Events

Nominations are now open for the National Land Rover Awards 2019, the winners of which will be chosen at Land Rover Legends, the ultimate show for Land Rover connoisseurs, preservationists, restorers, and enthusiasts, taking place at Bicester Heritage, on 25th and 26th May. The focus of Land Rover Legends is on authenticity and originality, with the event featuring carefully-curated static displays of important Land Rovers as well as the National Awards for Most Original, Best Restored and Best Bespoke Land Rover. The inaugural event in 2018 attracted a very strong list of contenders for the Awards, and the judges had a tough job to determine the Highly Commended and overall Winner in each of the three categories.

With this being the height of show season, we decided that this week we should take a moment to look at the judging process in a concours d’elegance. Now, different shows do judging differently. There are, of course, the popular choice car shows, but even within the concours shows the judging can be varied.  Our video is The Judging Process at Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. Some shows that I have attended have cared more about the presentation and condition of a car than its originality. Other shows have stressed original equipment and options even if that meant that condition may suffer a bit. Still, other shows want every part of the car to be of an original type and quality or be period correct, but the part itself does not need to have been original. Again, there are many variations and it […]

To celebrate the golden half-century of one of the world’s favorite films Beaulieu is to launch its Chitty Chitty Bang Bang 50 years exhibition which can be seen in the National Motor Museum from October 20th. The exhibition will tell the story of Chitty as the star of the fantasmagorical family adventure and feature an original screen Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and the Humber 8hp driven by Truly Scrumptious in the much-loved musical film.

Once again Abingdon Spares participated in and helped to sponsor the British Reliability Run, this time the Connecticut version, over the weekend of September 14, 15, and 16. We completed over 650 trouble free miles from Newtown, CT all the way up to Lake Placid, NY and back in two and a half days. A total of 8 teams participated in this inaugural event, two Spitfires, two TR6s, two MGBs, one MGA, and an NG, some of you may know this British Kit Car, designed like a classic roadster and based on MGB mechanicals, a very clever idea.

The Atlanta Concours d’Elegance organizers have created The Visionary Award to honor Don Panoz, an early and enthusiastic Atlanta Concours supporter who envisioned how the premier event would benefit Braselton, Ga. and Metro Atlanta area. Panoz passed away on Sept. 11, 2018. He was 83. According to Bill Wallet, CEO of the Atlanta Concours, The Visionary Award will be presented to an entrant, sponsor or vendor that best exemplifies the futurist spirit that so defined Don Panoz. The award will be presented during Sunday’s Atlanta Concours awards ceremony. In 1961 Panoz, along with army buddy Milan “Mike” Puskar, founded Milan Pharmaceuticals in White Sulphur Springs, W. Va. Milan Pharmaceuticals evolved into Mylan, a company that now sells an estimated 1,300 products to more than 140 countries and territories worldwide. In the 1970s Panoz founded Élan Corp. in Ireland and led a research […]

For our Video of the Week, let’s take a spin with something a bit on the lighter side. This is perhaps one of the world’s smallest races – in terms of the number of entrants, size of entrants, and the size of the cars. This is the Settrington Cup at Goodwood Revival, and the 2018 edition was held this past Sunday. Held annually at the Goodwood Revival since 2012, the Settrington Cup race is for children ages 6 through 9. Cool, you think … so go grab a pedal car and let your kind hit the track, you think. But no. In addition to the age restriction of the drivers, the only pedal cars allowed are Austin J40 models built by disabled coal miners beginning in 1949 (true story). Here is a quote from an original brochure for the car, which […]

Jaguar Racing has unveiled the full race calendar for the inaugural Jaguar I-PACE eTROPHY Championship. Up to twenty identical Jaguar I-PACE eTROPHY racecars will line up on the grid on Saturday 15 December in Ad Diriyah, Saudi Arabia, for the first round of the new global electric production car racing series. The Jaguar I-PACE eTROPHY race will take place before the main ABB FIA Formula E race on the same city circuits, throughout the 2018-19 season and beyond. The series, a world first, offers teams the chance to showcase driving talent and electric performance in some of the world’s most exciting cities.

Concours of Elegance and Bridge of Weir Leather Company partnered up once again this year to present a very special ‘British Legends’ feature, celebrating the very best of automotive design to come out of Britain over the last century. Notable friends of the Concours and Bridge of Weir each chose a British car they deemed deserving of the status of British Legend. Visitors to the Concours of Elegance were invited to vote for their favorite of the ‘British Legends’ nominated by stars of the automotive. Taking more votes than any of the other iconic models nominated, the Morgan 4/4 was named the public favorite from the British Legends feature yesterday. The Morgan 4/4, nominated by Morgan designer Jon Wells, took the public vote at the event and was presented as the Bridge of Weir ‘British Legend’ for 2018 in front of Hampton […]

The Rolls-Royce Cullinan makes its American debut to the public at this year’s Monterey Car Week as the marque showcases a stunning array of Bespoke motor cars, each one a classic in the making. In addition to Cullinan, the Rolls-Royce of SUVs, the brand will present a splendid selection of individual creations at events throughout the week and deliver two very high profile commissions to their owners, live at events throughout the week. Monterey Car Week is one of the world’s premier luxury motor car events, so it is fitting that we showcase the finest Bespoke motor cars in the world here, and also debut Cullinan, the Rolls-Royce of SUVs, to the American public. From the primacy of Phantom to the power of Cullinan, the Rolls-Royce presence at 2018 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance has never been more compelling, and these Bespoke Rolls-Royces […]

Aston Martin stunned the world when it first unveiled DB4 in 1958 and now, on its 60thanniversary, an exclusive display will take place at the Concours of Elegance, hosted at Hampton Court Palace, from the 31 August until 2 September 2018. Assembled by the Aston Martin Owners Club, the line-up will include a DB4 prototype, an example of DB4 Series 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 plus an original DB4 GT, DB4 GT Zagato and DB4 Bertone Jet. The newly launched DB4 GT Continuation will also form part of the display.

Aston Martin kicks off the 2018 Monterey Automotive Week by again opening the doors of ‘Aston Martin Club 1913’, inviting attendees to get to know the Aston Martin Lagonda Group and its leadership team. This year’s theme, “Boundless,” showcases the group’s world expanding beyond automotive, to include products on land, sea and in the air. President for Aston Martin The Americas, Laura Schwab said: “While people flock to Monterey Week for its history, this year at Aston Martin Club 1913, we’ll give guests a glimpse into what’s next. We’ll showcase everything from the present – the new DBS Superleggera, to the electric – with the new Lagonda Vision Concept, and the sky-bound – the Volante Vision Concept. The creative horsepower behind this brand is limitless, and that will be evident to all who join us at the Aston Martin Club […]

Nearly 200 Triumphs and their owners gathered at the Radisson Hotel in downtown La Crosse, Wisconsin, for the 2018 VTR National Annual Convention.  A reception Tuesday evening kicked off the show’s autocross competition, riverboat rides, local driving tours, and rallies. The big events — the Participants Choice and the Concours Show – blossomed Friday along the mighty Mississippi in Riverside Park. Among the entrants were three rare Triumph Italia 2000 GTs from eastern Pennsylvania. Each was restored by Ragtops & Roadsters, with body, paint and upholstery work done by its sister shop Pollock Auto Restoration. Ragtops specialize in restoration and preservation of all British and European sports cars. From left to right; Vignale #194, restored by R&R in 1995, earned a Preservation Award with 385.5 points out a perfect score of 400 points — not too shabby after 23 years! Finished […]

MINI USA has confirmed that its biennial MINI owners road rally MINI TAKES THE STATES 2018 (MTTS) attracted more than 3,000 owners to event’s finale and that the rally raised more than one million meals for charity partner Feeding America. MINI USA also confirmed that fundraising efforts to support Feeding America will remain open until the end of the year at MINITAKESTHESTATES.com. The biennial trek attracted more than 3,600 MINI owners who took part in the Rally to the Rockies, with 1,000+ MINIs on the road each day. The group of loyal MINI owners travelled more than 5,000 miles through 15 cities and 14 states. At times the group swelled to more than 1,000 owners and 500 vehicles of all shapes, colors and sizes on each route.

A convoy of 70 rare and important Land Rovers stole the show at Goodwood Festival of Speed yesterday as part of a record parade up the famous Goodwood Hill, celebrating 70 years of Land Rover. The largest ever batch of vehicles to drive up the famous hill were led by a recreation of the very first Land Rover – a Centre Steer prototype – and ‘HUE 166’, the first Series I pre-production prototype from 1948. The Series I was such a success that it spawned the Series II and Series III, an example of which became the millionth Land Rover sold just 28 years after the very first prototype. That millionth car also appeared in the parade, as part of a group of 25 early Series I, II and III vehicles including fire engines, SAS vehicles, aircraft crash rescue and African expedition […]

Raymond Costa attending this year’s MG GOF West and has sent in the following report … If you are a fan of all things MG, Delevan Wisconsin was the place to be between June 27 and June 30 this year. Gatherings of the Faithful, or GOFs, are regional get-togethers for owners of MG cars. Originally conceived as gatherings for 1955 and older MG cars, more modern MGs are welcome if you can call a car that is no newer than thirty-eight years old “modern.” This year’s event was sponsored by the Vintage MG Car Club of Chicago. This GOF Central included the annual gathering of the North American MMM Register, an organization dedicated to preserving sporting MGs made before 1936, and many of these jewels arrived from as far away as Denver, Atlanta, and Alabama.

With just two weeks to go until Goodwood Festival of Speed 2018, MINI UK is excited to confirm two concept vehicles making their UK debut. MINI will offer a glimpse into the future direction of the brand with the MINI Electric Concept showcasing its design vision for a fully-electric model. Also a UK first, and inspired by the carmaker’s legendary motorsport heritage, the MINI John Cooper Works GP Concept will be on display as part of MINI’s activation at the 2018 festival. The MINI Electric Concept features an iconic design with clean-cut surfaces for a minimalist impression and will be the first fully electric MINI. The concept offers a thrilling preview of the all-electric production vehicle due to be unveiled in 2019.

The tenth Flying Scotsman saw William Medcalf and a whole fleet of vintage Bentleys line up at Brooklands in late April 2018. Just as they had done a decade earlier, they had come to contest perhaps the toughest UK rally for pre-war motor cars. All manner of different marques were down on the start list but it’s not too much of a stretch to say that as usual, anything from the Cricklewood stable acquitted itself very well over the typically tough course. The late Philip Young and the Endurance Rally Association devised the Flying Scotsman as a reliability trial ‘for crews with a press on attitude’ and, in every edition since the first one in 2009, the crews and their cars have been tested by the roads, the weather, and the navigation. This year the route was designed by Anthony Preston, renowned […]

On the 70th anniversary of the very first Aston Martin DB-badged models, the Concours of Elegance at Hampton Court Palace will be hosting a display of some of the finest Aston Martins ever produced. From 31 August – 2 September, over 100 icons from the legendary British marque will be on display, including four very special examples in the Main Concours. Chief among them is a 1967 Aston Martin DBSC by Touring – the only road-going version in existence. Only two cars were built by Touring as a potential replacement for the Aston Martin DB6, and this left-hand-drive 4-litre, straight-six powered rarity comes finished in Dubonnet Rosso paint, with a tan pigskin interior. Also on display is a 1937 Aston Martin 15/98 Long Chassis Tourer by Bertelli – probably the best example of this rare and interesting model in the world. One […]