JustBritish

UK auto site Autoblog.com has a great, and hilarious, story on what must me one of the oddest match-ups since Oscar and Felix in the Odd Couple. Actually, I guess this predates them, but you get the point!

What we have then is a hybrid Jaguar Morris Minor Traveller. Well, to be precise, a Jaguar XK120 Morris Minor Traveller; that is also probably full of fur. The car was created to haul the owner’s dogs. To make matters even worse, they named the car the “Foxbat”. What? What the heck is a “foxbat”?

Quoting from the original article, “it was stitched together by chemist and Jaguar enthusiast/butcher Geoffrey Stevens. To give him some credit, it’s claimed the XK was in pretty horrendous condition when he started, so he’s done a decent job making the front end look good, at least.”

Sorry, I give up.

While it may receive a name change before taking a bow at dealerships, the Paceman will be the seventh MINI model in showrooms, following the debut of the MINI Roadster in 2012 and the MINI Cooper Coupe this October. The Paceman is based on the same underpinnings as the MINI Countryman crossover, and will be produced in the same assembly plant in Graz, Austria. The new concept was displayed at the 2011 Autoshow in Detroit.

“If MINI keeps releasing cars at their current pace, we’re going to have to expand our showroom,” said Tim Parker, general manager of New Country MINI, a Hartford, Connecticut MINI dealer. “The Paceman packs the capability of the Countryman into a sportier package, which is the right recipe for a lot of Connecticut MINI fans that want a fun ride when the weather is cooperating and a trusty grip when it does not.”

Sharing running gear with the Countryman means the Paceman will have a solid base to build upon. As the only MINI car currently available with all-wheel drive, the Countryman is a change of pace compared to the rest of the lineup. While still small by most standards, the Countryman is the biggest of the MINI bunch, offering room for four adults. Cargo space is a healthy 41.3 cubic feet, which means there is plenty of room for camping gear or groceries. With its convenient hatch and its wheelbase, length and width identical to the Countryman, the Paceman should have similar space.

Power in the MINI Countryman is supplied by one of two 1.6-liter four-cylinder engines, with the standard engine producing 121 horsepower and the turbocharged mill available in the S model delivering 181 horsepower. Both engines are available with either a six-speed manual gearbox or a six-speed automatic, but ALL4 all-wheel drive is available only with the turbocharged engine. While the Paceman is slated to have similar drivetrain options, it is also expected to come with the option of the juiced-up 208-horsepower engine found in the John Cooper Works models of the flagship MINI Cooper and MINI Clubman.

When it comes to fuel economy, standard Countryman models are capable of 35 mpg on the highway with the manual transmission, while S models return 32 mpg with front-wheel drive and 31 mpg when equipped with ALL4 all-wheel drive.

“MINI has a great formula for creating vehicles that are fun and functional, and the Countryman is a fine example of that formula at work,” Parker noted. “Adding the Paceman to the lineup means yet another option for Connecticut drivers who are tired of boring crossovers.”

After starting production 10 years ago, the two-millionth MINI recently rolled off the Oxford, England assembly line with British Prime Minister David Cameron behind the wheel. The production milestone shows that the brand is maintaining another mainstay of the MINI badge: its popularity.

Planet LeMans is reporting that boosted by a new driver and a major sponsor, Team RLR will enter the 6 Hours of Silverstone determined to impress in front of a home crowd at the penultimate round of the 2011 Le Mans Series next weekend (September 9-11).

The mid-season break proved to be a productive one for the Lancashire-based squad as it added former Le Mans 24 Hours winner Warren Hughes to its line-up alongside regular drivers Barry Gates and Rob Garofall, and also confirmed famous British car brand MG Motor UK as an official sponsor.

Read the complete story over at Planet LeMans.

As reported by Bring A Trailer, an auction will be held on September 24th in New Cumberland, Pennsylvania that will liquidate the 5-acre property and British car collection of the former owner. It is rare to find such a sale that includes restored cars and vintage racers in what looks like pristine condition. They are shown parked in a finished display area with hardwood floors! Find more info and photos here via AuctionZip.com.

A brief (?!) inventory listing of the auction…. Cars – 1966 Austin Healey 3000, 1962 Triumph TR4 vintage race car w/race history, Land Rover Series IIA, Morris Minor 1000, 1979 CJ5 Jeep & P/A plow, off road ATV like new buggy, Areins 14 hp Hydrostatic garden tractor & cart; Lucas items; hundreds of  vintage oil cans & oil & gas station items; British car parts; grill badges & rally plates; collection of vintage British car toys & slot cars; original sales brochures (Triumph, Morgan, Sunbeam, Humber, Morris, HRG, MG, Lea Francis, Jaguar, Austin Healey, Austin etc.); restored 1950s Texaco gas pump; working traffic light; lighted Triumph Import car sign; Dunlop Tire signs; Castrol signs & items; glass oil bottles; car & gas station adv.; collection of vintage license plates; garage items; tool boxes & machinist & air tools; air compressor; British car counter stools; steel work bench;  British car memorabilia; British car books & shop manuals; owners manuals; Check Point Turbo Boost pin ball machine (car game); original dealership flags & banners; orig. factory MG-Rover coveralls from car line; adv. signs & thermometers (MG, Jaguar, Jeep etc.); tin British car signs; sets of tires & wheels (Triumph, MG,  Land Rover etc.); car prints & posters; British items; Ford 1930s wire wheels; British motorcycle items & literature; helmets & goggles; Atlas battery & Jaguar novelty radios; maps; jacket patches; British police hat; street signs; small household oil cans; Mobil drinking glasses; oil can banks; & other car related items too numerous to mention.

Anyone who knows more about this auction or attends it, please let us know the details!

This in from the TopGear site…  To be honest, the presenters weren’t that impressed with the new MG6 during the show on Sunday. Or its recycled-racing-horse badge adhesive.

However, this latest old-car-new-tech offering from Frontline Developments seems like a valiant use of the brand. And a rather more affordable alternative to the Eagle Speedster.

Each car uses a new British Motor Heritage MGB shell, into which Frontline shoves a 2012 2-litre VVC MX-5 engine. It’s got billeted con-rods and crankshaft, forged fully-skirted and Teflon-coated pistons and it’s been hopped up with a 45mm direct injection throttle body and closed-loop Lamda set up.

That equates to 215bhp and 170lb ft at 4000rpm. That means 240bhp per ton (it only weighs 900kg). 240bhp. IN AN MGB!

But don’t worry, the sixties shell’s been uprated to cope with the 130bhp power boost (the B was just 85bhp when it launched in ’62). Each one gets strengthened sills, floors and rear quarters to cope with its re-jigged suspension systems.

Read the rest of the story, and drool a bit, over at TopGear.

While Mercedes calls its cars “uber” internally when they want to give them steroids, the British marketing teams at Land Rover are currently considering a “Grande Evoque”, which will fill the gap in the lineup between the compact Range Rover Evoque and the Range Rover Sport.

Once again, this is a car that’s being analyzed from a marketing point of view first and then from an automotive perspective, but we’ll let it slide because we like the new design direction the British firm has.

According to Autocar, inside sources say that a final conclusion on whether to give the go-ahead or not is close to being reached. Land Rover wants to bridge the gap in price between the range-topping Evoque and the entry-level Sport.

The Grande Evoque could be a five-door machine that takes the recently introduced shape and blows it up a bit to provide more room for families. “What’s wrong with the Freelander 4 as a family car?” you may ask. Not much, but a coupe-like body shape will substantially increase market appeal, plus the Freelander has as much chance of being looked at as being sporty as a tractor tire. The Grande Evoque will benefit from an aggressive sporting appearance and still offer considerable legroom in the back.

The powertrains will be borrowed from the Evoque, as will the front-wheel drive option, so expect to see 2.2-liter diesel and 2.0-liter petrol engines under the bonnet. Autocar says the LR-MS platform could be stretched some 300 millimeters (about 12 inches), half of which will go toward legroom and the other will be used for a bigger boot.