Classic Cars

It will be ‘all aboard’ for the 110 competitors in this year’s Flying Scotsman Rally as they depart from a new terminus at Belvoir Castle on Friday 15th April for three days of glorious vintage motoring. The Endurance Rally Association’s critically acclaimed event will journey through the Lincolnshire and Yorkshire Wolds, onwards to the North and beyond via Northumberland and take in some of Scotland’s finest Lochs and Glens before arriving at the splendid Gleneagles hotel. The cars and crews will cover almost 700 miles from Leicestershire to Perth and Kinross with many off-road tests and challenges set along the route to supplement the on-road navigational and regularity sections.

Jaguar Land Rover is delighted to announce the renaming of its Heritage business to Jaguar Land Rover Classic. The rebranded division will continue to provide cars, services, parts and experiences for Classic Jaguars and Land Rovers and their owners. Tim Hannig, Director, Jaguar Land Rover Classic, said: “Renaming the rapidly growing global business to Jaguar Land Rover Classic best reflects the division’s overall capabilities in providing the best cars, services, parts and experiences for our customers. We aim to build an even more successful future by celebrating and nurturing Jaguar and Land Rover’s past.” Jaguar Land Rover Classic can now accommodate full restorations of classic vehicles at its UK sites, as well as providing a repair and maintenance service for customers.

Our video this week takes you back, way back. Back to the 1930s when MGs were fierce competitors in racing around Europe and the world, and the Midget, the original Midget, was the car to beat. This film, titled “The Magic Midget” was produced by British Leyland to celebrate the racing pedigree of the MG and possibly transfer some of that aura of speed and success to the more modern incarnation of the MG Midget. From its earliest days MGs have been used in competition and from the early 1930s a series of dedicated racing cars such as the 1931 C-Type and 1934 Q-type were made and sold to enthusiasts who received considerable company assistance. This stopped in 1935 when MG was formally merged with Morris Motors and the Competition Department closed down. A series of experimental cars had also […]

This summer’s Silverstone Classic will build on the record breaking success of the 2015 special Silver Jubilee extravaganza which attracted more than 100,000 visitors for the first time in the stand-out event’s 25-year history. The ever-growing appeal of the world’s biggest classic motor racing festival, staged at Britain’s premier motorsport venue, powers a virtuous circle which will see even better visitor attractions and facilities in 2016.

A 1963 Jaguar E-Type found under a hedge in the village of Bisley in Surrey sold for £58,000 at COYS Spring Classics auction in London. Chris Routledge, CEO of international auctioneers COYS, said: “We were encouraged by strong results achieved across the board and the number of registered bidders joining us and bidding in the room – it’s always good to see the market is as active as ever.” He added: “The derelict E-Type attracted attention from all four corners of the world and bidders in a packed auction room and via telephone fought fiercely for it on Tuesday night. It ended up going to an English collector and Beatles enthusiast who plans to slowly restore it to its former glory.” The E-Type showed just 44,870miles on the clock and still had the last tax disc on the windscreen which […]

Following its spectacular inaugural Blenheim Palace event, Salon Privé returns in 2016 as the UK’s leading luxury super and classic car show. With the total number of visitors topping 11,000 over three days, the success of the 2015 event coincided with Salon Privé’s 10th anniversary and firmly cemented its position on the luxury and automotive calendar. Basking in the splendour of the baroque palace, 2016’s three-day line up has something for everyone including; crowning the finest classic cars, celebrating high-fashion and experiencing modern-day supercars at close quarters. Showcasing the very best that the automotive world has to offer, Salon Privé offers its guests unrivalled access to some of the most exclusive modern and classic automobiles, as well as the very latest models presented by leading marques such as Abarth, Ferrari, Jaguar Land Rover, Koenigsegg, Lamborghini and Pagani to name but […]

Our Video of the Week this go-round is on the story of an often forgotten car from a seldom remembered brand in the US – the Rover SD1. Rover and British Leyland were beset by problems in the mid-1970s. Out of this cauldron of mismanagement came the Rover SD1 in 1976. It was called SD for the Specialist Division and 1 for the first car to come from the in-house styling department. Despite a dramatic, innovative design both inside and out, the option of classic V8 grunt, and more or less universally praised dynamics, the SD1’s reputation and its longevity suffered at the hands of a company in meltdown. And it could all have been so different. The car, which was styled by Rover’s design genius David Bache, had some grand ambitions. It had been designed to look like a […]

Just one week after a number of new record prices were achieved, Silverstone Auctions secured more high prices in its sale at the Practical Classics Restoration and Classic Car Show on Sunday. 75 per cent of the cars on offer were successfully hammered away at the NEC, Birmingham in front of hundreds of classic car fans at the show for a total sales figure of £1.5million. In the home city of Land Rover, record prices were secured for two very special Series One examples. One of the earliest Land Rovers produced, a 1948 Series One Chassis #149, sold for £47,250, more than £20,000 over its lower estimate, and the highest price for a Series One in recent years. Not only that but one of the last Defenders produced, a 2016 Land Rover 110 Heritage Edition, one of only 400 made […]

In-depth illustrated guide to understanding, repairing & improving electrical systems of British classics equipped with Lucas, Smiths Industries & SU components. 1950 to 1980.

Our video this week comes by way of the Suncoast British Car Club and featured Gerry Coker. Gerry was born “Gerald Charles Coker” June 24, 1922 in Northamptonshire, England.  He is known in the Healey world for his body design of the Healey Hundred introduced in 1952. He joined the Donald Healey Motor Company as Healey’s body engineer in 1950.  His first job was to look after the Nash Healeys as they came from Panelcraft, the Nash Healey body makers. Early on at the DHMC, Healey challenged Gerry to show him a sports car design, and in late 1950, he created the body design for what would become the Austin-Healey 100.  This timelessly beautiful sports car stole the show in October, 1952 when it debuted as the Healey Hundred at the London Motor Show at Earls Court. Gerry also styled the Austin-Healey […]

The Concours of Elegance 2016 at Windsor Castle will be the biggest, most diverse and most glamorous iteration of the legendary international event yet. In a celebration of Her Majesty The Queen’s 90th birthday, the Concours will bring together a larger selection of cars than ever, – almost 1000 over the course of the weekend – a broader array of features and a brand new supercar exhibit. As ever, the main focus of the Concours of Elegance will be sixty of the world’s most incredible cars gathered from all corners of the globe in to the glorious quadrangle at Windsor Castle. But this year the Concours’ additional events, including the Club Trophy, Jaguar Trophy and Bentley Trophy of Elegance will gather together 90 cars each, in celebration of Her Majesty The Queen’s 90th birthday. With the gracious permission of Her Majesty […]

Is the rise of the self-driving car the beginning of the end for our classic car hobby? And, honestly, is there anything we can or should do about it?

A fine example of a police used 1983 MG TA comes to sale at Historics at Brooklands major Spring sale on Saturday March 12th, at an estimate of £24,000-£28,000.

I swear I am not neglecting Triumph. I love Triumphs! I have had quite a few and even own a 1978 Spitfire at the moment. So, for our Video of the Week (VotW) let’s turn our attention to the Triumph TRs. The Triumph Story is a bit soft in the sound department, but this history of the maker of is definitely worth the watch.

Great Britain has produced more of the world’s greatest cars than any other nation according to the voting for the Classic Six Nations Cup.

The Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance is only a few weeks away now – less than a month. And yes, I am ripe with anticipation. So are quite a few other people, although perhaps “ripe” may not be the most appropriate word. As best as can be forecast this far out, the weather looks like it will be beautiful. It is right now anyway – down here in the semi-balmy South. Let we forget in our automotive excitement, the true goal of the weekend is to raise money for the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance Foundation, a 501(c)(3) corporation. The Foundation has donated over $2.5 million since 1996 to Community Hospice of Northeast Florida, Spina Bifida of Jacksonville, the Navy Marine Corps Relief Society, Shop with Cops, Micah’s Place and other worthy charitable organizations across North Florida.

British Auto Legends: Classics of Style and Design is purely and simply a gorgeous book. Sure, it is a coffee table book, but my god, it is such a beautiful coffee table book! This single work gives our lowly coffee table a reason to exist. This superbly illustrated book brings together more than fifty of the most significant British cars designed between the early twentieth century and the present. At well over 270 pages, there are over 50 of Britains most beautiful and significant cars covered. From the 1907 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost all the way up to Jaguars’s 1998 XK180, there are a good number of high-end cars featured that are not only beyond normal grasp but may never be seen in person. There are, however, a good number of more mainstream beauties displayed. These include cars regularly seen at shows and even […]

Aston Martin enthusiasts are in for a treat this Thursday, when West London official Heritage Specialists Nicholas Mee & Co. reveal their line-up of cars at the London Classic Car Show, the innovative ‘must-do’ event held at ExCel, London, from 18 to 21 February. Once again placed in its prominent, ‘pole’ position close to the main entrance, the company’s impressive stand will showcase a selection of carefully chosen Aston Martins, the Spectacular Seven. The Spectacular Seven include …