Highlights

Aston Martin has announced the appointment of Joerg Ross as Chief Engineer, Powertrain. Joerg will be responsible for the development of Aston Martin’s engines, transmissions, and electrification, reporting to Vice President and Chief Technical Officer, Max Szwaj and will be based at the company’s headquarters at Gaydon, Warwickshire. Born in Remscheid, Germany, Joerg Ross holds a degree and a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the RWTH Aachen University, Germany. He speaks several languages including German, English, and Italian. Commenting on the new appointment: Max Szwaj said: We are delighted to welcome Joerg to the Aston Martin team. His considerable experience and knowledge will prove invaluable for the Engineering team as we prepare the business for the next generation of Aston Martin products. On his appointment, Joerg Ross said: I’m delighted to be joining Aston Martin at what is an exciting […]

MINI USA announced today that the all-new 2017 MINI Countryman, the biggest, most adventurous MINI ever, has earned a TOP SAFETY PICK award by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). The Countryman earns this designation when equipped with the optional front crash prevention system, which earned an advanced rating from the independent, nonprofit scientific and educational organization. The 2017 MINI Countryman earned the designation thanks to good crash-worthiness ratings across the board, including the small overlap front, moderate overlap front, side, roof strength and head restraint tests. The MINI Countryman also benefits from an optional advanced-rated front crash prevention system, which in IIHS track tests at 12 and 25 mph, the system mitigated a collision, reducing the impact speed by 7 mph in both tests.

Burlen Ltd, the world’s only manufacturer of genuine SU (Skinner’s Union), AMAL and Zenith carburetors, is celebrating a hugely successful promotion of the flagship race of the 2017 Brands Hatch Mini Festival. Earlier in July, the Salisbury-based company promoted the Historic Mini Races – named ‘The SU Carburetters Cup for Pre-66 Minis’ – and pulled out all the stops to create an event that will live long in the memory.

More than 40XJ220 Jaguars came together at the Silverstone Classic Saturday (29 July), in a record-breaking reunion to mark the 25th birthday of what was once the fastest production car in the world. The dramatically-styled, mid-engined, two-seater supercar was introduced in 1992, with its top speed of 212.3mph making it Jaguar’s quickest road-going car – an accolade it still holds to this day.

Bentley Motorsport has finished in second place in the largest GT3 race in the world, the 24 Hours of Spa, with its #8 Continental GT3 and drivers Maxime Soulet (BE), Andy Soucek (ES) and Vince Abril (MC). With a carefully pre-determined race strategy, the Bentley Team M-Sport crew ran out-of-sync with many of the leading GT3 competitors for most of the race but the long-term gains came to fruition in the final stages of the 24-hour endurance event.

The Bentley Team M-Sport #8 Continental GT3 marked a milestone in Bentley’s history books yesterday as it took the model’s 500th race start at the largest GT3 endurance race in the world, the 24 Hours of Spa. The third chapter of Bentley’s motorsport story began with the unveiling of the first Continental GT3 concept at the Paris Motor Show in 2012, followed by the first public running of the first test car at Goodwood Festival of Speed in 2013. Since then the Continental GT3 has celebrated series and race wins around the globe, with the most recent victories in the past month in Blancpain GT Series at Paul Ricard 1000kms, Pirelli World Challenge at Road America and British GT at Spa Francorchamps.

Outwoods Primary School year six pupil, Deya Kidder from Burton upon Trent, has been announced as the winner of MG dealership TL Darby’s ‘Up on the Roof’ competition. The contest, which received more than 80 entries from eight schools within the area, asked pupils to come up with a design that would be featured on the roof of the MG GS. Deya, who has just finished her final year at Outwoods Primary School, visited TL Darby to see her winning design in the flesh, adorning the roof of the car which now sits pride of place in the showroom. 

Update: The contest is now closed! We would like to congratulate Ray Whitley on his win which was determined at random from all entries received. We would also like to thank all of those who entered the contest. Entertaining stuff! I bet you didn’t know that July is my birthday month – well it is. But, I am going to give you the present. Aren’t I generous? We Leo’s are like that!  Since this book is proving to be so popular, I thought you might like another contest chance to win a copy of Robert Morey’s Philosophy and Psychology of British Car Restoration. This is a great little book, and a fun read for any fan of old British cars. So, you might be asking yourself how you enter the contest. I gave a lot of thought to that and decided that […]

Rolls-Royce believes a new benchmark will be set as the New Phantom – the eighth generation of this great nameplate – arrives. Not satisfied with simply launching a motor car that is a wholly contemporary design interpretation of Phantom DNA and a technological tour de force, Rolls-Royce has revolutionized the luxury car industry itself by shifting away from the status quo of shared platforms to an entirely new luxury business model. From the moment Sir Henry Royce introduced the Rolls-Royce Phantom in 1925 it was judged ‘The Best Car in the World’ by the cognoscenti. As a result, it has conveyed some of the world’s most influential and powerful men and women to the most defining historical moments over the last 92 years. Every new Phantom that has subsequently appeared has successfully retained the title of ‘Best Car in the […]

The most extreme road car in McLaren’s history is set to make its debut later this year. Codenamed P15 and said to feature an 800PS engine with a stripped-out interior and overall weight of less than 1,300kg, the new model will be the second in McLaren’s Ultimate Series range after the hybrid P1. Designed to be the most extreme, track-ready but still road legal car in the line-up, McLaren’s engineers have reportedly been given the freedom to prioritize performance over everything else and the P15 is said to be faster on a racing circuit than any McLaren, bar the track-only P1 GTR.

One of the first 500 E-Types produced by Jaguar has been found in pieces in France and is to be brought back to life by world-class restorers Classic Motor Cars of Bridgnorth (CMC). Chassis No. 875256 is one of the very early 3.8 left-hand drive, open two seater, outside bonnet lock models with all matching numbers. It was delivered new to the Belgium Motor Company dealership in Brussels in July 1961 and was subsequently sold to ‘Societe de Civel Immeubles en Afrique.’ It resurfaced in France in 2015 and records indicate that it was imported from Luxembourg in 1975.

Our video of this week this time comes by way of Ohio. Well, it comes from the MG Cars Channel actually. The video is a wrap-up of the recent MG Gathering of the Faithful (GOF) that took place last week in Akron. Although the weather turned rainy, it sounds like a good time was had none-the-less. You can see more details of the event at the GOF Central website. Make sure to check out all of the cars winning awards on the awards page. The 2018 GoF Central will be held at Lake Delavan, Wisconsin, beginning on June 27th. More info is available at the official site.

Drivers seeking the opportunity to experience the latest Lotus sports cars at the famed manufacturer’s facility in Norfolk, will now have the chance, with the opening of the new Lotus Driving Academy in August 2017. From as little as £119 for the entry level experience, right through to the intensive ‘Gold’ course at £899, the Lotus Driving Academy offers a range of experiences suitable for anyone looking for a more involving and informative track session that will enhance and hone their driving skills.

Jaguar has released a short behind-the-scenes documentary offering viewers the chance to see how its engineers brought a perilous barrel roll stunt from concept to reality. The stunt, which was six months in the making, was over in just 1.5 seconds when the E-PACE was revealed to the world at London’s ExCeL on Thursday 13th July. Jaguar leapt into GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ history with its new performance SUV for the furthest barrel roll in a production vehicle. Over a million people* watched the stunt within the first week online.

Jaguar has launched the new XJR575 with a high-speed interview starring designer Wayne Burgess being questioned by TV presenter and race driver Amanda Stretton as the performance saloon accelerates from 0-186mph. Lasting just 44 seconds – the time it takes Jaguar’s fastest-ever XJ saloon to reach its top speed – Burgess gave a quick-fire insight into the development of the potent new model.

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars is delighted to support the Read to Succeed campaign, fronted by Nick Gibb, MP for Bognor Regis and Littlehampton and Minister of State for School Standards. The significant donation by Rolls-Royce concludes the campaign target to provide a book to every year 4 pupil – over 1000 children – in Mr. Gibb’s constituency, to enjoy over the summer holidays The books in the scheme have been specifically chosen by schools and libraries to appeal to year 4 students (8-9 years old), which is the age that most students start to read independently for the first time. The books selected cover a wide range of abilities and interests so all children can enjoy the magic of reading. Each book also includes a token for the child to take to their local library to sign up for the library’s Summer […]

The MINI JCW Team and MINI USA are gearing up for another big race this weekend at Lime Rock Park in their quest to sit on top of the Manufacturer’s standings in the Street Tuner class of the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge series. After all three MINI JCW Team cars finished inside the top five at Watkins Glen International, including the #73 and #52 MINI JCW’s in victory lane, the team went on grab a podium finish at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park in Bowmanville, Ontario, the following weekend, when James Vance piloted the #37 MINI JCW to a third place finish after an aggressive battle to hold his lead against the race’s eventual winner for more than an hour. Vance will be joined once again this weekend by Mike LaMarra. Team owner Luis Perocarpi, lead engineer Rob Ridgely and MINI engineer Zdravko Miric have been hard at work piecing the #52 MINI […]

Jaguar Land Rover has opened its Chinese engine plant as part of its RMB10.9 billion joint venture with Chery Automobile Ltd. The state-of-the-art facility will manufacture the all-new Ingenium 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine for future Chery Jaguar Land Rover vehicles. During the first six months of the year, Jaguar Land Rover sales have increased by 26 per cent in China. The new engine plant demonstrates Jaguar Land Rover’s long-term commitment to the Chinese market, providing customers with an exciting range of vehicles and powertrain options, as well as to its joint venture.