Marques

Featuring a video from the talented folks at Petrolicious, this week we take a ride in Bjartur Gudmundsson’s Pininfarina-styled MGB GT track car, gravel road slinger, and daily driver through some of Iceland’s most stunning back roads. “It’s loud, it smells of gasoline and fumes, but that’s part of the car. It is loud so you’re not allowed to think. You can’t. You just have to drive,” chuckles Bjartur as he revs the stylish British coupe before sidestepping the clutch. It’s evident this petrolhead has mastered the “it’s more fun to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow” mindset, as he’s caught sliding the flickable classic sports car down wet tarmac and fearlessly flogging over narrow muddy gravel paths.

A note of good luck to our friend and occasional contributor Robert Morey as he and John Scott take on the 9th annual Flying Scotsman Rally going from Slaley Hall to Gleneagles. They will be at the wheel of this beautiful 1937 MG VA. Departing from Slaley Hall on Friday 31st of March the 9th running of the iconic Flying Scotsman,  Britain’s Premier competitive Vintage car rally will be another epic adventure set in the glorious and big sky countryside of Northern England and Scotland. The schedule is … Day 1 – Slaley Hall to Edinburgh – Friday, March 31 Day 2 – Edinburgh to Aviemore – Saturday, April 1 Day 3 – Aviemore to Gleneagles – Sunday, April 2 A list of the participants’ vehicles includes some astounding cars, for the record Robert and John are in car #96. The parade of cars […]

Following a positive performance for Panasonic Jaguar Racing in Buenos Aires, the British team is looking forward to racing at the historic Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City. Located in the heart of the capital, the 2.09km, 18-turn circuit is one of only two dedicated racetracks on the FIA Formula E calendar. Racing at 2,250m above sea level, the team will face their toughest physical challenge of their debut season to date. The Formula E track incorporates part of the historic grand prix circuit, with long curved sections between fast chicanes that offer few opportunities for the drivers to draw breath between corners.

Whether you know it or not, you very possibly already have a part produced by Clark & Clark Specialty Products on your car. I met Robert Clark at the recent BMTA conference, and he explained to me that their parts for a variety of marques and ranging from seat belt retainers and battery boxes to hood lifts and carburetor caps are sold by mass-market vendors including Moss, Victoria British, and The Roadster Factory. After discussing the ins and outs of engineering, development, and production, we then got down to the real business of the parts he produces. One of the newest items in their line was of particular interest to me – a replacement for the telescoping trunk support used by my Triumph Spitfire 1500. The original type supports are quite common on all types of MGs and Triumphs, and while […]

NEO, a maker of high-quality 43rd scale models produces an extensive range of car models from foreign manufacturers as well as US car makers. They have added another MG to their range which previously included the MGTD and Arnolt MG coupe. Their latest is a 1933 MG F1 Magna Salonette a small four passenger two door closed car. There were MG Magna roadsters produced as well but no scale models as of yet. These Magnas made use of a small 1271cc overhead cam engine which William Morris had acquired after he purchased Wolseley and added it to the Nuffield group.

It was 15 years ago today (well yesterday now, the 22nd) that a feisty, little-known car company came ashore in the United States and captured the hearts of Americans from coast-to-coast. Since 2002, MINI USA has sold and delivered more than 725,000 MINIs to delighted customers across the country.

Jaguar’s remarkable XJ220 is the latest classic car to receive the record-breaking treatment at the Silverstone Classic. It’s 25 years since the dramatically-styled, mid-engined, two-seater supercar was first introduced, quickly becoming not only Jaguar’s fastest ever production car (an accolade it still holds today) but also the fastest production car in the world when clocked at a – then peerless – 212.3 mph.

For some reason that is quite unknown to me, Land Rovers are often viewed differently than other British cars and trucks. I have been surprised by the lack of Land Rovers at British car shows, and when you look through all sorts of resources these vehicles are grouped apart from MGs, Triumphs, Healeys, and even their corporate sibling Jaguars. Maybe it is because they aren’t sports cars or because they are such utilitarian vehicles, but they sure are fun and interesting. Regardless, I want to make sure they are included, and to that end, I would like to point out a couple of lesser-known resources for Land Rover owners – the CentreSteer Podcast and the new Alloy + Grit magazine.

McLaren Automotive has released a new design sketch of its forthcoming ‘Hyper-GT’. Codenamed BP23, the car will be the most powerful and most aerodynamic road-going McLaren ever produced. Development of BP23 is currently underway at McLaren Special Operations (MSO), the bespoke division of McLaren responsible for designing and crafting the luxurious new addition to the McLaren Ultimate Series product family. The BP23 codename is taken from the car being MSO’s second Bespoke project and it having three seats. Production will be limited to 106 examples, the same volume as the McLaren F1. BP23 owners will work alongside MSO to select colors, trim materials and other points of personalization unique to them. The first examples of BP23 are expected to be delivered in 2019. Note: Press release courtesy of McLaren Automotive.

Our Video of the Week this go round shows the creation of one of the single most recognizable features of any British car – the Rolls-Royce grill.  The grill of the Rolls has been copied, satirized, objectified and outright stolen since it first came on the scene. What’s more, they have been used as the inspiration for everything from barbecue grill and candy, to jewelry and furniture. And seriously, let’s not talk about all the other cars they have been grafted on to in a failed attempt to make the poor thing look “classy”.  Nope, the grill just doesn’t seem to look quite right on anything except the cars of Rolls-Royce on with they were originally fitted. Once you are done watching that fine bit of hand-crafting, take a look at the new Rolls-Royce and what might be called “hand-crafted […]

A 1967 Austin Healey 3000 MK III, the very last series production car that rolled off the line at the Abingdon factory, will be auctioned as part of CCA’s two-day mega sale at the Practical Classics Classic Car and Restoration Show on Sunday 2nd April. Chassis Number HBJ843025 was produced on the 21st December 1967 and first registered to the Donald Healey Motor Company in Warwick with the registration number OAC 656.

Evolved, energized and even lighter, a significant update for the legendary Lotus Elise has been unveiled ahead of its arrival in showrooms this spring. Pride of place in the latest Elise line-up is the new Sprint edition, capturing the spirit of Lotus by offering the latest in efficient engineering to deliver a car that sets the standard at under 800 kg. Featuring a host of weight-saving items as standard, as well as the Elise’s distinctive new styling, the new Lotus remains true to the company’s founding principles. Benefitting the range as a whole, all new Elise editions receive the car’s new look and new interior options, and every single one of the Sprint’s lightweight components can be specified on the standard Elise Sport and the Elise Sport 220 variants.

McLaren Automotive has announced full details of the 2017 Pure McLaren program – a series of exclusive events that bring together the most passionate McLaren owners and enthusiasts. The 2017 calendar starts on April 5 at Monza, Italy and promises exhilarating track days at some of the most iconic Grand Prix circuits across the world. For this year, the program of courses has increased with the introduction of several packages focusing on high performance driving with the aim of transforming those interested in entering the world of motorsport into amateur racing drivers. 

Belmont Garage, an MG Motor UK car dealership based in Epsom Downs, has transformed its showroom into an African sunset silhouette, thanks to a little help from children in the local community. More than 70 colorful canvasses, designed by budding ‘Picassos’ from Shawley Primary School, will be displayed at the dealership until the end of April. Organized in partnership with Tattenham Corner Community Events, the initiative aims to bring local businesses and schoolchildren together to celebrate the region’s talent and creativity.

Jaguar has unleashed its first electric vehicle – the Jaguar I-PACE – onto the streets for the first time. Driving on the streets of London’s famous Olympic Park, the electric performance SUV concept previews Jaguar’s first electric vehicle, the Jaguar I-PACE, which will be revealed in late 2017 and will be on the road in the second half of 2018. The feedback on the I-PACE Concept has been fantastic. With the I-PACE Concept we’ve torn up the rule book to create a vehicle with supercar inspired aesthetics, sports car performance and SUV space, in one electric package. It has surprised people and the enthusiasm for our first electric vehicle has been beyond all my expectations. Driving the concept on the streets is really important for the design team. It’s very special to put the car outside and in the real-world. […]

As part of the company’s ongoing commitment to community and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Aston Martin have formed a new partnership with local Leamington Spa based charity, Helping Hands. The Charity provides support to vulnerable people in the Warwickshire area, through a number of initiatives including mentoring, support for the homeless and those affected by domestic violence.

Jaguar Land Rover Automotive plc, the UK’s largest car manufacturer, today announced it is beginning construction work on a £200 million redevelopment of its design and engineering center at Gaydon in Warwickshire. The expansion represents the first major construction project at one of the company’s non-manufacturing sites in over a decade. The development is intended to become one of the world’s foremost automotive product, engineering, and design sites – fitting for a company with ambitious plans for continued global growth. Chris Elliott, Property Programmes Director for Jaguar Land Rover, said: The new design and engineering center is a testament both to Jaguar Land Rover’s British heritage of innovation and its compelling vision for future vehicle technology. The new space will centralise our design, product engineering, and purchasing functions in an original and modern environment, as well as creating additional capacity for […]

A classic 1948 Jaguar sports saloon, first owned by Arthur Whittaker, the Deputy Chairman of Jaguar Cars, has been reunited with his family 67 years after he parted with it. During Historics at Brooklands classic car auction in Surrey on Saturday, 4th March, Whittaker’s four granddaughters – Lucy, Sally, Sarah, and Charlotte – who discovered the car’s impending sale purely by chance a fortnight earlier – fought off rival bidders to make it their own, settling on £70,000 for the jet-black classic.