Highlights

With the unveiling of Aston Martin Lagonda’s first SUV scheduled for the last quarter of 2019, work is progressing apace to complete the new St Athan production facility. The site, which started life as a series of Ministry of Defense ‘Super Hangars’, is being completely transformed into a state-of-the-art luxury manufacturing plant. One that will be the British marque’s second production facility and ultimately become the company’s ‘Home of Electrification’ when the marque’s planned BEV models enter production.

Jaguar Land Rover Thursday opened its state-of-the-art €1.4bn (£1bn) manufacturing facility in Nitra, Slovakia, the first time a UK automotive company has opened a plant in that country. With the heart and soul of its business in the UK, Jaguar Land Rover’s investment in Nitra marks the latest step in the company’s global expansion strategy following the opening of its Chinese joint venture in 2014 and Brazilian plant in 2016, supported by contract manufacturing in India from 2011 and Austria from 2017. The creation of new international factories allows Jaguar Land Rover to offer its customers even more exciting new models, protect against currency fluctuations and support a globally competitive business. Global businesses require global operational footprints. While Jaguar Land Rover’s heart and soul remain firmly anchored in the UK, expanding internationally only enriches and strengthens our UK business. Today’s […]

Aston Martin Lagonda President and Group CEO, Dr Andy Palmer, was honored with the Vantage Award at the annual Historic Motoring Awards at the Sheraton Grand London Park Lane Hotel. Although named personally as the winner, Palmer accepted the award on behalf of everyone at Aston Martin. The Historic Motoring Awards, now in its eighth year, recognises the elite in the international classic automotive world. The winners are selected by the experts at Octane magazine and an international panel of judges from the motoring world. Brand new for 2018, the Vantage Award celebrates “an individual or company who has made an outstanding contribution to the world of Aston Martin”. The judges were looking for someone who not only champions the brand, but lives and breathes it and has made waves in making it what it is today. After joining Aston […]

A new Track Pack specification for the McLaren 720S is now available, taking the British supercar to the next level for owners who want to exploit its formidable dynamic abilities on a circuit. With the wide breadth of 720S capability extended even further, the McLaren 720S Track Pack establishes a new pinnacle of track focus within McLaren’s core Super Series line-up. The introduction follows the availability of a Track Pack for McLaren’s Sports Series, which one in ten 570S buyers specify. Available now for the 720S, the Track Pack’s individual features comprise functional and visual upgrades and deliver a weight-saving of nearly 53lbs (24kg). Based on 720S Performance specification – which, with hood air intakes, rear fender air intakes and door mirror casings in carbon fiber and engine bay ambient lighting, already turns heads in any pit lane or paddock […]

For our Video of the Week, let’s turn the clock all the way back 70 years to 1948 at Goodwood and one of the first regular races in Britain after the war. In this film from British Pathé we get to see the first race on the road racing course of what was before then the perimeter of an RAF airfield. This race was organized by the Junior Car Club and sanctioned by the Duke of Richmond and Gordon. The winner of the first race was P. de F. C. Pycroft, in his 2,664 c.c. Pycroft-Jaguar, at 66.42 m.p.h. Stirling Moss won the 500cc race (later to become Formula 3), followed by Eric Brandon and “Curly” Dryden, all in Coopers. Goodwood became famous for its Glover Trophy non-championship Formula One race, Goodwood Nine Hours sports car endurance races run in 1952, 1953 and […]

Per Carmudi Insider, the Covenant Car Company (TCCCI), the official distributor of Chevrolet and Volvo cars in the Philippines, announced on Thursday, October 11, that it is now the exclusive importer of the MG (Morris Garages) brand of vehicles as well. With the addition of MG to its lineup, TCCCI announced that it will be introducing six new MG models in 2019, along with the establishment of 16 independent MG Dealer Partners across the country.

Arc Vehicle has teased a motorcycle sensory experience like no other, just weeks ahead of the scheduled global unveiling on November 6 at EICMA 2018, in Milan, Italy. The British electric motorbike manufacturer will introduce the world’s first fully-electric café racer with Human Machine Interface (HMI) – something that is set to change motorcycling forever. The machine – designated Vector – promises to be the next evolution of electric motorcycling by being more than just a high-performance e-powered bike. Vector is set to become the most fulfilling, safest and cleanest bike on the road.

Jaguar has celebrated the shared bloodline of the XE 300 SPORT and XE SV Project 8 by creating a unique piece of art in the sand. The two cars weaved across the beach at Pendine Sands to produce a 1000-meter long double helix pattern. The shared DNA that unites the XE and SV Project 8 includes the cars’ lightweight aluminum body structure, outstanding driving dynamics, and all-wheel-drive traction, which allowed the two Jaguars to create the 1000-meter long artwork with absolute precision.

Mark and Holly Pascarella of Lakewood Ranch, Florida, have just taken delivery of the very first Jaguar I-PACE in North America. Although the family has owned many Jaguar vehicles before, the I-PACE is their first electric vehicle and they couldn’t be more excited. Here, Mark talks about the family’s enthusiasm for the I-PACE and how it’s the perfect SUV for their busy family. Are you excited to take delivery of your new Jaguar I-PACE vehicle? My whole family is excited! When I told my wife, twin 15 year-olds and 18 year-old, they couldn’t believe we would have the first I-PACE delivered in North America, before the vehicle even goes on sale. They couldn’t believe that it would be at our house, and we’re all just extremely excited to have an electric car and even more excited to have another Jaguar. […]

The Jaguar I-PACE all-electric SUV has been named as Sunday Times Car of the Year at the inaugural News UK motoring awards. The I-PACE was also named Green Car of the Year, securing its fifth major award since its worldwide reveal in March. The News UK motoring awards are shortlisted by the motoring experts from News UK’s publications, including the Sunday Times and The Sun. It was these experts that voted Jaguar’s first all-electric car, the I-PACE, as Sunday Times Car of the Year, however, it was a public vote that decided the I-PACE’s victory in the Green Car of the Year category.

A Range Rover Sport has completed the first ever self-driving lap of one of the UK’s most challenging road layouts. A prototype self-driving Range Rover Sport handled the complex Coventry Ring Road, successfully changing lanes, merging with traffic and exiting junctions at the speed limit of 40mph. The trial is part of the £20 million government-funded project, UK Autodrive, which ends this month after a three-year programme. Jaguar Land Rover engineers have completed significant self-driving technology testing on closed tracks before heading onto public roads in Milton Keynes and Coventry.

MG Motor UK is delighted to announce the appointment of Matthew Stevens to the role of Product & Planning Manager, further strengthening the brand’s Sales & Marketing team. Matthew is an experienced analyst and data insights professional with more than a decade of experience in automotive, having previously held roles at Kia Motors, JATO Dynamics and McLaren Automotive. Matthew’s role will cover both product management and marketing planning, ensuring that the MG network continues to benefit from the right product range and the best customer offers. MG continues to go from strength-to-strength, announcing record-breaking registrations every month in 2018, expanding its dealer network and introducing exciting new cars such as New MG3 and the MG ZS Compact-SUV. Top specifications, impressive technology, striking good looks, and a 7-year warranty have positioned MG as the leading brand in value-for-money motoring. 

Bentley has collaborated with design students from the Royal College of Art’s (RCA) Intelligent Mobility programme to envisage the future of British luxury. The students were challenged to imagine how – in an increasingly virtual and digital world – elements of physical materiality, technology and craftsmanship can be curated to create a truly luxurious Grand Touring experience. Bentley’s Design Director Stefan Sielaff, an alumnus of the RCA’s renowned Automotive Design programme, explained: Bentley has always been at the forefront of automotive luxury, and with this collaboration we asked millennial students for their vision of the future. We wanted ideas and concepts that could potentially lead us in new and interesting directions, using the perspective of these digital natives – from all over the world – to see things differently. These second-year students are the ones who will be designing the cars of […]

Aston Martin Racing’s new FIA World Endurance Championship challenger – the Vantage GTE – heads East in search of its first podium this weekend, as the Super Season goes racing at Fuji Speedway in Japan. Following a highly encouraging performance in the previous round at Silverstone in August, where the new car qualified on the GTE Pro class front row and was a podium contender, the team aims to turn that upward momentum into success this weekend.

Morgan Motor Company has announced the first in a number of celebrations for its 110th anniversary year in 2019, which will see a series of ‘110 Anniversary’ models added to the line-up. Each of the ‘110 Anniversary’ models benefit from unique badging, denoting their significance as 110th-year editions, as well as an extensive list of specially selected performance and styling options included at no extra cost.

Jaguar Land Rover today reported total retail sales of 57,114 vehicles in September 2018, down 12.3% year on year despite strong sales for new models including the Range Rover Velar and the Jaguar I-PACE and E-PACE. Sales in China declined by 46.2%, as ongoing market uncertainty resulting from import duty changes and continued trade tensions held back consumer demand.

A one-off Land Rover Defender made a dramatic entrance at Selfridges in London, entering the famous department store through a first-floor window. The unique Selfridges Edition Defender Works V8 will form the centerpiece of the new-look menswear department at the Oxford Street store, but not before technicians from Land Rover Classic reassemble the vehicle in full view of shoppers.

MG Motor UK continues to be the fastest growing car manufacturer in the UK after achieving its most successful Q3 ever. Boosted by the launch of New MG3, the latest iteration of its successful B-segment hatchback, MG sold over 2,400 cars in Q3, beating last year’s volume by almost 82%. September’s sales results, taken from the latest Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders (SMMT) market report, show that MG topped 1,000 registrations in a single month for only the third time ever, reaching an impressive 1,010 sales in the plate-change month. This represents a 20% volume growth in a challenging market which fell by over 20% versus 2017.