Marques

The most recent new car registration stats from the SMMT show a decline in passenger car registrations in July, but MG Motor UK is continuing to outperform the market. The Longbridge-based business not only registered a total of 305 new cars across July (an increase of more than 4% year-to-date compared to 2016), but an additional five new dealerships joined the network. The latest stats confirm MG’s strong year-to-date growth and can be attributed to network expansion and development. This stands in contrast to the subdued new-car market, which was down by over 2% in the first seven months of 2017 compared to 2016.

The Jaguar I-PACE Concept has been named Most Significant Concept Vehicle of 2017 at the 16th North American Concept Vehicle Awards.  As well as achieving the highest overall score to take away the top honor, Jaguar’s all-electric performance SUV also won the Production Preview Concept of the Year category. The awards, held at the Concours d’Elegance of America, recognize those vehicles most likely to shape the future of the automobile industry. More than two dozen jurors participated in a selection process that involved a total of 24 vehicles, each introduced to North America during this season’s auto shows in Los Angeles, Detroit, Chicago, Toronto and New York.

Aston Martin has announced local firm TRJ Ltd as the selected construction partner for ‘Phase 2’ of the conversion contract at the St Athan manufacturing facility. Work is already underway at St Athan and will focus on turning the three ‘Super Hangars’ into an Aston Martin manufacturing facility. This contract was formally advertised through the Welsh Government’s Sell 2 Wales site, receiving significant interest from firms across the UK.  But it was the local Ammanford based TRJ who were ultimately successful, following on from their award of Phase 1 in December 2016.

Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC today reported July 2017 U.S. sales: Jaguar sales were 3,166 units, a 7 percent decrease from 3,398 units in July 2016; Land Rover sales decreased slightly to 5,915 units, down 2.6 percent from 6,075 in July 2016; Jaguar Land Rover July U.S. sales for both brands hit 9,081 units, a 4 percent decrease from 9,473 units in July 2016. Year to date, Jaguar Land Rover is up 15 percent in the United States, ahead of 2016’s record sales year pace. We are pleased that despite a slowdown in the broader market, Jaguar and Land Rover just missed last year’s record July sales, and are up 15% over 2016’s record full year pace. With the first half of the year behind us, we are focused on launching three new vehicles, the Land Rover Discovery now in […]

Panasonic Jaguar Racing brought their debut season in FIA Formula E to a close today in Montréal with both Jaguar I-TYPEs racing hard but ultimately missing out on further points.  Mitch Evans lined up P17 and Adam Carroll P19 after a difficult qualifying session with track temperatures noticeably warmer than yesterday. Following a strong seventh place finish on Saturday for the Kiwi, Mitch battled throughout the race to finish just outside the points in P12. Adam drove a faultless race and brought his Jaguar I-TYPE home in P14 and completed a full set of race finishes for the British driver. Both drivers made up five places during the race despite having to manage their energy carefully over 37 laps.

Our video this week is fun and purely for the thrill of it all. This video is a spoof of those airline safety instructions we know all too well and is entitled Welcome to Caterham Airways. Thanks to Darryl Beech of Charleston Import Automotive for pointing it out to me. If you don’t want one of these cars after watching the video, there is something seriously dead in your automotive soul. A lot of you already know the history of Caterham and its Lotus heritage, but I am going to steal a bit from Wikipedia here anyway, just to give some background. If you want to know more, don’t just rely on the Wikipedia article, but check out the excellent book Caterham Sevens: The Official Story of a Unique British Sportscar from Conception to CSR by Chris Rees. Caterham Cars is a […]

Bentley Motors has announced full details of the new Bentley Flying Spur V8 S Black Edition – the car of choice for customers seeking a luxury performance saloon with a more dynamic aesthetic. The suite of striking exterior and interior features have been created by the British brand’s designers to reflect the car’s sporting character. Black gloss brightware, dark tint lights, gloss black window surrounds and door mirrors, and new wheels provide a more dynamic, contemporary commentary for the mighty power output of the V8 S engine.

Aston Martin has announced the appointment of Joerg Ross as Chief Engineer, Powertrain. Joerg will be responsible for the development of Aston Martin’s engines, transmissions, and electrification, reporting to Vice President and Chief Technical Officer, Max Szwaj and will be based at the company’s headquarters at Gaydon, Warwickshire. Born in Remscheid, Germany, Joerg Ross holds a degree and a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the RWTH Aachen University, Germany. He speaks several languages including German, English, and Italian. Commenting on the new appointment: Max Szwaj said: We are delighted to welcome Joerg to the Aston Martin team. His considerable experience and knowledge will prove invaluable for the Engineering team as we prepare the business for the next generation of Aston Martin products. On his appointment, Joerg Ross said: I’m delighted to be joining Aston Martin at what is an exciting […]

MINI USA announced today that the all-new 2017 MINI Countryman, the biggest, most adventurous MINI ever, has earned a TOP SAFETY PICK award by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). The Countryman earns this designation when equipped with the optional front crash prevention system, which earned an advanced rating from the independent, nonprofit scientific and educational organization. The 2017 MINI Countryman earned the designation thanks to good crash-worthiness ratings across the board, including the small overlap front, moderate overlap front, side, roof strength and head restraint tests. The MINI Countryman also benefits from an optional advanced-rated front crash prevention system, which in IIHS track tests at 12 and 25 mph, the system mitigated a collision, reducing the impact speed by 7 mph in both tests.

Burlen Ltd, the world’s only manufacturer of genuine SU (Skinner’s Union), AMAL and Zenith carburetors, is celebrating a hugely successful promotion of the flagship race of the 2017 Brands Hatch Mini Festival. Earlier in July, the Salisbury-based company promoted the Historic Mini Races – named ‘The SU Carburetters Cup for Pre-66 Minis’ – and pulled out all the stops to create an event that will live long in the memory.

More than 40XJ220 Jaguars came together at the Silverstone Classic Saturday (29 July), in a record-breaking reunion to mark the 25th birthday of what was once the fastest production car in the world. The dramatically-styled, mid-engined, two-seater supercar was introduced in 1992, with its top speed of 212.3mph making it Jaguar’s quickest road-going car – an accolade it still holds to this day.

Bentley Motorsport has finished in second place in the largest GT3 race in the world, the 24 Hours of Spa, with its #8 Continental GT3 and drivers Maxime Soulet (BE), Andy Soucek (ES) and Vince Abril (MC). With a carefully pre-determined race strategy, the Bentley Team M-Sport crew ran out-of-sync with many of the leading GT3 competitors for most of the race but the long-term gains came to fruition in the final stages of the 24-hour endurance event.

The Bentley Team M-Sport #8 Continental GT3 marked a milestone in Bentley’s history books yesterday as it took the model’s 500th race start at the largest GT3 endurance race in the world, the 24 Hours of Spa. The third chapter of Bentley’s motorsport story began with the unveiling of the first Continental GT3 concept at the Paris Motor Show in 2012, followed by the first public running of the first test car at Goodwood Festival of Speed in 2013. Since then the Continental GT3 has celebrated series and race wins around the globe, with the most recent victories in the past month in Blancpain GT Series at Paul Ricard 1000kms, Pirelli World Challenge at Road America and British GT at Spa Francorchamps.

Outwoods Primary School year six pupil, Deya Kidder from Burton upon Trent, has been announced as the winner of MG dealership TL Darby’s ‘Up on the Roof’ competition. The contest, which received more than 80 entries from eight schools within the area, asked pupils to come up with a design that would be featured on the roof of the MG GS. Deya, who has just finished her final year at Outwoods Primary School, visited TL Darby to see her winning design in the flesh, adorning the roof of the car which now sits pride of place in the showroom. 

Rolls-Royce believes a new benchmark will be set as the New Phantom – the eighth generation of this great nameplate – arrives. Not satisfied with simply launching a motor car that is a wholly contemporary design interpretation of Phantom DNA and a technological tour de force, Rolls-Royce has revolutionized the luxury car industry itself by shifting away from the status quo of shared platforms to an entirely new luxury business model. From the moment Sir Henry Royce introduced the Rolls-Royce Phantom in 1925 it was judged ‘The Best Car in the World’ by the cognoscenti. As a result, it has conveyed some of the world’s most influential and powerful men and women to the most defining historical moments over the last 92 years. Every new Phantom that has subsequently appeared has successfully retained the title of ‘Best Car in the […]

The most extreme road car in McLaren’s history is set to make its debut later this year. Codenamed P15 and said to feature an 800PS engine with a stripped-out interior and overall weight of less than 1,300kg, the new model will be the second in McLaren’s Ultimate Series range after the hybrid P1. Designed to be the most extreme, track-ready but still road legal car in the line-up, McLaren’s engineers have reportedly been given the freedom to prioritize performance over everything else and the P15 is said to be faster on a racing circuit than any McLaren, bar the track-only P1 GTR.

One of the first 500 E-Types produced by Jaguar has been found in pieces in France and is to be brought back to life by world-class restorers Classic Motor Cars of Bridgnorth (CMC). Chassis No. 875256 is one of the very early 3.8 left-hand drive, open two seater, outside bonnet lock models with all matching numbers. It was delivered new to the Belgium Motor Company dealership in Brussels in July 1961 and was subsequently sold to ‘Societe de Civel Immeubles en Afrique.’ It resurfaced in France in 2015 and records indicate that it was imported from Luxembourg in 1975.

The best-selling lots at Barons Connoisseurs Classic Car Collection sale at Sandown Park on July 18th were two pieces of classic British motoring heritage, both of which exceeded the top estimate. The bright red 1970 Jaguar E-type Series 2 FHC achieved £51,700 while the handsome 1964 Jensen CV8 sold for just under £49,000. Queen guitarist Brian May raised over £6,300 for the animal charity Save Me when the 1952 Jowett Javelin he bought for his father 35 years ago went under the hammer at the sale. Enthusiastic bidding and strong pre-sale publicity meant that the car went for over top estimate, with the lucky new owner acquiring a charismatic family classic car previously owned by rock royalty.