Goodwood Revival

To celebrate the 60th anniversary of the re-opening of the 1948 Motor Show, Goodwood has announced the recreation of this classic motoring event, as held immediately after WW2 at Earls Court.
The Goodwood Earls Court Motor Show exhibition area will take its inspiration from the celebrated London Motor Shows, with an original Art Deco look reminiscent of the glory days of exhibitions of the past. This spacious new area will give the expected 115,000 Goodwood Revival visitors an insight into how motoring of the future might look from a pre-1966 perspective, with a display of 'futuristic' 21st century cars.
Car manufacturers confirmed to be exhibiting at this show in September will include Maserati, Jaguar, BMW, Ford and Rolls-Royce.

All of the British cars of 1948 can be found in the Veloce book:

The Complete Catalogue of British Cars 1895-1975
By David Culshaw, Peter Horrobin



Description

The most comprehensive record of British cars in a single volume. Covers nearly 700 manufacturers and some 3700 models.
Synopsis

The British car Bible. Revised and updated reprint of a long out of print classic - the famous "Culshaw & Horrobin". Catalogues all of the cars built in Britain from the dawn of the industry to 1975. Many of these vehicles are now prized and collectible veteran, vintage and classic cars.

The most comprehensive account of British cars ever published in one volume, this book presents a huge amount of information - historical as well as technical - in a way which will serve the needs of the dedicated enthusiast, automotive historian and the general reader.

Nearly 700 manufacturers and some 3700 individual models are covered - including technical specification for most cars. A wide selection of photographs feature all of the major marques and many of the minor ones

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How low can you go?

VW parts gurus Just Kampers have made a leftfield style entrance into the record books this week after partnering with Turner Prize nominated artist Andy Saunders to create the World's Lowest VW Camper.

The 39.5” (1 metre) tall squashed VW camper, entitled "Vancake" is fully road legal and was created by Saunders and his team in just three days during the Bug Jam festival at the UK’s Santa Pod Raceway.

UK Subaru Team Victorious at Rally. With the power of a lawnmower!

The Liege-Brescia-Liege is a 2000-mile rally through some tough European terrain, including Italy's Stelvio and Gavia Passes.

The victorious UK foursome consisted of two Subaru 360cc microcars. The first car was driven by classic car restorer and seasoned historic rally driver James Ewing and his designer partner, Jane Puttock, from Surrey. The second Subaru 360 was driven by Managing Director Victor Sayer from Reading and Craig Lawson from Hampshire.

They scooped 1st prize in the Under 425 Class, plus Best Lady Driver for Jane. In addition, James and Jane came 6th in the Spirit 400 Class.

The Liege-Brescia-Liege commemorated 50 years of the Subaru 360. Both the cars used in the rally were from the 1967 and 1968 model years, and are powered by 2-cylinder, air-cooled 2-stroke engines mounted in the rear, producing 20PS each – which is less than some single-seater petrol lawnmowers!!

soucre newspress.co.uk

MICROCARS AT LARGE!



This book charts the history and development of the small economy cars which emerged after the Second World War. Finances and raw materials were in short supply and these microcars, or 'bubble cars' as they became affectionately known, provided transport for thousands of impoverished motorists during that lean period in the middle of the twentieth century. These tint economy cars now have a significant place in motoring history. This book follows the microcar’s progress right up to the present day, with original colour photographs.


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Mazda at the British International Motorshow

A total of 16 different types of Mazda cars will be on show at BIMS which starts tomorrow and is located on the East Side of London within the Docklands area.

Highlights of Mazda's involvement include unveilings of The Mazda Furai concept (pronounced ‘foo-rye’ – Japanese for ‘sound of the wind’) which is the latest in Mazda's Nagare-based concepts. The Furai combines the striking design aesthetic of the Nagare with a more functional twist in an attempt to merge the the idea of a road car with a race car. The inclusion of 'flow lines' actually enhances the vehicle's aerodynamic performance by channelling air-flow over the body of the car.

The new Mazda RX-8 R3 four-seater sports coupe will also be on show. Enhancements to the classic sports car include a new front bumper, front grille, intake ducts, headlamps, front fender designs, LED rear lamps and a redesigned rear bumper with larger exhaust pipes.

Also, the thrilling 'Mazda Zoom-Zoom Challenge’ will be taking place at BIMS. The event was a big success at the 2006 Show, and will allow over 5,000 people to get behind the wheel of Mazda’s cars and battle against the clock, at no charge, to experience their spirited handling and entertaining drive.

For fans of the Mazda RX series...

Mazda RX-7 - Mazda's Rotary Engine Sportscar - Updated & Enlarged New Edition
By Brian Long



Enlarged new edition of the definitive international history of Mazda’s extraordinarily successful Wankel-engined coupés & roadsters right up to the end of production and the introduction of the RX-8. Advice on buying your own RX-7. The RX-7 in motorsport. Production figures. High quality artpaper production, heavily illustrated with colour throughout. CONTENTS Mazda launched its first rotary-engined car - the Cosmo - in 1966 and was the only car manufacturer to solve the major problems associated with Wankel’s radical engine design so that the unit’s potential could be exploited and enjoyed. Launched in 1978, the RX-7 provided effortless and uncannily smooth performance, attributes that endeared the model to enthusiasts through three generations of production. With each reincarnation the RX-7 became more of a Grand Tourer and less of a sportscar (a mantle handed on to the MX-5/Miata); global sales reduced as the car moved upmarket until, in the new millennium, the model was only sold in its native Japan.

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La Carrera Panamericana Desktop Wallpaper

Set of 10 fantastic desktop wallpaper images from the forthcoming Veloce book - La Carrera Panamericana – “The World’s Greatest Road Race!” By John Tipler. Available to download veloce.co.uk, versiontracker or from Digital Desktop Wallpapers

Featured in carphotos.blogpsot.com under the title of 'good photos, of good cars'.




The Carrera Panamericana was first run to celebrate the inauguration of the Panamerican Highway, and traversed the length of Mexico, from Tuxtla in the south to Juárez near the Texas border. Firms like Alfa Romeo, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen and Porsche took advantage, and as class winners, Porsche even applied the event’s Carrera name to its sportier models. Since its 1987 revival, it’s been run rally-style with half-a-dozen special stages a day. Just as it did in the early-’50s, half the entry comprises brash American stock cars, today mostly Panamericana specials based on spaceframe chassis and 600bhp NASCAR V8 engines and running gear, lurking beneath period Studebaker, Hudson, Lincoln or Oldsmobile bodywork. The ’50s and ’60s European classics are no less heavily modified. Mexicans love a fiesta, and the arrival of La Carrera Panamericana at each of the provincial towns on its seven-day, 2000-mile progress through central Mexico last November provided an excuse for wild celebrations. Everywhere the entourage is mobbed by enthusiastic spectators, waving, cheering and demanding souvenirs. Crowds throng, brass bands play salsa, and the tequila overflows. Includes 350 images, maps of the modern and original 1950s routes, plus results of original events.
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*look out for more downloads coming soon including desktop wallpapers and screensavers.

Britain's Worst Car

Check out this fetching brown 1970s Austin Allegro. The name may have stood for fast, cheerful and lively, but the car has been declared ‘Britain’s Worst Car’ in a poll by brand-new digital motoring magazine, iMotormag.co.uk. 4000 people participated in the online poll which chose the Austin Allegro as the worst with 24% of the votes. This was closely followed by the Morris Ital with 23% and the Talbot Sunbeam with 11%. Other cars which received votes were the Hillman Imp (10%) and the Rover 200 (5%).
Although the Austin Allegro is notorious for poor quality and shoddy craftsmanship, the car still has quite a cult following. This poll proved that in a sense, bad publicity can often be good publicity as in an attempt to defend the car, a representative from Allegro Club International made a guest appearance on Chris Evans' BBC Radio 1 Drive Time show last night. The 1970s British Leyland model played starring roles in TV classics like The Professionals, Doctor Who, The New Avengers, The Sweeney, Open All Hours, Inspector Morse and more recently, Life on Mars and Little Britain.

Allegro in Little Britain

For those who like to reminisce about the more vintage classic car from times gone by, Veloce can take you down memory lane with the Those Were the Days™ series. The latest title in the series which is currently forthcoming is:

The Last Real Austins - 1946-1959

This new book examines how Austin bounced back after WWII, and how, despite the severe materials shortage, it managed to develop the largest range of vehicles produced by any automaker in postwar Britain. It examines how these vehicles were received and used in these markets, and is illustrated with rare archive photography depicting the weird, wonderful and the downright imaginative.

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Mitsubishi Racing Lancer

Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC) has announced a new era of motor sports design and engineering with its all-new crossover “Racing Lancer”. The new car takes its design from the Lancer Sportback and will be previewed at the Paris Motor Show this autumn. Mitsubishi anticipates the Racing Lancer will be ready in time to be a major contender at the 2009 Dakar Rally, due to be held in South America.

With this car, MMC has added a new dimension to its racing vehicles, blending the Pajero with a culmination of company ethos, which includes the recently introduced “Project Global” Lancer Family of Sports Saloon, Sportback, Ralliart and Evolution X.

The end result is a crossover between on-road and off-road rallying as well as both passenger cars and SUVs. The Racing Lancer appears to be more marketable than any of its predecessors and looks set to relaunch Lancer’s racing career.

The definitive international history of one of the world’s most successful rally cars, can be found in this book:

Mitsubishi Lancer Evo
By Brian Long



The Lancer name conjures up many different images. For some, it evokes memories of the first generation cars, introduced in 1973, which fought with the best on the Safari Rally and came out the victors. Others will remember the second generation models – especially the turbocharged versions, the original Mitsubishi wolf in sheep’s clothing – and who could not be aware of the Evolution (Evo) series, launched in 1992? Forged in the fierce heat of WRC competition and honed by years of continuous development, the Lancer Evolution is not only one of the greatest rally cars of all time, it is also a desirable high-performance road car, too. Written in Japan with the full cooperation of Mitsubishi and key staff members, this is the definitive international story of all the world’s Lancers, whether they carried Mitsubishi, Dodge, Colt, Plymouth, Valiant, Eagle, Proton or Hyundai badges, with special emphasis on the Evolution models.

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