Highlights

MINI UK is reporting a record sales year in 2015, with 63,581 full year registrations. The milestone represents MINI’s 6th year of consecutive growth in the United Kingdom, with vehicle registrations up 17.9 per cent on 2014, securing the brand 2.41 percent of the market. MINI 3-door Hatch remained the brand’s biggest selling model, closely followed by its 5-door sibling. In the first full calendar year of sales, 44,560 Hatch models were sold in 2015 (3-door Hatch 25,443, 5-door Hatch 19,117). MINI’s performance brand, John Cooper Works, also celebrated a record year following the June launch of MINI John Cooper Works Hatch. The fastest production MINI ever built with a 0-62 time of just 6.1 seconds, 1,487 John Cooper Works Hatch models were sold last year. Total John Cooper Works sales across the range increased 134 percent to 2,213 vehicles.

As the Christmas displays disappear, shoppers in London’s Knightsbridge are to be treated to the sight of a very special Aston Martin window display in Harrods, the world’s most famous luxury department store. Three stunning Aston Martin sports cars will take over the iconic Harrods storefront in a month-long celebration of the British marques’ ‘DB’ nameplate. Since their debut in the early 1950s, the ‘DB’ models offered by Aston Martin – named after Sir David Brown who bought Aston Martin in 1947 – have been synonymous with sophisticated grand touring and thrilling sports car performance.

Original “Italian Job” movie stunt driver and Mini racer, Phil Wicks, is offering his highly successful 1967 Mini Cooper S 1275 race car for sale. The price is listed at $55,000. This car was originally an SCCA racer and has the original race log book from 1972. There is also the current up to date log book. Wicks has raced and prepared the car for the past five years, competing in 42 vintage races with 39 first in class and many overall Group 1 first places. First place in the Walter Mitty at Road Atlanta for the past five years. First place at the Gold Cup at VIR for the past five years.

Jaguar Land Rover reported a 22% growth in registrations today – a record year for the UK market. For the full year 2015 a total of 100,787 vehicles (versus 82,845 in 2014) were registered thanks to a combination of new and updated products making the UK the number one market for the company. Land Rover UK registrations reached a new all-time high of 76,837 vehicles, an increase of 19% and surpassing last year’s figure of 64,544 vehicles. Jaguar was up 30% with 23,950 registrations in 2015 versus 18,401 vehicles in 2014.

Letting Lotus owners set the tone, the new personalisation service Lotus Exclusive offers sports car fans a unique ownership proposition. Combining traditional British craftsmanship with modern design and exhilarating performance, the service allows a comprehensive array of personalisation covering everything from colour coding through to race car preparation. Developed by the Lotus Design team, the Lotus Exclusive scheme has been conceived to inspire customers to further personalise the character of their Lotus cars. With the ability to tailor vehicles to their personal taste, it provides an alluring alternative to an off-the-peg sports car.

Leading global technology company Letv and luxury sports car brand Aston Martin today revealed at the Consumer Electronics Show the first results of their collaboration – an Aston Martin Rapide S incorporating the latest Letv Internet of the Vehicle (IOV) system. Aston Martin and Letv signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on December 3rd 2015 to confirm research projects that include the development of connected electric vehicles through to manufacturing consultation on future electric vehicles.

Greetings again, Jolly gang! It has been suggested to me by persons unnamed that my recent article “What Stops Us” was geared too much towards the possibilities of failure and that this circumstance is so rare (at least with the more handy side of our group!) I should focus now on what to carry in one’s cherished chariot, rumbler, love machine– whatever you call it– to enjoy a more complete motoring experience! Do I have suggestions for this, you query?  You bet your balaclava I do, so take notes– grab your Waterman fountain pen or your quill and well, let’s get started!

Monster, the world leader in high-performance audio, has teamed up with Bentley Motors’ bespoke coach-building division, Mulliner, to create a stunning and uniquely Monster-inspired “Monster by Mulliner,” which makes its debut at CES 2016. The show-stopping Bentley Continental GT V8 S, which reflects Monster’s attitude of “Always Lead, Never Follow,” is designed to appeal to the target market of young professionals and movers and shakers in sports and music.  The “Monster by Mulliner” Continental GT V8 S is a bespoke vehicle that will inspire those who want a ride with a bold look and incredible audio performance designed by Monster. Monster’s latest innovations in audio technology bring the power of today’s music into this Bentley’s luxurious cabin.  All genres of music, including Hip Hop, rap, EDM and Rock, will be heard with new ears via this custom sound system not […]

Beaulieu is proud to welcome two new rallies, Simply Aston Martin and Simply Jaguar, to its busy 2016 calendar of Simply rallies. Celebrating two of Britain’s best-loved sports car marques within the successful Simply rally format, these new rallies will join the six already well-established Simplys that will be returning for 2016. Simply Aston Martin will get the show season off to a racing start on 10th April, as owners of all Aston Martins, classic and modern, are invited to display their cars in the grounds of the National Motor Museum. A number of owners’ clubs are expected to attend the new Simply Jaguar, taking place on 8th May, which will gather together a wide variety of sports cars and saloons adorned with the famous leaping cat mascot, with all cars built by the historic manufacturer welcome.

McLaren Automotive and JVCKENWOOD unveiled today an innovative design study, the McLaren 675LT JVCKENWOOD Concept, created for the CES® 2016 consumer electronics show in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Concept is based on the new McLaren 675LT Coupe and features a host of new technologies and celebrates the 25th anniversary of their Formula 1™ partnership. McLaren 675LT JVCKENWOOD Concept For its collaboration with JVCKENWOOD, McLaren began with a 675LT Coupe prototype vehicle.  The 675LT Coupe, which recently went into production at the state-of-the-art McLaren Production Centre in Woking, England, is the most driver-focused, lightweight and aerodynamically optimized model in the McLaren Super Series family.  Strictly limited to 500 units, all sold out within a matter of months. The McLaren design team, led by designer Peter Wilkins, was tasked with incorporating the JVCKENWOOD CAROPTRONICS system into the 675LT Coupe.  Working closely with […]

John Surtees, the only person to win world championships on both four and two wheels, has been awarded a CBE in Britain’s New Year’s Honours list 2016. The Order of the British Empire “recognizes distinguished service to the arts and sciences, public services outside the Civil Service and work with charitable and welfare organisations of all kinds.” After being made a Member of the British Empire (MBE) in 1959 and an Officer of the British Empire (OBE) in 2008, the 81-year-old has now been honoured with Commander of the British Empire. The award is in recognition of his services to motorsport and the charitable work of the Henry Surtees Foundation, named in honour of his son, who lost his life in a Formula 2 crash at Brands Hatch in 2009. The foundation provides vital support for those who have suffered […]

Our Video of the Week (VotW) this go round purports to be from 1948, but is probably actually from a slightly later date. “Safety Fast” is a look back at the cars of MG produced by British-Pathe in association with the Nuffield Organization. The Nuffield Organization was the unincorporated umbrella-name or promotional name used for the charitable and commercial interests of owner and donor, William Morris, 1st Viscount Nuffield. The name was assumed following Nuffield’s gift made to form his Nuffield Foundation in 1943, it linked his business interests to his existing very generous philanthropy. The same enterprises had previously been referred to as the Morris Organizations and, at first, described itself as The Nuffield Organization, A Cornerstone of Britain’s Industrial Structure. This video contains some fantastic scenes not often seen of the MG factory and delivery system at work. We often […]

In February 2015, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars announced the development of an all-new aluminium space-frame architecture that will underpin all future Rolls-Royce models arriving in market from early 2018. The company today announced that it has begun the testing phase of this new architecture, with early preparatory activity seeing new engineering mules tested in public around the world. The Architecture of Pure Luxury The future of pure luxury motoring is already taking shape as Rolls-Royce Motor Cars begins testing its new aluminium space-frame architecture which will underpin all future Rolls-Royce model lines. The architecture will arrive in market from early 2018.

The Jaguar F-TYPE British Design Edition From the moment it was unveiled, the Jaguar F-TYPE gained global recognition as a great contemporary British design – including the prestigious World Car Design of the Year accolade – and now its appeal has been further enhanced by the creation of the exclusive British Design Edition. “The F-TYPE is a sports car that excites the senses, with a visual drama that is both individual and very British. Creating the British Design Edition gave us the opportunity to subtly enhance the way the F-TYPE looks – inside and out.” Ian Callum, Director of Design, Jaguar

New Year, new challenges: 2 January 2016 will see the start of the 2016 Dakar Rally, the traditional season opener of long-distance cross-country rallies. Once again MINI takes on this exciting and exacting 9,500km, 15-day racing event but this year with a record entry of 12 MINI ALL4 Racing cars. Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT) and long-term co-pilot Mathieu Baumel (FRA) of AXION X-raid Team (#300) are the defending Dakar champions and more than ready to take up the challenge of motorsport’s toughest endurance race. “Preparation is complete,” said Al-Attiyah in Buenos Aires, starting point of the 2016 Dakar Rally. “We are ready to take on the greatest endurance race in the hope we can achieve MINI the same success of 2015,” said Joan ‘Nani’ Roma (ESP), fellow AXION X-raid Team member in MINI ALL4 Racing #304 along with co-driver Alex Haro […]

Bentley Motors’ bespoke coach-building division, Mulliner, is introducing the next level of modern British automotive luxury – stone veneers. This innovative interior finish utilises state-of-the-art stone veneer technology to make a luxurious, contemporary feature of a natural product formed over 200 million years. The slate and quartzite stone is sustainably sourced from hand-selected quarries in Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh, India – a nation with an ancient and rich culture of stone masonry. The sections of stone are split from larger pieces and cured using glass fibre and a bespoke resin. Finally, they are shaped and hand finished by Bentley’s world-renowned Mulliner coachbuilding team at the company’s headquarters in Crewe, England. The stone surfaces of the veneers are just 0.1 mm thick, meaning that they are both extremely light and translucent, allowing the elegant grain and pattern in the stone to […]

Produced between 1997 and 2006, the Land Rover Freelander 1 remains one of the brand’s best-selling models and is now officially a Land Rover Heritage vehicle. Land Rover Heritage specialises in cars, services, parts and experiences for classic Land Rover models and the Freelander 1 becomes the brand’s eighth Heritage model. The others are Series I, II and III, Range Rover Classic and P38 Range Rover plus Discovery 1 and 2. A Heritage model is defined as a product that has been out of production for longer than 10 years and the Freelander 1 was first produced in 1997 and its production run ended nine years later in 2006 when Freelander 2 replaced it. Ever since production of Freelander 1 concluded, Land Rover continued to support owners through the supply of spare parts. Now, owners will be supported by the […]

I’ve been asked many times by forward-thinking owners, “What tools and spare parts should I carry?” So, this morning I pulled all the invoices I could find in the rack that were marked “tow-in”, and here’s what I found. Modern cars (for my purposes those from the 90’s on), keeping in mind they represent about 1/3 to 1/2 of invoices depending on the season, actually are more likely to be towed in than classics! Why is that? I asked Dory the shop dog, and receiving  no intelligible answer beyond a suggestion that we play a little chase the ball, I read more deeply in the invoices. Starting with the modern cars I have 2 “wash downs” on 98 and 99 Jaguar sedans (this is a common failure on those cars that is easy to prevent, call if you need trick), […]