Month: August 2017

Bentley Motors today announces the appointment of Peter Bosch as its new Member of the Board for Manufacturing, starting on 1st November 2017. Bosch joins Bentley from Volkswagen Group’s Wolfsburg headquarters where he held the role of Head of Production Strategy, Processes and Structure. He succeeds Michael Straughan who is leaving Bentley to pursue other career opportunities.

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars and ‘Global dealer of the Year’ Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Sunningdale, have made a charitable donation to Teenage Cancer Trust. The donation was made from the proceeds of the sale of Roger Daltrey CBE’s unique ‘Tommy’ car, created earlier this year as part of a series of highly-Bespoke Wraith ‘Inspired by British Music’ cars. A check for £208,945 (approximately $270,000 USD) was handed over yesterday in London by Roger Daltrey CBE to Teenage Cancer Trust’s Chairman David Hoare. Daltrey is Honorary Patron of the charity, which supports young people aged 13-24 diagnosed with cancer, and the driving force behind Teenage Cancer Trust’s annual fundraising concerts at the Royal Albert Hall. He collaborated with Rolls-Royce Motor Cars designers to create two Bespoke cars to mark the musical legacy of The Who.

Aston Martin, the producer of luxury handcrafted sports cars, will drive trade and investment between the United Kingdom and Japan worth up to £500 million over the next five years of its Second Century business plan. The investment program was announced by Dr. Andy Palmer, Aston Martin President and Chief Executive Officer, during his visit to Japan as part of the UK delegation accompanying British Prime Minister Theresa May. The trade and investment created by the company signals the importance of the Japanese luxury car market to the global success of Aston Martin.

Morgan Motor Company celebrated over a century of innovation and craftsmanship at the inaugural Run For The Hills event last weekend with 1000’s of Morgans from a 108-year history returning home to Malvern. Held at the Malvern Three Counties Showground in association with the Morgan Sports Car Club, Morgan owners and aficionados from around the world gathered for two days of family fun, just a few miles from the Pickersleigh Road home of the iconic coachbuilder. 

Almost 10 years after MINI E laid the foundations for production-standard battery electric vehicles within the BMW Group, MINI is now offering a window on the future of urban electric mobility. With a focus on driving excitement and inspiring design, it moves the brand’s urban tradition into the electric age and in doing so spices up the conventional notion of electric mobility. A production version of the MINI ELECTRIC CONCEPT will be unveiled in 2019. The MINI ELECTRIC CONCEPT will debut at IAA Cars 2017 in Frankfurt, and be on public display from Saturday 16th September. This debut follows the launch of the brand’s first ever electrified production model, the MINI Countryman Plug-in Hybrid earlier in 2017. The systematic electrification of the brand and product portfolio is a mainstay of the BMW Group’s NUMBER ONE > NEXT strategy. The MINI ELECTRIC […]

The new Range Rover Velar is one of Land Rover’s most desirable cars yet, but while the model is new, the Velar name is not. Our video this week comes from the folks at AutoExpress and is a drive in one of the original Velars – the vehicle that became the Range Rover. The first Velar-badged cars appeared on the roads in the UK in the late 1960s, when Land Rover wanted to hide its Range Rover prototypes during testing. Taking its name from the Italian word ‘velare’ – which means ‘conceal’ – seven prototypes were built, and later crushed. However, a handful of pre-production models survived, and we’ve been for a spin in one to get a sense of the new Velar’s heritage. If you are interested in AutoExpress’s take on the new, and much more modern, Range Rover […]

Bentley Motors is today announcing full details of its new Continental GT, the definitive Bentley Grand Tourer. Designed, engineered and handcrafted in Britain, the new third-generation Bentley Continental GT combines spirited, focused performance with handcrafted luxury and cutting-edge technology, to create the finest Grand Tourer ever produced.

With more than 62 years’ of expedition experience, Land Rover knows more than anyone about tackling the world’s toughest journeys by car. Now, with the newly launched Eastnor Explorer course, Land Rover is sharing its know-how with members of the public, allowing them to experience the thrills of expedition off-roading at the legendary Eastnor Castle Estate. The course takes place over a maximum of three days, which can be booked separately or together, giving guests the flexibility to fit learning in around their busy schedules. Since 1955, when a team of students from Oxford and Cambridge drove Series I Land Rovers from London to Singapore, Land Rover has consistently ventured where no other car would dare to go. Be it the iconic yellow Land Rovers crossing Belize and Guatemala in the Camel Trophy or the orange Discoverys of the G4 […]

Aston Martin has announced that it has bumped up its revenue forecasts for the second time this year following a record six months of profits. The renowned British carmaker today announced a pre-tax profit of £21.1m for the six months to 30 June. During the same period last year, the firm suffered e a loss of £82.3m.

Briggs Automotive Company (BAC) is celebrating welcoming the first lady owner to the Mono family, as BEASTS President Rasha Jarmakani becomes the latest driving enthusiast to take keys to the world’s only road-legal, single-seater supercar. Jarmakani is the mastermind behind the Beirut Events and Street Shows extravaganza in Lebanon, where the community gathers to celebrate culture, food, music, and cars.

We mentioned that it was coming last week, and now here it is … This 1954 XK120 SE by Pininfarina could be the rarest Jaguar ever. After a full nut and bolt restoration taking 6,725 hours by world-class specialists Classic Motor Cars (CMC), the wraps came off this unique Pininfarina bodied 1954 Jaguar XK120 SE yesterday at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in California, USA. The car was well received by the crowd of collectors and aficionados gathered at the event and finished second in class O-2 Postwar Closed.

Silverstone Auctions is to auction a Series II Jaguar E-Type Fixed Head Coupé that is believed to be the last of its type ever sold as new. In excellent condition and never having undergone a major restoration, the Jaguar Light Blue E-Type will go under the hammer at the Salon Privé Sale at Blenheim Palace on 2nd September. The UK specification right-hand drive E-Type was built in August 1970 and was eventually delivered to dealer Charles of Pirbright, where it remained in the showroom for five months until it was sold to its first owner on 7th August 1971, likely making it the last Series II Fixed Head Coupé to find a home.

Hagerty, the insurance provider for classic and special interest cars, announced that it has purchased the Massachusetts-based online rental system formerly known as Classics&Exotics. The latter had been in operation since 2014. Rebranded and online as DriveShare, will enable enthusiasts and perhaps those who are just curious or nostalgic to rent the classic car of their dreams.

Olympic triathletes Alistair and Jonny Brownlee have reignited their rivalry in a triathlon with a difference – behind the wheel of a Jaguar XF and XF Sportbrake. The pair competed in a trio of challenges to show off the dynamic performance, increased load space and parking technology of both vehicles.

JD Classics is celebrating its eighth consecutive award-winning year at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. JD Classics’ Bentley R-Type Continental picked up the FIVA Postwar Trophy, among a field of more than 200 of the rarest and most incredible cars in the world. All these cars are invited to the Pebble Beach Golf Links each year to compete in the Concours d’Elegance, which rounds off the Monterey Classic Car Week event. Among them this year were two JD Classics cars; a customer’s Shelby 260 Cobra that had recently undergone a full JD Classics restoration, and a Bentley R-Type Continental.

RM Sotheby’s Monterey auction will be one for the record books after selling the most important Aston Martin ever produced during Friday night’s festivities. Part of a grouping of absolutely stunning competition Aston Martins, the 1956 Aston Martin DBR1/1 crossed the block to achieve $22,550,000, setting a world record for any British automobile sold at auction.

Congratulations to all the winners and many thanks to all those competitors who supported AMOC Racing’s third meeting of the season at Brands Hatch on Saturday. The sunshine provided the perfect conditions for five exciting races with the usual high standard of competition. Opening the day’s racing was the Pre-War Team Challenge and with the grid released in a staggered handicap start, Keith Piper’s Aston Martin was flagged away first, with the Bentley of Stuart Morley last to be released 45-seconds later.

Just received notice of a new book by Quentin Spurring title “Le Mans: The Official History 1930-1939” published by Evro Publishing Limited. Officially licensed with the ACO, the organizers of the annual Le Mans 24 Hours race, this beautiful book is the seventh title in this decade-by-decade series and completes coverage of the endurance classic from its very beginning to the end of the 20th century. This title covers the nine races of the 1930s (no race was held in 1936) in which honors were divided between Italian, French and British manufacturers. Each race is exhaustively covered in vivid photographs, an insightful commentary providing more detailed information than has ever been published about the period, and full statistics. It includes great stories such as: The 1930 race Bentley achieved its fourth consecutive success, Woolf Barnato and Glen Kidston the winning […]