Highlights

More than 150 talented future software engineers from schools in 16 countries gathered in Abu Dhabi for the Land Rover 4×4 in Schools Technology Challenge world finals. The bright young engineers, aged 11-19, used computer coding to programme miniature remote-controlled four-wheel-drive vehicles they have designed and built for a two-day competition at the Yas Marina Circuit. One of the challenges saw the vehicles negotiate a demanding course that wound its way over and through Land Rover Discovery SUVs.

Another landmark in Aston Martin’s ‘Second Century Plan’ was achieved with production officially returning to the company’s historic Newport Pagnell site. It marks a uniquely significant moment in which history has come full-circle, with a special run of 25 DB4 G.T. Continuation cars being built at the same site as the original DB4 G.T.s were made almost sixty years ago. Since moving to its purpose-built headquarters and state-of-the-art production facility at Gaydon in 2003, Aston Martin’s Newport Pagnell premises has exclusively been home to Aston Martin Works – the heart of the marque’s unrivaled heritage sales, service, spares, and restoration operation. Production of the Mk1 Vanquish ceased in 2007, but since that time countless classic Aston Martins have been restored to their former glory by the passionate and highly-skilled Works team.

Bette Hill occupied a unique position in Formula One history, as wife and mother of two world champion drivers. Her husband Graham won the title in 1962 for BRM and again for Lotus in 1968. Her son Damon Hill did so for Williams in 1996. Bette Hill, born Bette Shubrook on June 12, 1926, passed away this December 8, 2017. One of four girls born to a cricketer who also worked for The Times, and a mother who was ambitious for her children in the proper way, Bette and her sisters were achievers, and she understood the competitive imperative. One played piano, another was a champion schools swimmer, the third was also sporting, and Bette herself rowed for Britain in 1952 and 1954 and finished third in the European Championship quadruple sculls at Compiègne in 1954. Bette and Graham were married for 20 years […]

At the core of the new MINI brand identity lies an awareness of traditional values combined with the spirit of future-oriented development. This philosophy is also reflected in the visual appearance of the British premium brand, of which the central element is the MINI brand logo. The current interpretation of the globally familiar logo takes the form of a reduced design that focuses on the essentials. It will be seen on all current MINI models from March 2018 onwards. The new MINI logo draws on the three-dimensional style of depiction that has existed since the relaunch of the brand in 2001, applying this to a form of visual expression known as “flat design” that homes in on the key graphic elements. The preservation of the fundamental, tradition-steeped motif of a winged wheel with the brand name printed in capital letters at […]

Our Video of the Week this time around is, as the Monty Python phrase goes, something completely different. The video is of Veronica Lamond’s book “Landy” read aloud. This is the first volume in the Landy Books Trilogy – introducing ‘Landy’ and his friends. A charming story for young children who love animals and the great outdoors. Parents and grandparents love reading it too. The Landybook series engage children in diverse, real-life activities through the lovable, animated characters of Landy (1956 Series 1) and Fender (1999 Defender). This Landy story, tells of Jack finding Landy abandoned at the bottom of a field and they then start their new life together. This Land Rover book is perfect for children aged 1 right through to 99. A classic traditional kids book you will all fall in love with.

Porter Press International, the publisher of some of the world’s finest motoring books including the award-winning ‘Great Cars’ series, has launched a new entry-level book format under the name of Porter Profiles. The first book in this series is Austin-Healey 300 : The Story of DD 300 by Simon Ham. This more accessible series starts by taking readers back to the swinging sixties and the adventures of one of the most successful Big Healeys of all time – a charming story of a lost era told in 96 pages featuring insightful narrative, evocative archive photos, and new studio shots, all for a cover price of just £20 (currently about $27 USD). The Austin-Healey 3000, introduced in 1959 and manufactured until 1967, was relatively big and brutish for an English sports car. It was received affectionately in the UK but sold […]

In Jaguar Land Rover’s largest ever volunteering activity, more than 150 employees have taken part in the company’s first Mapathon event plotting roads, rivers and buildings across a sprawling area in the Kurigram District of Bangladesh using satellite imagery. The event marks International Volunteer Day and celebrates a 64-year partnership between Jaguar Land Rover and the Red Cross. Jaguar Land Rover employees join a global community of volunteers mapping areas where humanitarian organizations, such as the Red Cross, are helping vulnerable people. Bangladesh was chosen to support the Red Cross’ work in the area to implement disaster risk reduction activities and increase the resilience of communities.

The McLaren Senna has been designed, engineered and developed with a single-minded purpose: to be the ultimate McLaren track-concentrated car for the road. Legalized for road use, but not sanitized do suit it, the new Ultimate Series deliberately compromises McLaren’s trademark breadth of supercar daily usability; instead it provides the purest connection between driver and car, to deliver the most intense circuit experience of any road McLaren. You commit yourself to such a level where there is no compromise. You give everything you have; everything, absolutely everything.  — Ayrton Senna The technical recipe is classic McLaren Automotive supercar, a pedigree established and earned in the short time elapsed since the pioneering sports and supercar company was founded in 2010, but taken to another level entirely in the McLaren Senna. Ultra-lightweight construction, with carbon fibre chassis and body panels. Mid-mounted, twin-turbocharged […]

One of only nine bespoke Rolls-Royce Wraith models, produced by Rolls-Royce to celebrate the global success of British popular music and one dedicated to the “fifth Beatle” the late Sir George Martin, has been acquired by the owner of Studio434, Rodger Dudding and has now joined Rodger’s extensive collection of cars at his facility in Potters Bar, Hertfordshire. The Sir George Martin’s signature Wraith has a number of important detailing elements including a celebration of Sir George’s 30 number-one hit singles with embroidery of each song title in the rear “waterfall” and the producer’s signature stitched into the headrests.

Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC today reported November 2017 U.S. sales: Land Rover sales increased 20 percent to 6,801 units from 5,659 in November 2016; Jaguar sales were 3,061 units, a 9 percent decrease from 3,381 units in November 2016; Jaguar Land Rover November U.S. sales for both brands hit 9,862 units, a 9 percent increase from 9,040 units in November 2016. Year to date, Jaguar Land Rover sales reached 102,939 units, up 11 percent compared to 92,531 units in 2016 in the United States. We have achieved a new November monthly sales record for the U.S. market, led by the excellent performance of our newest SUV models. The all-new Range Rover Velar hit its best monthly sales since its launch in August. Looking forward, we are confident we are going to wrap-up 2017 with another record growth year. […]

McLaren Special Operations, the bespoke division of McLaren Automotive, has delved deep into the company’s heritage to create a unique color with a family story attached. Muriwai refers to different episodes of the McLaren story: it is the name of the New Zealand coastal community where McLaren founder Bruce McLaren won his first motor race; it is also the name he gave to his family house in Surrey, England and it is now the name of a new special paint colour in the MSO catalogue for the recently launched 570S Spider. Inspired by the whitewashed walls, deep blue doors, and shutters of the handsome McLaren homestead, Muriwai White paint is white with blue flecks. The color was developed by McLaren Special Operations, Amanda McLaren, Bruce’s only child and a brand ambassador for McLaren Automotive and McLaren paint Partner AkzoNobel. Amanda […]

MG Motor UK is the top performing British car brand in the UK, reporting a near 80 percent increase (79.74%) in November new car sales. Latest figures issued by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) show that new car sales in Britain have fallen for the eighth consecutive month. Despite the automotive industry reporting an 11.17 percent decline in November, MG has outperformed every other marque this month and has achieved 4.24 percent market growth this year to date.

One year after its first showing at the Los Angeles Auto Show, the Jaguar I-PACE Concept returned to the city as a production prototype for its final range and durability tests ahead of its global reveal and start of sale in 2018. Thousands of potential customers around the world have pressed the ‘I want one’ button on the Jaguar site to register their interest for the hotly anticipated electric SUV. Not only will these customers be at the front of the queue when order books officially open globally in March, but a lucky few have been chosen to accompany Jaguar’s engineers as prototype vehicles complete final validation tests.

Our Video of the Week this go-round is a Christmas card from carburetor guys Burlen. Burlen Ltd, the world’s only manufacturer of genuine SU (Skinners Union), AMAL and Zenith carburetors – has produced a truly epic Christmas video to get in the mood for the festive period in style. Firing up his rat-look modded 40s Chevy, Burlen director Jamie Burnett goes out in search of the perfect Christmas tree, shattering the peace of the festive season and worrying the odd chicken. Sure the V8 Chevy isn’t British, but the company is and the spirit is right.

Morgan Motor Company has announced its most extreme roadgoing model to date; the race-inspired Aero GT. Using lessons learned from Morgan’s GT3 race victories, the Aero GT is based upon the lightweight aluminium Aero 8 but with an all-new hand-worked, aerodynamically honed body which reduces drag but significantly increases downforce. Conceived initially during the development of the 2015 Morgan Aero 8, the aggressive Aero GT variant never saw the light of day. But, in 2018, the final eight Aero 8 cars to roll out of Morgan’s Pickersleigh Road factory will be Aero GT variants.

According to an article in Australia’s Motoring Magazine, the design of the new Land Rover Defender, still yet to be unveiled, will be aimed for the future, technologically advanced, and probably polarizing to old-school Land Rover Defender fans. Speaking to the Australian press at a roundtable discussion at the Los Angeles motor show today, McGovern declared that the all-new replacement for the 69-year old original would become the “backbone of the Land Rover brand”.

For our video of the week this time, we turn to a video by NorthAmericaOverland. Back in July of this year, the Muddy Chef Challenge was held up in Manchester, Vermont. This is an annual gathering of Land Rover enthusiasts that, as the name implies, involves both cooking and off-road driving. The Muddy Chef Challenge was established in 2008 in Stowe, Vermont. A handful of Land Rover aficionados got together with the crazy idea that off-roading could be combined with a vehicle-based gourmet cooking challenge and the Muddy Chef Challenge was born. Since then, the Muddy Chef has grown to become the largest Land Rover event of its type in the world. We are often described as “Top Gear meets Top Chef” and that’s perfect description. Over the course of three days, competitors will setup African Safari style campsites, experience challenging off-road […]

The UK’s top-selling convertible has today received the ‘Best Convertible 2018’ award judged by industry experts at Carbuyer. The award was presented to MINI this morning at the Carbuyer Best Car Awards in London, with judges praising the car’s unique character, trademark handling, interior and value for money. Winners in each category at the annual Carbuyer Awards are chosen by members of the dedicated Carbuyer road-test team, who evaluate each vehicle on running costs, comfort, practicality, reliability, and safety, as well as performance, efficiency, price, value for money and optional extras.