Highlights

The primary purposes of this road trip were (are? I am still on it) to see my friend Gene Gillenwater in Ohio, to attend the MG national meet in Louisville, KY, and to simply get out and drive and see some countryside. I have done all of those, and I am still on the road! The first leg of the road trip took me from Charleston, SC, over some of the worst roads I have ever seen, through North Carolina and a bit of Tennessee up into Virginia. Seriously, the roads in my own home state are the worst I have seen and are in dangerously bad shape. We should be ashamed of ourselves. The second leg of the trip was from Bristol, VA, through Abingdon, VA, because no self-respecting British car fan could pass up going to Abingdon, and […]

In 1960, Colin Chapman sought to identify the most straightforward and uncomplicated way of building a Formula 1 car. The result was his first rear-engined design, the trendsetting Lotus 18. Lotus 18 – Colin Chapman’s U-turn by Mark Whitelock, the new book from Veloce Publishing, charts the 18’s competition history, from its inception, up to 1966 – via sensational victories over Ferrari at Monaco and the Nürburgring. Colin Chapman’s previous attempts at producing a Formula 1 car had been a complete disappointment. Despite being technically advanced, extreme lightness led to numerous structural failures. In 1960, Chapman decided to start with a clean sheet of paper, assessing the basic requirements for a contemporary Formula 1 car, and identifying how to achieve them in the most straightforward, uncomplicated way. The result was one of Chapman’s greatest creations – the Lotus 18 – a […]

The new MINI Cooper John Cooper Works Challenge takes track-driving performance to a new level, while also offering a thrilling on-road driving experience that doesn’t sacrifice everyday comforts and refinement.

Bentley Motors returns to Goodwood Festival of Speed 2016 with a trio of powerful and luxurious UK debuts. The award-winning Bentayga SUV and new Flying Spur V8 S sedan will demonstrate their performance credentials on the Goodwood hill-climb, while both models will also be displayed on the Bentley stand alongside the new Continental GT Speed – the fastest production Bentley ever.

Our Video of the Week (VotW) this go round comes by way of the British Motor Corporation of 1962. It is entitled “Magic Carpet” and is a nice period marketing piece for the MG 1100. The BMC family of 1100 and 1300 sedans were the big brothers to the Mini. Designated AD016, they were badge engineered as Austin, MG, Riley, and Morris to name a few. They were enjoyable little people movers and were the top selling, or one of the top selling cars, in Britain for many years. Although they never reached that same level of popularity here in the US, there did used to be quite a number of them around. Long ago I had  a website devoted to the MG 1100, and although I haven’t updated it in a long time you can still find it at http://justbritish.com/mg1100. […]

Welcome to our new post category – “Road Ink“. The first of this new category is a short video on the innards of a Triumph Spitfire door mechanism. These mechanics are notorious for going out of alignment and even breaking. When this happens, you can no long open the car’s door from the outside. Quite frustrating, trust me! What is even more frustrating is that the fairly simple repair parts are not available for purchase. You either get to fork out over $200 for a complete unit, or attempt for use used or alternative parts. This latter choice is what those of us not made of money would prefer to do, but since this unit was always viewed as a single item by Triumph and BL, documentation is scarce. Hence this video. I just want to take a few moments […]

McLaren Automotive will return to the Goodwood Festival of Speed this summer celebrating race wins and titles spanning more than five decades. McLaren will honour the drivers and championships where the team has claimed the top step of the podium, in the ultimate expression of ‘Full Throttle – The Endless Pursuit of Power’. McLaren House will once again return to the lawns of the Goodwood Estate, with iconic racers displayed alongside the full range of modern-day McLaren models in the Sports Series, Super Series and Ultimate Series. The broad selection of models, spanning more than 50 years of the McLaren name, will be the most extensive display of McLaren models ever showcased, including the new 570GT. As in previous years, McLaren will also be present in the Supercar Paddock with models from each of the three tier range. The recently announced […]

This piece was sent to us by our friend Christopher Silvestri who runs Christopher John, LTD down in Florida. They are the U.S.’s newest Morgan dealer, and like us, have high hopes for the reintroduction of new 4-wheeled Morgan cars to our shores.  With the Passing of  the new replica law, the Morgan V6 Roadster’s return to the U.S. is on the not too distant horizon! And this Daytona area Morgan dealer is ready. While it has been hard for the Morgan Car Company to bring four wheel cars into the U.S. due to stringent emissions and safety laws in recent years, a new law passed in December of 2015 is allowing Morgan dealers to begin gearing up for  new four-wheeled Morgan cars later this year. The classic Morgan range fits into the “replica” area of the law with brand new […]

Our “Video of the Week” this time is from Petrolicious and is of a 1957 Aston Martin Mk III that the owner bills as “perfectly awful.”  And no, that is not an insult, it is a term of endearment. This is not one of those over-restored, pampered, show-only cars. This is an honest to god, survivor, original. And it is simply wonderful. “Some day, down in the future, whoever ends up with this car when it leaves my garage—they may choose to restore it,” says Dave Adams. “…but I hope if and when that happens, they do it with the correct lens so it’s not over-restored.” This 1957 Aston Martin Mk III is actually the prototype for the Mk III range, and was not only used for official testing and design duties, but had also been entered into the Monte […]

The all-new Jaguar F-PACE helped propel Jaguar Land Rover to its best ever May, with retail sales of 44,946 vehicles, up 18% on May 2015. This is the company’s fifth consecutive record-breaking month. Jaguar Land Rover sold 245,100 vehicles in the first five months of 2016, 23% up on the same period in the prior year. The Jaguar F-PACE, which is designed, engineered, and manufactured in the UK, has seen impressive results this month, with more than 3,000 vehicles sold worldwide. The new family sports car is the company’s fastest selling Jaguar ever. Retail sales for the month of May were up year-on-year across all regions: 28% in China, 24% in Europe, 23% in the UK and 8% in North America.  Other Overseas markets were up 6% year-on-year.

McLaren Special Operations, the bespoke division of McLaren Automotive, has announced the creation of the MSO Carbon Series LT. Strictly limited to 25 units globally – all already sold – and based on the 675LT Spider, the Carbon Series LT has been produced in response to requests from McLaren customers captivated by the visual carbon fibre bodied McLaren P1™displayed recently at the International Geneva Motor Show. Staying true to the ‘Longtail’ ethos, established by the McLaren F1 in the late 1990s, the MSO Carbon Series LT has been developed with a focus on light weight and optimised aerodynamic performance. Applying gloss carbon fibre to the entire body of the car further extends its appeal to bring a brutal beauty to the existing 675LT Spider body, showcasing the skills of the McLaren bespoke division.

Over half of the world’s Minis are boys, with the most popular name being Marvin, according to the world’s first ever Mini Census. The survey, carried out by the organisers of Mini World Live, which takes place at Rockingham Motor Speedway, Northants, on July 10, 2016, received responses from Mini owners all over the globe, including places as far afield as Australia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Malta and the USA. The results show that in total, 51% of the world’s Mini population is male, 35% are female and 14% are neither – although anyone who’s ever owned a Mini knows it’s more than just a car.

Two early Jaguar E-type barn finds, both ideal candidates for restoration projects, will be auctioned by Classic Car Auctions (CCA) at the June Sale on Saturday 18th June at the Warwickshire Exhibition Centre, Leamington Spa. The first of the pair is a 1963 Jaguar E-Type 3.8 Series I Fixedhead Coupe. Clearly a well-loved car, the first owner kept it for 30 years before it was passed on to its second owner in 1993. Driven for only two years, the car was then tucked away in a barn and has recently been discovered an amazing 20 years later. This early E-Type is an original, highly desirable, UK right-hand drive manual now in need of some TLC.  Beneath the dust, this blue E-type presents in partially dismantled condition with the bumpers, headlamp covers, engine air filter and interior carpets removed. The bodywork […]

The Concours of Elegance began in 2012, showcasing sixty of the world’s finest cars at Windsor Castle to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. Since then it has moved to St James’s Palace and Hampton Court Palace, before heading to the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh in 2015. This year’s fifth edition of the Concours returns to Windsor Castle as part of a celebration of Her Majesty The Queen’s 90th birthday. The Main Concours Sixty of the world’s rarest cars will gather in the exclusive Quadrangle at Windsor Castle this September – the full list of which is revealed by the Concours Steering Committee today.  A 1900 Daimler 6hp owned by Her Majesty The Queen represents one of the earliest cars in attendance, first bought by King Edward VII as the first Royal motorcar.

The super-fun MG3 has taken on a new role; it is now the ‘Mollymobile’, transporter of Dr Molly and Stripes to tend to children’s broken toys! Today, E-Bop.tv, a new children’s digital channel, has launched. MG Motor is pleased to announce a collaboration with E-Bop.tv and be part of their Dr Molly series. Dr Molly specialises in fixing broken toys so, when a call comes through to Dr Molly HQ from a child in need, she calls upon her ‘Mollymobile’ MG3 to get her there as quickly as possible. Matthew Cheyne, Head of Sales and Marketing for MG, said: “We are really pleased to be working with E-Bop.tv and to be involved in one of their new programmes. It’s fantastic to know that Dr Molly will be heading out to visit her patients in an MG3 as it reflects the […]

This year’s Peking to Paris Motor Challenge, billed as the world’s toughest endurance rally for classic and vintage cars, will feature a Mini for the first time in the event’s history. Concerned for the Packard, Paul contacted Owen Turner from the Rover Centre whom he had met on last year’s Sahara Challenge, for some advice and seeing just how much work still needed to be done on the old American car, advised against taking it on the grueling 36-day 8,500mile event that journeys through some extremely difficult terrain. Needing a car in a hurry to meet the shipping deadline, the best option was to buy the Mini Owen had prepared for himself for the 2015 Marrakesh event as well as Le Jog. Owen explains: “The Packard needed a lot of work still doing and would not have coped with the […]

Race Retro will be ‘powered by’ Motor Sport Magazine when the historic motorsport show returns to Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire, in 2017. Held from Friday 24th to Sunday 26th February, the new three-year partnership will see Motor Sport’s Hall of Fame develop into a live spectacle within a dedicated Motor Sport Magazine Hall at Race Retro. Hall of Fame Live will give visitors the chance to meet Hall of Fame inductees from racing and rallying as well as enjoying live interviews with the stars. There will also be stunning displays of the cars and bikes that lead them to victory. Visitors will also have the opportunity to vote for their favourite motorsport legends who have been shortlisted to be inducted at the next Hall of Fame awards gala dinner in May 2017 and beyond. Race Retro Event Director Daniel Nwaokolo said: […]

This week we are going to take a drop back away from the cars themselves and take a look at terminology. And no, I am not referring to the infamous “reverse procedure” instructions in most manuals on how to reassemble your automotive explosion. What we are looking at here are the words that are used for the same parts of the cars depending on whether you are speaking “English” or “American”.  Ever look at your US friend’s faces the first time you tell them you are going to stuff something in their boot? Yes, as the phrase most often attributed to George Bernard Shaw goes, “England and America are two countries separated by a common language.” And this is no more true than when we talk about cars. When I was younger, way so may years ago, I learned most […]