the DB11’s sporting character, while expanding its global appeal with a combination of exceptional performance and improved efficiency. Producing 510PS (503BHP) and 675Nm of torque, the V8 engine’s potency is beyond question, propelling the DB11 from 0-62mph in just 4.0sec and on to a top speed of 187mph. This exceptional performance is matched by impressive efficiency: CO2 emissions of 230g/km and an EU Combined fuel economy figure of 28.5mpg. This new V8 derivative brings further significant benefits in markets where car taxation policy is structured around engine capacity, such as China.

Our Video of the Week the go round comes by way of John Clancy of TriumphDVDs. This is a good look at the recent 2017 edition of the TR Drivers Club Bullet Run. This was the second edition of the run. TR Drivers Club Bullet Run 2017 re-tracing the old Triumph test route through the Peak District. Run in memory of David Keepax, Triumph Stylist, who sadly died in October 2016. Special guests this year are TRDC Honorary President, Harris Mann, Triumph Stylist and colleague of Dave Keepax, John Ashford and Triumph Development Engineer, David Jeanes.

One very special McLaren 720S is set to make an appearance at Goodwood this coming weekend, swapping its usual aluminum and carbon-fibre structure for bright orange LEGO® bricks. Following on from the launch of the 75880 LEGO Speed Champions McLaren 720S miniature set, McLaren’s all-new supercar will be fully realized in LEGO form at the Festival of Speed. But there’s a twist. The 1:1 scale model will arrive at the Goodwood stand incomplete. In order to finish the build, visitors to the McLaren stand will need to place orange McLaren bricks in designated parts of the car, with the 720S reaching completion by the Sunday, July 2nd, at the end of the Festival of Speed.

Before reviewing Robert Morey’s delightful new book, The Philosophy and Psychology of British Car Restoration, allow me a moment of transparency and honesty:  I am a big fan of the Little British Car, henceforth known as LBC.  I’ve owned and lovingly cared for several Triumphs (two and four wheel) an MGB and played caretaker to a range of LBCs including an Austin Healey, TVR and even a V12 Jaguar (four carburetors!!)  So even if the book were the result of a dozen monkeys pounding keyboards for a month, I am likely to be favorably drawn to any book with the words British Car in the title. So with that mea culpa out of the way, Morey’s creation is a positive, cheery and satirically refreshing collection of reflections that perfectly mirror the author’s upbeat personality and automotive experience.  His use of […]

Bentley Motorsport took victory at the Blancpain GT Series Paul Ricard 1,000 km with its #8 Continental GT3 and drivers Andy Soucek (ES), Maxime Soulet (BE) and Vince Abril (MC), as Bentley Team Absolute took a win and second place in the USA. The six-hour Blancpain GT Series race took place from 18:00 until midnight on the world-famous track in the south of France and Bentley Team M-Sport once again ran its pair of Continental GT3s.

Less than two years after being unveiled as a concept, Aston Martin is today confirming that the all-electric RapidE will enter production in 2019. Set for a limited production run of 155 cars, RapidE is Aston Martin’s first all-electric model. As such it spearheads development of the brand’s low- and zero-emission vehicle strategy laid out by Aston Martin’s President and CEO, Dr Andy Palmer, in the company’s Second Century Plan.

Could the UK be losing another icon? With the sale of Proton and its stake in Lotus, could Lotus go the way of MG and transfer production to China? According to Bloomberg, Chinese billionaire Li Shufu said his Zhejiang Geely Holding Group will consider producing Lotus sports cars in China after agreeing to purchase stakes in Malaysian carmaker Proton Holdings Bhd. and its British unit.

To celebrate its Official Automotive Partnership with the Henley Royal Regatta – founded in 1839 and one of the world’s most prestigious and historic sporting fixtures – Aston Martin has created a very special DB11. The specification of this one-off Henley Regatta DB11 was carefully chosen by the Aston Martin Design Team. It features a raft of recently launched Q by Aston Martin – Collection options and explores the full gamut of exclusive paint and upholstery colors, material finishes and craft features, including some bespoke elements by Q by Aston Martin – Commission. The result is a car that’s distinctive and beautifully understated, mixed with classic color combinations and superb contemporary finishes.

One of the rarest of all flavors of the Mini Cooper S, a 970 S built in 1964 comes up for auction at the Silverstone Classic on 29th – 30th July. A fine example of the homologation special created to qualify the Cooper S for the under 1000cc category in racing and rallying, the car presented by Silverstone Auctions is one of less than a thousand ever built. With engine and chassis numbers matching logbook records and an extensive history file including homologation papers, heritage certificate, 2004 FIA Historic Technical Passport and MoT certificates, the iconic Cooper 970 S is estimated to sell for between £43,000 and £50,000.

Jaguar is introducing an efficient yet powerful new 300PS Ingenium petrol engine to the XE and XF saloons and F-PACE performance SUV models. The 2.0-litre four-cylinder Ingenium petrol engine produces 400Nm of torque for exceptional acceleration. That’s enough to power the World Car of the Year-winning F-PACE from 0-100km/h in 6.0 seconds (0-60mph in 5.7 seconds) with fuel economy of 37mpg (7.7 l/100km). In the Jaguar XF business saloon the new engine delivers 0-100km/h in 5.8 seconds (0-60mph in 5.5 seconds) in all-wheel-drive form. With CO2 emissions of 163g/km and fuel economy of 40mpg (7.2 l/100km), the new Ingenium powerplant delivers traditional Jaguar performance allied to impressive efficiency.

The British Land Rover BAR Academy team has won the Red Bull Youth America’s Cup (RBYAC) following an intense final day of competition on Bermuda’s Great Sound. As overnight leaders, Land Rover BAR Academy finished with a total of 50 points, 2 points ahead of their nearest rivals from New Zealand and claimed victory in their inaugural RBYAC challenge. The victory came down to the wire, the team had to dig deep and show their determination by not giving up and making it back from 8th to 2nd place in the final race of the day to claim overall victory.

Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC is proud to announce that the 2017 Jaguar XE 20d has received the Vincentric Best Fleet Value in America award. The annual Vincentric Best Fleet Value in America awards recognize the specific vehicle and trim with the lowest total cost of ownership in the greatest number of measured lifecycle cost scenarios. The 2017 Jaguar XE 20d was awarded in the Premium Luxury Mid-Size Sedan segment with research determining the highly efficient diesel-powered luxury sedan has the lowest fuel costs in its class.

Jaguar Land Rover, Britain’s biggest automaker, will hire 5,000 staff as it boosts its skills in autonomous and electric technology, a welcome business endorsement as Prime Minister Theresa May starts Brexit talks after an election with unexpected results. Jaguar Land Rover, which employs more than 40,000 people globally, said it would hire 1,000 electronic and software engineers as well as 4,000 additional personnel including in manufacturing, most of whom will be based in Britain.

The British Motor Museum has just redesigned their online shop to make it easier to buy Heritage Certificates.  These certificates are available for many of the leading British motor manufacturers including Austin, Morris, MG, Riley, Wolseley, Aston Martin, Rover, Land Rover, Standard, Triumph, BMC and British Leyland. The certificates are basically birth certificates for you car and pull from the original manufacturer’s records and will include details like the build and despatch dates, engine and body numbers, color scheme, and details of factory fitted equipment. Not all particulars are available for every car – much of this depends on the records kept by the original facility and the maintenance of those records over time by different companies. To celebrate the redesign of the museum’s e-shop, they are offering classic car owners a special deal this summer. From now until July 17, 2017 you […]