Highlights

Invictus Games Toronto 2017 competitor and Jaguar Land Rover employee, Steven Boulton, was given a surprise send-off by colleagues at the car manufacturer’s Solihull site, as the National Flag Tour gets underway in Canada today. A bespoke car livery, featuring good luck messages from Jaguar Land Rover employees to Invictus competitors was on display during the celebration. The livery is also used on a fleet of new Discovery on the Invictus Games National Flag Tour, which marks the countdown to the Games starting on September 23.

McLaren Automotive has teamed up with The Step2 Company, LLC, a large North American toy manufacturer, to create a unique model tailored to appeal to a small but very important audience. The revolutionary 570S Step2 Push Sports Car was designed with the family in mind, providing practical support for modern living by allowing parents to carry out their daily tasks or simply enjoy a leisurely stroll in the park without needing a conventional stroller. With a handy storage area under the seat that is perfect for stowing snacks and multiple cup holders to house that vital morning coffee and bottles of water, this stylish car lets toddlers rest their weary legs when the excitement of running around has worn off.

Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC has announced that Tyfone and SIMPLENIGHT are the latest start-ups to join the Portland technology accelerator program, becoming the seventh cohort to join the program since launching last year. The new additions focus on increasing data security and personalizing consumer experiences, which directly impact consumers today. Tyfone brings the security of credit card chips to the convenience of mobile phone payments through its patented SideCard™ product. SideCard brings omnichannel security by packing smartcard secure elements accessible through Bluetooth® LE, NFC and contact interfaces in an ultrathin credit card form factor. It delivers the highest level of security sufficient for military grade applications without the need for complex passwords and enrollment. Tyfone currently has 140 issued and pending patents and serves key industries with converged omnichannel security needs such as financial services, critical infrastructure, transportation, and the U.S. Government.

Jaguar Land Rover Automotive plc, the UK’s largest vehicle manufacturer, today reported its results for the Quarter ended June 30, 2017, showing an encouraging customer response to the company’s innovative product portfolio. Retail sales for the quarter reached 137,463 vehicles, up 3.5% on the previous year led by the 2017 World Car of the Year, and Women’s Car of the Year award-winning Jaguar F-PACE (up 86% year on year), following a sequence of successful market launches. Continuing strong demand was seen for well-established models such as the flagship Range Rover (up 14%) and freshly launched models such as the long wheelbase Jaguar XFL in China (boosting overall XF sales by 22%).

Today, on Dull and Boring Day, Jaguar announced the launch of a new campaign for the 2018 Jaguar F-TYPE to bring excitement to the two towns of Dull, Perthshire in Scotland and Boring in Oregon, U.S. Jaguar selected two residents of Boring, and another pair from Dull, to inspire some excitement in each of the chosen towns. Each pair was given a new 2018 Jaguar F-TYPE R, the most dynamically capable and performance-oriented sports car in the Jaguar family line up, to add a little adventure and excitement to their lives by turning everyday journeys in Dull and Boring, including visits to local stores, coffee shops and gas stations, into a thrilling ride.

Marking a major milestone in the history of Lotus Group International Limited (LGIL), the company finishes the financial year 2016/17 on plan. Lotus closed the year with positive EBITDA of £2.0m, a major achievement compared to 2015/16 where a £16.3m EBITDA loss was recorded. There has also been a significant improvement in Profit Before Tax. From a £41.2m loss in FY15/16 to a £11.2m loss overall in FY16/17, with the company recording a Profit Before Tax improvement of £10m in the second half of FY16/17 compared to the first six months of the year. Looking ahead, it allows Lotus to concentrate on the next stage of the business’ development, and a return to full year Profit Before Tax for FY17/18.

Our video this week comes from Petrolicious. The video, Aston Martin DBR1 – A British Racing Rarity, was produced in partnership with RM Sotheby’s. In this six-minute video, they go for a lively ride in one of Britain’s (if not the world’s) most beautiful automobiles. I just can’t beat what they already have to say about this car and experience, so I am just going to hand it over to them.

MG Motor UK has entered in the top 25 in the UK Car Dealer Power Survey, the annual round-up of the top performing automotive manufacturers as ranked by their own dealer network. Outperforming significantly larger and more established brands, such as Jaguar and MINI, MG Motor UK scored particularly well in terms of new car supply, warranties, bonus structure and dealer requirements. The debut ranking in the survey is further affirmation that MG is now one of the UK’s fastest-growing car brands. With a program of inspiring new model launches, investment in state-of-the-art vehicle and powertrain technology, and global design capability based in the UK, it’s easy to see why dealers rank the brand so highly.

In the year that sees TVR celebrate its 70th anniversary, the company will proudly reveal a new sports car that takes engineering excellence to a new level for the iconic manufacturer. The new TVR, to be unveiled to the public at the Goodwood Revival Earls Court Motor Show, delivers an all-British design with outstanding integrity, rigidity, reliability, and quality. Founded in 1947 by Trevor Wilkinson, the company first developed its own chassis in 1949. Various model launches followed, including the iconic Grantura and the legendary V8 Griffith, which won acclaim during the 1950s and 1960s. It was during this period that TVRs also first began to appear on track, starting a motorsport heritage that continued for several decades, including several factory entries at Le Mans. With too many iconic models to list and a genuinely dedicated following of enthusiasts, the […]

Renowned London specialist Fiskens is offering for sale two legendary Aston Martins that were built 50 years apart but which share an unrivaled competition pedigree – a 1955 DB3S and a 2005 DBR9. The beautiful DB3S was introduced in 1953 and scored victories in prestigious events such as the Tourist Trophy and Goodwood Nine Hours. It also finished second at Le Mans on three occasions and was raced by the greatest names of the era, including Stirling Moss, Peter Collins and Roy Salvadori.

Not a British car story, but perhaps some fair warning to the long dormant British marques out there. In what most car guys would consider staggering news, Ferrari has lost the trademark to the well known Testarossa name. At least in Germany. Whether this hold beyond those borders has yet to be seen. As Promarketing magazine describes in their article: When we hear “Testarossa” we immediately think of Ferrari. And we’re not exactly car buffs, so we would imagine that others do the same. Well, regardless of how common that word association is, a German court ruled that Ferrari has to relinquish its right to the name due to a lack of ongoing use. Remember what we said yesterday about needing to use a trademark in order to hold onto it? This is what happens when a trademark holder doesn’t use it […]

For the last two years thirteen staff at Classic Motor Cars (CMC) have been working on a top secret project, the restoration of a one-off Pininfarina bodied XK120 SE which is to be unveiled at the Pebble Beach Concours on Sunday, August 20th. On Friday 4th August, the team, which had been supported by everybody on company’s the 60 plus workforce, were pictured with the car – “under wraps”.

Land Rover has announced that John Thomas from Fresno, Calif. has been selected as the first winner of trials to join the Land Rover Experience Tour Peru 2017. As one of four winners that will be chosen across the U.S., Thomas will have the opportunity to drive the new Land Rover Discovery on an expense paid, six-day off-road excursion through the Peruvian countryside, over mountain ranges, through jungles, and across the Atacama Desert. Entries for the Land Rover Experience Tour Peru are being accepted through August 31. Thomas completed the U.S. challenge trials at Overland Expo West in Flagstaff, Ariz., on a purpose-built, off-road course created by Land Rover driving instructors to measure both his driving precision and performance in the new Land Rover Discovery. Thomas was the first to complete the course, with obstacles such as side tilts, articulation […]

The most recent new car registration stats from the SMMT show a decline in passenger car registrations in July, but MG Motor UK is continuing to outperform the market. The Longbridge-based business not only registered a total of 305 new cars across July (an increase of more than 4% year-to-date compared to 2016), but an additional five new dealerships joined the network. The latest stats confirm MG’s strong year-to-date growth and can be attributed to network expansion and development. This stands in contrast to the subdued new-car market, which was down by over 2% in the first seven months of 2017 compared to 2016.

The Jaguar I-PACE Concept has been named Most Significant Concept Vehicle of 2017 at the 16th North American Concept Vehicle Awards.  As well as achieving the highest overall score to take away the top honor, Jaguar’s all-electric performance SUV also won the Production Preview Concept of the Year category. The awards, held at the Concours d’Elegance of America, recognize those vehicles most likely to shape the future of the automobile industry. More than two dozen jurors participated in a selection process that involved a total of 24 vehicles, each introduced to North America during this season’s auto shows in Los Angeles, Detroit, Chicago, Toronto and New York.

Aston Martin has announced local firm TRJ Ltd as the selected construction partner for ‘Phase 2’ of the conversion contract at the St Athan manufacturing facility. Work is already underway at St Athan and will focus on turning the three ‘Super Hangars’ into an Aston Martin manufacturing facility. This contract was formally advertised through the Welsh Government’s Sell 2 Wales site, receiving significant interest from firms across the UK.  But it was the local Ammanford based TRJ who were ultimately successful, following on from their award of Phase 1 in December 2016.

Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC today reported July 2017 U.S. sales: Jaguar sales were 3,166 units, a 7 percent decrease from 3,398 units in July 2016; Land Rover sales decreased slightly to 5,915 units, down 2.6 percent from 6,075 in July 2016; Jaguar Land Rover July U.S. sales for both brands hit 9,081 units, a 4 percent decrease from 9,473 units in July 2016. Year to date, Jaguar Land Rover is up 15 percent in the United States, ahead of 2016’s record sales year pace. We are pleased that despite a slowdown in the broader market, Jaguar and Land Rover just missed last year’s record July sales, and are up 15% over 2016’s record full year pace. With the first half of the year behind us, we are focused on launching three new vehicles, the Land Rover Discovery now in […]

Panasonic Jaguar Racing brought their debut season in FIA Formula E to a close today in Montréal with both Jaguar I-TYPEs racing hard but ultimately missing out on further points.  Mitch Evans lined up P17 and Adam Carroll P19 after a difficult qualifying session with track temperatures noticeably warmer than yesterday. Following a strong seventh place finish on Saturday for the Kiwi, Mitch battled throughout the race to finish just outside the points in P12. Adam drove a faultless race and brought his Jaguar I-TYPE home in P14 and completed a full set of race finishes for the British driver. Both drivers made up five places during the race despite having to manage their energy carefully over 37 laps.