Events

One of Britain’s best-loved luxury car manufacturers, Aston Martin, will be celebrated in grand style at the inaugural Classic & Sports Car – The London Show, with a stunning collection of some of the luxury brand’s most iconic models, from the oldest-surviving to the very latest. Seven of Aston Martin’s handbuilt machines will appear at the Alexandra Palace event from 30th October to 1st November in a display sponsored by EFG International. A3 Taking the Aston Martin story back to the very beginning, an ultra-rare A3 will headline the display. The 1921 car, the oldest Aston Martin in existence, was the fourth and only survivor of marque founders Robert Bamford’s and Lionel Martin’s original prototypes. The car is now looked after by the Aston Martin Heritage Trust. DB MkIII Fewer than 500 DB MkIIIs were built from 1957 to 1959 and hardly […]

Eighty-five years after three-time Le Mans winner Captain Woolf Barnato famously raced the ‘Blue Train’ from Cannes to Calais, modern day Bentley Boy, Steven Kane, has reinvigorated the legendary spirit in a tense four-hour 14 minute sprint against Saudi Arabia’s only desert passenger train. The dune train takes a 480 km route from Riyadh – deep in the heart of the Arabian Peninsula – to Dammam on the Arabian Gulf. The new Continental GT V8 S Convertible raced this unique locomotive on August 15th across the scorched, baren landscape and won, with six minutes to spare. Bentley Team M-Sport driver, Steven Kane, said: “Four hours is the same time as a stint at Le Mans.  But this was far more stressful. The heat, the conditions, not knowing where the train was, while driving within the limits of the country’s regulations.   […]

October 25th is the day. The British Car club of Charleston will host our 31st British Car Day at the beautiful Mt. Pleasant Waterfront Park on Sunday, October 25th, starting at 9:00am. There will the amazing silent auction tent, food on the grille, plenty of fun stuff and lots of great cars. The family can enjoy the pier at the park and views of the Charleston harbor. For those of you who don’t know, this is my home club, and the club I founded over thirty years ago with a great group of friends.  So, yes, this event is special. I will be there, of course, with “Catherine” my 1966 Vanden Plas Princess 1100. Well, and maybe my 1978 Triumph Spitfire. Also, since the rains in South Carolina delayed the Grand Strand British Car Show up in Myrtle Beach to […]

Jaguar UK today announces an exciting partnership which will see the presentation of the technologically-advanced XF executive saloon car at WIRED2015.  WIRED is recognised as the multimedia authority on the future, in print and digital. Senior Jaguar executives Kevin Stride (XF Vehicle Line Director), Adam Hatton (Creative Director, Jaguar Exterior Design), Alister Whelan (Creative Director, Jaguar Interior Design) and Peter Virk (Head of Connected Technologies and Apps) will support the presentation of the all-new XF at WIRED.  These experts from the Design and Engineering teams at Jaguar Land Rover will also feature in exclusive workshop sessions at the WIRED conference. Chaired by WIRED UK Deputy Editor, Greg Williams, and supported by additional speakers from WIRED2015, two 30 minute thought-leadership sessions will cover topics designed to stimulate discussion and debate by experts in their field.  The first session is scheduled for […]

Goodwood is delighted to announce provisional dates for the 2016 Festival of Speed and Revival, ahead of tickets going on general sale on 5 November. The Festival of Speed, which celebrates the very best from the past and present of motoring and motor sport, will be held on 23-26 June, 2016*. As usual, the event will open with the Moving Motor Show on Thursday, 23 June, featuring many of the world’s largest motor manufacturers showcasing their latest models, alongside exciting and innovative concepts. From Friday-Sunday, 24-26 June, the famous Goodwood hill will be taken over by a glittering collection of the greatest cars, bikes, drivers and riders from the history of motor sport. The Revival is the world’s largest and most celebrated historic motor racing and vintage culture event, bringing back to life Goodwood Motor Circuit’s glory days as an […]

With a diverse and impressive range of cars already consigned, the early entries for Barons’ Autumn Classic (October 27th, Sandown Park) indicate that the auction house’s strong run of sales in 2015 is set to continue. The sale is headed by a very fine 1962 Bentley Continental S2, which was built for the celebrated musician, nightclub owner and bandleader Edmundo Ros, a huge star worldwide from the 1940s to his retirement in the 1970s. Once a familiar sight around the streets of Knightsbridge, London, this handsome Tudor grey Bentley has been the subject of considerable restoration, and comes complete with a comprehensive history file, including original Bentley build sheets and correspondence with Edmundo Ros. Estimate: £85,000-£105,000. The Bentley is followed by a magnificent, concours-winning 1965 Series One E-type Jaguar convertible, which spent most of its life in New York, returning […]

The ground-breaking Caterham Academy championship celebrated its 20th anniversary Thursday, October 1. The very first Academy event took place, under the banner of the Top Gear Caterham Scholarship, at Mallory Park in 1995 and Caterham has located rare footage of the event to celebrate the landmark birthday. Since its inception, the Academy has gone on to become one of the most popular novice race series in the UK, with more than 900 amateur male and female drivers competing across the 21 seasons racing the iconic Caterham Seven. The series is still going strong, with only a handful of the 56 grid slots for 2016 remaining. Academy graduates and aspiring racers alike can get a taste of the action from the inaugural event by viewing the following video.

In celebration of London Motor Week the Royal Automobile Club will host a series of expert motoring lectures by some of the most prominent historians in the industry. The lectures will take place at the Pall Mall clubhouse on Tuesday 27th October, 2015. With such a stellar cast the lectures are sure to appeal to a wide cross section of motoring enthusiasts.

After the summer break, Defender Challenge by Bowler returns this weekend for its fourth round as nine teams battle it out at the Trackrod Rally, part of the annual Rally Yorkshire event. Based at Pickering Showground, the course takes in 53 miles of rally stages that twist through the spectacular Yorkshire countryside over two days and opening with the daunting prospect of challenging night stages. The FIA-approved Land Rover Defender 90 Hard Tops are modified by Bowler Motorsport specifically for rally competitions. Engines are tuned to 170bhp and 450Nm of torque and the suspension system features uprated dampers and roll bars. Lighter wheels, a full roll-cage and rally safety features complete the specification. This weekend, a number of Land Rover employees and apprentices join the Bowler technical teams to support the rally. In addition to their ‘day jobs’, enthusiasts from […]

Norman Dewis, OBE, chief test driver and development engineer for Jaguar Cars from 1952 to 1985, is set to become the oldest ever contestant when he drives in this year’s MPG Marathon – at the tender age of 95! Dewis, who was born in 1920, will be entering this year’s event, rated as the UK’s most prestigious lean-driving challenge, in a rear wheel drive, 2.0 litre 163hp Jaguar XE alongside Jaguar Heritage communications officer, Tony O’Keeffe. Over the years, Dewis has played a major role in the development of some of Jaguar’s most iconic models, including the E-Type, XJ6, XJ-S and many more. He was behind the wheel of a Jaguar XK120 in October 1953 when it reached 172.412mph at Jabbeke, Belgium, a record for production cars. Awarded the OBE for services to the motor industry in the New Year’s […]

Classic & Sports Car – The London Show is delighted to announce, as a complement to its ‘Best of British’ theme, a display of important British single-seaters raced by ‘Mr Motor Racing’ Sir Stirling Moss. While Moss raced hundreds of different machines in dozens of different categories, including single-seaters, touring cars, sportscars and rally cars, all over the world in his spectacular career, it was his dedication to promoting Britain and its racing industry that was unrivalled. So much so that he would use his outrageous skill to compensate for often less-competitive machinery in his patriotic pursuits.

Our video this week is dedicated to the British Invasion show in Stowe, Vermont. The 2015 edition occurred this past weekend, and although we couldn’t make it (hope to next year), we are told it was a great event. This video features the show held last year. This video is an episode of My Classic Car hosted by Dennis Gage. In this particular episode, Dennis travels to Stowe, for the 2014 British Invasion car show. Additionally he discusses classic car restoration in the Autogeek Garage. I will admit that one of the segments I had to rewatch multiple times in this episode is the piece with one of my favorite cars, the 1932 MG J1.

As many as half a million spectators will line the route of the Bonhams London to Brighton Veteran Car Run this November, when the longest running motoring event in the world sets off on its annual adventure from London to Brighton (Sunday 1 November). Like the hardy teams piloting their amazing horseless carriages from the capital to the coast, the spectators brave whatever the weather conjures up to salute motoring’s pioneers: every car taking part was built before 1905. Best of all, every vantage point along the 60-mile route offers completely free viewing allowing everyone to enjoy the sights, sounds and smells of more than 400 veterans as they ‘put-put’ their way to Brighton. Although the Run follows more or less the same route as last year, there have been a few changes to make it even better for participants […]

In 2016, the Concours of Elegance returns to the spectacular venue which saw the event established, the largest and oldest inhabited castle in the world, Windsor Castle. From Friday the 2nd of September through to Sunday the 4th of September, the most exceptional cars from all over the world will gather to help celebrate Her Majesty The Queen’s 90th birthday with a spectacular Concours of Elegance display in the quadrangle of Windsor Castle. The Concours of Elegance remains unique in the UK as the only automotive event to be held at a Royal venue each year, with 2016 marking the show’s fifth year of spectacular automotive gatherings in some of the world’s most iconic locations, including St James’s Palace, Hampton Court Palace, the Palace of Holyroodhouse and next year’s return to Windsor Castle. His Royal Highness Prince Michael of Kent […]

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars celebrated a record Goodwood Revival over the weekend. The manufacturer of super-luxury motor cars hosted customers, prospects and VIPs and also entertained the tens of thousands of visitors to the world’s most popular historic motor race meeting in true Rolls-Royce style. The Rolls-Royce Radford building at the March Motor Works – this year titled ‘March Mews SW1’ – presented an appropriate tribute to the ‘Finishing Shop’ of Harold Radford (Coachbuilders) Limited, South Kensington. Harold Radford & Co Limited were long-established retailers of Rolls-Royce motor cars who, under G H Radford, developed a bespoke coachbuilding business in the late 1940s named Harold Radford (Coachbuilders) Limited. The coachbuilding business became synonymous with amendments to suit the rural lifestyle of the landed gentry, developing their ‘Countryman’ range of conversions to Rolls-Royce motor cars. A ‘new’ Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud was displayed […]

A one-off piece of artwork, created by world-renowned motoring artist Tim Layzell for Classic & Sports Car – The London Show, is being auctioned in support of the event’s chosen charity, WeSeeHope. All proceeds from the auction, run by Silverstone Auctions, will go to WeSeeHope, a charity which supports vulnerable young people in sub-Saharan Africa. WeSeeHope is the official charity for the first-ever Classic & Sports Car – The London Show and the auction is just one of the ways the event is supporting the organisation. The bespoke artwork – which anyone can bid on by heading to – depicts three legendary British cars, a Jaguar E-type, Bentley Speed Six and McLaren F1, at the show’s home of Alexandra Palace. These cars, together with seven others, have been the subject of a global poll to name the Best British Car […]

I am a big fan of New Orleans, and also a fan of the SVRA (Sportscar Vintage Racing Association). So what could be better than combining the two? Our video this week is from the SVRA touting their upcoming races in the Crescent City. This new addition to the SVRA schedule will be co-hosted by the Texas-based vintage car club, Corinthian Vintage Auto Racers (CVAR), at this racing facility located just 14 miles from the French Quarter of New Orleans. This event is non-points race for both clubs, featuring two days of exciting racing for all classes. Also sharing the weekend, as a featured group, will be The Trans-Am Series. In addition to the racing, there is a Saturday Car Show. NOLA presents a 2.75-mile, world-class track consisting of 16 turns, with a 5,200-foot straightaway. Designed to be challenging, but […]

America’s British Reliability Run, a three-day rally in classic British cars for charity, rides again! The dates are October 16th to 18th. In 2013, twelve teams from all various marque clubs and all over the region ran a 750 mile route through Pennsylvania and raised over $9,000 for the Children’s Specialized Hospital in NJ. This year, at least twenty-seven ABRR teams will be driving through some of Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey’s most scenic roadways at a time when fall color should be near its peak. The Run will begin in Quakertown, PA with its terminus in Milford, NJ. We will have dinner Friday night at the iconic Seneca Lodge, in Watkins Glen, NY. We will have a presentation by Bill Green, the historian for the Watkins Glen race track and International Motor Racing Research Center. After a ceremonial […]