MG Car fest to raise funds for air ambulance is hosted by W.H. Brand for teh 2nd year running.

• Families gather at WH Brand MG Carfest to raise money for Air Ambulance

More than 100 classic and current MG models gathered for the WH Brand MG Carfest at the Whaplode Drove-based dealership on Sunday 23 July. The event, which takes place for the second consecutive year, is raising money for the Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance. 

With last year’s meeting welcoming 192 cars, raising over £400 for charity, organisers are expecting an even larger turn-out to this year’s event. 

Welcoming any vintage or modern MG or affiliated marque – including Rover, Austin, BMC, Riley and Wolseley to name but a few – entrance costs just £5 for a display space, £2 for adult visitors and £1 for children, with all profits going to the local Air Ambulance. 

With games, raffles, a tombola and food and drink available, there’s heaps of entertainment on offer, making this a great day out for families.

Adam Brand, sales manager at WH Brand MG, said: “The WH Brand MG Carfest was hugely successful last year. There’s a great appreciation for MG throughout the UK, and events like this give people a chance to come together and talk about the brand that they love. The pre-launch MG XS will also be on display at the event, giving visitors a chance to see the next generation of MG sitting next to the finest examples of the brand’s heritage.”

Matthew Cheyne, head of sales and marketing at MG Motor UK, added: “Events like the WH Brand MG Carfest give a great insight into the evolution of the brand. The new SUV that we have developed, the MG XS, is yet another exciting chapter, and we are sure that people will be delighted with the next MG generation.”

Bigger and better than ever, that will be this years MGLive at Silverstone Circuit.

The name above the gate may say MGLive! but there's plenty more to see than just MGs models when the MG Car Club's annual extravaganza returns to Silverstone on 17th and 18th June.

The Club's Racing division has developed a racing programme not to be missed on the GP Circuit, as it's own MG championships are joined by the pre-1966 Touring cars from the Masters Series, giving visitors the chance to see BMW 2002s, Alfa Romeos, Lotus Cortinas, Ford Falcons and Mustangs battling it out against the ever competitive Mini Coopers.

There will also be action from the single seater Radical Challenge Championship, as well as the all powerful Porsche Club Championship.

But the biggest grids of the weekend will be from the eclectic mix of Equipe GTS, with a range of vehicles from Alfa Romeos to TVRs and of course MGs – with Midgets and MGBs completing a varied line-up.

For those who prefer to be part of the action rather than just spectate, MGLive! invites owners to compete in the California Cup Autotest, the MGLive! Autosolo and a Sprint held on the Stowe Circuit. There's also passenger rides and a chance to take to the GP circuit in the lunchtime parade lap.

Away from the track, around 3,000 MG models spanning over 90 years of motoring heritage will be on display from the Club's various registers, along with a collection of models that have all made their mark in motorsport.

There's also the Live Arena hosted by Wheeler Dealers' Mike Brewer and Ant Anstead, with plenty of fun and games including a human gymkhana, relay race, and daily car clinics. The arena also boasts stunt driving legend Russ Swift's only UK performance this year, marking 30 years since his first appearance at Silverstone.

The Trader village offers parts and spares as well as motoring memorabilia while the Lifestyle Marquee has a mixture of arts, crafts and hand-made gifts. If you fancy clearing out your garage, you can book a space in the ‘Silverstone Sort Out’ which is a motoring car boot sale.

MGLive! is as much a social event as a haven for motoring fans, with the new Village Green area offering live musical entertainment through the weekend so people can relax and enjoy the festival vibe.

Saturday will see performances by retro harmony group The Candy Girls along with leading covers band, The Shadow Monkeys. On Sunday, it's the turn of all-girl group, The Glamophones and Dammit Jack, who will be playing songs from the 60s through to present day.

Those wishing to make a weekend of it can stay overnight with camping facilities on offer from as little as £35 for a tent pitch and £40 for a caravan/motorhome, with a choice of general or family camping areas for those wanting a quieter part of the venue. Those staying onsite can also dance the night away to music from part band TFI Live as well as a DJ into the night.

MG Car Club to launch an MG specific Top Trumps card game at MGLive in June.

MG Motor UK is thrilled to become part of the family-favourite card game, Top Trumps, where 30 cards will showcase vintage models through to the current range.  

Top Trumps, a popular card game loved by children and adults worldwide, will be adding the new and exciting MG pack to its existing range in June; when it will be launched at the MG Car Club’s annual MGLive! event.

The 30 cards will include the MG3, MG6 and new MG GS, as well as vintage models and classics like the MGA and MGB.

Over the course of the next few weeks, the MG Car Club will be revealing which other models can be found in the pack.

Those interested in picking up a pack can do so at MGLive! on 4 June at Silverstone. The annual event sees thousands of MG enthusiasts descend on the home of British motorsport to celebrate all things MG. MG Motor UK will be there with MG GS, as well as the MG3 and MG6.

Classic Car Auctions finishes the year with a raft of special cars and a rare, last made for UK SAAB 96L Souvenir V4.

A very special and rare 1978 Saab 96L Souvenir V4, the very last made for the UK market, will be going under the hammer next weekend in Classic Car Auctions’ (CCA) Christmas Sale, taking place on Saturday 5^thDecember at the Warwickshire Exhibition Centre, Leamington Spa.

This important 1978 Saab is number 150 of 150 right-hand drive model 96 V4s produced for the UK, with a certificate present from Saab themselves to confirm this. It has covered a mere 3,010 miles from new in total, with the present vendor enjoying a pleasurable 1,000 miles of these.

This Saab 96L is in amazing, factory original condition throughout with the Cardinal Red paint, unique to this last UK batch of cars, gleaming. Said to drive perfectly with everything working, including its free-wheel, the vendor enthusiastically informs us it has also won Club show awards on its rare outings.

The individual looking and innovative Saab 96 was in production for 13 years and was renowned for its strength and design attributes, all well highlighted by International Rally successes in the hands of the recently late, great Eric Carlsson.

Other low-mileage classics joining the Saab at the auction include a barn find 1980 MGB, with just one registered keeper and showing just 181 miles from new, and a brightly coloured, highly original 1975 Volkswagen 1300 Beetle showing just 8,762 miles.

Also offered is a fantastically original 1977 Mini Clubman that has covered just 8,703 miles. Originally sold on 14th October 1977, the car was resold on 28th April 1978 to a friend of the original owner. Garaged in 1985 when she stopped driving, the car was put away and never used again.

Commenting on the sale next weekend, CCA general manager, Guy Lees-Milne said: “We have a fantastic selection of single ownership, low mileage classics on offer in our final sale of the year. Cars with history like this always prove in high demand at auction and therefore we expect a lot of interest.”

John Steeds Jaguar XJC 12 going up for auction, its in a bad way, but this MUST be saved, as he passed recently.

Steed, Gambit, Purdey: cult fantasy secret agent series The New Avengers was one of the hits of the mid-1970s. But the other star alongside Patrick Macnee, Gareth Hunt and Joanna Lumley was this 1976 Jaguar XJ-C 12, now for sale at H&H Classics on 14 October 2015 with the very modest estimate of just £10,000 to £12,000.

John Steed's famous Jag, in Racing Green, was the eighth XJ-C 12 made and originally an experimental model featuring a Broadspeed body kit and extra-wide wheels fitted for the TV series.

Dry-stored for many years and now in need of restoration, it comes to the market as a dream project for someone who loves a ‘barn-find’.

There can be very few British cars that speak more eloquently of the automotive culture of the UK in the 1970s than this burly, rakish, cool brute that was John Steed’s Big Cat.

This smooth secret agent was well matched by the equally elegant but tweaked, tuned and pumped up version of Jag’s pillarless XJ Coupé that boasted a dozen cylinders offering 5.3 litres.

Driven by an elegant man in Savile Row tailoring and a bowler hat, the car, gritty Gambit and purring Purdey were perfect foils for him and the oh-so-British action.

Damian Jones, Sales Director of H&H Classics, comments: “Who of us who remember the series did not at one time or another fancy ourselves at the wheel of this car? Now there is a chance to make that fantasy a reality for a very nominal amount. And who knows, maybe the chance to find a modern-day Purdey in the passenger seat!”

British Motor Heritage celebrates 30 years of MGB bodyshell production, amongst others.

BMH BOASTS NEARLY 30 YEARS OF MGB BODYSHELL PRODUCTION

And nine years more than was achieved by MG itself!

As British Motor Heritage (BMH) completes another batch of replacement bodyshells for the venerable MGB, it is incredible to note that the company has now been manufacturing them for 28 straight years – ie nine years longer than they were made by the MG factory itself, whose production span began in 1962 and was cruelly terminated by the BLMC management in 1980.

The key point about the BMH shells are that they’re produced to original specification via the original press dies and assembly jigs, which are continually inspected and refurbished to maintain optimum performance. 

The products are therefore every bit as accurate as those constructed in Abingdon 50 years ago. Only top grade automotive steel is employed, and each shell is supplied complete with a full coat of high build primer, thereby guaranteeing excellent pre-build protection and minimal preparation prior to the application of the final paint finish.

No less than 14 variants of the MGB shell are available, which between them cover: the four-cylinder roadsters and GTs of all years, in both left and righthand drive configuration; the V8; and even cars being converted from rubber to chrome bumper specification. Prices start from £8,250.00 (including VAT) and the shells are available direct from BMH’s online retail arm (www.motoringclassics.co.uk) or via any of the company’s accredited dealers, as listed on www.bmh-ltd.com. Production is currently running at around 30-35 shells per annum.

Said BMH Managing Director John Yea: “One of many great things about the MGB is that good quality spares are so readily obtainable throughout the world, which has allowed generation after generation to enjoy this great British sports car, and we are proud to have been a major contributor to that longevity for all these years.”

BMH is the world’s largest manufacturer of replacement bodyshells and panelwork for British classic cars. It was established in 1975 and has so far built well over 6,000 replacement shells for the MGB, MGR V8, MG Midget, Austin-Healey Sprite, Triumph TR6, original Mini and Mini Clubman, as well as many thousands of individual replacement panels for these and other models.