Articles by Staff

Among a catalogue of many significant cars to be offered by H&H Classics at its forthcoming 11 July Chateau Impney Hill Climb sale is not only a historic car in the legend that is the MG Car Company, it’s also a star of the silver screen. The 1957 MGA Twin Cam Roadster Prototype, registration ‘ORX 885’, features in a 1955/1956 promotional film for the British Motor Corporation, The Sports Car Of The Year, produced by Associated British Pathé Ltd. MG’s top-of-the-range sports car can be seen at the MIRA test track lapping at its impressive top speed of 120mph. Not only that, in later frames it also demonstrates the powerful stopping power of disc brakes – quite an innovation for MG and at that time generally only fitted to racing cars such as Jaguar’s D-type. Since service as a factory […]

Jaguar Heritage is proud to announce an all-new initiative for owners of all Jaguars, from pre-war models right up to modern day cars – the Jaguar Trophy, at the Concours of Elegance, held in 2015 at Edinburgh’s Palace of Holyroodhouse. Jaguar Heritage has entered a new multi-year partnership with the Concours of Elegance, part of which will include a newly themed Jaguar Saturday at the event, which this year runs from Friday 4 September to Sunday 6 September 2015. Jaguar Saturday will play host to the inaugural Jaguar Concours Trophy, with entries invited by completing a simple submission document at www.classicdriver.com/JaguarTrophy. Categories for the Jaguar Concours Trophy 2015: Pre-war Saloons Sportscars Classics of the Future (2005 – 2015) Judges’ Choice (a special wildcard category open to any Jaguar with an interesting story to tell) Spaces are strictly limited to 100, […]

In a small celebration with a selection of senior management, manufacturing and engineering staff, the first new Lotus Evora 400 has driven off the assembly line at Hethel on Wednesday, 1 July, 2015. Jean-Marc Gales, Chief Executive Officer of Group Lotus plc, says, “Today is a very significant stage in our long term plan, which we set-out more than a year ago. With the first Evora 400 coming off the line, we have achieved a key milestone for Lotus.” Jean-Marc Gales continues, “None of this would be possible, of course, without the confidence and commitment of our workforce who, with great skill and talent, hand build every Lotus car at Hethel.” The new Lotus Evora 400 laps the Lotus test track at Hethel six seconds faster than the previous Evora S in a time of 1 minute 32 seconds. Combining […]

An exceptionally rare and highly original 1969 Aston Martin DB6 Mk 1 Volante Vantage is to go under the hammer at Barons at Sandown Park on July 28th. This beautiful and unspoilt machine is in extremely original condition, and bears the inimitable patina of age. Even the power hood is thought to be the original one. One of just 29 ever made, it is believed to be the final such Volante Vantage built. Chassis number DBVC-3738R has been in the same ownership since 1981, and now used only rarely – and only in the dry. It carries an estimate of £500,000-£750,000. This model rarely comes to market, and particularly not in such original condition. Not surprisingly, the car has already caused something of a stir in Aston Martin circles, with Barons receiving enquiries and many early bidding registrations from potential […]

The Jaguar XE was crowned Best Compact Executive at the annual Auto Express Awards at a ceremony in London last night, while the all-new Jaguar XF picked up the prestigious Design Award. Auto Express Editor-In-Chief Steve Fowler said: “There are few sectors as competitive as the compact executive class so it’s testament to Jaguar that its new XE wins the Auto Express Best Compact Executive Award for 2015. It’s beaten multi-award winning rivals to take the title, impressing us with its sense of occasion, its efficiency, its technology and the fact that it’s just great fun to drive. It’s a compact exec without compromises.” The Jaguar XE only arrived in retailers in June but has already amassed an impressive collection of gongs including Car of the Year and Best Business Car at the Telegraph Awards, Best New Car at the […]

It wowed crowds at the recent Goodwood Festival of Speed – now Lotus’ fastest-ever production car has hot-footed it straight to north London to make a starring appearance at the capital’s newest Lotus dealer, Hexagon. Heralding a new generation of Lotus high performance sports cars, the 3-Eleven is the company’s quickest and most expensive series production car ever, packing a 450hp supercharged V6 engine, a 0-60mph time of less than three seconds and a price tag starting at £82,000. Sharing limelight with ex-Senna 1987 Lotus 99T F1 car and VIPs from the world of motorsport at Hexagon’s charity evening, The Life of Ayrton Senna, the 3-Eleven joined a host of stars including ex-F1 drivers David Coulthard and Martin Donnelly, present at the Fortis Green showroom to share memories of Senna and raise money for the Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s […]

Hot on the heels of the news that TVR is to launch an all-new car in 2017, the company has decided that it will start taking deposits for the car from July 7th, 2015. The decision, which has come sooner than originally anticipated, has been made as a direct result of the huge, positive, public reaction generated by announcement that the company will launch the incredible new car. Designed in conjunction with Gordon Murray Design and featuring a Cosworth V8 engine, sports car enthusiasts the world over are lining up to buy what promises to be one of the most exciting new sports cars of the decade. John Chasey, Operations Director of TVR, says: “We’ve been totally blown away by the reaction to the new car. Our phone lines and online enquiry system went into meltdown when the news was […]

The special Silver Jubilee celebrations at next month’s Silverstone Classic (24-26 July) will see the introduction of two new awards honouring the two driving forces behind the circuit’s first-ever historic motor sport festival 25 years ago: Mervyn Garton and Stuart Graham. Paying tribute to the pair’s pioneering achievements in creating the blueprint for what’s now The World’s Biggest Classic Motor Racing Festival, the Stuart Graham ‘Scarf and Goggles’ Award will be presented to what’s judged to be the most admirable car competing at the Classic while the Mervyn Garton ‘Scarf and Goggles’ Award will acclaim the best off-track visitor attraction. Both will be perpetual accolades awarded annually as from next month’s event. “It’s the original ground-breaking vision of Stuart and Mervyn which remains right at the heart of everything we do at Silverstone Classic today – that’s why we are […]

British comedy, who doesn’t love it? Well, maybe a few people don’t, but there is no accounting for them. From Monty Python and Fawlty Towers to Graham Norton and Wallace and Gromit, British comedy just seems to hit the funny bone of those of us with British cars head on. So, in the vein of British humor, or Video of the Week, VotW, this time is an ad for British Leyland by “The Two Ronnies“. The Two Ronnies wass a BBC television comedy sketch show created by Bill Cotton for the BBC, which aired on BBC1 from 1971 to 1987. It featured the double act of Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett, the “Two Ronnies” of the title. The advertisement for the Austin Morris range of cars, including the Mini, the Marina, and the Allegro, is titled ‘The Great Range’ and […]

The McLaren 650S GT3 continues the strong start to the season with further silverware as McLaren GT customer team FFF Racing Team by ACM claimed outright victory in the GT Asia championship. Former Formula 1 driver Vitantonio Liuzzi (ITA) alongside former series race winner Hiroshi Hamaguchi (JPN) took victory at the Okayama circuit, Japan. The result marks the maiden win for the 650S GT3 in Asia, and the 11th for the Woking built racer in only its first season. The FFF Racing team by ACM is making its debut in the GT Asia championship this season, running three examples of the McLaren 650S GT3. Liuzzi and Hamaguchi are joined in the team by Fu Song Yang (CHN), Andrea Caldarelli (ITA), Jiang Xin (CHN) and Max Wiser (ITA). The double-header race weekend saw FFF Racing team by ACM with strong pace […]

Bentley is taking its fusion of luxury and performance to new extremes with the launch of the Continental GT Speed Breitling Jet Team Series. This exclusive series is limited to just seven cars, each inspired by one of the seven Breitling Jets. Renowned for their precision, speed and daring, this summer the Breitling Jet Team will be performing across the United States and Canada in a grand tour of epic proportions. To commemorate this spectacle, Bentley’s Mulliner division has re-imagined the Continental GT Speed to mirror the distinctive look of the Breitling Jets, fusing extreme customisation with immense speed.

According to The Independent, Britain will soon be making almost four cars a minute as the UK’s motor industry booms with record high production figures. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) predicts the number of new vehicles being built in Britain will climb to almost  2 million by 2017, based on current trends. In a new report it reveals that turnover hit an all-time high of £69.5bn last year, while almost 1.6 million vehicles were built, the highest vehicle production figures since 2008. Last year, car production alone grew to 1.53 million units – the highest level since 2007 – with an increasing number of vehicles built for the domestic new car market, which itself grew 9.3 per cent to reach 2.48 million registrations last year. Meanwhile, the number of jobs in the industry climbed 3.5 per cent in […]

Aston Martin has teamed up with the Royal Air Force, to attract the next generation of women into engineering roles in both organisations. A pioneering STEM Women in Engineering event took place at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire on Wednesday 24 June and saw around 140 female students attend. The event, organised for young women from school Years 9 to 13 was designed to promote career opportunities at Aston Martin, and in the RAF, to young women from across the South East and the West Midlands, in support of National Women in Engineering Day. Aston Martin CEO Dr Andy Palmer attended the event to deliver the keynote speech, along with Air Vice-Marshal Sue Gray, the most senior female Engineer in the RAF, while six female graduates from the luxury British sport car brand’s Engineering and Commercial functions, as well as […]

British sportscar manufacturer, Caterham Cars, is partnering with dealership Westside Cars, expanding its European dealer network to Hamburg, Germany. The dealership launch further strengthens Caterham’s presence in one of its key markets, Germany. The showroom in Hamburg will display the full European range of Caterham’s iconic British sportscars, including the Seven 165, the brand-new Seven 275, and the Seven 485. The launch of the new 1,500 square metre showroom was marked with an opening event for invited guests on the 26th June, and the dealership opens its door to the public on Saturday the 27th of June. Independent dealer Westside Cars is the latest to open a Caterham dealership in Europe, and the British sportscar manufacturer now has a growing network of dealerships in Europe. In addition to attending to new customers, Caterham Westside will offer after sales service run […]

Heralding a new generation of Lotus high performance sports cars, Friday saw the unveiling of the company’s quickest and most expensive series production car ever, the 3-Eleven, at the 2015 Goodwood Festival of Speed. Designed as an uncompromised manifestation of the Lotus spirit, the new car is focused on providing an undiluted driving experience, and underlines the company’s ability to deliver legendary handling and blistering speed. Working on the concept of less is more, and keeping close to Lotus’ track roots, the dramatic new vehicle features an all-new lightweight body, with an open cockpit design and a revised V6 supercharged engine developing 450 hp. Two variations of the Lotus 3-Eleven will be available: Road and Race; both delivering an impressive combination of high performance, agility and precision. Based on the Road version, the Race includes a more aggressive aero kit, […]

This weekend, Bentley Team Dyson Racing returns to the circuit that kicked off their successful 2014 debut season at the infamous Road America in Elkhart Lake, WI. The weekend will feature a triple-header schedule including a makeup race from last month’s Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix which was cancelled due to inclement weather and safety concerns. The team enters the weekend with optimism and reflection on their first successful first race year which has seen the inclusion of a second Continental GT3 and Bentley’s first victory in North America, as well as multiple podium finishes. Driver of the #20 car, Butch Leitzinger, drove the Continental GT3 in its North American debut at Road America a year ago which resulted in 6th and 4th place finishes. He comments: “Our Bentleys are well-suited to Road America. The Continental GT3 has very good […]

Months of anticipation for Aston Martin enthusiasts around the world are, today, brought to a close with the exciting global dynamic debut of the Aston Martin Vulcan – a track-only supercar and the British luxury brand’s most intense and exhilarating creation to date. Patrons attending today’s session of the 23rd Goodwood Festival of Speed in the grounds of historic Goodwood House, West Sussex, have been treated to a historic occasion of their own – with the first public running of the Aston Martin Vulcan following its unveiling at the Geneva Motor Show earlier this year. The 800-plus bhp, all-carbon fibre, Aston Martin Vulcan today delivered on its promise of truly extreme performance with a series of spine-tingling sprints up the famous hill climb with Aston Martin Racing works’ driver Darren Turner at the wheel. Before its inaugural run, the new […]

A 1958 Aston Martin DB2/4 Mark III, which has lain dormant in storage for over 35 years, is to be restored by leading classic car restoration company Classic Motor Cars of Bridgnorth (CMC). The DB2/4 was recently purchased from the Bonham’s Newport Pagnell Aston Martin works sale on behalf of a client. The car was sold for £104,540, going over its estimate of £30-50k. “The car was an attractive restoration project in 1977 when it entered storage, despite the fact that it had lead a hard life,” said Nick Goldthorp, Managing Director of CMC, “There were splits in the front suspension turrets which had been welded and crash damage to the offside body and rear chassis which were repaired at the time. But it would now appear that the chassis needs re-aligning.” Nick added: “The Aston needs a total restoration, […]