Marques

Jaguar Land Rover Automotive plc (JLR), the UK’s largest vehicle manufacturer, today reported a strong fourth quarter to finish the fiscal year with solid results demonstrating encouraging demand for both new and established models in the period to March 31, 2017. Retail sales were a record 604,009 vehicles, up 16% on the previous year led by the 2017 World Car and World Car Design of the Year award-winning Jaguar F-PACE and continuing strong demand for the Land Rover Discovery Sport and other models in the Jaguar Land Rover portfolio. Retail sales were up year-on-year in China (32%), North America (24%), the UK (16%) and Europe (13%).

This just in from the BBC, AutoNews, FT, and numerous other UK news sources, British sports car maker Lotus is being bought by China’s Geely. A statement was put out by the Hangzhou-based company. There is no notice as of yet from Lotus themselves. The purchase is part of a deal by Geely to buy a 49.9% stake in Malaysian carmaker Proton, which owns Lotus. Geely, which also owns the London Taxi Company and Sweden’s Volvo Car Group, will take a 51% stake in Lotus.

The Bentley Bentayga Diesel has received the Star Award at the 2017 Autocar Awards, an accolade which celebrates the cars that have managed to achieve a five-star rating during the publication’s rigorous road test. Wolfgang Dürheimer, Chairman and CEO for Bentley Motors, comments: “The Bentayga Diesel embodies the finest craftsmanship and detail, while also demonstrating immense power and presence. Only Bentley can build a car this way, and this award is a testament to our talented and dedicated workforce in Crewe.”

Our video this week comes via our friends at Morgan. World War 1 fighter pilot and Morgan owner Albert Ball once remarked that his pre-war Morgan Three Wheeler was “the closest thing to flying without leaving the ground.” – Since that time, Morgan sports cars have been thrilling drivers around the world with their unique and exhilarating driving experience, be it on 3 wheels, 4 wheels or with the Aero. Their use, however, has never extended to a “race” between a Morgan and a plane, until now! Morgan’s latest video pits their fastest model, the Aero 8, against a Pitts S2S muscle biplane in a head-to-head airfield drag race.

Bentley Motorsport will return to Nürburgring 24 Hours for the third consecutive year this week as it aims for podium success with its three Continental GT3s. Working with European racing partners Bentley Team ABT, a division of well-known ABT Sportsline, Bentley is aiming for its strongest performance at the legendary “Green Hell”. To signal the team’s participation in one of the world’s greatest racing events, Bentley is unveiling the Continental 24 – a limited edition series of 24 bespoke models for Europe based on the Continental Supersports.

Known as the Dalai Lama of the Sacred Octagon, Ken Smith is the Editor Emeritus of The MG Driver and was known for his numerous appearances at British car events across the country on behalf of Moss Motors. Ken will be inducted, along with 22 other worthy motorheads, into the British Sportscar Hall of Fame on June 2nd.

Panasonic Jaguar Racing made it a hat-trick of points-scoring races in the center of the French capital today. Drivers Mitch Evans and Adam Carroll finished in P9 and P15 respectively, scoring two championship points in the Qatar Airways Paris ePrix. These valuable points mean the British team leaps to P8 in the team standings at the halfway point of their debut season, with six FIA Formula E races remaining.

MINI is further enhancing the appeal of its model line-up in summer 2017 with a range of new design, functionality and infotainment improvements. From July 2017, all new MINI models will feature an enhanced cockpit instrument with a new night design and a fuel level display that offers greater precision. Operation of MINI Driving Modes and MINI Head-Up Display will also be revised. In a brand first, MINI Clubman and MINI Countryman will offer Apple CarPlay and an alertness assistant will be introduced on MINI 3-door Hatch, MINI 5-door Hatch and MINI Convertible models.

Returning for its second year, Simply Jaguar will see some of the most elegant and graceful classics ever built purr their way into Beaulieu on Sunday, July 9th. Open to all Jaguar models, regardless of their age, the rally will celebrate these graceful ‘big cats’ of the motoring world by gathering together an impressive line-up of Jaguar sports cars and sporting saloons. No matter if you own a daily-driven XF or S-Type, an XJ-S or Mk X used for high days and holidays, or a show-winning XK150 or E-type, then you can park up your pride and joy in the stately grounds of the National Motor Museum. Then admire the other Jaguars on display, chat with like-minded owners and enthusiasts, and enjoy a relaxing day out at one of the South’s leading visitor attractions.

Jaguar XK 120: The Remarkable History of JWK 651, second in the publisher’s “Exceptional Car” series, is one of those books that is hard to classify. On the one hand, authors Chas Paker and Philip Porter have done such an amazing job detailing the story of this one particular Jaguar that the book is definitely a history book. On the other hand, this is documentation – documentation of one car, its provenance, and its current state. On on a third hand (we all have three hands right?), this is an art book. The photographs rival any automotive coffee table book on the market today. Regardless, however you classify it, this book is a delight that you can sit and read or just flip through and marvel at the images. The Remarkable History of JWK 651 tells the story of one of the six […]

Our video this week is a bit different, a spot of fun, and a bit odd. The video is an advertisement for the new MG GS out of Australia. Fun, yes. But just how much bum slapping can go on in one commercial?

The 18th annual Aston Martin Sale, held at Aston Martin Works in Newport Pagnell and hosted by international auction house Bonhams, achieved over £5 Million last weekend. One of the surprise stars of the show was a 1996 Aston Martin V8 Sportsman Estate Car, one of only three created, originally converted to its shooting brake format at Aston Martin Works. The rather unique and bespoke Aston Martin sold for an incredible £337,500.

Giovanni Michelotti was a prolific designer, who styled cars for Ferrari, Maserati, BMW and Triumph, designing some of the latter’s most successful cars in the postwar era. When you look at a Triumph TR4, Spitfire, Stag or Herald, you are looking at Michelotti’s work. Giovanni Michelotti will be inducted into the British Sports Car Hall of Fame on June 2, 2017.

Sir William Lyons was the founder, director, chairman and guiding force of Jaguar. That seems like such a short and simple sentence to convey the importance of the man known as “Mister Jaguar”. For over 40 years Lyons led the car company through its many iterations and shaped both the cars and the culture through personal determination. For those many years, Lyons simply was Jaguar. He will be inducted into the British Sports Car Hall of Fame in just over two weeks.

Panasonic Jaguar Racing recorded their second consecutive points finish in today’s FIA Formula E Monaco ePrix. Mitch Evans and Adam Carroll survived a testing battle throughout the race to finish in P10 and P14, scoring another valuable championship point for the British team. Jaguar remains P9 in the team standings. Racing in the Mediterranean Principality, Mitch and Adam succeeded in bringing both cars home through an action-packed race, recording the team’s second consecutive top ten finish in only the fifth race since Jaguar returned to international racing. 

The McLaren 570S GT4 was victorious on its racing debut in Asia, with McLaren customer team, The Winning Team, scoring pole position and two wins on the opening weekend of the 2017 China GT Championship. The latest GT racing model from McLaren is based on the 570S Coupé model from the Sports Series, and continues to impress in its first season of customer team racing, having now triumphed in Europe, North America and Asia.

Caterham has increased its global sales network by appointing respected automotive provider, Global X-Sports, as the regional distributor for Latin America. It’s the first time in Caterham’s history there has been a distributor for the whole Latin America region.

The name above the gate may say MGLive! but there’s plenty more to see than just MGs models when the MG Car Club‘s annual extravaganza returns to Silverstone on 17th and 18th June. The Club’s Racing division has developed a racing programme not to be missed on the GP Circuit, as it’s own MG championships are joined by the pre-1966 Touring cars from the Masters Series, giving visitors the chance to see BMW 2002s, Alfa Romeos, Lotus Cortinas, Ford Falcons and Mustangs battling it out against the ever competitive Mini Coopers.