Highlights

MINI has released a pair of detail design sketches as an early preview of the brand’s first fully-electric production model, which is set to make its debut in 2019. The first sketches of the production model coincide with the MINI Electric Concept making its UK debut at Goodwood Festival of Speed 2018. Following on from the MINI E pilot project exactly ten years ago and the MINI Cooper S E Countryman ALL4 plug-in hybrid model on sale since 2017, the first fully-electric MINI represents the next stage in the electrification of the MINI brand and reflects the BMW Group’s NUMBER ONE > NEXT strategy.

Friday Roborace’s Robocar became the first ever driverless race car to complete the Hillclimb at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. The run is the first in the history of Goodwood to be completed by a race car that has no human driver in the car – a huge milestone moment for the Festival, which this year is celebrating its 25th anniversary. Visitors to Goodwood over the weekend will also get the chance to see the feat first-hand again, as Robocar will be attempting the Hillclimb once each day on Saturday and Sunday of the event.

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLL) announced today that experienced sports car and open-wheel racing driver Katherine Legge will drive one of the team’s two Jaguar I-PACE eTROPHY series electric racecars during the 2018/2019 ABB FIA Formula E season. An American-themed livery will be unveiled by RLL co-owner Bobby Rahal, Legge and team officials at the New York E-Prix 2017/2018 season-finale this weekend. I am very proud to be driving in the Jaguar I-PACE eTROPHY Formula E series for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. I have followed Formula E since its inception and have been very impressed with the growth in the electric car market and electric racing as a whole. I have also wanted to drive for Bobby for the past 10 years or more so this for me is the realization of a dream. Driving for a British brand like […]

With a pedigree and heritage like no other, Lotus has today unveiled two unique Celebration cars, the Exige Type 49 and 79, at the Goodwood Festival of Speed 2018 to pay homage to some of the most recognizable racers in the British brand’s history and its 70th birthday. The Exige Type 49 and 79 Celebration cars have been handcrafted by Lotus Exclusive in a salute to Lotus’ 70th birthday, and the victory anniversaries of two historic race cars that helped define the brand as one of the all-time great automotive marques. On display and in action over all four days of the Festival of Speed weekend, with the Exige Type 49 competing in the timed supercar runs on Saturday, they’re a fitting tribute to one of the pioneering and entrepreneurial spirit of Lotus’ founder.

Luxury British sportscar and supercar maker McLaren Automotive has announced plans at the Goodwood Festival of Speed its ambitious, wide-ranging business plan that will take the company to its fifteenth anniversary. Track25 is an evolution of the Track22 plan that was first launched at the Geneva Motor Show in 2016 and the updated plans now includes significant new milestones. Track25 sets out a clear roadmap for future vehicles, production, and technology that will allow the brand to continue to position itself as a major global player in the sports car and supercar market.

Bentley Motors is demonstrating the beauty of bespoke with a new very special limited edition Mulsanne. The Mulsanne W.O. Edition by Mulliner pays homage to the founding father of the company and incorporates a genuine piece of Bentley history in every car. Inside each of the 100 limited edition Mulsannes, a slice of the original crankshaft taken from W.O. Bentley’s personal 8 Litre car decades ago – the last model he designed for Bentley Motors back in 1930 – is displayed.

A convoy of 70 rare and important Land Rovers stole the show at Goodwood Festival of Speed yesterday as part of a record parade up the famous Goodwood Hill, celebrating 70 years of Land Rover. The largest ever batch of vehicles to drive up the famous hill were led by a recreation of the very first Land Rover – a Centre Steer prototype – and ‘HUE 166’, the first Series I pre-production prototype from 1948. The Series I was such a success that it spawned the Series II and Series III, an example of which became the millionth Land Rover sold just 28 years after the very first prototype. That millionth car also appeared in the parade, as part of a group of 25 early Series I, II and III vehicles including fire engines, SAS vehicles, aircraft crash rescue and African expedition […]

Jaguar has launched an intelligent app to help drivers experience life with its all-electric I-PACE before even getting behind the wheel. The Go I-PACE app captures journey data to calculate potential cost savings, show how much battery would be used per trip and tell users how many charges they would need in a week if they were driving the I-PACE. As it builds a unique picture of a vehicle’s use, the app will even show how many journeys, if any, would have needed a stop to charge the EV’s advanced Lithium-ion battery. Journeys over 50 miles represent only two percent of all UK trips. I-PACE, which has a maximum range of 298 miles (WLTP), could complete 98 percent of these using just a fraction of a single charge.

A team from March CE Primary School, supported by Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, made their mark at this year’s Greenpower IET ‘Gathering of the Goblins’, Britain’s premier event for electric-powered racing cars designed, built and driven by schoolchildren aged 9-11. Children in Years 5 and 6 were asked to submit designs for the car, taking their inspiration from the school’s pet rooster, Reg. The final design, created by the Bespoke Design Team at Rolls‑Royce Motor Cars, was an amalgamation of the three winning entries.

MINI USA announces the upcoming debut of the MINI John Cooper Works Hardtop International Orange Edition to occur during MINI TAKES THE STATES, the brand’s legendary biennial owners road rally. During the rally, which kicks off Saturday, July 14, in Portland, OR, and in Orlando, FL, MINI USA will showcase this special edition MINI John Cooper Works model on both the Eastern and Western routes. This boldly-colored, limited production special edition will also be on display in Keystone, Colorado, at the final gathering events July 20 – 22.

Panasonic Jaguar Racing is set to make history for the team in New York as they hope to finish their second season of the ABB FIA Formula E championship within the top five team standings. The double-header races, held against the awe-inspiring backdrops of the Manhattan skyline takes place on Saturday, July 14 and Sunday, July 15 when Mitch Evans and Nelson Piquet Jr will tackle the 2.37km street circuit in Red Hook, Brooklyn. Following Evans and the team’s first ever pole position in Zurich, Panasonic Jaguar Racing is hoping to continue their success in New York and return season one champion Nelson Piquet Jr to point-scoring form at his second E-Prix in the Big Apple.

Raymond Costa attending this year’s MG GOF West and has sent in the following report … If you are a fan of all things MG, Delevan Wisconsin was the place to be between June 27 and June 30 this year. Gatherings of the Faithful, or GOFs, are regional get-togethers for owners of MG cars. Originally conceived as gatherings for 1955 and older MG cars, more modern MGs are welcome if you can call a car that is no newer than thirty-eight years old “modern.” This year’s event was sponsored by the Vintage MG Car Club of Chicago. This GOF Central included the annual gathering of the North American MMM Register, an organization dedicated to preserving sporting MGs made before 1936, and many of these jewels arrived from as far away as Denver, Atlanta, and Alabama.

The following statement has been issued by Aston Martin in regards to the current climate of uncertainty surrounding Brexit and the British automotive industry. This comes only days after Ralf Speth of JLR issued a statement requesting clarity regarding the economic issues surrounding Brexit. The statement from Aston Martin reads: As an industry that makes long-term investment and employment decisions, the Automotive sector needs clarity and certainty across the planning landscape. Over the past few months this clarity has been lacking, but today we are greatly encouraged to see the Prime Minister and her Cabinet come to a consensus on the UK’s future trading relationship with the EU, which addresses both the concerns of industry, whilst respecting the result of the EU Referendum. As a global company, Aston Martin Lagonda naturally advocates a free trade environment and as such, we […]

Rolls-Royce has appointed Melanie Evans as Head of Sales Channel Development & Customer Relations from 1 August 2018. She will be based at the Home of Rolls-Royce at Goodwood, West Sussex. Evans joined Rolls-Royce in 2011, initially as Dealer Marketing & Digital Manager, progressing to Head of Commercial Development and then her current role as Head of Bespoke Sales and Marketing. Her new position incorporates a number of unique functions, including running the company’s Private Office.

This is a serious project, and it is for a good cause, but it still might strike some (ok, us) as funny. Rolls-Royce Motor Cars has announced that construction of a major development for the company is now underway. The district’s largest employer is building a new gated parking area on land adjacent to the manufacturing plant and head office, creating an additional 500 parking spaces. The development includes a dedicated car park for The March CE Primary School, located close to the entrance of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, including a ‘kiss and drop-off area’ and 40 parking spaces. The school car park incorporates a new road crossing, also funded by Rolls-Royce Motor Cars in the absence of local authority funding. The development has received overwhelming support from local residents, Chichester District Council and Chichester MP, Gillian Keegan.

The McLaren 600LT marks the beginning of the next chapter in the McLaren ‘Longtail’ (LT) story and at the same time sets a new sportscar benchmark as the fastest, most powerful and most track-focused – yet road legal – Sports Series McLaren has created. The McLaren 600LT is only the fourth ‘Longtail’ McLaren in more than two decades. The McLaren F1 GTR ‘Longtail’ that began the lineage was one of the purest race cars in modern motorsport history. The 675LT resurrected the revered name, creating the purest distillation of the sheer driving pleasure embodied by all McLaren cars. Now we are further extending our very special LT family –albeit in limited numbers – and once again showcasing the ethos of optimised aerodynamics, increased power, reduced weight, track-focused dynamics and enhanced driver engagement that are the hallmarks of a McLaren ‘Longtail’. — […]

Jaguar Land Rover has strengthened its commitment to the armed forces with the donation of two F-TYPE sports cars to Mission Motorsport. The cars will be used by the charity to support the recovery and rehabilitation of ex-service personnel affected by their time in the military. The donation, championed by the armed forces team at the Castle Bromwich manufacturing plant, was made in the run-up to Armed Forces Day on 30 June. It continues Jaguar Land Rover’s relationship with the forces’ motorsport charity established in 2014 with the creation of its Armed Forces Engagement Programme.

According to Cars UK and IPWire, Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) sued Bentley Motors earlier this month in Federal District Court in Alexandria, Virginia, over a patent infringement. JLR claims Bentley’s All Terrain Specification used in the new Bentyaga comes with a Drive Dynamics system that offers Snow, Ice, and Wet Grass, Dirt and Gravel, Mud and Trail and Sand Modes – nearly the same as its own Grass/Gravel/Snow, Mud and Ruts, Sand, and Rocks modes. As part of the suit, JLR filed a 30-page complaint seeking monetary damages, attorney’s fees, and a permanent injunction against Bentley. Supposedly JLR had spent 2-years trying to get Bentley management to address their issues and complaints about using similar ‘All Terrain Specs’ in the Bentyaga without much success. Cases such as this can be very hard to prove without direct evidence of backward engineering, industrial theft, or some […]