Showing posts with label d-type. Show all posts
Showing posts with label d-type. Show all posts
Monday, August 24, 2015
Jaguar celebrates the 80th Anniversary of the Mille Miglia with a field of Seven classic Jags'.
- Jaguar Heritage to field nine of the marque’s most famous 1950s models in the 2015 Mille Miglia
- Event runs from 14-17 May with drivers piloting three C-types, three D-types, an XK120, an XK140 and a MK VII
- Star line-up of drivers come from motorsport, music and entertainment to drive historic Jaguars on the Mille Miglia
- Live updates from event will be available through Jaguar’s official social media channels, as well as Twitter profiles of drivers using hashtag: #JaguarMille
Jaguar is celebrating its 80th anniversary by once again taking on the legendary challenge that is the Mille Miglia. Held from 14-17 May in Italy, Jaguar Heritage Racing will be fielding a team of drivers who will cover more than 1,000 miles from Brescia-Rome-Brescia in nine of the marque’s most celebrated models.
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Famous faces from the world of motorsport, TV and music will put their historic Jaguars through their paces on the gruelling route which takes place over four punishing but unforgettable days starting in Brescia, heading to Rimini, Rome, Parma and then back to Brescia.
Crowds lining the route will get to see examples of historically-significant Jaguar XKs, C-types and D-types hurtling past them with famous faces in the cockpits.
Five-time winner of the Le Mans 24hr, three-time Daytona 24hr winner and world sportscar veteran, Derek Bell, will make his Mille Miglia debut driving a Jaguar C-type. Derek is driving as a guest of art collector and classic car enthusiast Adam Lindemann.
Piloting the second C-type, ‘NDU 289’, will be Jaguar Vehicle Integrity Chief Engineer Mike Cross, while the final C-type, ‘PUG 676’, will be driven by Royal Automobile Club Motoring Committee Chairman, Ben Cussons.
Driving ‘RSF 303’, a priceless Jaguar D-type ‘Long Nose’ Ecurie Ecosse racer, which finished second at Le Mans in 1957, will be Jaguar Design Director, Ian Callum. A veteran of the Mille Miglia, Ian drove with US chat show host Jay Leno in the 2014 event - this year he will be partnering up with businessman and classic car enthusiast, Clive Beecham.
At the wheel of a Jaguar MK VII will be a man who’s no stranger to speed and sleep deprivation – Charley Boorman. More used to two wheels than four thanks to his many motorbike adventures, Charley will be partnered by Bremont co-founder Giles English. The fastest saloon car of its day, a Jaguar MK VII was famously piloted to victory in the 1956 Monte Carlo Rally by Ronnie Adams with co-drivers Frank Biggar and Derek Johnstone.
Making for a very glamorous cockpit is ‘OOF 748’ - the XK120 roadster of model, TV presenter and current host of Channel 5’s The Classic Car Show, Jodie Kidd, whose co-driver will be male supermodel, GQ columnist and classic car enthusiast, David Gandy.
Host of the hugely popular BBC One show, Saturday Kitchen and well-known TV chef, James Martin, will be partnered by Bremont co-founder Nick English, brother of Giles. They will share the penultimate ‘Long Nose’ Jaguar D-type ever built, registered ‘393 RW’. Completing the trio of D-types will be one of the classic car world’s most respected experts, Simon Kidston.
Completing the Jaguar Heritage team line-up is successful British singer/song-writer Elliot Gleave, otherwise known as Example. Elliot will be driving a XK140 with his father, Michael, as co-pilot. The XK140, registered ‘TAC 743’, was once owned by successful British racing driver David Hobbs.
On the Mille Miglia, a number of new Jaguar XEs will also support the Jaguar Heritage Racing team, following the full route through Italy with broadcast crews and VIP guests.
First race in the Jaguar heritage Challenge completed at Donington, and has been a huge success.
- Martin O’Connell and Andrew Kirkaldy driving Jaguar E-type take the chequered flag
- Pair of Joaquin Folch and Martin Stretton take second while Chris Ward and John Young finish third in one of the weekend’s most closely fought races
- Graeme Dodd chosen as the race commentators’ ‘Driver of the Day’
- Entrants and drivers can visit a dedicated web page for the new series at http://www.hscc.org.uk/jaguar-heritage-challenge for full details and information on how to enter
- Spectacular and diverse field of 39 heritage Jaguars on the starting grid
- Next race takes place at the Silverstone International Trophy between 16-17 May, 2015
Martin O’Connell and Andrew Kirkaldy driving a Jaguar E-type have taken the chequered flag at the inaugural race of the Jaguar Heritage Challenge at the Donington Historic Festival.
In what proved to be one of the most closely fought races of the weekend, the lead changes on several occasions before a red flag brought a temporary halt to the action as marshals cleaned up the track following an earlier incident.
After the restart the Martin and Andrew got into a rhythm and began to stretch the lead out to eight seconds. The team managed to maintain this pace for the remainder of the race, and crossed the line ahead of second-place finishers of Joaquin Folch and Martin Stretton followed by the pair of Chris Ward and John Young who finished in third.
Winning driver, Martin O’Connell said: “We are delighted with the result but for us it is fabulous to see Jaguar get behind such an exciting series and the way they have put the package together is what historic racing is all about. There is such a competitive field and it makes for some incredibly close racing. Delighted with the result and we’re looking forward to the next round at Silverstone.”
Taking class honours were Chris Scholey and Nick Finburgh (Class A), Tom Barclay in his MK I (Class B), Benjamin Eastwick driving a Jaguar D-type 'Long Nose' (Class C) and Bob Binfield in a Jaguar E-type (Class D). Meanwhile, Graeme Dodd was chosen by the race commentators as their ‘Driver of the Day’ for a stellar drive and coming home fifth after starting near back of the grid.
John Edwards, Managing Director of Jaguar Land Rover Special Operations, said: “We’d like to congratulate Martin O’Connell and Andrew Kirkaldy and their team on their race victory in the first round of the Jaguar Heritage Challenge. It was captivating to witness such a diverse array of classic Jaguars competing out on the track and we are looking forward to welcoming the teams, our customers and fans to the next exciting round at Silverstone."
Andy Wallace, Jaguar Heritage Challenge competitor and 1988 Le Mans winner with Jaguar, said: “This has been a fantastic weekend and it’s been so exciting to race competitively with some of the most iconic Jaguars ever made. The brand gave me the opportunity and the car to win Le Mans and it’s always a special occasion to race a Jaguar.”
The Jaguar Heritage Challenge is open to all Jaguars manufactured before 1966 including the XK-series, C- and D-types, MK I and MK II saloons and E-type. It complements the growing portfolio of Jaguar Heritage activities, which also incudes the recently launched Jaguar Heritage Driving Experiences and factory sourced Heritage Parts and restoration – all under the expert direction of Jaguar Land Rover’s Special Operations division.
Following yesterday’s action at Donington, the single-marque series heads to Silverstone for the Silverstone International Trophy on 16 and 17 May, 2015.
The remaining dates for the Jaguar Heritage Race Series are as follows:
16th– 17th May: Silverstone International Trophy (GP Circuit)
11th– 12th July: Brands Hatch Super Prix (GP Circuit)
7th– 9th August: Nürburgring Oldtimer Grand Prix
29th– 31st August: Oulton Park Gold Cup
Entrants and drivers can visit a dedicated web page for the new series at http://www.hscc.org.uk/jaguar-heritage-challenge for full details and information on how to enter.
Vauxhall joins in with it's parent companies half a billion car sales celebrations.
- GM celebrates 500 million vehicles produced
- Vauxhall has made ‘a significant contribution’ after 90 years of GM ownership
- GM & Vauxhall continue to innovate after more than a century in business
General Motors today became the first car manufacturer in the world to produce 500 million vehicles, as Vauxhall in the UK – GM’s fourth largest market – celebrated 90 years of ownership by the US company.
‘During 2015, we expect to sell more than 1,000 new vehicles per hour, 24 hours per day,’ said Mary Barra, GM’s CEO.
‘This adds up to nearly ten million vehicles, the most in our history. I look at this extraordinary volume as ten million opportunities to prove what kind of company we are and to say thank you.’
The landmark figure came 90 years after General Motors purchased Vauxhall in 1925 in what was the American company’s first overseas acquisition. Luton-based Vauxhall, which is Britain’s oldest surviving car manufacturer, very quickly repaid GM’s investment and to date has sold nearly 14.5 million vehicles in its own right.
Like its parent company, which pioneered the automatic transmission, the V-8 engine and the first airbags in a production vehicle, Vauxhall has a long history of innovation too. Just 10 years into GM ownership it produced the DY and DX models, the first British cars with independent front suspension. Two years later the H-type was launched, the first British car to have an integral body and chassis.
But perhaps the most significant achievement for Vauxhall is its 112 years of continuous vehicle production, even during both World Wars when it manufactured the D-type Army Staff Car and Churchill Tank respectively from its Kimpton Road plant in Luton. Today, Vauxhall’s Vivaro van is still built on Kimpton Road, with a further five million vehicles produced by the company’s Ellesmere Port plant since it opened in 1964.
‘Vauxhall has made a significant contribution to GM’s success, and we are very proud to be part of its global family,’ said Tim Tozer, Vauxhall’s Chairman and Managing Director.
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