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The CEO of Jaguar Land Rover, Ralf Speth, has been awarded the top prize at the 2017 Autocar Awards, held in Silverstone’s iconic Wing building and headline sponsored by premium tire brand Vredestein. Speth was presented with the Issigonis Trophy, named after the creator of the legendary Mini, in recognition of his contribution to Jaguar Land Rover’s remarkable transformation following the sale of the brands to Tata Motors in 2008.

Aston Martin has claimed top honors at this year’s prestigious Autocar Awards, taking home the ‘Game Changer’ award with its bold new addition to the illustrious ‘DB’ bloodline, the DB11. The award, which celebrates cars that bring new, higher standards to their classes, or defy convention in a way that brings benefit to buyers, cements the importance of DB11 to the brand’s Second Century Plan; the British marque’s ambitious challenge of launching seven key new products in the same number of years.

Each year the British Car Club of New Hampshire puts on their annual Show of Dreams to benefit the New Hampshire Food Bank and the High Hopes Foundation. It’s a great show and this is the 21st rendition. However, registrations are lagging a bit from where they were last year and, while it’s  regional show, we would like to give this show and its charities a bit of a boost. Remember, 100% of the proceeds go to the charities—a bit over $7000 was raised last year to help feed hungry kids. David Townsend of Sports Car Art has attended for the past 4 years and it’s just a great show. He says that although the show is not huge (about 200 cars or so), it is very well run and a ton of fun. For more information on the show, […]

Jaguar Land Rover Automotive plc (JLR), the UK’s largest vehicle manufacturer, today reported a strong fourth quarter to finish the fiscal year with solid results demonstrating encouraging demand for both new and established models in the period to March 31, 2017. Retail sales were a record 604,009 vehicles, up 16% on the previous year led by the 2017 World Car and World Car Design of the Year award-winning Jaguar F-PACE and continuing strong demand for the Land Rover Discovery Sport and other models in the Jaguar Land Rover portfolio. Retail sales were up year-on-year in China (32%), North America (24%), the UK (16%) and Europe (13%).

This just in from the BBC, AutoNews, FT, and numerous other UK news sources, British sports car maker Lotus is being bought by China’s Geely. A statement was put out by the Hangzhou-based company. There is no notice as of yet from Lotus themselves. The purchase is part of a deal by Geely to buy a 49.9% stake in Malaysian carmaker Proton, which owns Lotus. Geely, which also owns the London Taxi Company and Sweden’s Volvo Car Group, will take a 51% stake in Lotus.

The Bentley Bentayga Diesel has received the Star Award at the 2017 Autocar Awards, an accolade which celebrates the cars that have managed to achieve a five-star rating during the publication’s rigorous road test. Wolfgang Dürheimer, Chairman and CEO for Bentley Motors, comments: “The Bentayga Diesel embodies the finest craftsmanship and detail, while also demonstrating immense power and presence. Only Bentley can build a car this way, and this award is a testament to our talented and dedicated workforce in Crewe.”

Our video this week comes via our friends at Morgan. World War 1 fighter pilot and Morgan owner Albert Ball once remarked that his pre-war Morgan Three Wheeler was “the closest thing to flying without leaving the ground.” – Since that time, Morgan sports cars have been thrilling drivers around the world with their unique and exhilarating driving experience, be it on 3 wheels, 4 wheels or with the Aero. Their use, however, has never extended to a “race” between a Morgan and a plane, until now! Morgan’s latest video pits their fastest model, the Aero 8, against a Pitts S2S muscle biplane in a head-to-head airfield drag race.

Bentley Motorsport will return to Nürburgring 24 Hours for the third consecutive year this week as it aims for podium success with its three Continental GT3s. Working with European racing partners Bentley Team ABT, a division of well-known ABT Sportsline, Bentley is aiming for its strongest performance at the legendary “Green Hell”. To signal the team’s participation in one of the world’s greatest racing events, Bentley is unveiling the Continental 24 – a limited edition series of 24 bespoke models for Europe based on the Continental Supersports.

Known as the Dalai Lama of the Sacred Octagon, Ken Smith is the Editor Emeritus of The MG Driver and was known for his numerous appearances at British car events across the country on behalf of Moss Motors. Ken will be inducted, along with 22 other worthy motorheads, into the British Sportscar Hall of Fame on June 2nd.

Panasonic Jaguar Racing made it a hat-trick of points-scoring races in the center of the French capital today. Drivers Mitch Evans and Adam Carroll finished in P9 and P15 respectively, scoring two championship points in the Qatar Airways Paris ePrix. These valuable points mean the British team leaps to P8 in the team standings at the halfway point of their debut season, with six FIA Formula E races remaining.

Graham Robson is a distinguished motoring historian whose working life has always been connected with fine cars and advanced engines. After starting his career at Jaguar, then running the ‘works’ motorsport team at Triumph, he developed a passion for motoring heritage and for classic cars. He has been an independent writer, historian and motoring consultant for many years, and has written more than 130 books. Robson will be inducted into the British Sports Car Hall of Fame this June. In fact, we are pleased that he will also be MC of the event.

Sir Stirling Moss has ben described as the greatest Formula One driver to never win a World Championship. He competed in open wheel racing, sports cars, and land speed record vehicles, highlighted by a victory in the 1955 Mille Miglia, considered by many experts to be the greatest one day drive in history. He will be inducted into the British Sports Car Hall of Fame in Petersburg, Virginia on June 2nd.

Jaguar has teamed up with former British tennis number one, Tim Henman to help one Scottish tennis fan answer a question from the world’s number one tennis player, Andy Murray aided by the new XF Sportbrake. When Susan MacCormick, from Edinburgh, tweeted Andy Murray suggesting the remote Bunabhainneadar Tennis Court on the Scottish island of North Harris feature on the ATP World Tour, she didn’t expect to get a reply. But the tennis ace and Jaguar brand ambassador couldn’t believe his eyes and responded by asking: ‘Is that even real?’ 

British motorsports-engineering company PERRINN has announced that it has received the first order for a brace of its new LMP1 car to race the 2018 FIA World Endurance Championship.  With the design work already completed alongside preliminary digital and crash test simulations, the as yet unnamed car is expected to be revealed in late November before testing starts in December.  With the program already at such an advanced stage, PERRINN has confirmed it is capable of supplying further cars for the 2018 season. The first two cars sold will be run by a European race team with its identity and engine details to be released shortly. Priced competitively at £1.2m for the rolling chassis, the car will rely on torsion bar front suspension with coil springs over dampers at the rear and is expected to weigh ‘significantly under’ the mandated […]

MINI is further enhancing the appeal of its model line-up in summer 2017 with a range of new design, functionality and infotainment improvements. From July 2017, all new MINI models will feature an enhanced cockpit instrument with a new night design and a fuel level display that offers greater precision. Operation of MINI Driving Modes and MINI Head-Up Display will also be revised. In a brand first, MINI Clubman and MINI Countryman will offer Apple CarPlay and an alertness assistant will be introduced on MINI 3-door Hatch, MINI 5-door Hatch and MINI Convertible models.

The 15th iteration of this great event will be hosted as the featured event at the 2017 VSCDA (Vintage Sports Car Drivers Association) Blackhawk Classic at Blackhawk Farms Raceway in Rockton, IL on June 16-18, 2017. The track is perfect for small bore production racing and the spectating is simply second to none. There is nowhere on the track that can’t be accessed for watching close racing action trackside, plus there is an observation deck where seven corners can be seen from a perch in the middle of the paddock. The Kastner Cup is awarded to one Triumph Competitor each year. First awarded at Mosport Canada in 2003 and then each year after at a different track around the USA. It has been to many famous tracks such as Portland Intl. Raceway, Watkins Glen, New York, Hallet Oklahoma, Laguna Seca […]

Returning for its second year, Simply Jaguar will see some of the most elegant and graceful classics ever built purr their way into Beaulieu on Sunday, July 9th. Open to all Jaguar models, regardless of their age, the rally will celebrate these graceful ‘big cats’ of the motoring world by gathering together an impressive line-up of Jaguar sports cars and sporting saloons. No matter if you own a daily-driven XF or S-Type, an XJ-S or Mk X used for high days and holidays, or a show-winning XK150 or E-type, then you can park up your pride and joy in the stately grounds of the National Motor Museum. Then admire the other Jaguars on display, chat with like-minded owners and enthusiasts, and enjoy a relaxing day out at one of the South’s leading visitor attractions.

Jaguar XK 120: The Remarkable History of JWK 651, second in the publisher’s “Exceptional Car” series, is one of those books that is hard to classify. On the one hand, authors Chas Paker and Philip Porter have done such an amazing job detailing the story of this one particular Jaguar that the book is definitely a history book. On the other hand, this is documentation – documentation of one car, its provenance, and its current state. On on a third hand (we all have three hands right?), this is an art book. The photographs rival any automotive coffee table book on the market today. Regardless, however you classify it, this book is a delight that you can sit and read or just flip through and marvel at the images. The Remarkable History of JWK 651 tells the story of one of the six […]