Andy Wiallace drives Jaguar XJR and XJR9-LM at Silverstone - Picture Credit Anthony Cullen_AJC2572b
Corporate Business

Jaguar XJR Meets XJR9-LM at Silverstone

Legendary racing driver and 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Andy Wallace relived his 1988 victory by taking to the Silverstone circuit to drive the Jaguar XJR9-LM during day and night back-to-back with the new 550PS, 5.0-litre Supercharged V8 Jaguar XJR. Wallace discusses his experiences in the XJR9-LM and the new XJR in an exciting new film. Driving at night on the Silverstone circuit gave Wallace the opportunity to test the new LED headlights on the new XJ, which are a first for Jaguar.  “Driving at Le Mans back in 1988, it was so hard to see at night,” said Wallace. “We were travelling at around 240mph and it was too fast to see the road ahead. We used the lights more to catch glimpses of landmarks as they whizzed past, so we knew where we were.

Double Victory for Local Hero 2 copy
Highlights

Brace of Victories for McLaren

A brace of victories for McLaren GT factory driver Shane Van Gisbergen with teammate Klark Quinn saw the 650S GT3 secure the coveted Highlands 101 title at the Australian GT season finale weekend which took place at Highlands Motorsport Park, New Zealand. With victory in the weekend’s opening race, followed by the win in the three-hour endurance race, Van Gisbergen secured his first wins on home soil with the 650S GT3. The first race of the weekend saw Van Gisbergen and Quinn qualify the Darrell Lea McLaren on the front row, narrowly missing pole position by just 0.044 seconds. A strong start by Quinn saw the Australian take the lead, which he held until a racing incident further down the field close to half-distance brought out the Safety Car. With the race neutralised, teams looked to optimise race strategies with […]

View large preview McLaren 650S GT3 at round 2 of Asian Le Mans Series in Sepang
Corporate Business

McLaren Factory Driver Rob Bell Helps Secure Win

The McLaren 650S GT3 continued winning ways over the weekend with a lights-to-flag victory for McLaren GT customer team Clearwater Racing at the second round of the Asian Le Mans Series in Sepang. Factory driver Rob Bell, alongside teammates Mok Weng Sun and Keita Sawa secured pole position and overall victory in the GT3 category to extend the championship lead. Round 2 of the highly competitive Asian Le Mans Series took place in hot conditions at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia, with very different conditions to the wet race of round 1 in Fuji, Japan last month.  Despite the change in weather, Clearwater Racing showed the competitive edge once again in a close battle throughout qualifying with factory driver Bell securing pole position for the start of the three hour endurance race.

Peter Sellers' 1966 Lotus Elan S2
Auctions & Sales

Peter Sellers’ Lotus Elan Up For Auction

A rare 1966 Lotus Elan S2 once owned by famous comedian, actor, photographer, singer and all round icon Peter Sellers, will be auctioned at the Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show on Saturday 14th November by Silverstone Auctions, estimated at between £45,000 and £50,000. The car was delivered to Peter Sellers’ Haymarket home on 22nd June 1966 and driven by him, with wife Britt Ekland in the passenger seat, until 29th February 1969. ‘SAR 57D’ then went through two other owners before being purchased by the current vendor.

Bentley Belles will be at the Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor S
Highlights

Women Gather at Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show

The ‘She’s a Beauty’ theme given to this year’s Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show, held at Birmingham’s NEC from 13-15 November, is set to bring together some thrilling women and their prized classics. The show will team concours classics with motorsport marvels, highlighting the efforts of women across the classic car scene. The Bentley 4.5-litre entered into the Benjafield 24 by the Bentley Belles will take pride of place on the feature display stand, along with Bentley Belle Katarina Kyvalova. The team, which also included Gillian Carr, Georgina Riley and Georgie Brewster, only met for the first time the day before the endurance event, and entered the record books as the only all-female team to campaign a Bentley in a 24hr endurance race, ever. Since then, they have added the same accolade to their list for the Spa Six Hour […]

Bentley Continental GT Speed- Vmax in the outback
Articles

VotW – Bentley Continental GT Speed

The 16MY Bentley Continental GT Speed has been taken to its top speed of 206 mph (331 km/h)* by Australian racing legend, John Bowe, on the derestricted Stuart Highway** deep in the Northern territory. The 635 PS (626 bhp), 820 Nm (607 lb.ft) W12-powered GT Speed Grand Tourer reached Vmax in just 76 seconds, covering a distance of 9.4 kilometres in the process. At top speed, the 6.0-litre twin-turbo Grand Tourer was covering a staggering 92 metres (or one football pitch) per second. John Bowe said: “This isn’t a modified racecar; it’s a luxurious grand touring road car fresh off the production line. It took us a little over a minute to go from a standstill to 206 mph. That’s extraordinary. Even when you break through the 200 mph barrier, the GT Speed just keeps accelerating.” The Stuart Highway covers […]

Samuel Laurence
Events

Top 5 from Classic & Sports Car – The London Show

The star guests of the Classic & Sports Car – The London Show Interview Stage, in partnership with Smooth Radio, have been revealing their Top Five cars to see at Alexandra Palace. Peter Stevens – designer of the McLaren F1 and Jaguar XJR-15 Range Rover “While Jeep in America had first offered a more comfortable family focused version of the famous four wheel drive off-road vehicle, Land Rover took the concept further and, in doing so, started a marketing trend that every manufacturer has had to follow.” McLaren F1 “Still a delight for me to see because it will always remind me of the great little team of guys who worked together on the car; it was very hard and concentrated work but we had a lot of fun together and produced something that we are all still very proud […]

Duncan Forrester and Freddie Gilbey of McLaren
Corporate Business

McLaren Creates Corporate and Lifestyle Functions

McLaren Automotive, the British producer of luxury sports and supercars, has announced the appointment of Duncan Forrester and Freddie Gilbey to the Global Communications team, creating its first Corporate and Lifestyle Communications function which will report into Global Communications Director, Wayne Bruce. Duncan Forrester is appointed to the role of Global Corporate Communications Manager with responsibility for elevating the reputation of McLaren as a benchmark luxury automotive technology company, employer of choice for world-class engineers and an important contributor to the success of UK PLC.  Duncan undertook work experience for the McLaren Formula 1™ team in 1987/88. He re-joins McLaren following 26 years in the automotive industry at dealership, national sales company and global manufacturer levels. Working for brands such as BMW in the UK and Volvo Car Group in the UK and Sweden, he was latterly Global Vice President, […]

Jeremy Clarkson Fire TV Stick Commercial
Highlights

Jeremy Clarkson Returns – Hawking Firestick

Ahead of his return to the airwaves, or at least wire-waves, next year, Jeremy Clarkson has made his first appearance for Amazon in a commercial for the Amazon Fire Stick. Find out more about the Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond & James May all-new car show for Amazon Prime at http://www.amazon.co.uk/guesswhosback

MG in Junkyard
Articles

Aging Gracefully or How Long Will My Car Last?

I will, for the benefit of those with less than a master’s degree in mechanics, try to make this simple by breaking it down into categories by era… two very basic ones. All cars from the brass age (turn-of-the-century to about late-teens) until about the late 1960’s are of a simple enough nature that any part, no matter how complex by the standards of those bygone days, can be fashioned today by a competent small company if not by a talented individual. Those cars can — and often do — live forever! They are well supported in many cases by companies in the business of supplying those parts. Why? Because they can make them! The magazines are full of stories of epic mileages recorded by interesting cars (the 3 million mile Volvo, my 600 thousand mile TR4, the 900 thousand […]

Car Show Creed
Classic Cars

Car Show Creed

I attended two different car shows this past weekend, and while there were good things and difficulties with both of them, what always stands out is the people. It was great seeing old friends, making new friends, and just generally enjoying the company of like minded British car enthusiasts. My good buddy Gene Gillenwater showed me a car show creed that he had been given at a show back in his home state of Ohio. I loved it. He later had it on the windshield of his MGB at the show, and I saw many people stopping to read it and comment appreciatively. Too often at these shows folks get caught up in competition and who has the better car, the cleaner car, the car with the more accurate stitch-count in the seats. I have even known people who will […]

Before the race LM 1965
Classic Cars

Royal Automobile Club Art of Motoring

The Royal Automobile Club’s annual festival of motoring, London Motor Week, will embrace a brand new addition this year – The Art of Motoring. This inaugural exhibition will feature sixteen of the most prolific international motoring and motor racing artists who will display their latest works under the same roof for the first time in more than a decade. Housed at the Royal Opera Arcade at 5b Pall Mall, just a stone’s throw from the Royal Automobile Club’s London clubhouse, will be over 100 original works which will be for sale. The exhibition is free to the public from 26 -31 October 2015. An exclusive preview is by invitation only and will take place on the evening of 27 October at 7pm.

Raymond Mays' Magnificent Obsession
Classic Cars

Raymond Mays’ Magnificent Obsession

Last Thursday, Bournemouth-based author and former Anglican Priest, Bryan Apps, launched his new book at the National Motor Museum, Beaulieu. Laced with fascinating anecdotes, Raymond Mays’ Magnificent Obsession reveals a pivotal figure in motor sport history and describes the author’s enthusiasm for BRM, detailing his visit to Raymond Mays in Eastgate House, Bourne, in 1963. An intimate congregation of friends and motor racing enthusiasts gathered around the National Motor Museum’s Mk1 BRM for a talk by the author, followed by a presentation of the book to Beaulieu’s Chief Executive, Russell Bowman, and a signing session. Bryan Apps said: “I was given a very warm welcome at Beaulieu by Russell Bowman and Museum Manager, Doug Hill and was delighted to give a signed copy of Raymond Mays` Magnificent Obsession for the Museum Library, which is an essential resource for any student […]

Aston Marting with a Misfire
Articles

Random Misfire, Maintenance and Depreciation

Ok Let’s see… Random misfire and misfire on cylinder #11 … Looks like you need the basic ignition service. When would you like to do that? How much you ask? Oh, about $4,000. That was a nasty fall, can I help you up, get you some aspirin? Well of course I can break it down. Twelve spark plugs at $40.91 each, twelve coils at $157.56 each, a manifold gasket set at $407.36, and then around $900 labor …. How often?  Well, about every 25 or 30 thousand miles. Perhaps you should sit down again, you look faint. What I’m trying to point out here is that it’s possible to drive a spectacular car as your secondary “real car” for the kind of people that for instance left the 3 year old ‘Benz in the driveway this morning and drove the […]

Building Cars Live - BBC Documentary
Corporate Business

Building Cars Live – BBC Documentary

Contrary to what some people may think or say – the British car manufacturing industry is in pretty good shape. Every 20 seconds, a brand new vehicle rolls off the production line somewhere in Britain. Last year, Britain built more cars than France, and one single plant, Nissan Sunderland, made more cars than the whole of the Italian car industry put together. Meanwhile, seven out of 10 Formula 1 teams are based in Britain, including Red Bull, McLaren, Mercedes, Lotus, Williams, Force India and Manor (Marussia). And the UK doesn’t just make cars, they also build engines – one in three Fords sold globally in 2014 had their engine built in either Bridgend or Dagenham. Building Cars Live is a new two-part documentary that takes viewers into the fascinating world of the car manufacturing industry, with presenters James May, Kate […]

MG in Birmingham Half Marathon
Corporate Business

Run MG! Run!

Yesterday (Sunday 18th October), 13 employees from MG Motor UK’s technical centre conquered 13 (plus 0.1) miles in the Birmingham Half Marathon for Macmillan Cancer Support. The team of thirteen had been training hard in preparation for the run that took place through the streets of Birmingham’s city centre. The team were running for Macmillan Cancer Support and, with money still rolling in, they have managed to raise an impressive £5,700 – which is almost £2,000 over their original target. The team leader for the baker’s dozen, Richard McAllister, said: “It was a great day all round, but my legs certainly aren’t saying that today! The weather held off for us making running conditions ideal. “We were all really proud of our times, as we all had our own goals; even if it just meant getting round in one piece! […]

Tor Johnson
Articles

Zombie Apocalypse – Caused By Your Car

Your “modern iron”, “rain car”, “grocery getter” or whatever you want to call it is turning you into a zombie! Yes it’s true, and a lazy one at that! Auto wipers, auto lights, seats that move at the touch of a button, navigation the responds to voice command! They even put controls right on the steering wheel so movement of your muscles is almost gone… Even the kids are not safe – the TV screens in your headrests are part of the evil plot. The kids won’t know what’s going on outside the car unless you feed the backup camera into the the TV headrests! And the list goes on. The start was the automatic transmission, and few took offense. But then they got the Zombie Plan up to speed – although electronically limited to prevent engine damage. Satellite navigation, […]

BCC Day Banner
Classic Cars

British Car Day – Charleston, South Carolina

October 25th is the day. The British Car club of Charleston will host our 31st British Car Day at the beautiful Mt. Pleasant Waterfront Park on Sunday, October 25th, starting at 9:00am. There will the amazing silent auction tent, food on the grille, plenty of fun stuff and lots of great cars. The family can enjoy the pier at the park and views of the Charleston harbor. For those of you who don’t know, this is my home club, and the club I founded over thirty years ago with a great group of friends.  So, yes, this event is special. I will be there, of course, with “Catherine” my 1966 Vanden Plas Princess 1100. Well, and maybe my 1978 Triumph Spitfire. Also, since the rains in South Carolina delayed the Grand Strand British Car Show up in Myrtle Beach to […]

Nigel Clarke from JLR talks to a young boy
Corporate Business

JLR Launches Kenyan Water Relief Project

Jaguar Land Rover, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of premium luxury vehicles, has launched a new project in Africa as part of its ambitious Global CSR Programme. Jaguar Land Rover’s ambition is to achieve long-term responsible business growth by placing sustainability at the heart of its business strategy by reducing the environmental impact of its vehicles and operations and making a positive impact on society, all through ‘Environmental Innovation’. The company recently received a Queen’s Award for Enterprise in Sustainable Development for reducing the environmental impact of its vehicles and operations. Jaguar Land Rover’s Global CSR Programme was launched in 2013 as part of its ‘Environmental Innovation’ strategy. The programme invests in education, technology, health, wellbeing and environmental projects which will positively impact 12 million people’s lives by 2020. The programme builds on the success of its UK education […]