Classic Cars

The 2017 Jaguar Classic Challenge season concluded at the historic Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium during the Six Hours of Spa race weekend, with the father and son pairing of Graeme and James Dodd taking their third victory of the five-race season in their 1963 E-type. A strong 33-car entry competed in the Belgian event, all pre-1966 Appendix K specification Jaguars. Andy Newall and Rhea Sautter put their 1961 E-type on pole during qualifying, more than two seconds ahead of Chris Milner and Nigel Greensall’s car. The Dodds started third, with Marcus Oeynhausen lined up alongside them on the second row of the grid.

Envisage Group Ltd, the world’s fastest-growing engineering services company, has played a key role in the creation of nine new XKSS continuation models, replacing those lost in the Jaguar Browns Lane factory fire of 1957. Traditional and rare expertise in hand craftsmanship Envisage Group was commissioned by Jaguar Classic to be the sole supplier of hand-crafted monocoque body shells and body panels for the XKSS continuation model to the exact specification of the iconic original. 

Land Rover has announced the launch of the new Land Rover Experience Center Heritage Program, a celebration of the history and legacy of the iconic Defender. The program will allow consumers to drive the Defender off-road at Land Rover Experience Centers across the U.S. As one of the world’s most recognizable four-wheel drive vehicles and a brand icon since its introduction, the enduring capability of the Defender lives on through the Defender Driving Experience. From September 2017, Land Rover enthusiasts will be able to experience the vehicle’s off-road abilities first-hand at Experience Centers in California, Vermont, and North Carolina.

On Friday 1st September, the Royal Automobile Club awarded its Club Trophy at the Concours of Elegance at Hampton Court Palace, to the glorious 1912 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost, also known as Nellie. The owner, Katie Forrest, was awarded the Club Trophy by Royal Automobile Club President, HRH Prince Michael of Kent, beating off strong competition from the best of the best of the UK car clubs who were invited to send entries. Katie said: I’m absolutely thrilled to have been awarded this honour. Nellie has been in our family for more than 25 years and I have so many wonderful memories to share. I named her Nellie because, when she first arrived with us, she was painted in a grey colour and, being large, reminded me of Nellie the Elephant! As part of the spoils, Nellie will be making an […]

Jaguar Land Rover Classic is presenting an electric-powered Jaguar E-type at the Jaguar Land Rover Tech Fest, which opens to the public on 8 September in London. The car, known as E-type Zero, has been restored and converted at Jaguar Land Rover Classic Works in Coventry, not far from where the E-type was born. Tim Hannig, Director, Jaguar Land Rover Classic, said: E-type Zero combines the renowned E-type dynamic experience with enhanced performance through electrification. This unique combination creates a breathtaking driving sensation. Our aim with E-type Zero is to future-proof classic car ownership. We’re looking forward to the reaction of our clients as we investigate bringing this concept to market. The Jaguar E-type Zero not only drives and looks like an E-type, it also offers outstanding performance. It’s quicker than an original E-type: 0-100km/h (62mph) takes only 5.5sec, about […]

Our video this week comes in from Goodwood.  The annual Goodwood Revival is the coming weekend, and the new TVR is due to be unveiled there.  In celebration of that, Goodwood has released the “A History of TVR in 4 Cars”. While obviously using only 4 cars leaves out quite a few remarkable vehicles, this is still an excellent and entertaining history.  

Concours of Elegance and Bridge of Weir Leather Company partnered up once again this year to launch a brand new ‘Cars of our Years’ feature, celebrating the important connection between man and machine. Notable friends of the Concours and Bridge of Weir each chose a car from their lifetime that has made the strongest emotional impact. Visitors to the Concours of Elegance were invited to vote for their favorite of the ten Cars of Our Years nominated by stars of the world of automotive and motorsport.

The new Range Rover Velar is one of Land Rover’s most desirable cars yet, but while the model is new, the Velar name is not. Our video this week comes from the folks at AutoExpress and is a drive in one of the original Velars – the vehicle that became the Range Rover. The first Velar-badged cars appeared on the roads in the UK in the late 1960s, when Land Rover wanted to hide its Range Rover prototypes during testing. Taking its name from the Italian word ‘velare’ – which means ‘conceal’ – seven prototypes were built, and later crushed. However, a handful of pre-production models survived, and we’ve been for a spin in one to get a sense of the new Velar’s heritage. If you are interested in AutoExpress’s take on the new, and much more modern, Range Rover […]

We mentioned that it was coming last week, and now here it is … This 1954 XK120 SE by Pininfarina could be the rarest Jaguar ever. After a full nut and bolt restoration taking 6,725 hours by world-class specialists Classic Motor Cars (CMC), the wraps came off this unique Pininfarina bodied 1954 Jaguar XK120 SE yesterday at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in California, USA. The car was well received by the crowd of collectors and aficionados gathered at the event and finished second in class O-2 Postwar Closed.

Silverstone Auctions is to auction a Series II Jaguar E-Type Fixed Head Coupé that is believed to be the last of its type ever sold as new. In excellent condition and never having undergone a major restoration, the Jaguar Light Blue E-Type will go under the hammer at the Salon Privé Sale at Blenheim Palace on 2nd September. The UK specification right-hand drive E-Type was built in August 1970 and was eventually delivered to dealer Charles of Pirbright, where it remained in the showroom for five months until it was sold to its first owner on 7th August 1971, likely making it the last Series II Fixed Head Coupé to find a home.

Hagerty, the insurance provider for classic and special interest cars, announced that it has purchased the Massachusetts-based online rental system formerly known as Classics&Exotics. The latter had been in operation since 2014. Rebranded and online as DriveShare, will enable enthusiasts and perhaps those who are just curious or nostalgic to rent the classic car of their dreams.

JD Classics is celebrating its eighth consecutive award-winning year at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. JD Classics’ Bentley R-Type Continental picked up the FIVA Postwar Trophy, among a field of more than 200 of the rarest and most incredible cars in the world. All these cars are invited to the Pebble Beach Golf Links each year to compete in the Concours d’Elegance, which rounds off the Monterey Classic Car Week event. Among them this year were two JD Classics cars; a customer’s Shelby 260 Cobra that had recently undergone a full JD Classics restoration, and a Bentley R-Type Continental.

Congratulations to all the winners and many thanks to all those competitors who supported AMOC Racing’s third meeting of the season at Brands Hatch on Saturday. The sunshine provided the perfect conditions for five exciting races with the usual high standard of competition. Opening the day’s racing was the Pre-War Team Challenge and with the grid released in a staggered handicap start, Keith Piper’s Aston Martin was flagged away first, with the Bentley of Stuart Morley last to be released 45-seconds later.

Aston Martin enthusiasts will have the chance to buy a manual 1973 Aston Martin AM V8 ‘garage find’ at Classic Car Auctions’ (CCA) upcoming September Sale on 23rd September at the Warwickshire Exhibition Centre. The high-performance, eight-cylinder, classic Aston Martin AM V8 is one of just 288 made, mostly with automatic transmission. As with all traditional Aston Martins, it was entirely hand-built and is now the perfect candidate for a full restoration.

Our video of the week this time is from the 2016 Portland All British Field Meet. This year’s edition of the show will be held the first weekend in September. I attended this show back in 2005 (wow, that seems like a long time ago now!) and can attest to it being a great show. It not only has a large number of cars, somewhere in the 800 area, but is well managed and in a great location. In addition to the show itself, SOVREN’s Columbia River Classic is held on the same weekend at the adjacent race track. Two days of racing follow a limited test ‘n tune day on Friday.New this year is our stop on the CrossFlow Cup, a five-event West Coast series for Formula Fords.  

For the last two years thirteen staff at Classic Motor Cars (CMC) have been working on a top secret project, the restoration of a one-off Pininfarina bodied XK120 SE which is to be unveiled at the Pebble Beach Concours on Sunday, August 20th. On Friday 4th August, the team, which had been supported by everybody on company’s the 60 plus workforce, were pictured with the car – “under wraps”.

Burlen Ltd, the world’s only manufacturer of genuine SU (Skinner’s Union), AMAL and Zenith carburetors, is celebrating a hugely successful promotion of the flagship race of the 2017 Brands Hatch Mini Festival. Earlier in July, the Salisbury-based company promoted the Historic Mini Races – named ‘The SU Carburetters Cup for Pre-66 Minis’ – and pulled out all the stops to create an event that will live long in the memory.

More than 40XJ220 Jaguars came together at the Silverstone Classic Saturday (29 July), in a record-breaking reunion to mark the 25th birthday of what was once the fastest production car in the world. The dramatically-styled, mid-engined, two-seater supercar was introduced in 1992, with its top speed of 212.3mph making it Jaguar’s quickest road-going car – an accolade it still holds to this day.