Marques

MG Motor UK is celebrating a great start to 2016 with a 132% increase on January sales after 313 vehicles were registered last month. Figures released today from The Society of Motoring Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) shows that last year MG sold 135 cars in January. This year, due to growing awareness in the brand and a range of great deals, the manufacturer has seen a percentage change of 131.85%. In December, popular offers such as the £2,000 minimum part-exchange contributed to MG finishing the year with a surge in sales. The offer was continued for another month and finished on 31st January. Matthew Cheyne, MG’s Head of Sales and Marketing said, “We are thrilled to see that our great offers have contributed to so many more people choosing an MG. We hope that through raising awareness of the new […]

The City Magazine – the largest freely-distributed luxury lifestyle title in the City of London – will be the media partner for the 2016 Caterham Academy. Targeting the discerning audience that works within the world’s leading financial hub, The City Magazine features big-name interviews and focuses on the finer things in life, including food, fashion, watches, motoring, sport and travel.

Following the most successful season for McLaren GT, with the 650S GT3 winning on each of the four continents it competed on, 2016 will see more cars competing in more championships across the world. Plans for Factory Drivers Rob Bell and Alvaro Parente are now finalised along with confirmation of the signing of Côme Ledogar to the works line up. In addition, the recently-announced Driver Academy is further strengthened with Colin Thompson joining for the 2016 season. The announcements coincide with confirmation that the 650S GT3 will line up as part of an impressive display at the 2016 Geneva Motor Show alongside the three-tier model range from McLaren Automotive for the first time. Joining the Factory Driver line-up for the 2016 season is 24-year-old Côme Ledogar. The young Frenchman made the switch from single-seater racing at the end of 2011, […]

Bentley Motors’ first works entry Le Mans 24hr car will be playing a starring role at the London Classic Car Show this February. This incredibly important piece of Bentley’s motorsport history will be making a public appearance at the London Classic Car Show, where Georgina Riley will be taking the wheel. Georgina is a member of the Bentley Belles racing team – a four-strong all-female historic racing team that has competed in the likes of the Mille Miglia, the Le Mans Classic and the Benjafield’s 24 hours race in Portimao.

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars debuts Ghost Eternal Love this evening at the Minsheng Art Museum in Beijing. Embodying the theme of love, the new Bespoke collection is exclusively designed for the China market, coupling modern design elements inspired by the white swan with remarkable Rolls-Royce craftsmanship and cutting-edge technology. Leon Li, Director of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars China, explained the significance of the latest design, “The Ghost Eternal Love demonstrates to our customers the unparalleled creativity of the Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Bespoke team while it meets the needs of our customers for exclusive personalisation. Embodied in this latest masterpiece is the emotional inheritance of the Rolls-Royce brand, a representation of our undying passion for creating the best cars in the world. More than this, it symbolises the Chinese New Year gift to customers from Rolls-Royce.” Ghost Eternal Love Collection The swan design, […]

Our video this week is humbly titled “MGB Movie” and traces the development of the MGB from its replacement of the venerable MGA in 1962 all the way through MGs decline and the resurgence with the MG RV8 in 1993. It is easy to forget today how important the MGB was during its time. If you go to a British car show this weekend, who can blame you for getting a bit tired of the rows on rows of Bs? Hey, don’t blame the messenger.  I have a 1977 B roadster now, have had numerous models and vintages of convertibles and GTs, and absolutely love them. But, even I can get a bit tired of the umpteenth over “restored” B with a Weber carb, headers, electronic fuel pump, alloy valve cover, stone-guard headlight covers, and modern digital radio. We are justified […]

Aston Martin will celebrate the opening of a brand new dealership this summer when Aston Martin Bristol opens its doors to customers in the south-west of the UK. The new dealership – located in Cribbs Causeway, close to Junction 17 of the M5 motorway – is the first Aston Martin dealership for the Dick Lovett Group. Aston Martin Bristol will cover the entire south-west of the UK, offering new and used Aston Martins for sale, along with a full service centre, creating more than 20 new jobs in the process. The new 27,000 sq ft showroom will offer the full range of sports cars and customers will have the opportunity to activate ‘Q by Aston Martin’ on all new purchases to create a unique configuration for their car. Like every Aston Martin dealer, the new business will offer an unrivalled […]

The British Motor Corporation’s (BMC) 1100 and 1300 model range was amongst the most successful in the Corporation’s history, selling more than 2.1 million of all types between its introduction in 1962 and its demise in 1974. Worldwide, the BMC 1100 was sold under eight different marque names and in two-door saloon, four-door saloon, two-door estate, and five-door hatchback forms – and very nearly as a van as well. In Britain, it was the country’s best-selling car between 1962 and 1971, being beaten just once (in 1967) by the Ford Cortina. The BMC 1100 and 1300: An Enthusiasts Guide by James Taylor looks at the design and development of a model range that at the time confirmed BMC as a pioneer of new automotive ideas and had a profound impact on other manufacturers. It covers not only the full standard […]

MG will enter the highly competitive compact SUV segment in Europe with the new GS in June, 2016. Originally unveiled last year in Shanghai, the vehicle will be ready, in its final form, for the 2016 London Motor Show, where it premiere on May 6.   Dynamic. Sporty. Modern. Three words given to the MG car designers before putting pen to paper. From those first sketches, which were pinned to the wall of the Birmingham based design centre, the MG GS was born and this June it launches in the UK.

Excitement levels are building for the second season of the Jaguar Classic Challenge as the Le Mans Classic is confirmed for inclusion in the all-new race calendar for 2016. The Le Mans Classic will be one of the major highlights of the forthcoming season that will see a diverse field of pre-1966 Jaguars going wheel-to-wheel in the competitive single-marque series. Jaguar has a long and successful history at Le Mans, with the marque first winning there back in 1951 with Peter Walker and Peter Whitehead driving the C-type – affectionately known as XKC 003.

Mulliner, Bentley’s in-house coach-building division, is revealing its latest range of bespoke creations for the Flying Spur, enabling customers to personalise the four-door luxury sedan to an even higher level. For the first time, the Flying Spur can now be specified with a refrigerated bottle cooler between the rear seats, painted veneers, Mulliner quilted leather, sterling silver atomisers and hide-trimmed stowage boxes. This new range of personalisation options are but a few of the limitless possibilities a customer can find with Mulliner, and further enhance the Flying Spur’s reputation for unparalleled luxury and refinement for both work and relaxation.

Aston Martin has once again celebrated success with its Vanquish in the latest readers’ vote for the “Best Cars 2016” held by renowned German automotive magazine auto motor und sport. The 2016 awards were presented on Thursday in Stuttgart and decided entirely via readers’ votes, the Aston Martin Vanquish was awarded first place in the Sports Cars Import category.

The Historic Motor Sports Association (HMSA) and Bonhams today announced a new series for under 2 Liter sports racing cars built between 1950 and 1962 to take place at the HMSA’s Barber Historics and The Sommet des Legends in 2016. The U2 series will feature the “giant killer” sports racing cars from the 1950’s such as the Lotus 11, Lola Mk1, Maserati 200S(I), Ferrari 500TR(C), Ferrari 196 Dino SP and Porsche 550/RSK/RS60-62. Drivers will be competing both on and off the track with awards given for race results and best “giant killer” performance, as well as the most period correct car on the grid and for the person and or team who best exhibits the spirit of the 1950’s sports racing scene. “At Bonhams we see the world’s best collectable automobiles at our auctions every year,” commented Mark Osborne. “The […]

Land Rover celebrated 68 years of history today as the last of the current Defenders was produced at its famous Solihull production facility. To mark the occasion Land Rover invited more than 700 current and former Solihull employees involved in the production of Series Land Rover and Defender vehicles to see and drive some of the most important vehicles from its history, including the first pre-production ‘Huey’ Series I as well as the last vehicle off the production line, a Defender 90 Heritage Soft Top. At the same time, Land Rover announced a new Heritage Restoration Programme, which will be based on the site of the existing Solihull production line. A team of experts, including some long serving Defender employees, will oversee the restoration of a number of Series Land Rovers sourced from across the globe. The first vehicles will […]

MINI USA and LAP MotorSports LLC are gearing up the MINI John Cooper Works Team for the 2016 season of the IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge(CTSCC), the first full season for the team. The team also today announced the addition of a third car and two new drivers – Ethan Lowe and James Vance. Building on the momentum of the team’s first podium at the season finale at Road Atlanta last year and a solid performance during three days of testing at The Roar Before the 24, the team is hopeful for more podium finishes during the 2016 season. The season kicks-off this Friday, January 29th, at Daytona International Speedway. The Indianapolis-based MINI John Cooper Works team owned and operated by racing veteran Luis Perocarpi will return this year with drivers Mat Pombo and Derek Jones. The racing duo, who […]

Autoweek is running an article about RM Sotheby‘s upcoming Scottsdale, Arizona auction and nine cars to watch. What really caught our attention in this one is the inclusion of one of our favorite, but often overlooked, supercars – the Jaguar XJ220. To quote Autoweek… Jaguar’s technological masterpiece is getting to that stage when some of those who wanted them as kids now have the ability to buy them, whether they have to sell their houses to do it or not. The XJ220 had a complicated history, and like an impressive number of 1990s supercars it was conceived during an economic boom to arrive in their owners’ driveways a couple of years after a market crash. The recession of the early 1990s dealt a heavy blow to the XJ220 without killing it outright, though the car itself was in some ways […]

Ahead of the 2016 season, McLaren GT has added to its off-track team with the appointment of Bas Leinders to the role of Sporting Manager. Confirmation of a number of new McLaren GT customer teams for the 2016 season has further strengthened the GT3 grids around the world. Leinders brings valuable experience to the teams on the pitwall and he will work with customer teams to further optimise the potential of the 650S GT3. Leinders, 40, has enjoyed a successful GT and single-seat racing career, which included winning the German Formula 3 in 1998 before joining the McLaren junior team alongside former Formula 1™ driver Nick Heidfeld, and a role as Formula 1™ test and reserve driver. The move to GT racing saw Leinders claim back-to-back FIA GT G2 championship wins between 2006 and 2008 among further accolades. The Belgian […]

I can’t resist stories of the way cars used to be made – back when automobiles weren’t so much produced as crafted. You know, back when every other car that slides off an automated assembly line resembles nothing so much as an over-ripe jellybean. Honestly, it wasn’t that long ago. Our VotW this week goes back to an old Top Gear episode with a much younger Jeremy Clarkson visiting the TVR factory in Blackpool, Lancashire. The video, from 1995, shows a factory that is worlds away from the automotive assembly plants we picture today. TVR was started by Trevor Wilkinson in 1947 in Blackpool. For nearly 60 years the company produced fabulous if ofter quirky sports cars in fits and starts and under various ownership. In 2006, the factory at Blackpool was closed by then-owner and Russian businessman Nikolai Smolensky. […]