Highlights

Bentley is introducing biometric capacitive fingerprint sensor technology with a secure storage unit in the Bentayga – affording customers even greater peace of mind. Developed by Bentley’s personal commissioning division, Mulliner, the fingerprint sensor technology has been applied to a high-pressure die-cast aluminum secure stowage unit located in the cabin. This discreet and unobtrusive locker creates the ideal place to stow valuables while at the beach, on the ski slope or utilizing valet parking services. With two USB ports and an auxiliary socket, it can also be used for connecting and charging mobile devices both inside and outside of the unit, enabling occupants to access Bentayga’s extensive infotainment technology, including Apple CarPlay. Uday Senapati, Mulliner’s Head of Technical Operations, said: The Mulliner Biometric Secure Stowage unit is hidden from view. We are incorporating the familiar capacitive fingerprint sensor technology from […]

Sing for Hope, the nonprofit arts organization, and MINI USA today announced #DrivingHope, a partnership motivated by both organizations’ passion for bringing creativity to communities. MINI USA will join the country’s largest recurring public arts project, the Sing for Hope Pianos, by creating a mobile piano inside a MINI Countryman. From June 4-24, the 50 Sing for Hope Pianos will be located throughout the five boroughs and the #MINIPiano will act as a traveling piano, driving music directly to additional underserved communities. Sing for Hope uplifts individuals and communities by mobilizing artists to bring the power of the arts to those who need it most. Each year, the Sing for Hope Pianos are designed by local artists, celebrities, and casts of Broadway shows.

With Spring coming and car show season starting, we wanted to feature some car show activity, but maybe something a bit out of the norm. So, this week’s video features that British car show favorite rocker or valve cover racing! Yup, that’s right, our video this week comes from Doug Pelton at From The Frame Up and covers the finer points of vintage MG Rocker Racers. In valve cover racing, competitors must construct a vehicle using a valve cover from a car’s engine. In the case of British car events, the requirement is normally that this be from a British car. Additionally, the norm is that the racer must have four wheels. It can be decorated or modified within the rules set by the organizing body. The valve cover is powered by gravity. In a valve cover race, two or more racing valve covers […]

McLaren Special Operations (MSO), the bespoke division of McLaren Automotive, is extending its Sports Series offering with the 570GT MSO Black Collection. Featuring new MSO Bespoke Carbon Black exterior paint, as well as an MSO Defined Titanium SuperSports Exhaust and Sport Pack dynamic handling package to further amplify its sporty character, the collection is limited to only 100 examples globally. Priced at £179,950, the car promises to be a true collectible and offers enhanced driving thrills and a wealth of unique MSO content. The exterior of the vehicle is finished in Carbon Black, a striking and extremely deep color, developed specifically by McLaren Special Operations. The stealth theme extends to the MSO Defined Black Pack replacing standard-fit Dark Palladium components including front and rear splitters, side skirts and air intakes with black. Completing the look are the 5 Twin-Spoke Lightweight […]

Aston Martin Holdings (UK) Ltd, the designer and manufacturer of luxury handcrafted sports cars, today welcomed the decision by S&P Global Ratings to upgrade its credit rating for the company. S&P has upgraded the company and its senior secured notes to ‘B’ from ‘B-‘, on the back of a consistent improvement in its operating and financial performance. In 2017, Aston Martin delivered record revenues, with profits growing by a quarter of a billion pounds as unit sales exceeded 5,000 for the first time since 2008. 

An SUV is not meant to outperform a supercar, but that’s exactly what happened when the new Range Rover Sport SVR took on a fearsome mountain road in China. Land Rover’s performance SUV, driven by Panasonic Jaguar Racing driver Ho-Pin Tung, has smashed the record for negotiating the 99 corners of the famous Tianmen Road. The standard production Range Rover Sport SVR set a new unofficial record of 9 minutes 51 seconds for the 11.3km ascent of Tianmen at an average speed of 68.8km/h (42.8mph), beating the previous best of 10 minutes 31 seconds – set by a Ferrari 458 Italia supercar in 2016.

Briggs Automotive Company (BAC) is celebrating a hugely successful second running of the Mono Ice Driving Experience, hitting the frozen lakes of Sweden for a high-intensity test in the greatest driver’s car of them all – Mono. Mono is famed for being the ultimate piece of sporting equipment, a tool that delivers the very best experience for the sport of driving. And in the western region of Åre, the sport’s pinnacle was in full motion as part of an exhilarating four-day adventure.

As they like to say in the collector car auction community, there was “plenty of money in the room.”  With 101 cars going across the stage on Friday night, just over $27 million was spent, with 86% of the cars reaching their reserves; a successful event by any measure. Held in the ballroom of the luxurious and elegant Ritz-Carlton, the audience and venue were nearly as star-studded at the cars themselves. Highlights of the evening were a 1966 Ferrari 275 GTB, a 1993 Porsche 911 Carrera RS and a Marmon Sixteen LeBaron Coupe.  The Ferrari, the top seller of the auction, was one of approximately 58 long-nose, torque-tube, triple-carburetor, steel-bodied examples. Retaining its original chassis, engine, and gearbox, the beautifully presented car sold for a final $2,205,000.

McLaren Automotive has confirmed that its forthcoming new ‘Hyper-GT ‘, codenamed BP23, will achieve the highest top speed of any McLaren yet with the capability to exceed the 243mph peak speed of the legendary McLaren F1 road car. The news follows the announcement by McLaren Automotive CEO, Mike Flewitt during the Geneva Motor Show press conference that a public reveal of the car can be expected this year. The next addition to the McLaren Ultimate Series will be both the fastest-ever and the most luxurious McLaren. Featuring a three-seat cockpit design with a central driving position – the same layout as the F1 – and a petrol-electric hybrid powertrain, BP23 will deliver the unparalleled blend of extreme performance and sporting luxury that befits its status as the ultimate road-going McLaren. The entire BP23 production of 106 examples was allocated before […]

Jaguar Land Rover achieved its second-highest February sales performance with strong sales of the new Range Rover Velar and Land Rover Discovery and the new 18 model year Range Rover and Rover Sport as well as the new Jaguar E-PACE still ramping up, despite difficult trading conditions in key European markets, especially the UK. Retail sales of 39,911 Jaguars and Land Rovers in February were 2.6% down on the previous year’s all-time high. Solid demand in China (3.3% up) and other overseas markets (1.5% up) was offset by lower sales in the UK (15.2% down for the month) and Europe (6.9% down), where trading conditions remained challenging. Sales in North America were 2.2% down on the same month in the previous year. With the company’s sales up 2.9% in January, year-to-date sales are level with a year ago.

McLaren Automotive is to strengthen the commitment to racing in the UK’s premier GT series, the British GT Championship, in 2018 with the confirmation of an extension to the relationship which will see a Sports Series model as the Safety Car at each of the seven race weekends. McLaren will also have a strong presence throughout the grid, with four customer teams entering a total of seven cars across the GT3 and GT4 classes. 2018 marks the third consecutive year McLaren has supplied the Safety Car to the SRO-run series and, as in previous seasons, the continued support will see a range of models from the McLaren Sports Series leading the field and coordinating on-track safety throughout the season. Sharing the carbon fiber MonoCell II chassis seen in the 570S GT4, safety is at the core of every model in […]

An exclusive appearance by 1989 Camel Trophy winners Bob and Joe Ives, together with the iconic Land Rover 110 that led them to victory in the Amazon 29 years ago, has been confirmed for Land Rover Legends at Bicester in Oxfordshire. Now an expedition leader all over the world, and consultant to films and television shows including the Harry Potter and Discworld franchises, Top Gear, The Grand Tour and more, Bob Ives will appear alongside his brother Joe on the live stage and forum area to talk about their experiences and answer questions from the audience.

Let’s hit the road! Our Video of the Week this time goes all the way back to 1964. Part of me honestly wishes that wasn’t so long ago, and part of me finds it hard to believe that 54 years have passed since then. But anyway, our video is of a RAC rally from ’64 and features some great cars. From Minis to MGBs, you will find them in this video. There is also an Austin Healey, a Rover, and a host of other cars of the period both British and non-British. One of the things that always strikes me when I watch these old films is how safety standards have changed. These days you would never get as close to the actual racing as spectators used to do. Also helmets and other protective gear just don’t figure into the […]

We just received word from the folks at the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance that the main event has been moved to Saturday due to impending weather.  Along with this, the RM Sotheby’s auction will be moving to Friday, March 9. Even in the best case scenario, the forecast for Sunday’s scheduled Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance includes rain and lots of it. With a strong chance of heavy precipitation forecast for Sunday and a sunshine-filled Saturday in the mix, The Amelia Concours team has moved Sunday’s award-winning Concours to Saturday. The Concours show will now coincide with Saturday’s Cars & Coffee at the Concours presented by Heacock Classic Insurance. The new schedule is as follows: Saturday, March 10, Cars & Coffee at the Concours 9 am until 5 pm Saturday, March 10, Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance 9:30 am until 5 pm […]

Following its public debut at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show, today Jaguar announced U.S. pricing for the 2019 Jaguar I-PACE. Priced from $69,500 before federal and local government incentives, the Jaguar I-PACE establishes a new mid-size premium battery electric vehicle (BEV) segment. With the debut of the Jaguar I-PACE, Jaguar in the U.S. is officially in the luxury electric vehicle business and our retailers and customers are placing orders. In partnership with our retailers who are investing in new facilities and EV infrastructure, we have a proactive market strategy led by very competitive pricing and the Jaguar EliteCare electric vehicle ownership package. We think the entire journey of buying, owning and driving an I-PACE will be one our customers will love for life. — Joe Eberhardt, President and CEO of Jaguar Land Rover North America Featuring a 90kWh battery, the I-PACE […]

Nearly 50 years ago, Land Rover created the luxury SUV segment with the introduction of the Range Rover. Now it’s defining a new genre with the world’s first full-size luxury SUV Coupe: the limited-edition, two-door, Range Rover SV Coupe. Created by Land Rover Design and Special Vehicle Operations, the SV Coupe is an exemplar of Range Rover design, craftsmanship and capability. It features a seductive body wrapped around the next generation of cabin luxury – with the peerless capability on a variety of terrains and in a variety of weather conditions synonymous with the Range Rover family of vehicles. No more than 999 will be hand-crafted by SVO for clients worldwide.

Yesterday at the Geneva Motor Show Jaguar Classic was proud to present Iron Maiden drummer Nicko McBrain’s custom-built ‘Greatest Hits’ Jaguar XJ6, kicking-off Jaguar’s XJ 50th anniversary celebrations in 2018. The bespoke commission is a collaboration between Nicko, the expert engineers and craftsmen at Jaguar Land Rover Classic Works in Coventry, and Jaguar Design studio director Wayne Burgess. The project involved more than 3500 man-hours of work, with more than 4000 parts refinished, replaced or redesigned. Unlike any 1984 XJ6 before, it incorporates substantial modifications to the exterior, interior, drivetrain, and suspension, resulting in Nicko’s dream XJ.

MINI Plant Oxford has received a top visitor attraction award from the official national tourism agency for England. The plant, which builds more than 1,000 MINIs each day, has been recognized by VisitEngland with a ‘Best Told Story Accolade’ for its factory tour, which gives visitors a behind the scenes look at how this iconic British car is made. Introduced by VisitEngland in 2014, the accolades are available to attractions that are part of the Visitor Attraction Quality Scheme and are allocated through a scoring system based on an annual unannounced assessment. They recognize attractions that ‘go the extra mile to provide a high-quality day out.’