Marques

Less than two years after being unveiled as a concept, Aston Martin is today confirming that the all-electric RapidE will enter production in 2019. Set for a limited production run of 155 cars, RapidE is Aston Martin’s first all-electric model. As such it spearheads development of the brand’s low- and zero-emission vehicle strategy laid out by Aston Martin’s President and CEO, Dr Andy Palmer, in the company’s Second Century Plan.

Could the UK be losing another icon? With the sale of Proton and its stake in Lotus, could Lotus go the way of MG and transfer production to China? According to Bloomberg, Chinese billionaire Li Shufu said his Zhejiang Geely Holding Group will consider producing Lotus sports cars in China after agreeing to purchase stakes in Malaysian carmaker Proton Holdings Bhd. and its British unit.

To celebrate its Official Automotive Partnership with the Henley Royal Regatta – founded in 1839 and one of the world’s most prestigious and historic sporting fixtures – Aston Martin has created a very special DB11. The specification of this one-off Henley Regatta DB11 was carefully chosen by the Aston Martin Design Team. It features a raft of recently launched Q by Aston Martin – Collection options and explores the full gamut of exclusive paint and upholstery colors, material finishes and craft features, including some bespoke elements by Q by Aston Martin – Commission. The result is a car that’s distinctive and beautifully understated, mixed with classic color combinations and superb contemporary finishes.

One of the rarest of all flavors of the Mini Cooper S, a 970 S built in 1964 comes up for auction at the Silverstone Classic on 29th – 30th July. A fine example of the homologation special created to qualify the Cooper S for the under 1000cc category in racing and rallying, the car presented by Silverstone Auctions is one of less than a thousand ever built. With engine and chassis numbers matching logbook records and an extensive history file including homologation papers, heritage certificate, 2004 FIA Historic Technical Passport and MoT certificates, the iconic Cooper 970 S is estimated to sell for between £43,000 and £50,000.

Jaguar is introducing an efficient yet powerful new 300PS Ingenium petrol engine to the XE and XF saloons and F-PACE performance SUV models. The 2.0-litre four-cylinder Ingenium petrol engine produces 400Nm of torque for exceptional acceleration. That’s enough to power the World Car of the Year-winning F-PACE from 0-100km/h in 6.0 seconds (0-60mph in 5.7 seconds) with fuel economy of 37mpg (7.7 l/100km). In the Jaguar XF business saloon the new engine delivers 0-100km/h in 5.8 seconds (0-60mph in 5.5 seconds) in all-wheel-drive form. With CO2 emissions of 163g/km and fuel economy of 40mpg (7.2 l/100km), the new Ingenium powerplant delivers traditional Jaguar performance allied to impressive efficiency.

The British Land Rover BAR Academy team has won the Red Bull Youth America’s Cup (RBYAC) following an intense final day of competition on Bermuda’s Great Sound. As overnight leaders, Land Rover BAR Academy finished with a total of 50 points, 2 points ahead of their nearest rivals from New Zealand and claimed victory in their inaugural RBYAC challenge. The victory came down to the wire, the team had to dig deep and show their determination by not giving up and making it back from 8th to 2nd place in the final race of the day to claim overall victory.

Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC is proud to announce that the 2017 Jaguar XE 20d has received the Vincentric Best Fleet Value in America award. The annual Vincentric Best Fleet Value in America awards recognize the specific vehicle and trim with the lowest total cost of ownership in the greatest number of measured lifecycle cost scenarios. The 2017 Jaguar XE 20d was awarded in the Premium Luxury Mid-Size Sedan segment with research determining the highly efficient diesel-powered luxury sedan has the lowest fuel costs in its class.

Jaguar Land Rover, Britain’s biggest automaker, will hire 5,000 staff as it boosts its skills in autonomous and electric technology, a welcome business endorsement as Prime Minister Theresa May starts Brexit talks after an election with unexpected results. Jaguar Land Rover, which employs more than 40,000 people globally, said it would hire 1,000 electronic and software engineers as well as 4,000 additional personnel including in manufacturing, most of whom will be based in Britain.

The British Motor Museum has just redesigned their online shop to make it easier to buy Heritage Certificates.  These certificates are available for many of the leading British motor manufacturers including Austin, Morris, MG, Riley, Wolseley, Aston Martin, Rover, Land Rover, Standard, Triumph, BMC and British Leyland. The certificates are basically birth certificates for you car and pull from the original manufacturer’s records and will include details like the build and despatch dates, engine and body numbers, color scheme, and details of factory fitted equipment. Not all particulars are available for every car – much of this depends on the records kept by the original facility and the maintenance of those records over time by different companies. To celebrate the redesign of the museum’s e-shop, they are offering classic car owners a special deal this summer. From now until July 17, 2017 you […]

Three women at MINI Plant Oxford have been named among the top-100 female ‘Rising Stars’ of the UK automotive industry. Helen Evans, Amy Druce and Annie Sekulla (pictured) secured national recognition as part of Autocar magazine’s ‘Great British Women in the Car Industry’ initiative. 

British specialist sports car maker The Lister Motor Company is currently the fastest growing company within the competitive British motor industry business sector, and the 28th largest in the UK market, according to independent analysis results just revealed by leading business finance specialists Plimsoll Publishing Limited. This research supports the fact that Lister’s sales have increased by 140 per cent over the previous 12 month period. This news follows Lister’s recent announcement that to date it is unique in being the only automotive company making original specification continuation cars that are eligible for fully-legal registration and road use. Unlike other continuation specials which are strictly limited to track use only, the new road legal Lister Knobbly is fully eligible for IVA type approval.

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars celebrates the largest gathering of Rolls-Royces in the world at the Rolls-Royce Enthusiasts’ Club Annual Concours and Rally, in the Club’s Diamond Jubilee year, June 23-25. The spectacular setting of Burghley House in Stamford, Lincolnshire, will provide the perfect backdrop for a record number of motor cars, with over 1000 heritage and contemporary Rolls-Royces attending for the first time in the Club’s history.

Jaguar Land Rover engineer Dr Amy Rimmer has won Autocar magazine’s Rising Star award for British women in the car industry. A panel of judges recognized 29-year-old Amy’s significant work as an autonomous vehicle research engineer and her passion and commitment to the car industry. In addition Amy also won the Vehicle Development category award. I am thrilled to have been named Autocar’s Rising Star. To be recognised for my work in future autonomous cars is really exciting. Encouraging young people to consider automotive careers is so important to the future of our industry. — Dr Amy Rimmer, Jaguar Land Rover Engineer Jaguar Land Rover employees took 21 of the 100 places in Autocar’s list of British women in the car industry. Among them was 21-year-old Chloe Crutchlow, who won the Apprentice category for her work on the emissions measurement […]

Jaguar introduces its new compact performance SUV, the Jaguar E-PACE. Joining Jaguar’s PACE family of performance SUVs, the E-PACE follows on from the successful F-PACE, which helped boost Jaguar’s sales by 83 per cent last year, and the all-electric I-PACE Concept which will go into production in 2018.

Jaguar Land Rover and Gorillaz are working together to recruit the next generation of world-class electronics and software engineering talent with a code-breaking challenge found in the virtual band’s app. The best performers will be fast-tracked through the recruitment process, helping to meet Jaguar Land Rover’s ambition to employ thousands of bright new talents over the next year. It’s a major change in the way the business looks for candidates, aiming to tackle the engineering skills gap and inspire and attract a diverse range of talent and new thinking.

Aston Martin Racing has taken victory at the 85th 24 Hours of Le Mans in dramatic style, after Jonny Adam (GB) snatched the GTE Pro lead on the final lap of the iconic endurance race. Partnered by Darren Turner (GB) and Daniel Serra (BR), the trio and their Aston Martin V8 Vantage GTE performed faultlessly to ensure they remained in the hunt for victory right until the death.

The Concours of Elegance 2017 will host a 60th anniversary celebration of Jaguar’s legendary 1-2-3-4-6 finish at the 1957 Le Mans 24 Hours race. All three podium finishers will drive in convoy, alongside two further Le Mans-raced D-types, into the grounds of Hampton Court Palace for the duration of this year’s Concours of Elegance. Despite taking victory in the 1955 and 1956 Le Mans 24 Hours races, it was the 1957 running when the D-types really had their chance to shine. Scotland’s Ecurie Ecosse team took the first two places in D-types, followed by Equipe Los Amigos in third and Equipe National Belge in fourth. Rounding off Jaguar’s five finishers in the top six was a privateer D-type driven by Duncan Hamilton and Masten Gregory.

Aston Martin Racing has claimed an emphatic pole position and new lap qualifying lap record at the 85th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Piloting his #97 V8 Vantage GTE through the dead of night at the Circuit de la Sarthe, Darren Turner (GB) smashed through the original record during qualifying practice 3. Setting a 3m50.837 to claim pole in the process, he and teammates Jonny Adam (GB) and Daniel Serra (BR) have enjoyed the best possible start to their Le Mans weekend.