Events

Join the double celebration at Beaulieu’s Spring Autojumble on May 18th and 19th, with the 25th anniversary of the popular event and Mini 60 celebrating six decades of the iconic Mini. A highlight of Beaulieu’s events calendar since it was launched in 1994, Spring Autojumble’s quarter century will be marked with a silver-themed event as jumblers are invited to decorate stands and send their memories and pictures to [email protected]

As Bentley enters its Centenary year, the oldest remaining and first racing model – EXP 2 – will be displayed at Retromobile, Paris. The first of many unique events in 2019 that will see Bentley celebrate this landmark year, Retromobile kick-starts the world car show season between 6-10 February at Salon des Expositions, Porte de Versailles. Showcasing Bentley’s motoring evolution over the past 100 years, the British brand’s stand in Paris offers visitors a unique opportunity to explore the heritage and the innovation of the British luxury car manufacturer. Joining its illustrious forebear in Paris will be the new Continental GT Convertible – the pinnacle open-top Grand Tourer.

Aston Martin Works, the world-renowned heritage arm of British luxury sports car maker Aston Martin Lagonda, is promising visitors to the upcoming Retromobile Show in Paris next month an unprecedented view of one of the brand’s rarest and most sought-after classic cars – Aston Martin DB4 Convertible, chassis no. 1173. This one-off model, built in 1963 at the historic home of Aston Martin in Newport Pagnell – now center of operations for the Aston Martin Works heritage sales, service, and restoration business – is unique as, of the circa 70 DB4 Convertibles made by the brand between 1961 and 1963, chassis no 1173 is the only car known to have been built by David Brown’s factory team with the more potent DB4 GT engine as an original fitment.

Goodwood is thrilled to announce that the theme for the 2019 Festival of Speed presented by MasterCard, which takes place from 4-7 July, will be “Speed Kings – Motorsport’s Record Breakers”. Motorsport has always been about pushing man and machine to the very limit, and this year, Goodwood will celebrate the people and machinery that set the benchmark or raise the bar. The focus will not just be on the Land Speed Record, but on every area of record-breaking in motorsport, from the most consecutive wins to most championships, fastest laps, most poles set by a manufacturer and many more.

It was done in haste. It was to be an alluring delivery system to introduce Jaguar’s brilliant new XK engine intended to power the substantial Jaguar Mk VII luxury sedan. But the Mk VII wasn’t ready, so Jaguar Chief William Lyons and his men created a quick solution. They shaped it on a shortened Mk VII chassis, painted it bronze, named it the “Open Two-Seat Super Sports” and took it to the 1948 Earls Court Motor Show just to show off their new XK engine.

The 60th anniversary of the extraordinary Mini Minor will be celebrated with two record-breaking races at this summer’s Silverstone Classic (26-28 July). To mark this magical milestone in true Classic style, the packed on-track program will – for the first time ever – feature a pair of very special showdowns dedicated entirely to huge numbers of much-loved Mini racers competing for The Mini Celebration Trophy presented by Adrian Flux. The automotive icon’s enduring popularity with historic motorsport competitors is certain to create the world’s biggest-ever grid of racing Minis and, fittingly, another major crowd-pleasing highlight at this year’s running of the biggest retro-racing festival on the planet.

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 […]