JustBritish

Planning for the 10th Annual Hilton Head Island Motoring Festival & Concours d’Elegance is underway. This is one of the most prestigious events on the East Coast, and 2011 is shaping up to be know different.

This year they will again host events at two different venues. As in last year, the two different venues will be on two separate weekends. The Savannah Speed Classic will be held Friday, October 28 – Sunday, October 30 on Savannah’s Hutchinson Island at the Westin Savannah Harbor Golf Resort & Spa. This is a sanctioned event of the Historic Sportscar Racing, Ltd (HSR). The remainder of the Motoring Festival’s events will take place again at the Coastal Discovery Museum at Honey Horn on Saturday, November 5 and Sunday, November 6. With the two locations split between two different weekends, volunteers are encouraged to work and experience both venues.

To find out more about volunteering for the fantastic event, please go to volunteer information page.

The last genuine MG works rally car is up for auction, 35 years after it was retired from action competitive farewell, and is expected to fetch £90,000-£130,000 (R1-1.5-million) – more than 100 times the price of the road-going MGB in 1964.

BRX 854B was one of two MGB rally cars built by BMC’s competition department in 1964, when the road car was priced at £850 (the equivalent of R1700 at the time).

It made its racing debut in the Spa-Sofia-Liege rally in August 1964 and went on to compete a further five times as a works entry, in the Tulip, Acropolis, Geneva, Danube and RAC rallies, all in 1965.

It was retired in 1975 and has since then had a meticulous restoration, overseen by MG historian John Baggott and legendary MG racer Barry Sidery-Smith with meticulous attention to detail. Existing parts have been painstakingly restored or replaced and some non-standard period competition parts have been sourced with no expense spared.

Its first public appearance after restoration was at the Le Mans Classic in 2008 and it has the historical technical passport, meaning it’s eligible for other such prestigious events, including the Goodwood Revival, Monaco Classic GP and other pre-65 invitation races.

The MGB will be offered up on June 2, complete with documentation – including letters from the British Motor Industry Heritage Trust and the BMC competition department – original handbooks, racing instructions, receipts, restoration archive photographs, magazine articles and newspaper clippings from 1964 and 1965.

Over thirty rare, unusual and beautiful sports and racing cars manufactured in England will be on display at the Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum in Pennsylvania from February 20th through March 14th, 2010. Titled the “Best of Britain,” the show is comprised of cars from individual collectors in the mid-Atlantic states and is intended to illustrate why the adjective “British” is inseparable from the term “sports car.”

Cars in the show include a 1935 Triumph Gloria Southern Cross that was once part of the Henry Ford Museum, a 1960 MGA Twin Cam Coupe that raced at Sebring, and a 1966 Aston Martin DB6, one of the most potent sports cars of its era. The poster car, a 1933 Squire is the first of only seven ever built, and is considered by many to be among the most beautiful British sports cars ever made.

The “Best of Britain” show is included with regular museum admission, $12 adults, $10 seniors, $8 for students. Children under 8 are admitted free. The Museum is open Tuesdays from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Wednesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Museum is located at 6825 Norwitch Drive, Philadelphia, Pa., 19153, directly in back of the Airport Automall and five minutes off Interstate 95.

For more information, visit www.simeonemuseum.org or call 215-365-7233.

Source Simeone Museum

A delectable line-up of Lister Jaguars – the Cambridge-built sports cars that took the big manufacturers on at their own game and won – will be showcased at this year’s Race Retro, held at Stoneleigh Park, Coventry from 12-14 March.

Examples of the earliest models – including founder Brian Lister’s first car, through the classic Lister ‘knobbly’ and Costin-bodied models and onto the 1990s Storm, which saw the name’s revival, will be reunited with the man behind the marque.

Their appearance coincides with a book written by highly-regarded Jaguar enthusiast Paul Skilleter, which chronicles the company’s sports cars, their founder Brian Lister and their successes during the late-1950s.

Closely associated with driver Archie Scott-Brown, Listers originally used MG and Bristol engines, but the switch to Jaguar engines and the shape of the car, dubbed ‘knobbly’, brought the company unparalleled success and exposure.

A later model, designed by then-leading aerodynamicist Frank Costin shepherded in a new cleaner, wind-cheating appearance, but didn’t repeat the success of earlier models.

Those earlier models proved successful in the fledgling historic motor sport scene, but the Lister name was revived in the 1990s with an all-new (but still Jaguar-powered) sports car. Laurence Pearce’s 600bhp Lister Storm ran at Le Mans and at Daytona, bringing home both the FIA GT Drivers’ and Teams’ Championship in 2000.

Brian Lister, who has provided major input to Paul Skilleter’s book, will be on hand to sign copies at Race Retro. Enthusiasts can buy a copy at an exclusive show discount to its normal retail price.

Adult ticket prices for Race Retro start from just £20 for Friday and £15 for Saturday and Sunday when booking in advance or upgrade to a VIP ticket with fantastic hospitality and a chance to meet our special guests. Children’s tickets are £5 on Friday or Saturday and free on Sunday. Parking is also free throughout. The show is open from 9.30am each day and closes at 5.30pm on Friday and Saturday and 4.30pm on Sunday. To book tickets and for the latest updates, visit www.raceretro.com

From Octane Magazine

The Heritage Motor Centre, home to the world’s largest collection of British cars and the annual Mini Festival, is to host a special Historic Rally Car Register Open Day on Saturday 16 January from 9:30am – 4:30pm. The HRCR Club was designed for those interested in historic rallying, the branch of motorsport dedicated to cars that were rallied from the 1950s through to the 1980s.

2010 marks the 40th anniversary of the 1970 London to Mexico World Cup Rally. A number of original cars that took part will be on display plus visitors can find out all they need to know about historic rallying. Visitors will be able to see the launch of the 2010 Stage & Road HRCR Championship season plus special scenic tours and the chance to see 100 series start up rallies. One highlight of the event will be the chance to listen to special guest rallying legend ‘Brian Culcheth’ interviewed by Graham Robson, a well known motoring writer and historian.

John Bishop, Car Clubs & Groups Co-ordinator at the Heritage Motor Centre stated “We’re delighted to be hosting the Historic Rally Car Register Open Day. The show is an absolute must for historic rally enthusiasts. Historic rallying is booming and becoming ever more popular among rally fans. This nostalgic event is not to be missed”.

Entry to the event is free of charge with the first 200 visitors also receiving complimentary entry to the museum. Thereafter rally attendees will qualify for discounted entry into the museum for just £6 per person. It should be a great event for all Mini and classic rallying fans.

To find out more information visit www.heritage-motor-centre.co.uk

There’s something charming about a bright red restored 1970 MGB cruising down Airport Road on a sunny summer day with the top down. And there’s even more charm in a dozen or more similar cars, MGs, Triumphs, Jaguars and Austin Healeys, all manner of colors making the same trip.

British car enthusiasts gathered more than a dozen times in 2009 in the first year of events for the new Headwaters British Car Club. Club vice president Tom Hodgson said the club is based in Orangeville but has members from all over, including one from Alliston.

“We opened it up to all older British cars,” Hodgson said. “We go out for a couple of hours, have a run, enjoy the countryside. It’s beautiful here.”

While Airport Road is a joy to drive, Hodgson said, Hockley Road “with all the bends” is his favorite. “We’re in a really good area for nice drives.”

With help from his son, Hodgson restored his red 1970 MGB almost 20 years ago.

“Most of us are restoring them. Mine… was a mess, all rusty,” he said. “I enjoy the open driving, and tinkering with them.” In return, he’ll be helping his son fix up an original Mini Cooper. “You just keep adding the bits until you get there,” he said. “It’s the car you wanted to have when you were young. You’re grabbing a piece of your youth. Before, it just didn’t fit in my life.”

There are an equal number of MGs and Triumphs in the club, with a few Jag E-Types and an Austin Healey. There’s a friendly competition between the MGs and the Triumphs.

The club meets every month of the year, and will have guest speakers over the winter with a mechanic in the spring talking about tune-ups and getting the car ready for the road. “In June we’re going to join all the motorcycles and see if we can raise money for (Hospice Dufferin),” Hodgson said.

The Headwaters club has made appearances at the Tottenham car show, in Elora and at the Brampton car show.

For only the second time since 1992, the major meeting of the North American MG clubs is being held in Canada. It’ll be in Belleville in June and Hodgson said it’s likely members of the club will make the trip out.

The Headwaters British Car Club began in the fall of 2008 when a group of four people met to discuss establishing a car club in the Orangeville area. The club now has more than 27 active members. For the coming winter, the club is meeting at the Black Birch in Hockley Valley. The club collected more 150 pounds of food during trips, which was donated to the Orangeville Food Bank.

For more information, visit www.headwatersbritishcarclub.org.

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By Matthew Talbot