Highlights

Global sales for McLaren Automotive, the British creator of luxury sports cars and supercars, rose to 4,806 cars in 2018 with sales up 43.9 percent over the previous year. This is another record for the company which has increased sales every year since its formation in 2010.  North America, which represents McLaren’s biggest single market and over a third of global sales, surpassed the 5,000 cars sold mark since sales started in 2011 and achieved another year of record growth. European sales rose 44.2 percent but the biggest leap was seen in China at 122.5 percent growth following the introduction of the 570S Spider and 720S. China now accounts for almost 7 percent of the total global sales. McLaren’s UK domestic market remained strong, achieving a 49.2 percent year-on-year growth.

Morgan Motor Company announced record profits as it prepares to launch a range of vehicles in its 110th year. The iconic Malvern-based family-owned firm, which employs 204 staff, said profits jumped to £3.6million last year from £2million 12 months earlier. Output dropped from 750 to 681 cars as the firm said goodbye to the thirsty V8 engine and the Aero 8 and Plus 8 models which use it. Morgan is expected to launch a more frugal but sportier replacement at this spring’s Geneva Motor Show. 

Evolution E-Types has launched an exclusive behind the scenes interview with the Evolution creator Uryk Dmyterko ahead of their showcase at the forthcoming London Classic Car Show. Evolution E-Types creator Uryk Dmyterko explains how a combination of passion and determination has evolved his successful parts supply business into building the ultimate Jaguar E-Type where quality has been redefined to another level.

Thursday at the Chicago Auto Show, Land Rover revealed the next generation Range Rover Evoque for the first time in the U.S. In true Land Rover fashion, the new Range Rover Evoque made its dynamic debut on an indoor off-road experience course at the McCormick Place convention center. Chicago-based, brother-sister R&B artists, Solo and Jaime Woods provided a live soundtrack to the debut of the Range Rover Evoque and stayed on hand to entertain guests throughout the luncheon that followed. Angela Brantley and Rhea Fernandez, founders of Chicago-based luxury fashion brand, HERO/BLACK, were also in attendance to help celebrate the debut of the vehicle.

Some books in this hobby are just must-haves. MGB: The Illustrated History by Jonathan Wood and Lionel Burrell is one of those books. And frankly, most of us already have it. It seems to be the first book a person gets when they buy an MGB, sometimes even before they get a repair manual.  So why are we talking about it here? Because there is a newly expanded 4th edition, that’s why. With this new edition, Veloce Publishing has taken over the job of publisher from Haynes. Veloce is known for putting out quality books in both the content and the actual construction of the volume. I have often commented on how you can count on books coming from Veloce to have beautiful covers, high-quality paper, and excellent printing. This new edition of the MGB work is no exception.

Jaguar Land Rover Automotive plc, the UK’s largest vehicle manufacturer, today reported financial results for the three-month period ending December 31, 2018. Retails for the quarter were 144,602 vehicles, compared with 154,447 a year ago, primarily as a result of continued challenging market conditions in China, offset partially by encouraging growth in North America and the UK. The company’s sales in Europe were up slightly, despite an 8% drop in the overall market. In the three-month period, sales increased for the new Jaguar E-PACE and the electric Jaguar I-PACE as well as the refreshed Range Rover and Range Rover Sport, while the slowdown in China accounted largely for lower sales of other models.

The 2019 Silverstone Classic is delighted to announce a far-reaching three-year official partnership with Aston Martin – a collaboration with the world famous luxury automotive group which embraces both on- and off-track activities at the world’s biggest historic motor racing festival. Completing a record-breaking feast of retro racing, this summer’s Classic (26-28 July) has the honor of hosting the very first round of Aston Martin’s newly announced Aston Martin Heritage Racing Festival Series. Aston Martin recently opened a new state-of-the-art high-performance test and development base at Silverstone and its presence at the Classic will be furthered by the supply of the official Safety and Course Cars for each grid. Like last year, these will help to ensure the smooth running of the non-stop nostalgic track action throughout the packed weekend.

Aston Martin’s increasing commitment to historic motorsport has been cemented with the creation of Aston Martin Heritage Racing – an over-arching brand that unites the company’s assorted historic motorsport activities under one banner. In the first of several major new initiatives, Aston Martin has joined forces with Masters Historic Racing – one of the world’s leading historic race event organizers and promoters – to become its official automotive partner. The partnership places Aston Martin and its customers at the heart of the action, through a number of core activities. The most visible of these are the supply of Aston Martin road cars as Official Pace cars and Course cars for Masters Historic Racing. For 2019 this will see Aston Martin’s driver-focused sports car – the Vantage – head each of the grids at selected MHR race weekends, leading the field […]

Our video this week comes from the Sunday Times Driving section and goes by the very long title of “I inherited and MGA: How a Classic Car Changed How I Looked at Motoring”. As the lead-in to the article in the Times says: When her beloved grandfather passed away this year, Charlotte Vowden was bestowed his 1960 MGA sports car. Now driving means a lot more to the 29-year-old. Now driving means a lot more to the 29-year-old. Part of what is relayed in this video and the accompanying article goes back to our video from last week – passing on the love of the cars and the hobby to others. To a younger generation.  Since these great old cars are not seen on the road much anymore, it falls to us to take others for rides, to show off the […]

MG Motor UK has smashed its record for January new car sales. The latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders (SMMT) show a significant increase for the iconic British brand with 754 new car registrations secured in January, an increase of 59% versus 2018. MG is gaining a reputation as a rapidly growing vehicle manufacturer. The impressive start to 2019 marks another record month for MG as the company seeks to build on the success of 2018. Already three new dealerships have joined the network this year, with plans for even more new sites to open in Q1. Recent appointments to the MG dealer network include Horsham Car Centre in West Sussex, Thompson First in Gloucestershire and Desira in Diss. Daniel Gregorious, Head of Sales & Marketing at MG Motor UK, commented: January was another record-breaking month […]

Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC is proud to announce the 24 U.S. retailer winners of the 2018/19 Pride of Jaguar and Land Rover Pinnacle Retailer Excellence Awards. The Pride of Jaguar and Land Rover Pinnacle Awards are given annually to retailers who have demonstrated a commitment to excellence and the Jaguar and Land Rover brands. A total of 24 retailers – 12 from each brand – were selected based upon their top performance in core business categories including customer advocacy, sales and aftersales. Of the 24 winning retailers, 19 have received the award multiple times, while five were recognized for the first time. Jaguar St. Petersburg, in Fla. and Land Rover Tampa in Fla. have received the award an impressive 15 times each.

Aston Martin is poised to take the 89th Geneva International Motor Show by storm with the global debut of the Lagonda All-Terrain Concept. Following the successful relaunch of Lagonda as the world’s first luxury zero emission brand and the surprise debut of the Lagonda Vision Concept at last year’s Geneva Show, 2019 sees the reveal of Lagonda’s All-Terrain Concept. The first model Lagonda will put into production, the All-Terrain Concept bears the bold hallmarks of the Vision Concept. By taking full advantage of its zero-emission platform Lagonda’s design team has created a car boasting extraordinary style and space efficiency combined with a rakish design language that demonstrates the unique freedom afforded by Lagonda’s commitment to zero emission powertrain technologies.

The London Concours, presented by Montres Breguet, has announced this year’s expertly curated car classes, including ‘The Great Marques’, ‘The Innovators’ and ‘The Icons’. The capital’s leading automotive garden party returns to the idyllic lawns of the Honourable Artillery Company from 5-6 June, displaying more than 70 automotive greats in seven distinct classes: Great Marques – Ferrari Great Marques – Jaguar The Icons The Innovators The Outlaws Made in Germany Lost Marques

Caterham Motorsport will host its first-ever multi-class endurance race, Caterham Motorsport Team Enduro, on Saturday 16th March at iconic British circuit, Silverstone, to act as the curtain raiser for the 2019 motorsport season. Created in partnership with the British Racing and Sports Car Club (BRSCC), the unique race format will see a mix of drivers from Roadsport, 270R, and 310R become teammates and race their own cars in ‘Super Teams’.

Talking about mental health problems isn’t just for Christmas. Two former car designers want to open up and kick out the stigma attached to talking about mental health and raise money to help those in need. Car designer-turned-reverend Adam Gompertz and director of the National Transport Design Centre Craig Callum are joining the Blue Diamond Riley Specialists team, driving a 1949 MG TC from Glasgow to Monaco, to raise much-needed funds for OCD Action during this year’s Monte Carlo Classique Rally (30th January to 3rd February). Funds raised by Adam and Craig will enable OCD Action to help more people in 2019 with the mental health illness. Donations are welcomed on their Just Giving site.

Join the double celebration at Beaulieu’s Spring Autojumble on May 18th and 19th, with the 25th anniversary of the popular event and Mini 60 celebrating six decades of the iconic Mini. A highlight of Beaulieu’s events calendar since it was launched in 1994, Spring Autojumble’s quarter century will be marked with a silver-themed event as jumblers are invited to decorate stands and send their memories and pictures to [email protected]

Reigning World Design Car of the Year, the Range Rover Velar receives more performance, luxury, and exclusivity with the introduction of the limited ‘SVAutobiography Dynamic Edition’. Designed as the pinnacle of the Velar line-up, the new model has been developed by Land Rover Special Vehicle Operations and is powered by a 550PS 5.0-liter V8 supercharged engine with a range of unique design enhancements. Adding to its exclusivity, this distinctive model will be available to purchase for one year only. Rawdon Glover, Managing Director, Jaguar Land Rover UK, said: The Range Rover Velar strikes a perfect balance between go-anywhere practicality, dynamic performance and relaxing comfort. By enhancing the luxury and dynamic characteristics even further we have created the pinnicle of the Velar range.

Bentley Motors has again been named as a Top Employer by the internationally recognized Top Employer Institute who commended the company’s commitment to professional development and nurturing of future talent. The award is the eighth successive year Bentley has been recognized and is presented at the same time that the company and its 4,000-strong workforce celebrate its centenary.