Highlights

The Jaguar F-PACE is among the finalists for the World Car of the Year and World Car Design of the Year crowns at the 2017 World Car Awards. Jaguar’s performance SUV is one of three cars on the shortlist announced at the Geneva Motor Show. The winner will be revealed at the New York International Auto Show on 13 April based on the votes of a 75-strong judging panel.

Jaguar Land Rover Special Vehicle Operations (SVO) has designed and engineered a bespoke version of the new Land Rover Discovery for use by the Austrian Red Cross. Project Hero was presented to the world’s media for the first time today at the Geneva Motor Show. Project Hero is an advanced communication vehicle, created to support Jaguar Land Rover’s partnership with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), the world’s largest humanitarian network. SVO collaborated with the Austrian Red Cross to develop a unique Land Rover that will be trialled by their emergency response teams. It is hoped it will help the Red Cross save lives by speeding up response times to disasters. 

A treasure trove for automotive bargain hunters, Beaulieu’s much-loved Spring Autojumble will return on Saturday 13th and Sunday 14th May with a staggering range of motoring miscellany spread across more than 1,000 stands. After a winter of tinkering in the garage, classic car enthusiasts from across Europe will be heading to the weekend event in the grounds of the National Motor Museum to snap up elusive spares and sell surplus parts for their precious machines.

At this year’s Geneva Motor Show, Rolls-Royce will show why it is considered to be the world’s leading luxury house by showcasing the full breadth of its Bespoke capabilities. The facets of Bespoke tailoring, Bespoke engineering and Bespoke jewellery will demonstrate to every connoisseur who commissions a Rolls-Royce that they can count on having their desire for a truly personal motor car, that reflects who they are, fulfilled in the most fitting manner to them. In short, they can be assured that Bespoke is Rolls-Royce. ‘Dawn – Inspired by Fashion’ will, with its Spring/Summer 2017 collection of three colour schemes, show how Bespoke means complementing the fine couture our patrons wear from day to day. 

Natarajan Chandrasekaran has been appointed Director and Chairman of the Jaguar Land Rover Automotive plc board. Mr Chandrasekaran is Chairman of Tata Sons and also holds the following positions: Director on the board of the Reserve Bank of India, board member of Tata Steel Limited and board member of TCS Foundation. Note: Press release courtesy of Jaguar Land Rover.

Burlen Ltd, the world’s only manufacturer of genuine SU (Skinners Union), AMAL and Zenith carburetors, fuel pumps and spares, is celebrating a record-breaking 2016 and continuing to demonstrate remarkable growth. The Salisbury-based company enjoyed a hugely impressive annual turnover of £5.2 million in 2016 – smashing its previous best records and its own start-of-year target in the process. Burlen has an incredibly rich history with products dating back over one hundred years and a stellar reputation to uphold, which is of the utmost importance to the Burnett brothers.

Just a brief note with a single picture, the Jaguar I-PACE Concept will make its European motor show debut at the Geneva Motor Show on 7 March in a new color – Photon Red. To use a phrase from the past, I do believe the I-PACE is the “Shape of Things to Come”.  

The new Velar fills the space in the Range Rover family between the Range Rover Evoque and Range Rover Sport. Refined for every occasion, for every terrain, Velar uses unique sustainable materials and advanced engineering to continue Land Rover’s drive to go Above and Beyond. Created from a clean sheet using Jaguar Land Rover’s Lightweight Aluminium Architecture, it is safer, stronger, cleaner and improves driving performance. The Range Rover Velar brings a new dimension of glamor, modernity, and elegance to the Range Rover family. Designed to fill the white space between Range Rover Evoque and Range Rover Sport, Velar offers levels of luxury, refinement and all-terrain capability never before seen in the mid-size SUV segment. This is a new type of Range Rover for a new type of customer.

A stunning and very rare 1971 Aston Martin DB6 MKII Vantage Saloon belonging to touring car driver, commentator and TV personality, John Cleland, will be offered at auction at Silverstone Auctions’ May Sale at Silverstone circuit. As one of only 34 examples made, this original right-hand drive, matching engine and chassis numbers, factory built Vantage DB6 MKII manual has been exceptionally well maintained and improved by Aston Martin specialists throughout its life.

Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC today reported February 2017 U.S. sales: Jaguar sales were 3,484 units, a 130 percent increase from 1,512 units in February 2016; Land Rover sales reached 5,747 units, down 10 percent from record February sales of 6,417 units in 2016; Jaguar Land Rover February U.S. sales for both brands hit 9,231 units, a 16 percent increase from 7,929 units in February 2016; making it the best ever Jaguar Land Rover February sales month. “We are very pleased to have our best ever February retail month in the U.S. with both car and SUV sales growing across the two brands,” said Joe Eberhardt, President and CEO, Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC. “The Jaguar brand continues to grow at a torrid pace on strength of the two newest products, the XE and F-PACE. Land Rover is […]

The British Motor Trade Association (BMTA) will be visiting the heart of North American motorsports – Charlotte, NC, March 2-4, 2017. The conference will be hosted by Dick and Beth Lunney of Classic MG Magazine, Lake Speed Jr. of Driven Racing Oil, and many other local shops will be assisting. While some have predicted the demise of the classic British car industry in America, there are clear indicators that the industry is not only doing fine, but has many opportunities to thrive and even expand. The industry has grown from small importers in the post-war period to large distribution networks in the 1960s and 1970s. With the demise of many British brands in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the industry shrank and began a shift from factory-supported parts and repair businesses to independent businesses. This first step in the […]

Bentley Motors is today announcing the introduction of the Bentayga Mulliner: the ultimate luxury SUV. Bentley’s in-house personal commissioning division, Mulliner, has applied its exquisite craftsmanship to the multi-award-winning Bentayga, creating a new flagship model and setting new standards in automotive luxury.

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars has unveiled a seminal new concept in luxury, crafted for one very special customer, St Richard’s Hospital Pediatric Day Surgery Unit in the marque’s home town of Chichester, West Sussex. The appropriately-named Rolls-Royce SRH will allow children awaiting surgery to drive themselves to the operating theater, through the Pediatric Unit corridors which are lined with ‘traffic signs’. The experience of ‘self-drive to theater’ aims to reduce child patient stress.

Our video of the week this time hits a subject that some of us, myself included, deal with but from the other way round. What we are talking about is left hand drive versus right hand drive cars. One of the cars I drive, a 1966 Vanden Plas Princess, is right hand drive, and I would never even entertain the notion of altering it. But, I have had a number of passengers who express their surprise that not only can I drive the car with ease but some are even surprised that it is legal here in the US. Truthfully, it never bothers me at all and I kind of enjoy the novelty.  Our video this week deals with this issue from the other side  – the subject is left hand drive cars in the UK. Perhaps importantly, the underlying issue […]

Aston Martin marks the 87th Geneva international Motor Show with a significant trio of major debuts. In addition to being the global motor show debut of the acclaimed new Vanquish S – the most powerful and dynamic iteration of Aston Martin’s Super GT – the British luxury brand is  also proud to announce the European show debut of the AM-RB 001. This ongoing collaboration between Aston Martin and Red Bull Advanced Technologies, the AM-RB 001 is a thrilling demonstration of technological innovation and design sophistication, resulting in a truly contemporary hypercar.

Morgan Motors is delighted to introduce a series of posters inspired by automotive heritage, classic motoring memorabilia, and period illustrations. Designed by Morgan in-house Technical illustrator, Ian Reynolds, these posters capture the history, excitement and quintessentially British nature of Morgan automobiles. Available in both A0 (garage-sized), A2 art prints and printed on heavy duty paper stock, these exclusive prints are available from the Morgan Motor Company online shop. To shop for these posters, visit the Morgan Shops online.

The second-generation McLaren Super Series, which will be unveiled on March 7 at the 87th Geneva International Motor Show, is set to redefine expectations of supercar capability with phenomenal stopping performance to equal its extreme acceleration. Reaching 200km/h (124mph) in 7.8 seconds, McLaren’s new supercar can then brake to a standstill in just 4.6 seconds and 117 meters – six meters less than the 650S and almost on par with the legendary McLaren P1 . “As well as delivering the outstanding driver involvement and enjoyment for which the brand is renowned, McLaren’s new supercar will also excel in everyday driving,” explained McLaren Automotive Chief Test Driver, Chris Goodwin. “The extreme performance and dynamic prowess of the second-generation Super Series, honed by testing at the limits and beyond, provides the perfect foundation for it to be the most complete supercar across the […]

InMotion Ventures, the venture capital business powered by Jaguar Land Rover, has completed a seed investment in enterprise-focused ride-sharing platform SPLT. SPLT is a carpool service that enables employees at large organizations to connect and share the drive to and from work, using their own vehicles. The platform’s ride-matching algorithm allows lifts to be dynamically arranged in seconds within a trusted community of commuters, saving time and money for both employees and employers as well as combatting traffic and parking issues.