eBay and Silverstone Classic manage to rebuild the Range Rover Classic in just three days, now thats good going.

• Fergus Walkinshaw led a team of expert restorers at eBay RESTORATION LIVE

Festival goers at this weekend’s Silverstone Classic (29-31 July) experienced a once-in-lifetime chance to see a 1983 Range Rover brought back to life over the course of just three days.

eBay, the festival’s official parts and accessories partner, challenged racing driver and car restorer Fergus Walkinshaw to revive the vehicle in front of a live audience at eBay’s RESTORATION LIVE.

Starting at 7.00am on Friday morning, Fergus and his team of skilled mechanics guided the crowd through every step of the project as they renovated the iconic first-generation Range Rover using only parts bought from online marketplace eBay.

The crew worked around the clock to get the Range Rover ready for its unveiling on stage at the Mike Brewer Car Clinic on Sunday.

The project included replacing the suspension and the exhaust system, as well as a host of other jobs. The Range Rover was returned to its original condition, even sourcing rare parts such as a section of carpet covering the spare wheel and the front bumper trim.

On Sunday afternoon, the off-roader was driven onto the eBay stage for Mike Brewer’s Car Clinic in front of a crowd of festival-goers.

Mike described the breakneck restoration as “a miracle”. “If you had seen this car three days ago, you would not have believed it could have looked like this,” he said on stage, before Fergus took the crowd through the process of sourcing hundreds of parts from eBay and overhauling the car in just under three days.

RESTORATION LIVE also hosted David Newell's gloriously restored Triumph GT6 Mk3. David was one of three amateur restorers selected to take part in the first ever eBay Car Challenge. David and the owners of a Volkswagen Beetle and Riley Kestrel 1300 secured a £4,000 restoration budget from eBay and set about restoring their classics in painstaking detail in just three months.

David poured “blood, sweat and tears – literally” into his "poor man's E-Type", replacing both rear wings among hundreds of new parts. The Triumph was proudly displayed next to the Ranger Rover pit over the course of Silverstone Classic and took part in the official Triumph parade lap on Saturday afternoon.

Murray Lambell, eBay’s director of retail car parts & accessories, said, “Watching Fergus and the team bring two tons of Range Rover back to life was an amazing spectacle. As soon as they fired up the engine for the first time on the last morning, the RESTORATION LIVE crowd burst into a round of applause, which was amazing."

When Fergus handed back the keys to the proud owner live on the eBay stage, he presented him with the original sales brochure from 1983 too. Fergus was able to find every part he needed from eBay, using 80 business sellers from the online marketplace ensuring that he had everything Fergus and his team needed.  

Murray added, “It was also fantastic to have David and his glorious Triumph GT6 Mk3 with us for the festival. Having seen pictures of the Triumph before the eBay Car Challenge, he’s done a superb job to have it ready for Silverstone Classic and we’re really glad to have helped him get back on the road.”

eBay and Silverstone Classics collaborate to rebuild a 1982 Range Rover live, during the event.

• eBay announced as official parts and accessories partner  
• Show-goers to witness 4x4 classic being restored to its former glory  

The organisers of the record-breaking Silverstone Classic (29-31 July) are delighted to announce eBay, the global online marketplace, will be joining the event, for the first time, as the official parts and accessories partner.

It is a significant collaboration that will add yet another crowd-pleasing component to this summer’s staging of the world’s biggest historic motor racing festival. Demonstrating that eBay is the premier destination for car parts show-goers will be able to follow the live restoration of a 1982 classic Range Rover over the three-day event.

Hosted by eBay, RESTORATION LIVE with Fergus Walkinshaw is sure to be a hugely popular attraction for the tens of thousands of show-goers, many of whom will be travelling to Silverstone in their own lovingly restored classics.

Walkinshaw and his team will guide the crowd through every step of the project as they renovate the iconic first-generation Range Rover using only items bought from eBay. 

Whether it’s a new replacement body panel or an original piece of internal trim, finding the right pieces shouldn’t prove too tricky as there are more than eight million live listings of car parts and accessories on ebay.co.uk to buy at any time. 

Indeed, eBay is home to one of the largest collections of motoring products in the world and, thus, the ideal destination for everything from replacement parts for the family car to the final rare piece in a classic restoration puzzle.

Murray Lambell, eBay’s director of retail car parts and accessories, said: “We love the Silverstone Classic. It attracts everyone from the highly experienced restorer right through to people who simply just love their car – just like eBay does – so it’s a great event for us to be part of. 

“With such a huge selection of products Fergus and the team will easily find everything they need when they restore the Range Rover. eBay can help with everything from an everyday replacement part – to a rare component in a classic restoration.”

As for the Range Rover, once it is restored to its former glory, it will appear on stage during the Mike Brewer Car Clinic on Sunday at the Classic, with Mike and Fergus answering questions and sharing their experience of the complex project.

“We are understandably enthused to be partnering a company of eBay’s global esteem and importance,” said Nick Wigley, CEO of Silverstone Classic organiser Goose Live Events. 

“All the more so as eBay will be helping us to add yet another fascinating new dimension to this summer’s festival. A large number of our visitors are no strangers to restoration projects, and I’m sure they will really enjoy seeing a 34-year-old Range Rover being restored to its original grandeur.”

All tickets for the 2016 Silverstone Classic must be purchased in advance.  Adult admission starts at just £42 and sticks to the Classic’s widely-praised ‘access all areas’ policy, thus providing admission to both National and Wing race paddocks, trackside grandstands, the vintage funfair, air displays and the live music concerts which this year include chart-toppers The Boomtown Rats, Reef and The Stranglers.

Honda announces new VFR800X, lots of standard kit, launched at Motorcycle Live in November.

Honda Motor Europe today announces the new 2015 VFR800X, which boasts a host of changes and new features to confirm its position as a premium Sports Tourer. The 2015 VFR800X benefits from revisions to its 800cc V4 engine for more top end power and mid-range torque, sharper looks all round, longer travel suspension, and new wheels and brakes. Other features include S-TCS, ABS, LED lights, self-cancelling indicators and heated grips as standard.

The 2015 VFR800X combines Honda’s unique 800cc V4 engine with an upright, street-oriented riding position for maximum touring comfort but with the phenomenal performance of its twin brother, the VFR800F. The 2015 VFR800X pushes the concept forward for a stronger all-round sporty ride and sharper modern styling.

The heart of the machine remains its VTEC-equipped 90° V4 DOHC 16 valve engine, which now offers increased low and mid-range torque for flexible, effortless drive, plus increased peak power of 78kW, delivered at 10,250rpm.

The aluminium twin-beam frame features a lighter, revised subframe and new aluminium swingarm ­– another VFR signature piece. Suspension has longer travel: 25mm in its two-piece telescopic forks and 23mm in the rear shock. ABS comes as standard and the front 17-inch hollow-cast aluminium wheel is fitted with dual 310mm discs, worked by radial-mount four-piston calipers. Tyres are sporty street-size 120 front and 180 rear for optimal on-road performance.

The rider now also benefits from the same kind of Selectable Torque Control System (S-TCS) fitted to the Crosstourer. Two levels of S-TCS are available (plus off), to sense imminent loss of rear wheel traction, and seamlessly reduce torque to allow the tyre to grip.

The VFR800X is a true VFR – a motorcycle designed for hard riding fun, but with style, comfort and practicality. Accordingly, the seat is now adjustable, offering two height options, and 5-stage heated grips and Honda’s self-cancelling indicators are both fitted as standard. New, full LED lighting adds a distinct presence and premium finishing touch.

The 2015 VFR800X will be showcased in the UK at Motorcycle Live between 22^nd  - 30^th November 2014 and available through Honda UK Motorcycle dealers from early December.  

Citroen to debut C4 Grand Picasso at the Gadget Show live.

• New Grand C4 Picasso will make its UK premiere at The Gadget Show Live @ Christmas
• Show runs from 1-3 November at Earls Court, London

The New Citroën Grand C4 Picasso will make its UK public premiere on the Citroën stand at The Gadget Show Live @ Christmas from Friday 1 - Sunday 3 November. Visitors to the show will be able to ‘discover the world inside’ Citroën’s brand new 7-seat MPV, which offers class-leading versatility, space and economy.

Befitting its debut at The Gadget Show Live, the New Grand C4 Picasso is packed with convenient and innovative technologies such as dual display screens - a 7” touchscreen and a customisable 12” panoramic HD screen - which are a stylish and smart way of keeping users connected and in control.

There is also ‘360° vision’, an exclusive feature in the segment, that gives the driver a bird’s eye view of the area around the car through the integrated 12” HD screen on the dashboard. To make parking even easier customers can also benefit from ‘Park Assist’, which provides automatic assistance when manoeuvring into a tight parking space, whether parallel parking or reversing straight back. There is even the option of a motorised front passenger footrest and massaging front-seats as luxurious technological touches.

Designed with the modern family in mind, the sleeker, more dynamic next-generation New Grand C4 Picasso - which will be launched in the UK in January 2014 - offers sophisticated styling with ground-breaking proportions. Carrying up to seven people across three rows of seats, the model also offers the widest boot in the class.

Thanks to a new lighter platform, improved aerodynamics and optimised engines, the New Grand C4 Picasso is able to deliver class-leading CO2 emissions - from just 98g/km - and 74.3mpg combined cycle fuel economy.

Citroën’s show stand will also display a DS5 Hybrid4, a DS3 and an augmented reality display of DS3 Cabrio.