Highlights

Bentley Berkshire today becomes the first of Bentley’s UK showrooms to implement the brand’s new corporate identity, following an extensive upgrade to the Pangbourne sales and aftersales centre. Drawing inspiration from the British luxury marque’s rich 96-year heritage, as well as the best in modern luxury retailing, the template for the new design was first showcased with the opening of CW1 House – a flagship showroom concept at Bentley’s headquarters in Crewe. Bentley Berkshire has integrated the new, modern façade within the site’s existing footprint; the powerful and contemporary new look perfectly complementing the dealership’s familiar Georgian brick-built frontage. Sarah Simpson, Bentley Regional Director UK, commented: “The new-look Bentley Berkshire site has been designed to give our customers a bold, clear and contemporary vision of the Bentley brand, and is finished with the same level of luxury for which our […]

The Aston Martin DB10 built exclusively for James Bond in the forthcoming movie, Spectre, roared into Newport Pagnell on Saturday as part of a tour of the British sport car maker’s UK dealers. The relaxed, family-friendly, event saw more than 500 people visit Aston Martin Works to get a close-up view of the exclusive new sports car. DB10 is limited to just ten examples, all of which are used in the highly anticipated new Bond film which premieres in London on Monday October 26. Stunt driver Mark Higgins – the man behind the wheel for the extreme driving scenes in three Bond films – was also at Saturday’s event to share his fascinating insights into both the making of Spectre and the experience of driving the exclusive DB10. Aside from the rare chance to see the stunning Aston Martin DB10 […]

Contrary to what some people may think or say – the British car manufacturing industry is in pretty good shape. Every 20 seconds, a brand new vehicle rolls off the production line somewhere in Britain. Last year, Britain built more cars than France, and one single plant, Nissan Sunderland, made more cars than the whole of the Italian car industry put together. Meanwhile, seven out of 10 Formula 1 teams are based in Britain, including Red Bull, McLaren, Mercedes, Lotus, Williams, Force India and Manor (Marussia). And the UK doesn’t just make cars, they also build engines – one in three Fords sold globally in 2014 had their engine built in either Bridgend or Dagenham. Building Cars Live is a new two-part documentary that takes viewers into the fascinating world of the car manufacturing industry, with presenters James May, Kate […]

Six months ago, MG Motor UK launched the new MG6 and it has been a great success with customers enjoying the numerous improvements made to the value-for-money fastback. With the range starting from £13,995 and the top specification coming in at £17,995, customers have been really taken with the MG6. To mark the six months, MG spoke to six owners to find out how they’re getting on with their MG6 and what they love about it the most. Kevin Wright bought his MG6 from the Sales Centre in Longbridge. He said: “We owned the previous version of the MG6 and decided to upgrade to the newer model after seeing that MG had made so many great changes to it. We’re so happy with the car and find it nice to drive. Plus, the emissions and fuel economy have been made […]

The 2015 season of Caterham’s five official race series reached their conclusion in a gripping finale at Silverstone on 17-18 October, with four championships going down to the wire and six champions being crowned in total. The GQ Caterham Academy, Caterham’s introductory race series designed exclusively for rookie racing divers, saw two full grids compete for the title. The season saw the competitors gaining their race licence at the start of the season and then progress from sprint events to circuit racing. In the Green group, Rui Ferreira had already sealed the title prior to the final weekend with three wins throughout the season. Andy Perry secured the championship in the White group with a second place finish at Silverstone proving enough to secure the title. The next step up the Caterham Motorsport ladder, the Roadsport class, saw 2014 Caterham […]

Yesterday (Sunday 18th October), 13 employees from MG Motor UK’s technical centre conquered 13 (plus 0.1) miles in the Birmingham Half Marathon for Macmillan Cancer Support. The team of thirteen had been training hard in preparation for the run that took place through the streets of Birmingham’s city centre. The team were running for Macmillan Cancer Support and, with money still rolling in, they have managed to raise an impressive £5,700 – which is almost £2,000 over their original target. The team leader for the baker’s dozen, Richard McAllister, said: “It was a great day all round, but my legs certainly aren’t saying that today! The weather held off for us making running conditions ideal. “We were all really proud of our times, as we all had our own goals; even if it just meant getting round in one piece! […]

The Lotus Driving Academy is pleased to announce the addition of the new, critically acclaimed Evora 400 to its fleet. What’s more, the entire fleet is renewed, with five Elise 220 Cup, two Exige S and one Exige S Club Racer model joining the new Evora 400 and now available to drive on the famed Hethel test track at Lotus’ Norfolk HQ. Jean-Marc Gales, Chief Executive Officer of Group Lotus plc, commented: “We are pleased to offer potential customers and track driving enthusiasts the opportunity to drive the new Lotus Evora 400 and our other high-performance models at our Hethel test track. Lotus prides itself on offering benchmark handling and pure driving experience and the Evora 400, developed at Hethel, is the latest proof of this concept. To drive the Evora 400 at the very track used throughout the model […]

The original Jaguar XJ12-C Broadspeed that appeared in the cult 1970’s TV series, The New Avengers, sold at auction Thursday, October 15, for £62,000 – some £50,000 over initial estimates. The iconic Jaguar, driven by secret agent John Steed (played by Patrick Macnee) in the hit series, began life as a pre-production prototype vehicle for the marque. Bought by a private collector at the H&H Classics’ auction at the Imperial War Museum in Duxford, Cambridge, the XJ12-C completed its early development and testing work with Jaguar before being sent to Broadspeed Engineering Ltd. to be fitted with upgraded bodykit including wider bumpers and wheelarches plus bigger wheels and tyres in preparation for filming.

Visitors to Classic & Sports Car – The London Show will not only be able to feast their eyes on the world’s most amazing period cars – but they will also be treated to a host of eye-catching historical photographs celebrating British motoring and motorsport. The inaugural show will take place from 30th October to 1st November 2015 at Alexandra Palace. Located in Alexandra Palace’s West Corridor, these amazing installations will provide real insight into automotive history featuring images celebrating Jaguar Land Rover and British F1, thanks to pictures sourced from the world’s leading automotive image agency, LAT Photographic. Jaguar Land Rover is sponsoring a 24-metre gallery featuring the top 20 iconic moments that have defined 80 years of Jaguar and 45 years of Range Rover. Entitled ‘Jaguar: 80 Glorious Years 1935-2015’, it will feature a range of imagery from […]

Your “modern iron”, “rain car”, “grocery getter” or whatever you want to call it is turning you into a zombie! Yes it’s true, and a lazy one at that! Auto wipers, auto lights, seats that move at the touch of a button, navigation the responds to voice command! They even put controls right on the steering wheel so movement of your muscles is almost gone… Even the kids are not safe – the TV screens in your headrests are part of the evil plot. The kids won’t know what’s going on outside the car unless you feed the backup camera into the the TV headrests! And the list goes on. The start was the automatic transmission, and few took offense. But then they got the Zombie Plan up to speed – although electronically limited to prevent engine damage. Satellite navigation, […]

The new Lotus 3-Eleven completed a successful two-week test session at the fearsome and challenging Nürburgring Nordschleife circuit. The video documenting this comprehensive test and development programme can be found on the Group Lotus YouTube channel. Individual areas of expertise and vehicle set-up were a specific focus – aerodynamics, engine calibration, chassis tuning and suspension geometry – as the model continues its development towards start of production in early 2016. The Lotus 3-Eleven is the quickest and most powerful production Lotus road car ever produced, offering the ultimate pure driving experience. Heralding the next generation of Lotus high-performance sports cars, the 3-Eleven re-affirms Lotus core values as the perfect demonstration of “lighter, faster” and benchmark handling which comes from Lotus’ roots in competitive motorsport. Prices start at £82,000 for the Road version (including VAT and on the road costs) and […]

Our Video of the Week this time round features the short-lived collaboration between the folks and Jensen and Donald Healey. The Jensen Healey has long been one of personal favorites with a body style that seems somewhere between a muscular Spitfire and a slimmed down Mustang, a Lotus engine, and a comfortable, almost plush, interior. For those who don’t know, or have forgotten with our increasing age, the Jensen Healey was a two-seater convertible sports car, in true British fashion, produced from 1972 to 1976. Even though it was only produced for about 4 years, it was the best selling Jensen of all time. In total 10,503 (10 prototypes, 3,347 Mk.1 and 7,146 Mk.2) were produced by Jensen Motors Ltd. in West Bromwich. A related and rare fastback, the Jensen GT, was introduced in 1975 but did not include the […]

Bentley Motors enjoyed an exciting and successful weekend at the 17th Jochpass Oldtimer Memorial and Historic-Rallye in Bad Hindelang, Germany. Four historic Bentleys competed in the world-renowned classics event between 9 and 11 October, including the Team ‘Blower’, R-Type Continental, Speed 6 and a Bentley 4,5 Litre Le Mans. About 18.000 enthusiastic spectators were in attendance to admire the 280 classic cars on show. The drivers travelled from all over Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Netherlands.

McLaren established itself throughout the 1960s and 70s as a world-beating force in one of the most extreme forms of motorsport, Can-Am, winning five consecutive championships between 1967 and 1971. In honour of the 50th anniversary of the 1966 inaugural season, McLaren Special Operations (MSO) has created the limited production 650S Can-Am which takes its inspiration from the race cars of this golden age of motorsport.  The 650S Can-Am can be commissioned now priced at £255,850 with deliveries set to commence in the spring of 2016, 50 years on from the first race at Mont Tremblant, Canada.  Just 50 examples will be produced globally, all based on the 650S Spider. The Can-Am series, or Canadian-American Challenge Cup, was a no-holds-barred battle of power and speed around some of the most iconic circuits in North America and Canada.  It attracted the […]

The Bentley Continental GT3 has won its first major race car championship, as customer team Bentley Team HTP took the Blancpain Sprint Series drivers title following a pole position and two race victories at the final round at Zandvoort this weekend. Just two years after the Bentley Continental GT3 was launched, drivers Maxi Buhk (DE) and Vincent Abril (MO) fought off stiff competition from the 2014 championship-winning Audi, to take one of the most sought-after titles in GT3 racing. “This is a fantastic achievement for Bentley Team HTP with the Bentley Continental GT3,” commented Bentley’s Director of Motorsport Brian Gush. “The Blancpain Sprint Series is very competitive and there is no room for error. Maxi and Vincent with Bentley Team HTP have been the perfect team to take our race car to success.”

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 […]