Highlights

In many ways, Michael Cook is responsible for the vision that most Americans have of the sporting, carefree lifestyle of the British sports car owner. He, along with 22 other remarkable individuals, will be inducted into the British Sports Car Hall of Fame on June 2, 2017. For more than 30 years, Mike Cook’s job was to publicize and promote British cars in America. From the height of the sports car craze in the late ’50s to the end of the era when Jaguar ownership passed to Ford, Cook helped create the image of the marques, generate media buzz, launch new models, and publicize racing successes.

McLaren Automotive, the creator of luxury sports and super cars from Surrey, England, has appointed Dr. Jens Ludmann as Chief Operating Officer (COO) effective from May 2, 2017. He will report to Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mike Flewitt. Dr. Ludmann joins McLaren in the second year of its Track22 business plan to focus on further developing internal working processes, relationships, and disciplines. His departmental responsibilities will include Product Development, Purchasing, Supplier Quality Assurance and Manufacturing, overseeing the launch of a further 14 new models or derivatives during the next five years. Previous roles include Chief Engineer Product Development at Ford Motor Company, Chief Technical Officer at Qoros Auto, and most recently Executive Vice President of the global engineering service provider FEV GmbH. 

Gerry Coker was a designer for the Donald Healey Motor Company, he was responsible for the design of the Austin-Healey 100 and Sprite, later joining Chrysler and the Ford Motor Company, where he invented the 3-postion tailgate. Gerry will be inducted into the Britsh Sports Car Hall of Fame on June 2, 2017.

MG, which is now owned by SAIC, has launched the new MG 360 in the Middle East. The brand chose to first launch the model in the Middle East as it is a key market. The model is notable for its striking design, intelligent features and the space and flexibility of the seating options in the interior. The MG 360 exemplifies MG’s ambitious and exciting new approach, offering motorists here the option of driving a stylish, well-equipped, modern sedan which is available at a highly competitive price.

According to the Autocar website, the MG E-Motion supercar concept looks set to take the company back to its sports car roots, albeit with an electric powertrain, upon its debut at the Shanghai motor show. Despite new images having been released of the full design of the dramatically styled coupé, no further information has been given away. The images do show upward-opening doors, which reveal four seats inside when opened.

On the eve of the opening British GT Championship round at Oulton Park, McLaren Automotive has confirmed the extension of the official Safety Car partnership with the SRO-managed series. Throughout the season, a variety of models from the McLaren Sports Series will manage on-track safety and coordination of the bumper grid of GT cars, which will include six examples of the 570S GT4. The debut outing for the 2017 season will see the 540C Coupé lead the grid. The Safety Car role is truly fitting for a McLaren. As with every model produced for road or track since 1981, safety is a key attribute with a carbon fibre chassis at the heart of each Sports Series model. The 540C Coupé, 570S Coupé, 570GT and the 570S GT4 share the lightweight MonoCell II, providing the highest levels of occupant safety. 

Sir John Black was Chairman of Standard-Triumph, helped support Morgan, Swallow and Jaguar production, and responsible for the creation of the TR range. Sir John Black will be inducted into the British Sports Car Hall of Fame in June. Black was born in Kingston upon Thames in 1895. He studied law at the University of London before joining the military during the First World War. He eventually achieved the rank of Captain the  Royal Tank Regiment. After the war, he left both the military and law when he joined the barely 10 years old Hillman Motor Company as sales manager in 1918. He was appointed a director in 1919.

The Jaguar F-PACE is officially the best and most beautiful car in the world after double success at the 2017 World Car Awards, scooping the prestigious World Car of Year and World Car Design of the Year titles. The performance SUV is the fastest selling model Jaguar has produced and is only the second vehicle to claim the historic double in the 13-year history of the World Car Awards. To win the pair of trophies, the F-PACE saw off the competition in a vote of 75 influential motoring journalists from 24 countries.

Briggs Automotive Company (BAC) is set to employ a new wave of talented staff as part of its massive expansion plans, with a number of desirable roles going up for grabs with the manufacturer of the One-of-a-Kind Mono supercar. A true British success story, BAC has achieved worldwide acclaim and success for the brilliance of its driver-focused Mono and has exported into 30 territories around the globe so far.

Clyno Engineering, originally based in Wolverhampton, engineered and manufactured both cars and motorcycles during the early part of the last century and was, at the time, the third largest UK vehicle producer after Austin and Morris. And yet today, the make is relatively unknown. Studio434/1 has arguably the largest collection of Clyno cars and motorcycles in the UK celebrating the engineering quality of these unique and superbly engineered vehicles. The earliest Clyno vehicles in the Studio434 collection are two of the company’s original motorcycles. Both are fine examples produced in 1921, both 269cc bikes are representative of the 15,000 motorcycles produced by the company. The heyday for Clyno motorcycle production was the First World War period when the company produced a motorcycle combination with a machine gun attachment, manufactured for the Motor Cycle Gun Service, which is said to have […]

The new Range Rover Velar made a spectacular US debut with an exclusive live online performance from Ellie Goulding. The chart-topping singer’s New York show precedes a charity auction of the hotly anticipated new mid-size SUV at the East Side House Settlement Annual Gala later this week. Goulding brought a touch of British glamour to the Velar’s US launch party when she arrived in Manhattan – the Metropolitan home of Range Rover – to be the first person to drive the new Velar and to sing for a global online audience. Her performance of ‘Love Me Like You Do’ opened the reveal event and was shown live on her Facebook page.

Tony Adamowicz was born in New York on May 2, 1941. Although he won enduring fame for winning championships in Trans Am and Formula 5000, he also competed at Le Mans and Daytona. What brings him to the British Sports Car Hall of Fame, however, is his start as one of the first racers employed by Group 44. During his career racing, in what many deem to be the golden age of sports car racing, Tony drove with the likes of John Morton, Sam Posey, Chuck Parsons, and of course, Group 44 head and fellow Hall of Fame inductee, Bob Tullius. His illustrious professional career spanned more than two decades, from 1966 through 1989.

Hexagon Classics is proud to offer for sale a stunning Aston Martin DB5, previously owned by Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan and presented in fully restored condition. Arguably the most famous and loved Aston Martin ever made, the DB5 is one of the most desirable classic cars in the world. Over the years, it has made several starring roles in movies, its screen debut being in the James Bond film Goldfinger.

According to Auto Express, after a lengthy absence and years of rumours, it appears MG will finally be returning to the sportscar market. Hazy teaser images of what looks to be a new concept car have appeared online, with reports suggesting the car could be called the MG E-Motion. As the name suggests it will be a pure electric sportscar, which could potentially preview a spiritual successor to the MG TF – axed from production in 2011.

Participants in the Round Britain Coastal Drive (RBCD) will raise crucial awareness of prostate cancer, which kills more than 10,000 men in Britain every year. London-based XK Club member Patrick Hanratty, who will take part in all 18 stages of the RBCD in his British Racing Green XK 150 Drop Head Coupé, understands the importance of this more than most. Having recently come through bowel cancer, he is now being treated for prostate cancer and will speak of his experiences after some group dinners during RBCD. Few men even know where their prostate gland is, so encouraging them to learn and check will save lives. Long-time XK Club friend and supporter, the great Murray Walker OBE, will be flagging the cars away from the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu. Murray is an absolute legend in the world of motorsport, his fame […]

Jaguar is broadening the appeal of the new F-TYPE with the introduction of the state-of-the-art four-cylinder Ingenium petrol engine. The award-winning F-TYPE family now spans from the entry-level four-cylinder model to Jaguar’s 200mph all-weather supercar – the F-TYPE SVR. The pairing of Jaguar’s all-aluminium two-seat sports car with the advanced 300PS 2.0-litre turbocharged powerplant delivers Jaguar sports car DNA with enhanced agility and improved efficiency and affordability. This is a true F-TYPE, with its own unique character.

The Home of Rolls-Royce in Goodwood, West Sussex, is the subject of the second chapter in a series of short films. Not only that, it is out Video of the Week! In the film, the world is introduced to Rolls-Royce’s global center of luxury excellence, a place where artisans practice the art of true luxury. The first film was titled Spirit of Ecstacy. Academy Award-winning actress Kate Winslet once again becomes the voice of the Spirit of Ecstasy, leading us on a journey to a place where colourists and sculptors, designers and engineers collaborate under one roof, with a single objective… to deliver perfection.

Kahn Design have been commissioned to design an exciting one-off bespoke version of the Land Rover Defender at The London Motor Show 2017 on 4-7 May. The exclusive car will be designed and built in-house by Kahn and will be on display in Battersea Park throughout the weekend. Kahn Design aims to pay the ultimate tribute to a truly iconic vehicle.