Highlights

Hallmark MINI driving fun combined with zero tailpipe emissions. With the introduction of the first plug-in hybrid model by the British premium brand, this will soon be a reality. The series development process for this car has almost been completed. It features a combustion engine and an electric motor enabling purely electric propulsion for the first time in a MINI. This marks the beginning of a new phase for MINI, and offers a glimpse into a future that is charged with excitement for MINI customers and those drivers yet to experience the thrill of a hybrid. Head of MINI brand management Sebastian Mackensen and Head of MINI series management Peter Wolf offer insight into this new near-series test vehicle, and explain how it retains go-kart feeling in the true spirit of a MINI during a test drive of this model.

Pure McLaren has announced its inaugural ice driving experience, taking place in January 2017. Set against the backdrop of northern Finland, 200 miles into the Arctic Circle, Pure McLaren Arctic Experience will be the only ice driving programme in the world to offer the thrill of the multi-award winning McLaren Sports Series.

This year The Classic & Sports Car Show will honour the Jaguar Le Mans hero that never was – the incredible XJ13 – and the man forever associated with it, Norman Dewis OBE. On entry to this year’s event, visitors will be greeted in the Palm Court area by this iconic prototype, which this year celebrates its 50th anniversary.

Bentley Motors enjoyed an exciting and successful weekend at the 18th Jochpass Memorial and Historic-Rallye in Bad Hindelang, Germany. A total of ten Bentley teams competed with their historic Bentleys in the world-renowned classics event between 6 and 8 October, including the Team ‘Blower’, R-Type Continental, Speed 6 and a Bentley 4,5 Litre Le Mans.

Lookers Jaguar Land Rover West London celebrated the launch of its luxurious new £12m showroom with a special event featuring the first showing of Land Rover’s New Discovery in the capital.  Loyal customers and VIPs were in attendance, including the awe-inspiring explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes and ‘Great Escapes’ star and marine explorer Monty Halls. Constantly juggling TV, biology and charity projects, Monty Halls came to Lookers West London last night especially to spec his new Discovery having attended the exclusive unveiling event at Packington Hall last month. Monty said: Land Rovers have been a part of my life for some 30 years, from my time in the Marines to the expeditions and TV projects they have supported me on.  I can’t imagine living without a Land Rover.  And with more equipment (and children!) to carry around with me on projects […]

The Rolls-Royce VISION NEXT 100, codenamed 103EX, today made its North American debut at the historic Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California. 103EX is the marque’s first ever pure ‘Vision Vehicle’ and defines the future of luxury mobility. It presents an intriguing and aesthetically dynamic vision of the future of luxury mobility – a completely personal, effortless and autonomous Rolls-Royce experience, wrapped in a design that ensures a ‘Grand Sanctuary’ for its occupants and a ‘Grand Arrival’. 103EX is one of four visionary creations announced by the BMW Group in Munich on 7 March 2016, as it launched its centenary celebrations.

British Car Day® is hosted annually by the Toronto Triumph Club, Ontario, Canada on the third Sunday of September. Since its inaugural event in 1984, it has grown in leaps and bounds, and this year drew around 1,000 British cars and 8,000 spectators, with room to grow even bigger. British Car Day® is open to vintage, classic and current British manufactured vehicles, including motorcycles. The event is the largest, one-day, all-British car event in North America, with visitors from Ontario, the northeast United States, the Maritime provinces, Quebec, and Manitoba, representing membership in 100 British car clubs. This year they celebrated six anniversary cars: • MGTA, 80 years, displayed by Rick Clark. • Triumph Roadster, 70 years, Michael Walton. • Morris Minor 1000, 60 years, Alan Brand. • Triumph GT6, 50 years, Warren Beech. • Jensen Interceptor, 50 years, Mike Lewyckj. […]

Expert judges – including the UK’s leading reviewers and booksellers – have now met to debate the 2016 Royal Automobile Club’s Motoring Book of the Year, and a shortlist of finalists has been chosen and includes works on unsung racing drivers and individual historic racing machines; an extraordinary history on a marque which made just five cars; the life story of a vintage car detective involved in many important ‘barn finds’; and even an intriguing novel based on a real-life Bugatti. The winner of the annual Award, now in its third year, will be announced during a unique literary evening devoted to automotive and motor sport publishing, at the Club’s historic Pall Mall home on 2 November. The event will also welcome several world-famous writers to talk about their work and debate the future of automotive book publishing. There will […]

Our Video of the Week this time actually isn’t from YouTube! I know, amazing isn’t it? It is actually from the KXII Channel 12 television news station in Texas, and is a video of the 2016 Vintage Triumph Register National Convention. Quoting the story, which can be found in its entirety here, Triumph car owners from all over gathered at Tanglewood Resort this week for the 2016 Vintage Triumph Register National Convention. Dave Pilcher, who helped organize the convention, said he hasn’t met a stranger. “I met a guy today from England who drove my car over to the airport for me – and I just met him,” said Pilcher. “We’re all one big family.” Pilcher said he owns four Triumph cars, all of which he brought to share with 250 people. Eight even came from England all the way […]

Veteran cars planning to tackle the annual journey from Hyde Park to Brighton this November will need to be in more than just top mechanical condition… they will need to look the part, too. On the day before the Bonhams Veteran Car Run supported by Hiscox leaves London’s Hyde Park (that’s Saturday 5th November with the Run itself starting at first light on Sunday, 6th November) more than 100 veteran cars will take part in a Concours d’Elegance. The glittering showcase is a major highlight of the free-to-view Regent Street Motor Show, an annual event staged in one of the world’s most prestigious shopping and lifestyle destinations situated right at the heart of the nation’s capital city.

The autumn series of lectures at the National Motor Museum, Beaulieu gets underway as speaker Mac Hulbert talks about his passion for historic cars which led him on The Road to R4D. On Saturday 22nd October the academic, who was Professor of International Marketing at Columbia University in Manhattan, will explain how he came to own and race a huge variety of vehicles including the ERA R4D from 2001 to 2015.

Over half a century after its initial assembly, a 1965 Bentley T-Series has returned to the company’s headquarters in Crewe to be restored by Bentley apprentices to its original factory specification.  The renovation project forms a key part of the Bentley apprenticeship learning programme. The new apprentices will complete and assemble the trim section and restore the car’s body, paint, and engine, putting into practice the modern skills they will gain during their apprenticeship while becoming familiar with traditional techniques. Post completion, the classic car will join Bentley’s celebrated heritage fleet where it will attend car events across the world.

Land Rover Classic has opened its doors to the new Reborn Tour giving visitors the chance to experience the restoration of an early Land Rover live at the brand’s bespoke workshop and facility at Solihull – the ‘Home of the Legend’. The Reborn Tour and Driving Experience begins with refreshments and welcome from an experienced and knowledgeable Land Rover tour guide. With the scene set, visitors are granted exclusive access to the newly updated Jaguar Land Rover Classic workshop at Solihull where the exquisite Series I Reborn fully restored project continues under the expert team from Jaguar Land Rover Classic.

Jaguar Land Rover today announced its new global ambassador Noodle, Japanese guitarist and founder member of virtual British band Gorillaz. Jaguar Land Rover, the UK’s leading investor in Research and Development and a leading global automotive manufacturer today also announced its commitment to addressing the skills gap that manufacturing, worldwide is facing.

British car manufacturer Caterham has launched its first personalisation programme – Caterham Signature – with a special edition Seven designed by world-famous department store, Harrods. The Harrods special edition car is now on sale exclusively in store and includes a host of special features which demonstrate the breadth of options new Caterham buyers can add to their vehicles.

The world’s largest museum devoted to Austin cars will soon be auctioned in Denmark. Alongside 47 cars, it also features over 3,000 related items, including books, posters, signs, toy cars, die-casts and other rare automobilia. Stefan Wolffbrandt began the collection in 1985 after he acquired his first car; an 1957 Austin A30, which he saved from the junkyard and restored on a shoestring. This ignited his passion for the brand and he went on to collect further Austin models, in particular A30’s and A35’s, while pursuing his career as a successful rock musician.

The subject of our Video of the Week this week is a Singer Nine from 1933. The Singers are cars that most people don’t know much about, if they know they exist at all. And yes, cue the sewing machine jokes. And the confusion that they are not MGs. Singers are gorgeous and fascinating cars in their own right with their own storied history. This example is a 1933 Nice Sport. To quote the video, Singer’s first sports car was introduced at the end of 1932. It featured cut-away doors, louvered bonnet and scuttle and distinctive helmet-type front wings. Under the bonnet was the classic 972cc single overhead camshaft engine and close ratio four-speed gear box making it especially suited to trials work. A Sports Nine achieved a notable success in June 1933 at the Le Mans 24 hour race. […]

Jaguar Land Rover today reported September 2016 U.S. sales: Jaguar sales were 2,662 units, a 168 percent increase from 995 units in September 2015; Land Rover sales reached 5,637 units, the 2nd highest September ever and down 4 percent from record sales of 5,855 units in September 2015; Jaguar Land Rover September U.S. sales for both brands hit 8,299 units, a 21 percent increase from 6,850 units in September 2015; making it the best JLR September sales month since 2003. Year-to-date, Jaguar Land Rover U.S. sales reached 74,740, up 25 percent from 59,619 units in 2015. “Jaguar Land Rover continues to increase its U.S. presence with a 21 percent increase this month and 25 percent for the year,” said Joe Eberhardt, President and CEO, Jaguar Land Rover, North America, LLC. “We are thrilled that Jaguar is tracking to be the […]