Archive for September, 2010
MINI’s WRC return : Q & A with BMW AG’s Ian Robertson
MINI’s Press Office released this Q&A with Ian Robertson, Member of the Board of Management – Sales and Marketing, BMW AG earlier today. Q. MINI is back in motorsport. What does this move mean for the brand? IR: “Our involvement in the World Rally Championship effectively sees MINI returning to its roots. In the early [...]
September 30, 2010
· 
Clive Goldthorp · 
2 Comments
Press Report : MINI unveils WRC car and confirms Meeke as driver
David Evans, Rallies Editor, Autosport, 30th September, 2010 MINI has launched its World Rally Car at the Paris Motor Show – and confirmed Britain’s Kris Meeke as part of its driver line-up for next season. The car will break competitive cover in the World Rally Championship next season, run by British-based motorsport preparation company Prodrive [...]
September 30, 2010
· Clive Goldthorp · No Comments
Paris 2010 : Lotus’ brave new world unveiled
Keith Adams Lotus is stepping into the past for the names for its upcoming foursome of sports cars – planned for launch from 2014. The move into the price stratosphere mirrors Colin Chapman’s plans for the range back in the early ’70s, which brought us the good-looking Elite, Eclat and Esprit, so it’s only fitting [...]
September 30, 2010
· Keith Adams · 13 Comments
XPart : MG Rover Partfinder website doubles visitor numbers
A website which helps motorists and garages to find genuine replacement parts for MG and Rover cars has doubled its visitors in the past year. The mgroverpartfinder.com site received 99.1 percent more visitors in September 2010 year on year, with a total of 6,101 visits to the site during the course of the month. The site [...]
September 30, 2010
· Clive Goldthorp · No Comments
Range Rover : Evoque 5-Door breaks cover
Keith Adams Jaguar Land Rover’s blitz of the Paris Motor Show continues with the arrival of the Range Rover Evoque 5-Door. The 3-Door ‘soft roader’ has already attracted considerable interest and this expansion of the range – which has yet to go on sale – will undoubtedly cement the new car’s success. The car will [...]
September 30, 2010
· Keith Adams · 28 Comments
Finally, it’s going to happen!
Keith Adams AFTER four years and countless hours of collaboration with me, Roy Axe’s autobiography, A Life In Style, is set to hit the bookshelves on the 15th October. It’s been an interesting and fulfilling experience and, as someone who held high-up positions in both the Rootes Group and Rover, Roy is uniquely placed to [...]
September 29, 2010
· Keith Adams · 17 Comments
Jaguar : C-X75 Concept stars at Paris Motor Show
Keith Adams It’s already being described as the star of the Paris Motor Show, but the Jaguar C-X75 – a turbine-powered electric supercar concept with scarcely believable levels of technology and power – will be fighting for column inches with the astonishing Lamborghini Sesto Elemento. However, the Jaguar has something of a performance advantage even [...]
September 29, 2010
· Keith Adams · 30 Comments
Press Report : MINI engines to be used in Saab 9-3 replacement
Rick Kranz, Automotive News Europe, 29th September, 2010 TROLLHATTAN, Sweden - BMW AG and Saab Automobile AB signed an agreement today for BMW to supply engines for Saab’s next-generation 9-3. Under the agreement, BMW will supply Saab with a four-cylinder 1.6-liter turbocharged gasoline engine starting in 2012. The engine is currently used in the MINI and will be adapted [...]
September 29, 2010
· Clive Goldthorp · No Comments
The joys of tech… or not?
Jemma Rochelle Hawtrey AROnline’s regular readers will probably recall that I recently got my hands on that Bangernomics classic, a Renault Safrane 2.2, which was first registered on the 20th February, 1995 and an automatic no less. I’ve now done about 1000 miles the car has been faultless although it needed two new tyres and the usual sundry bits and pieces. The LED strip [...]
September 27, 2010
· Keith Adams · 11 Comments
Our Cars : Project Rover 620Si
Keith Adams I’ve been saying for a while that the Rover 620 is the best used car (made by BMC>MG) in the real world and that, in time, I need to get myself another one. However, saying I’m going to do something and actually doing it are two different things and, as the weeks and [...]
September 27, 2010
· Keith Adams · 12 Comments
Buying guide : Rover Metro/100
Fancy a K-Series Rover Metro or 100? Here’s what to look out for… Years produced: 1990-1998 Body style: 3-door, 5-door hatchback Engine options: 1120cc K-Series inline-four 1396cc K-Series inline-four 8V (76bhp) and 16v (95, 103bhp) 1360cc Peugeot TU diesel inline-four 1527cc Peugeot TU diesel in-line four Transmission options: 4-Speed manual, 5-speed manual, CVT automatic, front [...]
September 25, 2010
· Keith Adams · One Comment
Project Pride
Take one 50-year old record, and a group of talented and driven engineers – and the result is a Rover world endurance record… Writing for AUTOCAR magazine back in August 1990, Andrew Frankel gets close to the record-winning Metro GTi, and reports that it was an exciting steer. The 130mph Metro GTi IT COULD never [...]
September 25, 2010
· Keith Adams · One Comment
Wood & Pickett Minis
Wood & Pickett’s riposte to Radford’s upmarket de Ville… HAVING seen how Radford’s Mini de Ville conversions were catching on, Wood & Pickett decided that they too could take a slice of the action. They set about creating their own “Margrave” conversion, apparently taking their first order from actress Hayley Mills (although this may be [...]
September 25, 2010
· Keith Adams · 3 Comments
Press Report : MINI set for increased WRC test programme
David Evans, Rallies Editor, Autosport, 24th September, 2010 Prodrive’s Technical Director, David Lapworth, says the team will be testing the MINI Countryman WRC for one week per month for the rest of the year – with the car’s first asphalt outing scheduled for November. The car ran for the first time in competitive trim in [...]
September 24, 2010
· Clive Goldthorp · One Comment
Press Report : MINI rules out the opening a UK-based Design Studio
Mark Tisshaw, News Reporter, Autocar, 24th September, 2010 Gert Hildebrand, MINI’s Design Director, has ruled out the possibility of opening a Design Studio in Britain. Hilderbrand, who was speaking to Autocar at a MINI Design event in London last night, said that a UK MINI Design Studio “wouldn’t happen” as it would be too far away from MINI’s [...]
September 24, 2010
· Clive Goldthorp · 12 Comments
Press Report : MINI Scooter E concepts to debut at Paris Motor Show
Jake Lingeman, Automotive News Europe/AutoWeek, 24th September, 2010 BMW’s MINI brand is bringing its electric-powered Scooter E concept to this year’s Paris Motor Show. It gives MINI a response to the electric-powered scooter concept being shown by the Smart brand of German rival Daimler. The Mini Scooter E is the company’s first entry in the [...]
September 24, 2010
· Clive Goldthorp · 4 Comments
Press Report : Range Rover Evoque to start at £30,000 in UK
Paul McVeigh, Automotive News Europe, 23rd September, 2010 Land Rover has now issued more information about the Range Rover Evoque, which was first unveiled in July, ahead of the model’s public debut at the Paris Motor Show later this month and the price of the three-door version will start at £30,000 in the UK. The [...]
September 23, 2010
· Clive Goldthorp · One Comment
Jaguar Land Rover : Recruitment campaign for over 1,000 Halewood jobs
Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), the leading manufacturer of luxury vehicles, is seeking more than 1,000 talented Engineers, Supervisors and Production Operators to help launch the all new Range Rover Evoque which will be built at Halewood Operations, Liverpool in 2011. Ralf Speth, CEO, Jaguar Land Rover, commented, “The Range Rover Evoque is a significant step in [...]
September 23, 2010
· Clive Goldthorp · 11 Comments
The International MG Show : Promoters announce date for 2011 event
Live Promotions Events Limited, the company behind the Race Retro Historic Motorsport Show, has just announced that next year’s International MG Show and Spares Day will be held at Warwickshire’s Stoneleigh Park on Sunday 20th February, 2011. The company says that the event will be the ideal start to a classic year and brings together all that is [...]
September 23, 2010
· Clive Goldthorp · One Comment
China Watch : Chairman Hu Maoyuan says SAIC Motor may take GM stake
Automotive News Europe, 21st September, 2010 SHANGHAI (Bloomberg) – SAIC Motor Corp. said it may invest in the initial public offering of partner General Motors Co., cementing ties between the biggest U.S. and Chinese automakers. China’s largest carmaker will consider investing in GM if “conditions are favorable,” Chairman Hu Maoyuan said in Shanghai yesterday. The [...]
September 21, 2010
· Clive Goldthorp · No Comments
