Highlights

Bentley Motorsport has continued its strong start to the 2016 Blancpain GT Series race with a third-place finish in Monza, Italy. The #8 Continental GT3, of Andy Soucek (ES), Maxime Soulet (BE) and latest Bentley Boy to join the team, Wolfgang Reip (BE), took the car’s second podium of the year so far. After making up five positions in the opening lap, the car #8 team drove flawlessly to take a further 15 points towards the overall championship. In the identical Bentley Team M-Sport sister car, drivers Guy Smith (GB), Vince Abril (MO) and Steven Kane (GB) charged through the pack to make up for their issues in qualifying. After climbing 28 places, however, the car #7 Bentley Boys took a drive-through penalty and had to settle for 14th. “The team did a fantastic job to get a podium this […]

The extraordinary craftsmanship that goes into realising Bespoke customer commissions is set to be showcased at Rolls-Royce Motor Cars London, Berkeley Square, Mayfair, during London Craft Week. Bespoke masterpieces including the Maharaja Phantom Drophead Coupé, Wraith ‘Inspired by Music’ and Wraith ‘Inspired by Fashion’ will take centre stage at the iconic showroom as part of London Craft Week on Thursday 5 May 2016.

The Rolls-Royce Dawn has been named 2016 ‘Design of the Year’ by Robb Report in its inaugural Cars of the Year awards, just weeks after the new convertible received global acclaim during its international launch in Cape Town, South Africa. The world’s most uncompromising open-top motoring experience, Dawn redefines the notion of a true super-luxury drophead and has won plaudits from some of the most highly respected international commentators.

Bentley’s Bentayga has been named SUV of the Year by Robb Report UK. A panel of automotive experts for this leading luxury title singled out the new Bentley Bentayga during the judging process for being ‘truly ground-breaking’. Erin Baker, Automotive Editor at Robb Report UK, commented: “The Bentayga creates a whole new segment: the ultra-luxury SUV. It far exceeds the nature of other luxury SUV’s in every respect. Where else in the world would you find such craftsmanship, other than the workshop in Crewe?”

MG Motor UK has once again proven its place on the road after motorists ranked both the MG3 and MG6 within the top five in their respective vehicle segments in this year’s Auto Express Driver Power customer satisfaction survey. Drivers’ voting placed the super-fun MG3 fifth in the supermini segment, demonstrating that this fantastic car is deservedly up there with others in its class. The MG6 swept up a bronze award in the family car segment for a second year in a row. Retaining its reputation for road handling, the medium-sized fastback also moved up two places from last year to finish second amongst all models in the road handling judging category. In both 2014 and 2015, the MG3, MG6 and MG as a whole scooped awards for best handling, third best manufacturer, tenth best car to own and this […]

Land Rover is introducing an exclusive Special Edition of its fastest selling model, the Range Rover Evoque. As part of a package of enhancements to the original luxury compact SUV, the striking ‘Ember’ edition features a bold red and black theme boosting its appeal. The new 2017 model year Range Rover Evoque also offers next-generation InControl Touch Pro infotainment across the range, providing a 10.2-inch tablet-style pinch and zoom touchscreen control and a customizable home screen to ensure customers’ favourite apps are always at their fingertips. The Range Rover Evoque, which established its own sector in 2011, has surpassed 520,000 sales globally when it re-wrote the motoring rule books and has amassed 182 international awards.

Our Video of the Week (VotW) is a history of Rolls-Royce. In many ways, the Rolls-Royce is one of the more hidden British cars. It isn’t that they are that rare or invisible, but they have such a personality all their own that sometimes we forget about them in the midst of the MGs, Triumphs, Austin Healeys, and even Jaguars. However, if you were to ask the random man-on-the-street who is not an English car buff to name a British car, chances are that Rolls-Royce would be the first name off the lips. The history of the marque, its names, and its branding with Bentley, can be more than a bit confusing. But Rolls-Royce as most of us know it, formally named Rolls-Royce Limited in 1973, began in 1906 with the business partnership of Charles Stewart Rolls and Sir Frederick Henry […]

MG Motor UK is thrilled to become part of the family-favourite card game, Top Trumps, where 30 cards will showcase vintage models through to the current range. Top Trumps, a popular card game loved by children and adults worldwide, will be adding the new and exciting MG pack to its existing range in June; when it will be launched at the MG Car Club’s annual MGLive! event. The 30 cards will include the MG3, MG6 and new MG GS, as well as vintage models and classics like the MGA and MGB. Over the course of the next few weeks, the MG Car Club will be revealing which other models can be found in the pack. Those interested in picking up a pack can do so at MGLive! on 4 June at Silverstone. The annual event sees thousands of MG enthusiasts […]

The Jaguar XF has won yet another major award, having been crowned Fleet World’s ‘Best Executive Car’ at the annual Fleet World Honours. With an aluminium-intensive construction and ultra-efficient Ingenium engines, the XF was not only praised for being great to drive, but also for its cost of ownership figures and technology. Steve Moody, Fleet World Editor, said: Having spent several years building on its fleet infrastructure, Jaguar’s new XF arrived ready to take on this segment’s biggest-selling models. Its aluminium-rich structure cuts weight, reduces running costs and has made this a true driver’s car. The XF is also packed full of useful internet-connected technology, perfect for a life on the road. It’s the right tool to continue Jaguar’s push into fleet. It’s only the latest award won by the all-new Jaguar XF this year, which has already had been […]

On a busy weekend on both sides of the Atlantic for McLaren, Factory Driver Alvaro Parente starred in the 650S GT3, securing pole position and winning in his first appearance at Long Beach in the Pirelli World Challenge. Closer to home, the 650S GT3 and 570S GT4 – the latter making its competitive global debut – both scored points in the British GT Championship, finishing P7 and P5 in the respective classes at Brands Hatch, UK. Stateside, Parente put the #9 K-PAX Racing 650S GT3 on pole with a 1m18.947s tour of the two-mile Californian street circuit – a new qualifying lap record for the series. In the race, Parente held the lead from the start in what turned out to be a heavily interrupted affair, which saw two lengthy safety car periods limit the amount of competitive laps. On the […]

Aston Martin Racing has taken a double podium finish at this weekend’s 6 Hours of Silverstone, as the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) gets underway. The #95 GTE Pro trio of Darren Turner (GB), Marco Sørensen (DN) and Nicki Thiim (DN) enjoyed a positive afternoon at the British round of the WEC. With each driver double stinting, the #95 entry enjoyed trouble free running to achieve a strong haul of points at this early stage in the championship. Turner commented, “That was a huge change from yesterday and after starting the race in the #95 I had a good two hours in the car. The car ran perfectly and I’m both happy and encouraged by the performance of our new Dunlop tyres. With the strategy working in our favour and Nicki, Marco and I all avoiding trouble on the track, […]

The Hilton Head Island Motoring Festival & Concours d’Elegance, one of the nation’s largest and fastest-growing automotive and motorsports enthusiast events, today announced the Honored Marque for its 15th annual festival. The 2016 Hilton Head Island Motoring Festival (HHIMF) will pay homage to the 1925 – 1948 era of European Classics. With the 2016 events scheduled for Oct. 28 – Nov. 6, the HHIMF is one of only a few national automotive gatherings to combine collecting and racing with enthusiast and lifestyle activities in a single, action-packed week. Working strictly on the Classic Car Club of America’s designation, marques such as Bugatti, Hispano-Suiza, Jaguar, Mercedes-Benz and Alfa Romeo will line the fairways of the Port Royal Golf Club on Hilton Head Island during the Concours portion of the festival, being held Sunday, Nov. 6.  Three classes have been dedicated to […]

Racing is in Aston Martin’s blood. From outright victory at Le Mans 24 Hours in 1959, to countless race wins in GT3 and GT4 categories and a continued race and title-winning form in the production-based GTE category of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC), Aston Martin is proud to be at the forefront of GT racing. All Aston Martin road cars possess some of that sporting DNA, but the luxury brand’s most extreme models draw directly from that knowledge and passion to deliver something altogether more overt in looks and ability. The new Vantage GT8 is just that. Director of Special Projects and Motorsport, David King said: “We long held the desire to create a road car that truly reflects our racing activity at Le Mans. With the Vantage GT8, we’ve finally been able to achieve that. By focusing on […]

When I was at the Amelia Island show a few weeks ago, there was far more to see than just the cars. One of the booths that caught my eyes and pulled me contained artwork by Lory Lockwood. Her collection, known as Portraits in Chrome, are more than just paintings of cars – they are true portraits that bring out the curves and the reflections. Lory is a trained artist and had done much work before turning to motorized subjects. She says she started in doing motorized subjects in the mid-90s but didn’t become seriously involved in this aspect of painting until around 2004 or so. Her husband, Tony, is a Brit and owner of a 1959 TR3A and a 1966 E-Type Jaguar. He is also Lory’s business manager.

UPDATE: We have a winner!  Mr Steve Wincze of the Connecticut MG Club has been drawn by random number. I have a feeling folks attending the Gathering By The Sea in June will see this puzzle up for grabs. Congratulations to Steve and thanks to all of those who entered. A new contest will  appear on the site soon, so good luck. Well here it is, the new contest. I told you that this one would be a puzzle, and it is! Yes, a true 1,000 piece jigsaw puzzle produced by Ravensburger and title, “Car Boot”. A boot sale, of course, is basically a flea market held out of the boot of cars. So with this distinctly British puzzle, you will see all sorts of British cars, vans, trinkets and other memorabilia. It is honestly a feast for the eyes […]

Bentley Motors has teamed up with the godfather of British pop art, Sir Peter Blake, to create a one-of-a-kind Bentley Continental GT V8 S Convertible. This unique car will be auctioned for charity by Bonhams at the Goodwood Festival of Speed on 24 June. Bentley commissioned Sir Peter to deliver the world’s first pop art Bentley, drawing on inspiration from the acclaimed artist’s celebrated career at the forefront of the famous British pop art movement. Bentley has donated the car to the Care2Save Charitable Trust, which provides palliative and hospice care around the world.

Whilst waiting to go into the Royal Academy of Arts, in London’s Piccadilly, Martyn Watchurst stumbled upon MG’s flagship showroom and it proved to be a great use of his spare time. Once Martyn walked into the showroom, he was immediately taken with the MG3. He said: “I hadn’t seen the new models, so when I spotted the MG3 I thought it looked great and the price was right.” Martyn was so impressed with the MG3, he dropped in at Roadworthy in Bristol to take a closer look. Richard Onslow-Carey, a new salesman to the dealership, offered Martyn a test drive. It wasn’t long before he had picked out his MG3, which happened to be the 5,000th registered MG3 and Richard’s first sale. Martyn said: “I’m so happy with the car; it’s designed really well and comes with a large […]

On the eve of the 2016 World Endurance Championship opener at Silverstone, Aston Martin Racing has unveiled a bespoke selection of wings for the Vantage GTE in celebration of the premiere endurance series. Every Vantage produced for the road or race track is crafted by hand and the wings that adorn each model make no exception. Commissioned by the British marque’s personalisation service ‘Q by Aston Martin’, the collection has been created by a highly accomplished and talented workforce based in Birmingham’s famous Jewellery Quarter. Each of these unique pieces celebrate each of the rounds of this year’s championship. With the series to commence with the 6 Hours of Silverstone, all three V8 Vantage GTE entries will be treated to a union flag inspired piece. Alternative designs of the iconic wings logo will be proudly displayed for the following eight […]