Feb. 19, 2015, Southlake, Texas – SVRA and Motostalgia have entered into a joint venture and multi-year agreement, with Motostalgia being recognized as the Official Auction Company of SVRA and hosting exclusive car auctions at select SVRA events- beginning this year with the Brickyard Vintage Racing Invitational. This joint venture will provide the true enthusiast the opportunity to enjoy two of the most exciting experiences in motorsports: auctions and vintage racing! “Working with Motostalgia Auction Company was the next logical step for SVRA, given our demographics and national footprint,” said Tony Parella, President and CEO of SVRA. “Adding a car auction to the Brickyard Vintage Racing Invitational will make this an even more special event.” “SVRA’s schedule is a perfect fit for us. This leading racing organization offers us access to world class cars. With the scale of SVRA’s customer […]

A Winter Storm Warning is in effect this week for many Eastern States, including Georgia. Due to the threat of more severe winter weather, SVRA has canceled the Southern Vintage Classic, scheduled for this weekend, Feb. 20-22 at Road Atlanta. The decision to cancel came after a discussion with Road Atlanta Raceway staff. The area is already dealing with harsh winter conditions, with more forecast for the weekend. “It’s really a safety issue,” said Tony Parella, president and CEO of SVRA. There are safety concerns for the racers, the volunteers and staff. With a storm warning being issued for the whole region, expectations are for snow, high winds, and freezing temperatures. Spectators who purchased tickets for the event will be given a full refund. SVRA Southern Vintage Classic entrants will be able to seek a refund, or to apply their […]

WH Brand, a family-run MG dealership in Lincolnshire threw a party for more than 250 guests at its premises in the village of Whaplode Drove, near Spalding. They held the event to celebrate being named the top-performing MG dealer of 2014 as well as being the top-selling MG3 dealer. In addition, the company was marking 90 years in business. The celebrations coincided with the 90th birthday of Fred Brand, the son of the firm’s founder, William Horace Brand. Fred showed off a classic 1949 speedway bike – he took up the sport to earn money to build a new garage for the business. While customers tucked into a fish and chip supper on a London double-decker bus parked outside the showrooms, sales manager Adam Brand – great grandson of the firm’s founder – enjoyed a bit of business success. He said: ‘I was […]

British Prime Minister David Cameron was at Rolls-Royce’s plant in Goodwood, Sussex, Wednesday on the south coast of England, and welcomed the announcement that the company, maker of expensive limousines, coupes and convertibles, would expand its model line-up with an ultra-luxury SUV. “The all-new Rolls-Royce model, announced today, will herald a new chapter in the remarkable British manufacturing success story that is Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. It will guarantee long term sustainable growth, secure investment and jobs for the future, and ensure that Rolls-Royce Motor Cars remains at the pinnacle of British luxury manufacturing,” said Torsten Mueller-Oetvoes, Chief Executive Officer of Rolls-Royce. “The launch of the Phantom in 2003 marked the beginning of the renaissance of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. Since then, we have set a new benchmark for what a super-luxury car should be – unique, hand-crafted, beautiful and rare. Often […]

For this week’s Video of the Week we are going to go 35 years back. Yes, back all the way to 1969 for some great BBC footage of the British national saloon car championship from Crystal Palace. Above the race, you can hear commentary from Murry walker. As the original poster of this video to YouTube stated, “this is a great video and I wish motorsport was a bit more like this these days and less technical and money orientated.” I can whole-heartedly agree with that. 1969 was the last year of Group 5 in Britain – and the last year of that plastic bomb called the Falcon Sprint. The rules had become a little more strict now – so no FVA engine in Cortinas or Escorts now, in line with the rest of Europe. Class divisions were like 1968 […]

Classic Minis United is going back to Cherokee, NC for the base of their 3 day driving adventure. This 56th of their gatherings will be held April 15 through 18, 2015. Cherokee is located at the south entrance of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and at the beginning of the Blue Ridge Parkway. As with all of CMU’s events, they like to drive, and that’s what they’ll be doing. The club will have drives each of the three days with plenty of stops and things to see. In addition to all the usual Mini and automotive stuff, “The Mini Hippie Film Festival” will be shown during the Hippie party Friday night! Even if you can’t make it to the event, you have a chance to show off your short film and win some cash. The film festival is sponsored […]

The Morgan Motor Company has sent out notice that a new Morgan automobile will be unveiled at the March 3, 2015, Geneva Motorshow. A teaser video put out by Morgan can be seen on YouTube. It doesn’t provide any real information but does provide a view of the seats and the sound of the exhaust.

The Classic MG Club of Orlando invites MG lovers everywhere to Gathering of the Faithful South XLIX from April 17-19, 2015 at the historic Mission Inn in “Old Florida” Howey-in-the-Hills, Florida. Gear-heads of all brands are welcome to walk around and see over 100 MGs on display. “Gathering of the Faithful” (GoF) was coined in 1965 by the late Frank Churchill of the New England MG T Register as an event for MG owners to gather and meet other faithful MG owners. Now, GoFs are the premier MG events each year in four areas of the country: New England, Central, West, and South. The Classic MG Club is the host of this year’s GoF South. The club, founded in 1963, is one of the most active MG clubs in the U.S. The first GoF South was three years later in […]

After a brief absence, we return with a new Video of the Week. This week MGBs are on the mind and so our video will be one entitled “The Car’s the Star”. It is a documentary on the famous MG which was produced for basically two decades. For those who have been living under a rock and aren’t familiar with the MGB, the ‘B’ as it is known is a two-door sports car manufactured and marketed by MG Cars and its successors as a four-cylinder, soft-top roadster (1962-1980) — along with variants including the MGB GT three-door 2+2 coupé (1965-1974), the six-cylinder roadster and coupé MGC (1967-1969), and the eight-cylinder 2+2 coupé, the MGB GT V8 (1973-1976). Replacing the MGA in 1962, production of the MGB and its variants continued by the British Motor Corporation and its successors, British Motor […]

The American MGB Association’s 38th Annual Meet – AMGBA MEET 2015 – for the MGB, MGB-GT & Midget – Myrtle Beach, South Carolina – October 3, 2015 MG sports car production as we know it was discontinued in 1980 with the closing of the famed Abingdon-On-Thames works in the United Kingdom. But these modern day classics are being preserved forever here in North America by members of the American MGB Association which serves enthusiastic MGB, MGB-GT, and MG Midget owners throughout the USA, Canada and throughout the world. Each year, the AMGBA holds its National Meet. The 1978 initial gathering was held in Chicago. In 1979 and 1980 the AMGBA National Conventions were held in New York state, in Ithaca and Glens Falls. The organization’s success led to renting the world famous Indianapolis 500 Motor Speedway in 1981 for the […]

The founders of most automakers aren’t still with us. Enzo Ferrari, Ettore Bugatti, Henry Ford, Louis Chevrolet, Kiichiro Toyoda, Soichiro Honda and so many others have long since left this world. Those who are still with us – like Christian von Koenigsegg, Horacio Pagani and Elon Musk – got into the game much later. Brian Lister hit the scene a long time ago, but until just the other day, he was still with us. But now his time on the racing circuit has come to an end. The founder of Lister Cars, one of Britain’s most legendary racing constructors, was born on July 12, 1926, the scion of a proud family of engineers. After training as an engineer himself, he joined the Royal Air Force just after the end of the Second World War, and soon after started trading up […]

Historic Sportscar Racing, Ltd. (HSR) has announced its schedule of 2015 events, starting in the winter wonderland of Palm Beach, Florida in January, and extending right through to December in Sebring. In between are five other Southeast events, making it a total of seven HSR events within 650 miles during the year. The complete 2015 HSR schedule includes: January 29 to February 1 – Palm Beach Grand Prix March 18 to 21 – 12 Hours of Sebring April 23 to 26 – The Mitty September 17 to 20 – Atlanta Fall Historics October 22 to 25 – Savannah Speed Classic November 12 to 15 – Daytona Historics December 3 to 6 – Sebring Historics HSR was formed in the mid-’70s with an event at Road Atlanta. There was one goal then and it remains true today: to celebrate the race […]

Caterham is preparing to return to Formula One for the 2014 finale in Abu Dhabi next month according to AutoWeek. As it was put into administration following founder Tony Fernandes’ ill-fated sale to Colin Kolles-managed investors, the team as well as backmarker Marussia sat out Austin and will again be absent in rainy Brazil this weekend. But it then emerged on Wednesday that Caterham’s administrators, led by Finbarr O’Connell, have lodged an official team entry for the 2015 season. Marussia, now renamed to the operating company Manor, is also on the provisional FIA entry list. But reports that Caterham and Marussia have paid the $500,000 entry fee already are wide of the mark. That fee is not due until late November. O’Connell, however, who now runs Caterham, said it was imperative to lodge a 2015 entry so that the team […]

Jaguar teased an all-wheel-drive version of its 2016 F-Type R coupe. Full details will be revealed at the Los Angeles Auto Show later this month. Jaguar showed off the new car at Hakskeen Pan, a dry lakebed in South Africa’s Northern Cape. Jag says the new AWD F-Type R will hit 60 mph in just 3.9 seconds, on its way to a top speed of 186 mph. The company’s Intelligent Driveline Dynamics traction control system will help in slippery situations. “Our target with engineering the all-wheel-drive F-Type was to maintain the engaging rear-drive character that’s so important to Jaguar sports cars, yet offer even greater dynamic capability,” said Ian Hoban, vehicle line director of Jaguar. Jaguar is also using the opportunity to announce its partnership with the land speed record-chasing Bloodhound SSC gang, who were also out testing at Hakskeen […]

This week we are happy to feature the latest video from the Morgan Motor Company. in our VotW (Video of the Week). “This Is How We Do It” takes you behind the scenes at the world’s oldest privately owned car manufacturer. Take an exciting look at the production line of our Pickersleigh Road factory and allow the Morgan craftsmen and women to talk you through how they hand build each Morgan Sports Car. From cutting the first intricate pieces of the ash wood for the frame through to final road test and PDI, this video guides you through the unique production process. Condensing a complex process of manufacture that takes over 4 weeks into just 8 minutes of footage was difficult. For the full Morgan factory experience visit www.morgan-motor.co.uk/tours  

Resurrected British automaker Lister Motor Company has released two sketches of their forthcoming hypercar. Back in September 2013 we heard Lister saying they are back in action and will resume production after an absence of almost 25 years and now the company has provided a first glimpse at their brand new hypercar. It won’t come cheap that’s for sure as Lister says it will cost somewhere in the region of £2 million (€2.54 million or $3.2 million) which means that it will probably go up against the LaFerrari, P1, 918 Spyder, One:1 and the Veyron successor. Talking to Auto Express, Lawrence Whittaker, managing director of Lister Cars, said the hypercar will be powered by a massive V12 7.8-liter engine capable of developing no less than 1,000 bhp (745 kW) which will be enough for a remarkable top speed of 250 […]

According to Car & Driver, Jaguar Land Rover wants to colonize South Carolina, or at least a few hundred acres of it, for its first-ever U.S. factory. While nothing has been confirmed, Jaguar Land Rover is making headway in other markets as it seeks to grow annual worldwide sales to 750,000 by 2020, an increase of 76 percent over last year’s record sales of 425,006. On Tuesday, the first Chinese-built Range Rover Evoque came off the line in Changshu, which aims to produce up to 130,000 Evoque and Land Rover Freelander models annually. Back home, Queen Elizabeth II is scheduled to open a new plant for the company’s Ingenium engines near Wolverhampton next week. These additions come atop JLR’s smaller assembly plants in India, Kenya, Malaysia, Pakistan, and Turkey. Brazil is slated for 2016. Saudi Arabia is another possible locale. […]

British Leyland – The History, the Engineering, the People is a book for those of us with a love hate relationship with the ubiquitous British Leyland. During the 1960s vehicle makers all over the world were looking to expand and amalgamate as at the time it was considered the only way they could survive. As a major manufacturing nation Britain at the time had a large number of makers of all kinds of vehicles and gradually many of them joined together to form two large companies. The first of these was the Leyland Motor Corporation which was principally involved with the manufacture of commercial vehicles although they had also recently diversified into cars. The other major concern was British Motor Holdings, owners of some of Britain’s iconic car makes including Austin, Morris, Wolseley and Riley to name but a few. […]