Marques

British Car Day® is hosted annually by the Toronto Triumph Club, Ontario, Canada on the third Sunday of September. Since its inaugural event in 1984, it has grown in leaps and bounds, and this year drew around 1,000 British cars and 8,000 spectators, with room to grow even bigger. British Car Day® is open to vintage, classic and current British manufactured vehicles, including motorcycles. The event is the largest, one-day, all-British car event in North America, with visitors from Ontario, the northeast United States, the Maritime provinces, Quebec, and Manitoba, representing membership in 100 British car clubs. This year they celebrated six anniversary cars: • MGTA, 80 years, displayed by Rick Clark. • Triumph Roadster, 70 years, Michael Walton. • Morris Minor 1000, 60 years, Alan Brand. • Triumph GT6, 50 years, Warren Beech. • Jensen Interceptor, 50 years, Mike Lewyckj. […]

Expert judges – including the UK’s leading reviewers and booksellers – have now met to debate the 2016 Royal Automobile Club’s Motoring Book of the Year, and a shortlist of finalists has been chosen and includes works on unsung racing drivers and individual historic racing machines; an extraordinary history on a marque which made just five cars; the life story of a vintage car detective involved in many important ‘barn finds’; and even an intriguing novel based on a real-life Bugatti. The winner of the annual Award, now in its third year, will be announced during a unique literary evening devoted to automotive and motor sport publishing, at the Club’s historic Pall Mall home on 2 November. The event will also welcome several world-famous writers to talk about their work and debate the future of automotive book publishing. There will […]

Our Video of the Week this time actually isn’t from YouTube! I know, amazing isn’t it? It is actually from the KXII Channel 12 television news station in Texas, and is a video of the 2016 Vintage Triumph Register National Convention. Quoting the story, which can be found in its entirety here, Triumph car owners from all over gathered at Tanglewood Resort this week for the 2016 Vintage Triumph Register National Convention. Dave Pilcher, who helped organize the convention, said he hasn’t met a stranger. “I met a guy today from England who drove my car over to the airport for me – and I just met him,” said Pilcher. “We’re all one big family.” Pilcher said he owns four Triumph cars, all of which he brought to share with 250 people. Eight even came from England all the way […]

Over half a century after its initial assembly, a 1965 Bentley T-Series has returned to the company’s headquarters in Crewe to be restored by Bentley apprentices to its original factory specification.  The renovation project forms a key part of the Bentley apprenticeship learning programme. The new apprentices will complete and assemble the trim section and restore the car’s body, paint, and engine, putting into practice the modern skills they will gain during their apprenticeship while becoming familiar with traditional techniques. Post completion, the classic car will join Bentley’s celebrated heritage fleet where it will attend car events across the world.

Land Rover Classic has opened its doors to the new Reborn Tour giving visitors the chance to experience the restoration of an early Land Rover live at the brand’s bespoke workshop and facility at Solihull – the ‘Home of the Legend’. The Reborn Tour and Driving Experience begins with refreshments and welcome from an experienced and knowledgeable Land Rover tour guide. With the scene set, visitors are granted exclusive access to the newly updated Jaguar Land Rover Classic workshop at Solihull where the exquisite Series I Reborn fully restored project continues under the expert team from Jaguar Land Rover Classic.

Jaguar Land Rover today announced its new global ambassador Noodle, Japanese guitarist and founder member of virtual British band Gorillaz. Jaguar Land Rover, the UK’s leading investor in Research and Development and a leading global automotive manufacturer today also announced its commitment to addressing the skills gap that manufacturing, worldwide is facing.

British car manufacturer Caterham has launched its first personalisation programme – Caterham Signature – with a special edition Seven designed by world-famous department store, Harrods. The Harrods special edition car is now on sale exclusively in store and includes a host of special features which demonstrate the breadth of options new Caterham buyers can add to their vehicles.

The world’s largest museum devoted to Austin cars will soon be auctioned in Denmark. Alongside 47 cars, it also features over 3,000 related items, including books, posters, signs, toy cars, die-casts and other rare automobilia. Stefan Wolffbrandt began the collection in 1985 after he acquired his first car; an 1957 Austin A30, which he saved from the junkyard and restored on a shoestring. This ignited his passion for the brand and he went on to collect further Austin models, in particular A30’s and A35’s, while pursuing his career as a successful rock musician.

The subject of our Video of the Week this week is a Singer Nine from 1933. The Singers are cars that most people don’t know much about, if they know they exist at all. And yes, cue the sewing machine jokes. And the confusion that they are not MGs. Singers are gorgeous and fascinating cars in their own right with their own storied history. This example is a 1933 Nice Sport. To quote the video, Singer’s first sports car was introduced at the end of 1932. It featured cut-away doors, louvered bonnet and scuttle and distinctive helmet-type front wings. Under the bonnet was the classic 972cc single overhead camshaft engine and close ratio four-speed gear box making it especially suited to trials work. A Sports Nine achieved a notable success in June 1933 at the Le Mans 24 hour race. […]

Jaguar Land Rover today reported September 2016 U.S. sales: Jaguar sales were 2,662 units, a 168 percent increase from 995 units in September 2015; Land Rover sales reached 5,637 units, the 2nd highest September ever and down 4 percent from record sales of 5,855 units in September 2015; Jaguar Land Rover September U.S. sales for both brands hit 8,299 units, a 21 percent increase from 6,850 units in September 2015; making it the best JLR September sales month since 2003. Year-to-date, Jaguar Land Rover U.S. sales reached 74,740, up 25 percent from 59,619 units in 2015. “Jaguar Land Rover continues to increase its U.S. presence with a 21 percent increase this month and 25 percent for the year,” said Joe Eberhardt, President and CEO, Jaguar Land Rover, North America, LLC. “We are thrilled that Jaguar is tracking to be the […]

Bentley today announced the opening of a new luxury personalisation studio in Westfield London, one of the capital’s premier shopping destinations. Bentley Studio London is located in The Village, Westfield’s home to leading fashion designers and luxury brands, and offers Bentley customers and fans alike a glimpse behind the walls of the British luxury car brand’s iconic factory in Crewe, Cheshire.

Saving the hardest until last, the new Lotus Exige 350 Special Edition is a fitting completion to the trilogy of Lotus 50th celebration editions. Based on the most extreme Exige to date, the Sport 350, the new special edition adds a number of lightweight, performance-enhancing features, as well as unique paint and interior options as standard.

McLaren Special Operations (MSO), McLaren Automotive’s bespoke division, has been brought together with McLaren Motorsport under one management structure, headed by its new Managing Director, Ansar Ali. The new single department will combine the creation and marketing of McLaren’s rarest vehicles together with growing the MSO Defined portfolio aimed at series production cars. In a further change, the new single department will report into Jolyon Nash, Executive Director – Global Sales & Marketing. The integration of MSO into the Sales & Marketing department brings McLaren’s bespoke division even closer to retailers and customers and also brings all the revenue generating areas of the company together. 

Originally published in 1964, Bruce McLaren’s autobiography From the Cockpit is a classic motor racing memoir. So scarce and expensive are original copies that Evro Publishing, in collaboration with McLaren, is reissuing a facsimile version for all fans to enjoy. In his own words, Bruce describes his inspiring climb up the ladder of motor racing success, culminating in the inception of Bruce McLaren Motor Racing Ltd in 1963. Engaging to read, his book provides fascinating insight into not only his accomplishments but also his unique character, charm and tenacity. In his own words, ‘Life is measured in achievement, not in years alone.’ After overcoming childhood illness, McLaren began competing with a modified Austin Seven and in 1958 became the recipient of New Zealand’s first ‘Driver to Europe’ scheme. Driving for Cooper, he won the 1959 United States Grand Prix to […]

Staff at MG Motor are celebrating this week, after British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) driver Ashley Sutton took home the coveted Jack Sears Trophy in his MG6 at Brands Hatch (Sunday 2 October 2016). The award, which recognises the highest scoring rookie driver in the championship, was especially poignant this year given the fact that Sears, who was the first ever winner of the BTCC Trophy, died in August aged 86. The battle for the Jack Sears Trophy went down to the wire this year, with the Essex-born racer still unsure of clinching the title until the finish line. While he just had to complete the final race of the season to secure the title, with three laps to go Sutton experienced unexpected vibration issues. Taking no chances, the Triple Eight Racing team called the Number 116 MG6 back to […]

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars supported Mission Motorsport at the charity’s annual invitational track day, held this year at the Goodwood Motor Circuit. Mission Motorsport was set up to aid in the recovery and rehabilitation of those affected by military operations by providing opportunities through motorsport. More than 50 servicemen and women and their families were given the opportunity to be chauffeured around the glorious Goodwood Motor Circuit in a Rolls-Royce Wraith Black Badge, the most powerful Rolls-Royce in the world. Also displayed was the new Rolls-Royce Dawn, presented in Midnight Sapphire with a Mandarin leather interior.

The new Aston Martin DB11 has won the T3 Design of the Year Award, presented annually to the world’s best technology products. Now entering its 10th year, the T3 Awards is one of UK’s biggest and most prestigious technology awards and celebrates the most transformational products and people each year. Voted for by T3 readers, the Design of the Year Award is presented to the ‘most pleasing looking device, or one that reimagines what a product of its type can look like’.

The 37-foot Aston Martin AM37 powerboat made its world debut at the Monaco Yacht Show today, marking the luxury British brand’s entry into the nautical world. The new day-cruiser is offered in two versions with the AM37S expected to reach speeds of 50 knots. The AM37 is the result of two years of research and development, challenging the status quo of the nautical world and combining the best in innovative technology and bespoke craftsmanship. The AM37 was a true team effort, bringing in the most experienced Aston Martin designers to style and create a truly unique product. Aston Martin’s master craftsmen who worked on cars such as One-77, Aston Martin Vulcan and the new DB11, provided their automotive experience, which was reinterpreted onto the boat with outstanding results.