Head Island Motoring Concours Selects Jaguar as Honored Marque

June 13, 2014 Staff Comments Off

The Hilton Head Island Motoring Festival & Concours d’Elegance, one of the nation’s largest and fastest-growing automotive and motorsports enthusiast event weeks, has selected Jaguar as the Honored Marque for the 2014 Festival. With nearly 80 years since the SS Jaguar name first appeared, the marque has far-reaching appeal and a wide breadth of history to feature at this year’s Festival, to be held October 24 – November 2. Both Motoring Festival venues will honor the contributions Jaguar has made to the automotive industry: Hutchinson Island’s The Westin Savannah Harbor Golf Resort & Spa (Savannah Speed Classic) and Hilton Head Island’s Port Royal Golf Club (Concours d’Elegance, Motoring Midway and Car Club Jamboree). “With a display of Jaguar racecars planned for this year’s Savannah Speed Classic and three classes of Jaguars to be displayed at this year’s Concours d’Elegance as […]

Mini Voted Best British Car Ever

May 8, 2014 Staff 1

A bit surprising considering the competition maybe, but Autocar magazine readers voted the classic Mini ahead of McLaren F1, Jaguar E-type and the Range Rover. And there is nary an MG, Triumph or Austin Healey to be found on the list. The poll also named Norfolk-based Lotus as the most popular British manufacturer, with seven of its models making the 100 best British cars list. Autocar brand editor Chas Hallett said: “It comes as little surprise that the original Mini has topped the list of all-time British greats. “It’s such an iconic vehicle and represents a lot more than the British car industry; the Mini is associated with Great Britain around the world and, in many ways, it was ahead of its time.” He went on: “Everyone loved and still loves an original Mini. It ensured a fabulous drive every time, […]

Celebrating the 90th Birthday of MG

May 6, 2014 Staff Comments Off

Set to celebrate its 90th birthday annivarsary, The MG Car Company was founded in 1924 and got its name from Morris Garages, a dealer of Morris cars in Oxford which began producing its own customised versions to the designs of Cecil Kimber. The first cars, re-bodied Morris models, used coachwork from Carbodies of Coventry and were built in premises in Alfred Lane, Oxford. On May 1, 1924, the Octagon was registered as an MG trademark. The marque has come a long way since those early days, with the famous octagonal emblem recognised and celebrated around the globe. After several moves in Oxford, due to a growing demand for more cars to be produced, the MG moved to Abingdon and ever since the town has been the home of the MG. Arguably Britain’s favourite classic sports car reaches its 90th anniversary […]

Rare Aston Martin Auction

May 5, 2014 Staff Comments Off

Seems to be the month of the Aston Martin, not that there is anything wrong with that. On 17 May, 2014, Bonham’s auction house will conduct a special auction of Aston Martin cars and related books, artwork and ephemera. There are some great items, and collectors are sure to turn out in force. Two examples include a special coachwork ’56 DB2/4 and a 1:8 scale model of the Aston Martin ‘DP214’ 1956 Aston Martin DB2/4 MKII fixed head coupe with coachwork by Tickford, Chassis no. AM300/1241, with a bid estimate of £160,000 – 200,000 (US$ 270,000 – 340,000). A 1:8 scale scratch-built model of the 1963 Monza winning Aston Martin ‘DP214’, built by Javan Smith, with a bid estimate of £1,800 – 2,200 (US$ 3,000 – 3,700). Also on auction will be the Aston Martin DBS that featured in the British television […]

Aston Martin Platform Changes and 2013 Financials

May 1, 2014 Staff Comments Off

Aston Martin has confirmed that it is working on a new platform to replace its venerable VH design, which debuted in the first-generation Vanquish at the start of the century. The new platform will underpin the British automaker’s next generation of sports cars and will be designed to fit new V-8 engines sourced from Mercedes-AMG. They also announced their 2013 finance, and it was a very good year. For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2013, Aston Martin managed to sell approximately 4,200 cars worldwide, an increase of 11 percent on the previous year, and its profits came in at £84.8 million (approximately $142.6 million), up a substantial 22 percent on levels a year ago. For full coverage of these announcements, you can check out the article at Motor Authority as well as hitting Aston Martin’s own news site.

Trident to Launch Fast and Efficient Sports Cars

April 30, 2014 Staff Comments Off

British sports car brand Trident is set to launch two new variants of its Iceni sports car–billed as the world’s fastest and most fuel-efficient diesel sports cars. The convertible, the fixed-roof Iceni Magna and the Iceni Venturer wagon use a 6.6-liter turbodiesel V-8 engine to deliver huge performance. Despite this, Trident says the Iceni offers “outstanding fuel efficiency”. At £96,000–just over $161,000, at current exchange rates–it isn’t cheap. It is similarly priced to the new BMW i8 plug-in sports car however, with similar performance and potentially, better economy at a cruise. And both cars are considerably thriftier than similarly-priced rivals. Are we entering a new age of low-consumption, low-emission sports cars? For further on this story, check out the full article at Green Car Reports.

Heritage Motor Centre at Gaydon Awarded Grant

April 29, 2014 Staff Comments Off

The British Motor Industry Heritage Trust, based at the Heritage Motor Centre at Gaydon, Warwickshire has been awarded a Round Two grant of £1.45 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for its Museum Collections Centre project, it was announced today. The award is the culmination of more than 2 years work to develop plans for a new building in which to store and display more than 200 historic British cars from the collections of both the British Motor Industry Heritage Trust and its partner the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust. The £4 million project received initial support from HLF in 2011, and the latest HLF grant, together with match funding from Jaguar Land Rover, The Garfield Weston Foundation and both Trusts, will enable work on this exciting new project to begin in the spring of 2014. The new Museum Collection […]

A Mercedes Takeover of Aston Martin?

April 21, 2014 Staff Comments Off

Stories come and theories go, but according to the website Complex Rides, this one seems to have some teeth to it. Could it be that Mercedes will soon be driving Aston Martin? And with companies like VW and BMW taking control of other prime British marques, who can say it isn’t a valid supposition? To quote CR, “It all started when Aston Martin announced that it would be using engines co-developed with AMG, using a lot of AMG technology in its next generation of cars. When this happened, Mercedes got to take home a five percent non-voting stake in Aston Martin. More deals were later struck for use of Mercedes’ next gen SL and SLK platforms, as well as for the GL’s platform for the upcoming Lagonda SUV. That’s in addition to the whole suite of Mercedes electronics, from active […]

Special Edition Morgan Plus 8 Speedster

April 19, 2014 Staff Comments Off

Morgan Motor Car Company has announced a new special edition Plus 8 Speedster for delivery this summer. The new Morgan Plus 8 Speedster embodies all of Morgan’s core values and has been commissioned as part of a special line of vehicles to celebrate 100 years of vehicle manufacture at Pickersleigh Road. The Speedster, the latest evolution of the Plus 8, offers an even more invigorating driving experience inspired by a bygone era of stripped back, road going race cars. A 367 bhp 4.8 litre BMW V8 engine and a 6 speed manual or ZF 6 speed automatic gearbox propels the car from 0-62 in 4.2 seconds with a limited top speed of 148 mph. The latest in aluminium chassis developments ensure that its performance and road-holding will match its looks. The Speedster boasts a power to weight ratio to rival any […]

Highlands Motoring Festival, June 5-8, 2014

April 18, 2014 Staff Comments Off

Beautiful Highlands, North Carolina, is gearing up for the return of the British at the Seventh Annual Highlands Motoring Festival. This year the Cars of Great Britain will be the Marque of the Year. These Brits will be welcomed with parties, movies, road rallies, and certainly, the Car Show. Be sure to check out the Events page on the event’s website page that describes the activities. And while Cars of Great Britain, are the Marque, we also will welcome cars from all countries…USA, Germany, Italy, France, Sweden, just to name a few. The only restriction is the age of the vehicle must be 1989 or older. However, there is a Special Interest class that does not have the age restriction. However, this is for special production, and/or featured cars. (Details in the Classes webpage). As in past years, this […]

MG Dynamo – Electric Concept Car

April 17, 2014 Staff Comments Off

The MG Dynamo, a new and all-electric city car concept, was unveiled today. The MG Dynamo is based on parent company SAIC’s Roewe E50 city car sold in China. The car was on display at an exhibit of current and future tech at the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. The display has been timed to coincide with the Beijing motor show where the marque is celebrating its 90th anniversary. The Dynamo concept is said to encompass “the latest in design and engineering technology”. The car has been developed to assess demand for a small, electric MG in Europe. The concept was created by SAIC’s (Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation) design and technical centre at Longbridge. MG Motor UK hasn’t revealed any details about the drivetrain, but conjecture is that it is likely to be similar to Rowe E50’s. Launched in China in January 2013, this […]

New 2015 MINI Countryman Revealed

April 16, 2014 Staff Comments Off

The all-new 2015 MINI Countryman has made an appearance ahead of its official debut at the 2014 New York Auto Show. The newest version of MINI’s Countryman will sport its traditional four-door styling with a large tailgate, seating for five and optional all-wheel drive. Following in the footsteps of the new MINI Cooper, the Countryman’s styling has been freshened for a new generation and will be launching this July. The Countryman will be available in a variety models including the performance-oriented John Cooper Works variant. There will also be the Cooper and Cooper S versions with ALL4 all-wheel drive available as an option. Finally, the company will offer the MINI One, Cooper SD and Cooper D Countryman with optional ALL4. The base model will be powered by a 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine with 121 hp while the S and JCW models […]

Pride of Longbridge Show A Success

April 16, 2014 Staff Comments Off

This year’s Pride of Longbridge (POL) Rally in Cofton Park, Birminham on Saturday (April 12) was the best-attended in its nine year history after 2,800 people went along to the event. The annual event, which began after the collapse of MG Rover, saw hundreds of car enthusiasts from all over the country and even as far as Belgium and Holland bring a multitude of vehicles ‘back home’ to where they were built. Among the motors on show were everything from Minis, Metros and Allegros to Autin 7s, MGs and Rovers. Dave Coulson, who used to manufacture engines at the Longbridge plant, was there in his 1968 Austin Mini Cooper Mark II. The Mercia Minis club member told The Standard: “I was there for 21 years, so it’s like coming home.” John Collins and his aptly-named son Austin from Tamworth went to […]

MG3 Continues to Garner Accolades

April 14, 2014 Staff Comments Off

Unfortunately we can’t get hold of one on this side of the pond, but elsewhere in the world the MG3 continues to rack up the good press. Let’s see – it is sporty, it is inexpensive, it has the MG bloodline, and it is hip. What more could you want? As this review from New Zealand states, “The chiseled wedge-profiled shape even has details along its rear panels that reflect the angles of the famous octagon badge, though the designers are to be congratulated for not slavishly putting that shape all over the car. “Sitting on standard 16 inch alloy rims, along with subtle dark grey sills, front splitter and vestigial hatch spoiler and covered in electric blue paint that seems wet it’s so glossy, the wee 3 looks a treat. “Up front its lazy-v shaped smile sucks on the […]

27th Annual British Car Gathering, Townsend, Tennessee

April 14, 2014 Staff Comments Off

The 27th annual British Car Gathering, hosted by Blount British Cars, will be held May 9, 10, 11, 2014 in Townsend, Tennessee, on the grounds of the Talley Ho Inn. This year the club is partnering with the Knoxville English Auto Society and inviting their European neighbors to enjoy a spring day in the Smokies. Relax in the beauty of the Smoky Mountains and share your passions and experiences with other enthusiasts who are committed to the enjoyment and preservation of British & European cars and motorcycles. Festivities begin Friday night hospitality – a time to mix, mingle and cozy up to a warm fire and swap tall tales. Saturday will offer a field of British and European cars and motorcycles, participant voting, trophy presentation, a car drive, ‘For Sale’ corral and a casual, yet proper, afternoon tea for the ladies. […]

Data Suggests British Car Sales at Highest for a Decade

April 11, 2014 Staff Comments Off

New car sales in Britain rallied in March to the highest total for a decade, industry data showed on Friday. Sales jumped 17.7 percent last month to 464,824 vehicles compared with data for March 2013, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said in a statement. That was the highest monthly figure since March 2004. “New car registrations surged 17.7 percent in March … a surprisingly strong level of growth and a reflection of intensifying consumer confidence and the availability of great new products,” said SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes. “Given the past six years of subdued economic performance across the UK, there is still a substantial margin of pent-up demand that is contributing to a strong new and used car market. There has never been a better time to buy a new car thanks to attractive finance deals […]

First Triumph Spitfire Up For Sale

October 31, 2013 Staff Comments Off

A milestone in the UK’s illustrious sports car history is being sold by a Sussex classic cars specialist. The fully restored Triumph Spitfire was the first to come off the production line at its factory in Coventry. Lewes-based Sussex Sports Cars is marketing it online on behalf of its owner, a Swiss financial consultant. The firm’s Gerry Wadman said the owner, who restored the vehicle using Triumph parts, is asking £45,000 for the hand-built two-seater. The car was assembled at the Standard-Triumph Canley plant in Coventry in 1962 – the very first in a marque that was to help transform the ailing firm’s fortunes. Boasting chassis number FC1, it generated interest at that year’s Motor Show in Earls Court, as a rival to the Austin Healy Sprite and MG Midget. Its original retail price of £641 meant that unusually, it was a quality […]

MG To Launch SUV Next Year

September 20, 2013 Staff Comments Off

MG is performing well in China but it is missing an SUV, Roewe added an old Ssangyong based vehicle to its line up but the car failed to live up to expectations, the new MG SUV is expected to hit the market by the years end. MG revealed the MG CS concept at the Shanghai Auto Show this year where it was revealed the new car would have a 2.0T powerplant and a slightly redesigned face which is mostly inline with the current MG5. The new SUV will launch in late 2014, a little late to the party considering that international and domestic rivals have already launched SUV offerings. In addition to the new SUV, MG are also planning to give their other product offerings a major overhaul of the MG-Roewe line up. Later this year the MG5 1.5T will […]

Reliant Robin Named Worst British Car Of All Time

September 17, 2013 Staff Comments Off

The Reliant Robin has been named the worst British car of all time, according to a new survey. The three-wheeled car, which has only remained in the public consciousness thanks to Only Fools and Horses, has topped the poll for its lack of motoring prowess. The Austin Maestro and Austin Metro came a close second and third respectively as the worst British cars of all time. Around 2,000 British drivers were quizzed about their motoring preferences ahead of the start of Wheeler Dealers on the Discovery Channel. Along with the worst cars in British motoring, people were asked about their favourite drives. The Mini was named greatest British car, with 19 per cent of people voting for it. The Aston Martin DB7 came close second, with 18 per cent of people naming it the greatest British car of all time. […]

Record £14m Fine Over MG Rover and Phoenix

September 12, 2013 Staff Comments Off

Accountants Deloitte were today punished with a record £14 million fine for failing to manage conflicts of interest over their advice to collapsed car maker MG Rover. The Financial Reporting Council also severely reprimanded the firm for its conduct over MG Rover, which crashed into administration in 2005 with debts of £1.4 billion and 6,000 job losses. Its damning report said: “These are all very serious matters. The public must be protected from misconduct of this nature.” Four MG Rover directors — the “Phoenix Four” — set up the Phoenix company to buy the loss-making British carmaker for a token £10 five years earlier. But Deloitte and its partner and corporate finance expert Maghsoud Einollahi — personally fined £250,000 and banned from the profession for three years — both failed to properly manage conflicts of interest, the FRC said. Einollahi […]