Events

Over 80 British Car enthusiasts made their way to Abingdon Spares in Deep River for a tech session with internationally known British Carburetor authority Joe Curto. It was a tight fit but we managed to squeeze everyone in, with only a few standing! We even managed to get a few sports cars out of hibernation and into our parking lot! Joe provided a very interesting, informative and sometimes humorous two and a half hours of discussion on the famous SU carburetor. Joe began by describing the various types of SUs, starting with the H type (T-series) through the HIF (MGB) carbs.

The number of attractions confirmed for this summer’s XK70 Jaguar Festival at Shelsley Walsh Hillclimb is growing fast. The family-friendly event in Worcestershire on 9-10 June will celebrate the 70th anniversary of the ground-breaking XK120 and all subsequent XK cars and engines, and in the last month more well-known Jaguar personalities and cars have committed to taking part. Two guests of honour newly confirmed for the Festival are Sir John Egan, the chairman of Jaguar from 1980 to 1990 who saved the company from bankruptcy, and Keith Helfet, the former Chief Stylist at Jaguar who designed the XJ220 supercar, the XK180 concept car which commemorated the XK’s 50th anniversary, and the 1990s F-type concept. Another well-known personality at the Festival will be Edd China, former presenter of Discovery Channel’s hit TV programme ‘Wheeler Dealers’, filming and taking questions in a […]

As they like to say in the collector car auction community, there was “plenty of money in the room.”  With 101 cars going across the stage on Friday night, just over $27 million was spent, with 86% of the cars reaching their reserves; a successful event by any measure. Held in the ballroom of the luxurious and elegant Ritz-Carlton, the audience and venue were nearly as star-studded at the cars themselves. Highlights of the evening were a 1966 Ferrari 275 GTB, a 1993 Porsche 911 Carrera RS and a Marmon Sixteen LeBaron Coupe.  The Ferrari, the top seller of the auction, was one of approximately 58 long-nose, torque-tube, triple-carburetor, steel-bodied examples. Retaining its original chassis, engine, and gearbox, the beautifully presented car sold for a final $2,205,000.

An exclusive appearance by 1989 Camel Trophy winners Bob and Joe Ives, together with the iconic Land Rover 110 that led them to victory in the Amazon 29 years ago, has been confirmed for Land Rover Legends at Bicester in Oxfordshire. Now an expedition leader all over the world, and consultant to films and television shows including the Harry Potter and Discworld franchises, Top Gear, The Grand Tour and more, Bob Ives will appear alongside his brother Joe on the live stage and forum area to talk about their experiences and answer questions from the audience.

We just received word from the folks at the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance that the main event has been moved to Saturday due to impending weather.  Along with this, the RM Sotheby’s auction will be moving to Friday, March 9. Even in the best case scenario, the forecast for Sunday’s scheduled Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance includes rain and lots of it. With a strong chance of heavy precipitation forecast for Sunday and a sunshine-filled Saturday in the mix, The Amelia Concours team has moved Sunday’s award-winning Concours to Saturday. The Concours show will now coincide with Saturday’s Cars & Coffee at the Concours presented by Heacock Classic Insurance. The new schedule is as follows: Saturday, March 10, Cars & Coffee at the Concours 9 am until 5 pm Saturday, March 10, Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance 9:30 am until 5 pm […]

A 2018 British Racing Green Noble M600 CarbonSport will be at The London Motor Show this May, taking pride of place on the all-new Built In Britain feature. Designed, engineered and manufactured at Noble’s Leicestershire base, the twin-turbo 4.4-litre V8 M600 CarbonSport is poised to be one of the stars of the show at London’s ExCeL in May. The car boasts a power output of 662bhp, resulting in a top speed of an estimated 225mph and a 0-60mph time of just 3.5 seconds. It weighs in at just over a tonne with a dry weight of 1198kg.

Thanks to Melody Laurel we have a special event report on the 2017 America British Reliability Run, Pennsylvania Chapter. This event was held at the end of September. Melody is currently assistant director of the Delaware Valley Triumphs and is also on the board of directors for the Pennsylvania chapter of America’s Reliability Run. This year, the event will be held the first weekend of October. Another year’s America’s British Reliability Run has come to a close. $27,000.00 has been raised for New Jersey’s Children’s Specialty Hospitals, Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome Program and the Traumatic Head Injury Programs. These programs receive no government funding and all of the proceeds will go directly to buying much-needed beds and other items, not funding the front office. The America’s British Reliability Run has been in existence for over 12 years. It is not a race. It is […]

The following individuals have been selected for the 2018 class of honorees for the British Sports Car Hall of Fame. This will be the second year for these ceremonies. Joe Alexander – The owner of Alexander Racing Enterprises and a founding member of the Friends of Triumph. Chuck Anderson – One of the founding members of the Austin-Healey Club of America and a leading proponent of the marque in the United States.

The sports cars from Morris Garages were founding members of postwar American sports car racing. The 23rd annual “Amelia” will celebrate marque-founder Cecil Kimber’s original MGs that grew from the success of Morris automobiles before World War II. The M.G. Car Company celebrates its 90th birthday in 2018, though the cars wearing MG’s famous octagon badge have been around even longer. The earliest MGs were re-bodied Morris models with styling and performance enhancements. By 1928, the Oxford company had become large and prosperous enough to warrant an identity separate from the original Morris Garages and the M.G. Car Company Limited was established that March.

Abingdon Spares will be hosting British Carburetor expert Joe Curto on Saturday, March 31, 2018. Joe is known nationally as well as internationally as an authority on SU carburetors. Joe will be at the Abingdon Spares shop in Deep River, Connecticut, for an informal presentation on SU carbs of all types. There will be a particular emphasis on the SU carburetors used on post-war MGs. Joe will explain the how’s and why’s of British carburetion. He will also provide tips on carburetor maintenance and tuning, as well as information on the do’s and don’ts of modifying your current setup. There will, of course, be lots of time for questions and answers from the audience. Joe is well known for his guidance and advice to both the expert and the bewildered MG owner on the subject of SUs. Mark your calendars now for […]

MINI USA has announced the official route for MINI TAKES THE STATES (MTTS) 2018. The legendary rally for MINI owners, which runs from July 14 – 22, will start from two separate locations on opposite sides of the country and meet in the middle for a weekend celebration of everything MINI. The starting cities will be Orlando, Fla., and Portland, Ore. The final destination is Keystone Resort in Keystone, Colo., approximately 75 miles west of downtown Denver. Once arriving at Keystone, MINI owners from both routes will have the weekend to trade stories, share their experiences, show off their MINI, explore the area on curated mountain drives, support our charity partner and enjoy fun activities planned by the MINI USA team. There have been six epic road trips starting with the inaugural rally in 2006.  The seventh biennial MTTS rally […]

Briggs Automotive Company (BAC) – the Liverpool-based manufacturer behind the world-famous Mono supercar – is confirmed for the Performance Car Show. Mono is the world’s only single-seater, road-legal supercar that’s earned plaudits around the globe for its blistering performance and one-of-a-kind characteristics, and it’s sure to enjoy plenty of attention from 11-14 January 2018. BAC will take pride of place on Stand 19410 at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC), showcasing the 2018 Model Year Mono that includes a whole host of new standard technology – including a lightweight, lithium-ion battery. The 2018 Model Year Mono’s arrival at the Performance Car Show is its first ever public showing, making this another exclusive first for the event.

For our video of the week this time, we turn to a video by NorthAmericaOverland. Back in July of this year, the Muddy Chef Challenge was held up in Manchester, Vermont. This is an annual gathering of Land Rover enthusiasts that, as the name implies, involves both cooking and off-road driving. The Muddy Chef Challenge was established in 2008 in Stowe, Vermont. A handful of Land Rover aficionados got together with the crazy idea that off-roading could be combined with a vehicle-based gourmet cooking challenge and the Muddy Chef Challenge was born. Since then, the Muddy Chef has grown to become the largest Land Rover event of its type in the world. We are often described as “Top Gear meets Top Chef” and that’s perfect description. Over the course of three days, competitors will setup African Safari style campsites, experience challenging off-road […]

The Texas MG Register’s Fall Gathering of the Faithful (GOF) was held in Granbury, TX in mid-October. Just British was very happy to help support this event.  You can see some pictures of the event below, and you can see photos of the event at Texas MG Register’s site under past events – Fall 2017. According to Register member and event organizer Frank Kopec, the event had 63 cars and 126 people registered, and there were also had a few walk-ins. It is nice to see a broad range of cars, and it seems there were both original and modified examples. Looks like fun time for all in attendance.

Reader Russell Browne sent in these pictures from the recent Regent Street Motor Show.  This show was held on November 4, 2017, on Regent Street in London from Piccadilly Circus to Oxford Circus.

British Car Day 2017 in Charleston, SC, was held at Mt. Pleasant Waterfront Park. Nearly 100 cars were in attendance, and a great time was had by all. The club was founded in 1983 and this was the 33rd annual British Car Day, and it won’t be the last. Thanks to Dave Rosato of the British Car Club for this aerial footage.

We just got in a brief event report from Scott Monfort of the British Car Club of Western North Carolina (BCCWNC). Their annual “Autumn in the Mountains” show was held on September 30th of this year in Hendersonville, North Carolina. This is a wonderful Fall event with proceeds going to charity. Scott said: We had 90 cars show for the event.  This was less than last year but we still increased our collections by 10% over last year.  I was hoping to top last years entries of 100 cars but I am grateful for the increase in spectators. It was a beautiful day with clear skies and moderate temperature. The $4,400 received during the one-day event will be donated to the local Meals on Wheels charity. The pictures sent show members with their cars, group car shots, an award being given, […]

City Concours, the unique and world-class automotive garden party, is to return to Central London in Summer 2018. Following the overwhelming success of the inaugural event this summer, City Concours will once again display some of the world’s finest cars within the intimate and exclusive setting of the Honourable Artillery Company from 7-8 June 2018. All are welcome to enjoy a relaxed environment with great food, luxurious exhibitors and a variety of entertainment suites, all alongside some of the world’s most magnificent automobiles positioned around the historic gardens of the Honourable Artillery Company in Central London.