Articles by Staff

New Year, new challenges: 2 January 2016 will see the start of the 2016 Dakar Rally, the traditional season opener of long-distance cross-country rallies. Once again MINI takes on this exciting and exacting 9,500km, 15-day racing event but this year with a record entry of 12 MINI ALL4 Racing cars. Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT) and long-term co-pilot Mathieu Baumel (FRA) of AXION X-raid Team (#300) are the defending Dakar champions and more than ready to take up the challenge of motorsport’s toughest endurance race. “Preparation is complete,” said Al-Attiyah in Buenos Aires, starting point of the 2016 Dakar Rally. “We are ready to take on the greatest endurance race in the hope we can achieve MINI the same success of 2015,” said Joan ‘Nani’ Roma (ESP), fellow AXION X-raid Team member in MINI ALL4 Racing #304 along with co-driver Alex Haro […]

Bentley Motors’ bespoke coach-building division, Mulliner, is introducing the next level of modern British automotive luxury – stone veneers. This innovative interior finish utilises state-of-the-art stone veneer technology to make a luxurious, contemporary feature of a natural product formed over 200 million years. The slate and quartzite stone is sustainably sourced from hand-selected quarries in Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh, India – a nation with an ancient and rich culture of stone masonry. The sections of stone are split from larger pieces and cured using glass fibre and a bespoke resin. Finally, they are shaped and hand finished by Bentley’s world-renowned Mulliner coachbuilding team at the company’s headquarters in Crewe, England. The stone surfaces of the veneers are just 0.1 mm thick, meaning that they are both extremely light and translucent, allowing the elegant grain and pattern in the stone to […]

Produced between 1997 and 2006, the Land Rover Freelander 1 remains one of the brand’s best-selling models and is now officially a Land Rover Heritage vehicle. Land Rover Heritage specialises in cars, services, parts and experiences for classic Land Rover models and the Freelander 1 becomes the brand’s eighth Heritage model. The others are Series I, II and III, Range Rover Classic and P38 Range Rover plus Discovery 1 and 2. A Heritage model is defined as a product that has been out of production for longer than 10 years and the Freelander 1 was first produced in 1997 and its production run ended nine years later in 2006 when Freelander 2 replaced it. Ever since production of Freelander 1 concluded, Land Rover continued to support owners through the supply of spare parts. Now, owners will be supported by the […]

The Performance Car Show presented by Landsail Tyres in association with Autocar and PistonHeads.com will host the public debut of the Zenos E10 R, a road-legal British track day car delivering 500bhp/tonne. This astonishing road-legal trackday car will be on display at The Performance Car Show between 14-17 January for the very first time, allowing showgoers to be amongst the first in the world to see the E10 R in the metal. Following the introduction of the E10 and E10 S, the E10 R represents the brand’s quickest, most exhilarating and most focused car to date. Powered by a 2.3-litre EcoBoost engine, related to that found in the Ford Mustang and Focus RS, the E10 R produces 350bhp and 475Nm of torque and is set to be one of the stars of the Performance Car Show.

MINI USA today announced the official route for the 2016 running of MINI TAKES THE STATES. The legendary biennial cross-country owners rally will kick off at Road Atlanta in northeast Georgia on July 9, 2016 and finish at the Thermal Club in Palm Springs, CA, on July 23, 2016. In true MINI TAKES THE STATES fashion, the route will not take a direct path from point A to point B. The more than 4,000-mile “track-to-track” adventure will travel up the east coast, across the Great Plains and over the Rocky Mountains before arriving in Southern California.  The legendary adventure, which attracts thousands of MINI owners and enthusiasts every other year, will pay tribute to the brand’s motorsports heritage by stopping at several professional race tracks to host driving experiences along the way.

We just received an email from Les Edgar of TVR with updates on all manner of things. Some of the most interesting details of the upcoming production come when talking of the body and chassis.

A pristine slice of Group B rallying history is going up for sale at the Coys auction at Autosport International, in the form of a show-condition MG Metro 6R4. The Metro 6R4 is headlining a star-cast of over 60 rare and collectable road and race cars going under the hammer live at Autosport International. This particular example is one of the lowest mileage examples of its kind, having covered just 3,100 miles since it was built in 1985. Its pristine condition is down to the fact that, unusually, it has never been raced or rallied, as it was the original Rothmans show car. Instead, it was mainly used as a display car at shows, although it was used for the occasional demonstration. As a result, it is a perfect, almost box fresh example of the 6R4.

British GT GT4 Drivers’ Champion Ross Gunn (18) has won the inaugural Aston Martin Racing Evolution Academy, receiving a factory-backed contract with Aston Martin Racing for the 2016 season.   Competing against a strong field of young hopefuls, aged between 16 and 25 years old, the High Wycombe-born GT4 rookie excelled in the academy’s seminars held throughout 2015. Focusing on key areas such as fitness, simulator sessions, engineering, marketing and PR, a final group of six were selected for the Bahraini showdown. After shadowing the Aston Martin Racing team throughout the FIA World Endurance Championship’s season finale, each of the six finalists enjoyed two track sessions as part of the official WEC rookie test, driving the 2015 V8 Vantage GTE.

At least two Bentley Continental GT3s will enter the 2016 Pirelli World Challenge as Bentley Team Absolute announces a programme including entries from young American rising star Andrew Palmer and one of Asia’s top sportscar drivers, Adderly Fong. The Pirelli World Challenge is a 20-round GT championship comprising 50-minute-long, single-driver races on eleven of America’s most historic and iconic racetracks, including Laguna Seca and Road America.  The Continental GT3 has taken race wins in the championship this year and Bentley Team Absolute is looking to continue the race car’s success in the States.

As another year draws to a close, MG Motor UK takes a moment to reflect on what 2015 has brought and what 2016 is yet to bring. This year has seen another significant step in the growth of MG, with the launch of the new MG6, a rise in MG3 sales and new additions to the dealer network. At the beginning of the year, the manufacturer celebrated a record first quarter when sales boomed and made it the best since the new MG company was formed. This saw the 2014 achievement of ‘fastest growing automotive brand in Britain’ carry over into 2015. Throughout the year, sales have continued to grow and MG reached 3,000 registrations this month.

It’s the Brits, and they are making their way to the Middle East shores with MG’s first SUV, the MG GS. Without a doubt, the MG range had definitely had a strong impact during the Dubai International Motor Show this year, and the much-loved British brand’s current lineup had won many awards too. Enter MG GS, the very first MG SUV that reflects the brand’s innovative designs and more importantly, the aesthetics of the car was pretty much influenced by various cultural elements and landmarks of British-style and heritage. Also, it comes as no surprise as the GS is the only British compact SUV in the middle-class market segment.

As the ultimate incarnation of the world famous Exige, Lotus has revealed the Exige Sport 350, the latest version of the class-leading and award-winning sports car, that’s lighter and faster than ever before. A video demonstrating some of the areas where weight savings have been made, together with a glimpse of the stunning performance of this Sport 350 variant can be found on the Group Lotus YouTube and is included below. The 3.5-litre supercharged V6 engine generates 345 hp and 295lbft of torque at 4500rpm, offering scintillating, progressive power to the road, while revised suspension tuning and wheel geometry contribute to un-matched vehicle dynamics and steering precision. Coupled with the car’s lower mass, this power and torque enables the Lotus Exige Sport 350 to accelerate to 60 mph in just 3.7 seconds (0-100km/h in 3.9 seconds) before reaching a top […]

A one-of-a-kind Land Rover Defender sold for a record £400,000 at a prestigious charity auction at Bonhams tonight, from which all proceeds are being donated to Land Rover’s humanitarian and conservation partners. This is the thought to be the most valuable production Land Rover ever to be sold at auction. The unique vehicle, the two-millionth of the iconic Series Land Rover and Defender models manufactured at Land Rover’s Solihull plant since 1948, was sold to a bidder from Qatar. The vehicle was built in May 2015 by an all-star cast of brand ambassadors and people from Land Rover’s history including Bear Grylls, Virginia McKenna OBE and Stephen and Nick Wilks, sons of the founders of Land Rover. All proceeds from the sale will be donated to Land Rover’s humanitarian and conservation partners: the International Federation of Red Cross and Red […]

Of the 35 candidates for the 2016 European Car of the Year award, the Jaguar XE is one of just seven to be short listed. The 58 jurors representing 22 European countries will announce the winner on 29February 2016. Key criteria for European Car of the Year are technical innovation and value for money. Developed using Jaguar’s Lightweight Aluminium Architecture, the XE is the most fuel-efficient Jaguar and offers the lowest total cost of ownership of any Jaguar, boasting class-leading residual values and CO2 emissions from just 99g/km. Together with benchmark vehicle dynamics, perfect proportions and dramatic Jaguar design, these qualities have already contributed to 23 global awards. The inherent strength and stiffness of the body structure, together with cutting-edge driver assistance systems including stereo camera-based Autonomous Emergency Braking, helped the XE to achieve the maximum five star safety rating […]

The Bentley Continental GT is one of the most iconic cars on the road today. The Continental name first entered the company’s lexicon in 1952 with the R-Type Continental – arguably the world’s first Grand Tourer. With a top speed of 120 mph it was the fastest four-seater in the world at the time of its launch. Many of the 208 examples produced were coachbuilt by Mulliner – a name that is still closely associated with Bentley to this day. With just three strokes of the designer’s pen, the shape of the Continental comes to life – the striking power line, muscular rear haunches and swooping, fast roof line. These three elegant styling cues have remained a fundamental part of the Continental’s DNA over six decades. Today’s Continental elegantly fulfils the same grand-touring brief as its forebear. With immense W12 […]

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars has announced that the company is seeking a record number of candidates for its 2016 Apprenticeship Programme. Seventeen places are available, the highest number of annual apprenticeships since the programme launched in 2006.The Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Apprenticeship Programme provides people aged 16-24 with the opportunity to train with the Goodwood-based manufacturer of the world’s best-selling super-luxury cars. The apprenticeships last for up to four years and combine on-the-job training with The Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Apprenticeship Programme provides people aged 16-24 with the opportunity to train with the Goodwood-based manufacturer of the world’s best-selling super-luxury cars. The apprenticeships last for up to four years and combine on-the-job training with classroom based studying for nationally recognised qualifications. The programme has been designed in conjunction with several local colleges.The selection process is designed to guarantee recruitment of the very best […]

MG Motor UK is thrilled to have reached 3,000 registrations for 2015 before the year-end. Today, the British manufacturer has exceeded last year’s figures by almost 1,000, and this year’s figure has already surpassed 2013 and 2014 registrations combined. The increase in sales has been as a result of great deals, a continual expansion of the dealer network, and an ever-growing awareness of the brand. Matthew Cheyne, Head of Sales and Marketing for MG, said: “We are delighted to have reached 3,000 registrations for this year. It is such a rewarding moment to exceed previous years, and we strongly believe that next year will be no exception; particularly with the 2016 MG3 and arrival of our new and exciting SUV. “I would like to thank our dealer network for their continued efforts; it’s fantastic to be working with people who […]

Production of the full-size McLaren P1™ may have ended but McLaren Automotive has linked up with selected partners to offer every fan of any age a miniature McLaren P1™ of their own.  Many sizes, shapes and styles are available, from 1:64 models all the way up to an exact, hand-crafted 1:8 scale replica. The smallest size of McLaren P1™ is now within the reach of the very young, even if their only income is from pocket money, thanks to Mattel-HotWheels. The miniature die-cast toy McLaren P1™ is available in Volcano Orange and Supernova Silver and measures 75mm. The brand has been a favourite of young collectors since 1968 and remains one of the most popular toy car producers today. For those who would rather build their own, Lego® has created a Volcano Yellow McLaren P1™ as part of the Speed […]