Marques

The TR Drivers Club hosted the Bullet Run on the weekend of 17th to 19th June to commemorate the passing of Standard-Triumph’s Chief Development Engineer, Tony Lee, who sadly died in September last year.  The famous TR7 prototype photos with Tony at Bwlch y Groes in Wales were the inspiration for this event and although these are the only known photos of Triumph development vehicles at the location it was a test route used regularly by management and senior staff.  Known at the Canley factory as “Ride & Drive” it was a fairly thorough test with up to 300 miles along varied roads that culminated at the scenic Bwlch y Groes location.  The TR Drivers Club organizers sought to reproduce the “Ride & Drive” route and invited owners of all Triumph models to take part.     The host hotel […]

Recognising his significant and ongoing contribution to the Motor Industry, Lotus CEO, Jean-Marc Gales has been awarded the title Commander of the Order of Merit of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg following a ceremony in the country’s capital. Jean-Marc Gales received the Commander of the Order of Merit from His Royal Highness Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg. Held at the Luxembourg Philharmonie, during the county’s National Day celebrations, the honour was vested during the annual ceremony, and cited Jean-Marc Gales’ ‘distinguished international career’, ‘exceptional service’, and ‘stunning commitment’.

Jaguar Land Rover’s Halewood plant is today celebrating after helping the UK’s largest car producer, claim two ‘Manufacturer of the Year’ titles in less than a week. On Friday 17 June, Jaguar Land Rover was named as Britain’s Manufacturer of the Year at the Made in the UK Awards and last Thursday night the company, represented by the Halewood plant, took the Manufacturer of the Year title at The Echo Regional Business Awards. This latest award success sees the Merseyside-based plants award tally rise to 13 since 2011.

Aston Martin is celebrating another fabulous Festival of Speed after four days at glorious Goodwood, where a sell-out crowd witnessed the very best that the luxury British sports car brand has to offer. Billed as the world’s largest automotive garden party, the Goodwood Festival of Speed began in 1993 in the grounds of Goodwood House in West Sussex and has since become the automotive highlight of the British summer season.

The Jaguar F-PACE has put on another dramatic display of dynamic precision and control. After setting the Guinness World Record for the world’s biggest loop-the-loop at its launch last year, the very same record-breaking F-PACE and stunt driver Terry Grant have teamed up again for a thrilling drive at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. This time Grant piloted Jaguar’s first family sports car up the famous Goodwood hill on two wheels. As if that was not enough, professional freestyle motorbike stunt rider Lee Bowers was on board to add even more jeopardy to proceedings. Bowers is no stranger to two wheels and swapped his saddle for the luxurious leather interior of Jaguar’s first performance crossover. As the F-PACE two-wheeled up the demanding course, Bowers climbed out of the passenger window to stand on the side of the Jaguar and salute […]

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars will celebrate the 2016 Goodwood Festival of Speed with a dark and edgy presence on the famous Hillclimb. Wraith Black Badge and Ghost Black Badge will be on familiar turf, with Goodwood House in sight of the Home of Rolls-Royce. Wraith Black Badge. Wraith Black Badge can be seen on the Supercar Run up the hill and in between Hillclimbs in the Supercar Paddock. Already the most powerful Rolls-Royce in the world at 624hp (465kw), Wraith now benefits from 70Nm more torque, tweaked air suspension and upgraded gearbox leading to more spirited driving. The car presented is finished in Black Badge Black, with the interior in Black and Mugello Red contrast leather, and the facia in aerospace-grade aluminium-threaded carbon fibre composite surfacing. Wraith Black Badge will be driven by Festival of Speed favourite, Justin Law. 

This time last week, MG Motor’s new SUV, the MG GS, went on sale. Since then almost 40 have been registered, orders have been taken, deposits are being made and handovers are just around the corner. Customers looking to bag themselves this fantastic new model may not know that MG invited the public to be part of the creative process earlier this year.

Aston Martin today announces a limited series production of the exhilarating Vanquish Zagato Coupe; the latest creation from its long-standing partnership with the prestigious Italian design-house Zagato. The Vanquish Zagato Concept was unveiled to great acclaim at the prestigious Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este at Lake Como, Italy in May 2016. Thanks to unprecedented customer interest, a strictly limited production run of 99 cars will be built to order at Aston Martin’s production facility in Gaydon, England.

I met Ian Crawford and Emilee Coomes in Louisville, KY last week. What great folk! While talking with Ian he mentioned that Emilee had written a story about their road trip to The Mitty a few years ago. I am honored to publish her story her. Oh, and thanks for the beer. 😉

From “Men and Motors” we have the very first Triumph TR5 off the production line brought along to the Classic & Sports Car Show by Nick Goldthorpe from ‘Classic Motor Cars Ltd’.  Yes, the very first one, and a beautiful survivor. The TR5 was little more than a one year only car, very late 1967 to 1968, and was really just a stopgap between the aging TR4 and not quite ready TR6. As such, it had the body styling of the former car and the six-cylinder engine of the latter. In the UK the car was petrol injected while in the USA it was carburetted and known as the TR250. Seems our US regulations couldn’t quite handle the fuel injection – or maybe it was the other way around. These TRs have gone up dramatically in price recently, leading me […]

Jaguar’s new F-TYPE SVR, 200mph-capable supercar and the world’s most demanding race circuit, the famous Nürburgring Nordschleife, are now available to be experienced together with the launch of the ‘Jaguar Co-Pilot Nordschleife’ programme. This exciting new offer gives visitors and fans the opportunity to experience the thrill of Jaguar’s fastest-ever series production car from the passenger seat on the circuit famed as the ‘Green Hell’. Customers booking their place for a flying lap in the F-TYPE SVR will be amongst the first to experience its power, speed and enhanced dynamics package around the 12.94-mile (20.83km) Nordschleife circuit.

The introduction of a new Aston Martin engine is always something special. When that engine has been created for a new Aston Martin model it’s a true landmark. Today at the Aston Martin Engine Plant (AMEP) in Cologne, Germany, just such a landmark has been reached with the DB11’s new 5.2L twin-turbo V12 entering full production. Designed in-house this new engine develops 608PS and 700Nm of torque, making DB11 the most powerful production DB model ever. It’s also the fastest and most accelerative, too, with a top speed of 200mph and a 0-62mph time of just 3.9sec., while intelligent cylinder bank activation and stop-start technology ensures that potency is matched by greatly improved efficiency.

Land Rover stopped people in their tracks last week as a standard Discovery Sport towed three luxury train carriages weighing more than 100 tonnes along a railway track demonstrating its towing capability. The 10km journey through the Rhine region of northern Switzerland put the compact Discovery Sport’s pulling power to the ultimate test. Though the Discovery Sport has a certified maximum towing weight of 2,500kg (2.5 tonnes), it was able to pull 60 times its own weight, powered by Jaguar Land Rover’s 180PS Ingenium diesel engine providing 430Nm of torque. In addition, the Discovery Sport benefitted from Land Rover’s portfolio of towing and traction technologies such as Terrain Response, Tow Assist, Tow Hitch Assist and All Terrain Progress Control – a semi-autonomous off-road driving system that automatically manages engine output and braking, to complete the tow.

The 54th National Austin 7 Rally takes place at Beaulieu on Sunday 3rd July and holds one of the longest unbroken runs for a one-marque club using the same venue for its annual event. For one enthusiast the event will mark a particularly significant milestone. Bertie Fowler, who bought his first Austin 7 in 1966, will be attending his 50th rally. He purchased the 1936 ‘Nippy’ (one of the relatively few production sports models that Austin made) at the age of 19, negotiating the £90 deal in darkness by the Derby Grandstand at Epsom racecourse. It was, he says, ‘the best buy I ever made’. Years of happy motoring followed, even in the face of what Bertie describes as ‘the usual Nippyisms’ of the doors flying open when negotiating fast corners. The car came off the road in 1976 and […]

Aston Martin Racing came away from the 84th running of the Le Mans 24 Hours leading the FIA World Endurance Championship GT Manufacturer’s title. After running a near-faultless race, both the #95 and #97 GTE Pro entries finished in fifth and sixth place respectively. With the team focused on ensuring a safe and steady pace throughout the early stages of the race and throughout the night, each of the entries were tasked to make progress at dawn. The #95 Aston Martin Racing V8 Vantage GTE, driven by Nicki Thiim (DN), Marco Sørensen (DN) and Darren Turner (GB) finished fifth, having given a spirited fight to its rivals and stayed in podium contention through the night. However, the cruel nature of Le Mans struck as Turner suffered a right rear puncture in the 20th hour, caused by debris on track. Turner said following […]

Caterham Cars will be one of the stars of this year’s Supercar Event – the 10th anniversary of the charity initiative. The Supercar Event is an annual family-based event which offers fun activates such as supercar and helicopter rides, land hovercrafts and a Stay Safe Driving School for children aged 14 and over. The event runs from over the weekend of July 2/3 at the famous Top Gear track at Dunsfold Park. It will be open to the public from 9am to 4:30pm each day. At the event, Caterham will have the exhilarating, top-of-the-range Seven 620R on display and will offer fans the mouth-watering opportunity of having a passenger ride with a skilled instructor in the car – the most powerful production Seven ever built. The Seven 620R will also form part of the event’s main parade, which travels round […]

In 1960, Colin Chapman sought to identify the most straightforward and uncomplicated way of building a Formula 1 car. The result was his first rear-engined design, the trendsetting Lotus 18. Lotus 18 – Colin Chapman’s U-turn by Mark Whitelock, the new book from Veloce Publishing, charts the 18’s competition history, from its inception, up to 1966 – via sensational victories over Ferrari at Monaco and the Nürburgring. Colin Chapman’s previous attempts at producing a Formula 1 car had been a complete disappointment. Despite being technically advanced, extreme lightness led to numerous structural failures. In 1960, Chapman decided to start with a clean sheet of paper, assessing the basic requirements for a contemporary Formula 1 car, and identifying how to achieve them in the most straightforward, uncomplicated way. The result was one of Chapman’s greatest creations – the Lotus 18 – a […]

The new MINI Cooper John Cooper Works Challenge takes track-driving performance to a new level, while also offering a thrilling on-road driving experience that doesn’t sacrifice everyday comforts and refinement.