Corporate Business

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars will present the first public showing of Isaac Julien’s new work Stones Against Diamonds during Art Basel in Basel, 2015. The work, commissioned as part of the Rolls‑Royce Art Programme, will be shown at the Kirche Elisabethen, Basel, from 16-17 June 2015. Following the preview during the Venice Biennale last month, the video installation will be shown on a larger scale than previously seen, as a unique site specific installation filling the magnificent interior of the imposing church across ten screens. Isaac Julien’s film draws inspiration from a letter written by Brazilian architect Lina Bo Bardi.Stones Against Diamonds examines themes within her letter, where she praises the beauty of natural elements over preferred precious stones. Filming the work in remote Vatnajökull region, in South East Iceland, using the breathtaking scenery of glistening ice caves as a set […]

Aston Martin Racing has unveiled a 24 Hours of Le Mans art car designed by artist Tobias Rehberger. The unique creation gives the Gulf #97 Vantage GTE the illusion of movement and speed, even when static. Rehberger is renowned for his abstract art and optical effects that distort perception and has received numerous international prizes and awards, including the Golden Lion for best artist at the 2009 Venice Biennale. Aston Martin Racing invited him to design a livery that would work with the Gulf Vantage GTE’s lines and colours in a way never attempted before. Thirty years since the first art car ran in the 24-hour race, Rehberger set out to create a design that uses geometric shapes and patterns to give the car, when static, the impression of movement and speed. The German artist, who will attend Saturday’s race […]

Together for Short Lives, the UK children’s palliative care charity, has held its annual Midsummer Ball in central London, where Rolls-Royce Motor Cars unveiled plans for a year-long initiative to support the organisation in its work with seriously ill children and their families. The Ball, hosted by the charity’s patron, Simon Cowell, raised more than £400,000 in support of Together for Short Lives. The charity’s hospice and palliative care services aim to achieve the best support for more than 49,000 British children with life-limiting conditions and their families. To help the organisation raise awareness of its activities, and raise vital funds to continue delivering its lifeline work, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars donated a Rolls-Royce Ghost Series II for a year, finished in the charity’s bright purple colour scheme and Together for Short Lives branding. The keys to the car were handed […]

Bentley’s Flying Spur has been named Best Luxury Car in the 2015 Telegraph Car Awards. The result, which was announced at an event in central London today, was decided by members of the public who voted for their favourite cars via the Telegraph’s Motoring website.   Kevin Rose, Bentley Member of the Board for Sales, Marketing and Aftersales, commented: “Bentley is the most successful luxury car brand in the world. Every Bentley is handcrafted by our skilled and dedicated team in Crewe, which makes each car a true luxury possession. On behalf of Bentley Motors and our 3,800 colleagues, I would like to say a big thank you to everyone that voted for us.” Steve Huntingford, Cars Editor at The Telegraph, added: “The latest Flying Spur manages to feel both traditional and modern, plus it’s as enjoyable to drive as it […]

Bentley Motors has reinforced its commitment to the company’s key Russian market, by announcing the opening of its third dealership in the country’s fast-growing capital, Moscow. One of the largest and most populated cities in the world, reaching over 12 million people, Moscow has established itself as the political, economic, cultural and scientific centre of Russia. The new dealership, occupying a premium location on Volgogradskiy Prospekt 41, opened its doors on Saturday 30th May. Bentley Moscow-Volgogradskiy, a partnership with automotive retail specialists, Avilon, offers customers the full Bentley model range as well as aftersales service and the company’s branded luxury goods. It adds to Bentley’s presence in Tretyakovsky Proezd and at the Barvikha Luxury Village, with Bentley’s long-standing partner, Bentley Moscow, operated by Mercury. Commenting on the expansion, Kevin Rose, Bentley’s Member of the Board for Sales, Marketing and Aftersales, […]

Bentley Motors today has announced Stefan Sielaff as its new Director of Design. He succeeds Luc Donckerwolke who has been with Bentley since 2012. Mr Sielaff will join Bentley on 1st July 2015 from his current dual role as Head of Volkswagen Group Interior Design and Design Director at Volkswagen Design Center Potsdam. In his role at Bentley, he will report to Rolf Frech, Bentley’s Member of the Board for Engineering. He will also retain his position as Head of Volkswagen Group Interior Design, reporting to Director of Volkswagen Group Design, Dr. Walter de Silva.

Coventry Telegraph is reporting that Jaguar Land Rover has clocked up a record year in business – with colossal profits of more than £2.6billion. The Coventry-based car giant has revealed its full-year results which show the record pre-tax earnings are up £113million on the previous year. JLR also announced revenues of £21.86billion for the year to March 31, 2015, up by £2.48billion in 12 months. Bosses at the firm, which has its global headquarters at Whitley, said it marks a ‘fifth successive year of solid growth, robust financial results and continuous investment in its future.’ Jaguar Land Rover chief executive officer, Dr Ralf Speth said: “Jaguar Land Rover has delivered five years of solid financial results, enabling us to invest in our long-term future. “This has positioned the company strategically and financially for continued sustainable growth. For further details, check out […]

The Q by Aston Martin bespoke personalisation service is celebrating the fulfilment of a longstanding ambition for sports car enthusiast and businessman Markus Storck. Dr Matthew Bennett, General Manager of VIP sales and Q by Aston Martin personalisation service, delivered the first of seven uniquely built Vanquish Coupes to the German collector at an event held at the luxury marque’s headquarters in Gaydon. Mr Storck, founder and head of German hi-tech bicycle manufacturer Storck Bikes, commissioned the Q by Aston Martin team to develop the special ‘One of Seven’ Vanquish sports cars for himself, and six fellow sports car aficionados. Boasting a broad array of bespoke features including an exclusive exterior finish that sees multiple layers of carbon fibre cleverly interwoven to a perfectly smooth finish – a result that required Aston Martin to develop an entirely new addition to […]

The iconic British car brand, TVR, has announced that it will return to the market with an all-new British designed and built sports car. The company, which boasts an outstanding new management team, has developed the new car in collaboration with Gordon Murray Design and Cosworth, each providing much of the core design and engineering capability for the all-new TVR. This incredible project is already well advanced with over a year of development completed so far. TVR will issue more specification details and early images later in 2015, but the car will continue the tradition of a classic British two-seat sports car with a composite ground effect aero chassis and body package using Gordon Murray Design’s innovative iStream® technology. Enthusiasts will also be delighted to know that the car will feature the traditional TVR DNA of a front engine with […]

Following an eight-year absence, the British Motor Show is being resurrected and, according to its backers, is looking to challenge Geneva and Frankfurt. The reborn event, which promises to offer a host of activities besides simply getting up close to the latest production and concept cars from the world’s biggest automotive firms, is scheduled to open its doors to the public on May 5, 2016. However, unlike a host of other major auto shows, the London show, which will be held in Battersea Park, will only run for four days, rather than the more usual two weeks. “With the considerable changes happening in the motor industry, this is exactly the right time to bring to London a high-profile motoring event,” said a spokesperson for the London Motor Show. “The London Motor Show will bring global brands to the capital, to […]

The Avocet sportscar programme, including designs, datapack, production and intellectual property rights, is to be marketed for sale internationally as a now fully developed market-ready product, with defined, wide scope for future variants, options and alternative componentry. MMI, the privately owned automotive enterprise behind the marque, took the very deliberate decision to use the recent past flat market period to advantage, by undertaking substantial further development and testing, auditing and proving the car’s bill of materials and commercially benchmarking the project. MMI Founder and Managing Director, Martin Miles says: “We have done everything we set out to do – and more. The result is that Avocet is now a highly competitive car which combines a stylish, ultra-lightweight two-seater body with exceptional chassis dynamics and awesome performance … and we have achieved that whilst still retaining our base model price ambition […]

According to Car Magazine, BMW is planning to take Mini back to its small-car roots – with a Mini Minor. This is great news for fans of the historic British baby, which has grown podgy under German ownership, and shows that the shrunken Mini Rocketman concept car wasn’t in vain. But it’s also an intriguing industrial development: BMW is planning to co-develop the baby Mini with Toyota. Product planners in Germany acknowledge that the Mini has grown tubby in recent years, stretching to 4005mm in five-door hatchback form. Hence the desire to surf the downsizing trend with a new smaller model, scheduled to stretch just 3450mm long. For reference, that’s the same footprint as the new Smart Forfour. The Mini Minor is likely to come to market in late 2018 or early 2019, CAR can reveal. ‘It’s still early days […]

After announcing the company’s largest apprentice intake in 25 years, Bentley has received more applications to join the programme than ever before. 1,285 people applied for 63 positions, with the successful candidates starting the three-year scheme in September. The second stage of the recruitment process begins now, with assessment centres and interviews taking place throughout the summer. 40 of the apprentices will be working on a newly developed manufacturing programme. A dual education system of learning, 70 per cent of time is dedicated to practical training delivered by Bentley master trainers, themselves with combined industry experience of over 100 years. The remaining 30 per cent of time will be devoted to theoretical learning within chosen professional areas. A further 23 apprentices will be based in business areas at Bentley’s global headquarters in Crewe, including Engineering, Sales and Marketing, Purchasing and […]

Jaguar announced today that it has entered into a partnership with the Sportscar Vintage Racing Association (SVRA) to introduce its newest high performance models to some of the nation’s most fervent automotive enthusiasts. The partnership will feature seven Jaguar-sponsored SVRA races throughout the US starting with a Gold Medallion Invitational at the Sonoma Raceway on May 28-31. The Gold Medallion program aims to protect the integrity of these vintage vehicles by maintaining and racing them as they were prepared in period. At each of the seven events, Jaguar will offer consumers the opportunity to test the dynamic performance of the newest additions to the Jaguar line-up including the 550-hp Jaguar F-TYPE R AWD1. Activities will include an autocross track specially designed by the Jaguar Performance driving team.

Jaguar has announced its partnership with two premier U.S.  design colleges, Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA and the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, CA. Student participants in the program will have the opportunity to work on Jaguar design briefs to create a 2030+ model year concept vision halo sports car and 2+2 sports coupe four-door interior. The design briefs were created by the Jaguar Design team who will interact with students throughout the semester and ultimately judge the students’ work. Taking place over the summer semester, the design program will last a total of 12 weeks from start to finish while students transform concept sketches to scale models, both in digital and in clay form. During this time period the students and instructors will work closely with Ian Callum, Jaguar Design Director, and his team […]

Aston Martin is once again returning to the shores of Lake Como in Italy this weekend as it showcases the stunning new DBX Concept in the esteemed 2015 Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este. Entered in the event’s prestigious Concept Cars and Prototypes class, the DBX Concept defies conventional thinking about the high luxury segment and points to a bold new future for GT travel in the 21st Century. Unveiled at the Geneva International Motor Show, the DBX Concept widens the appeal of the iconic British luxury brand and reaches out to a more diverse global audience than ever before. Ahead of its appearance this weekend, Aston Martin Chief Creative Officer Marek Reichman said: “As we explained when we debuted the car, the DBX Concept is designed to challenge the existing status quo in the high luxury GT segment. It promises to […]

Jaguar will unveil the F-TYPE R AWD Bloodhound SSC RRV at Coventry MotoFest – one of the cars that will support the Bloodhound world land speed record attempt. The Bloodhound F-TYPE R is the latest project of Jaguar Land Rover’s Special Vehicle Operations and is wrapped in a bespoke livery created by Jaguar Design incorporating the Bloodhound SSC colours. This year’s MotorFest promises to be bigger than ever with a range of attractions and gigs. The organisers close off the Coventry ring road to public traffic in order to host a number of motorsport activities and the Bloodhound F-TYPE will be taking part in laps on Saturday May 30 and Sunday May 31. Jaguar will also be previewing its activities at the 2015 Goodwood Festival of Speed – the theme of which this year is ‘Flat Out and Fearless: Racing […]

Chinese automotive conglomerate SAIC Motor Corp Ltd and local commercial vehicle distributor Weststar Maxus Sdn Bhd have signed an assembly and distribution deal worth up to RM1 billion in a move that could see the return of the MG brand in Malaysia, according to The Star. The report from the English language daily, citing sources close to the deal, states that SAIC is looking to take up a 49% stake in Weststar Maxus and will provide the distribution rights for its wide range of vehicles, including cars from the MG brand, passenger vans and pick-up trucks. These will add to SAIC’s Maxus brand of commercial vehicles that Weststar already sells. In addition, SAIC will also join forces with Weststar Maxus to set up an assembly plant here – Weststar currently builds Maxus vehicles at its facility in Port Klang, so […]