Jaguar Land Rover awards its top ten suppliers in the inaugural Supplier Excellence Awards.

• New annual awards programme underlines importance of supply chain
• Top ten production suppliers recognised for performance and flexibility
• Jaguar Land Rover asks its suppliers to gear up for future growth

Jaguar Land Rover has recognised its top ten direct production suppliers at the company’s inaugural Supplier Excellence Awards.  Companies from Corby to Cairo were presented with trophies by British actress, Joanna Lumley, at a ceremony held in the West Midlands, the heart of the company’s UK operations.

Explaining the rationale for the new award programme, Ian Harnett, Jaguar Land Rover Director of Human Resources and Purchasing, said:  “These awards recognise the role that our supply chain plays in meeting our business objectives and celebrate the achievements of companies that have excelled on quality, delivery, cost and absolute certainty of supply. 

We are also saying a special thank you to those supplier facilities that have shown “Above and Beyond” flexibility, or have worked quickly to meet production or design challenges.”

A total of ten trophies were presented for performance in 2014:  two gold, four silver and four bronze.  The awards went to individual plants or facilities, rewarding on-time delivery, continuous quality, accreditation to international and Jaguar Land Rover standards and flexibility to meet the company’s developing needs.  

Over the past five years, Jaguar Land Rover has doubled sales and employment, tripled turnover, and invested over £10 billion in new product creation and capital expenditure.    In 2014 it opened its first major overseas manufacturing site in China and laid the foundation stone for its new Brazilian plant, which will open next year.  

The company’s innovation is continuous, with 50 major new and model-year upgrade product launches planned for the next five years, offering increased opportunity for its supply base.

Ian Harnett continued:  “Jaguar Land Rover is gearing up for the future and we need our suppliers to do the same, enabling us to deliver class-leading vehicles to our customer base across the globe. 

The ten facilities recognised through our first annual Excellence Awards are the leading examples of how our strong supply base is stepping up to the mark.”  

Jaguar Land Rover chose to award individual supplier locations, rather than overall groups, in recognition of the importance of a close working relationship with each facility, founded on principles of integrity, honesty and trust.  As a reflection of its approach to supplier relations, Jaguar Land Rover was named most trustworthy OEM in a recent study conducted by global information and analytics provider, IHS Automotive.

The winners of the Jaguar Land Rover 2015 Supplier Excellence Awards were:

Gold

Continental Automotive Systems Slovakia s.r.o. at Zvolen (brake calipers for the Jaguar XF, XJ and F TYPE).

Brembo Poland Sp.z.o.o. at Dabrowa Gornicza  (brake discs for the Range Rover, Range Rover Sport, Discovery and Defender).

Silver

Autoliv BKI at La Pobla De Vallbona, Spain (part of the Swedish Autoliv Group, the world’s largest automotive safety supplier, which supplies airbags, seat belts and both passive and active safety systems).

ZF Lemforder UK Ltd at Solihull (corner assemblies, including suspension, driveshaft and brake assemblies for many Land Rover models).

Trelleborg ForshedaZF Lemforder AB, Sweden (mass dampers for all Jaguar Land Rover vehicles and lines, part of the Trelleborg Vibracoustic Group, a strategic supplier to Jaguar Land Rover for engine mounts).

Maxion Wheels Italia, S.r.l., at Dello near Brescia (alloy wheels for many Jaguar Land Rover vehicles, including Range Rover, Range Rover Sport, Range Rover Evoque and Jaguar XF.  Part of the Lochpe Maxion Group, headquartered in Brazil.)

Bronze

Leoni Wiring Systems Egypt S.A.E. in Cairo (wiring harnesses for Discovery, Defender and Jaguar F-TYPE vehicles.  Part of the Leoni group, headquartered in Germany, which produces technically sophisticated products, from single-core automotive cables through to complete wiring systems with integrated electronics).

Denso Manufacturing UK, Telford plant (heating, ventilation and air conditioning units for the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport vehicles as well as the latest range of Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles from our lightweight aluminium architecture).

Robert Bosch GmbH at Ansbach, Germany (part of Bosch’s Automotive Electronics business division, the Ansbach plant is the global lead for the production of restraint control electronics).

Benteler Automotive UK Ltd at Corby (part of the Benteler International Group, the Corby site supplies steel sub-frames, control arms and selected chassis components).

UK APRIL SALES - MASERATI - More huge growth with the luxury brand continues into Q2 of 2015.

In April, Maserati confirms the results that set a new record in the first quarter of 2015. With 148 new cars registered in April, the UK market reaches a cumulative figure of 523 vehicles for the year so far, an increase of +65% compared to the same period of the previous year.

All the main European markets (United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, France, Spain, Switzerland and Benelux) recorded positive results during April, with an average increase of about +20% over the same month in 2014.

The Ghibli Diesel also received a major mark of approval with regard to the corporate market, being named “best company car in Germany”, both in direct competition with the highly acclaimed German cars and in the imported car category. This rating was awarded by a sample of 270 German fleet managers chosen by the respected industry journal Firmenauto, owned by the Motor Sport Presse group.

The Quattroporte, Italian flagship for excellence, and the Ghibli, the first executive saloon in the premium E segment to be produced by the Trident marque, have contributed significantly to the excellent results achieved by Maserati.

Subaru UK continues to grow at a far superior rate than the average, and it will only get better.

Subaru UK’s turnaround performance in the UK continues with the publication of the latest SMMT registration figures for May, which shows the Japanese all wheel drive brand posting a 73% increase for April against last year.

For the year to date Subaru has sold nearly 50% more cars than in 2014 against a general market performance of 6.4%.

Last month Subaru launched the all new Outback, which has been warmly welcomed by dealers and customers leading to strong early demand for the crossover estate. 

The new Outback has won particular praise for its segment leading safety technology, high levels of quality and value for money.

The Forester SUV has also received a refresh with a revamped interior and new drivetrain options, while demand for the ever popular WRX STI performance saloon continues to outstrip supply into the UK. More good news follows later this year with the introduction of the new Levorg sport tourer in Europe.

Paul Tunnicliffe, Subaru UK’s Managing Director, commented: “It’s very encouraging that we continue to build our momentum in the UK, underpinned by new models to the range. The launch of the new Outback has gone very well and is bringing new customers to the Brand. We are continuing to build the dealer network so that Subaru becomes more accessible to more people and we are looking forward to the new Levorg coming to Europe later this year.”

Fuji Heavy Industries is currently recording record sales in the US and Canada. In the US, passenger car sales are expected to exceed half a million this year.

So called actor achieves record speed in a stunning Bentley on the Pendine Sands.

• Bentley helps Elba follow in famous footsteps of Sir Malcolm Campbell
• Continental GT Speed and Hollywood star break 88-year-old record
• Award-winning actor achieves 180.361 mph on Pendine Sands, Wales

Idris Elba, star of Luther and The Wire, piloted a Bentley to break the historic ‘Flying Mile’ UK land speed record set by Sir Malcolm Campbell in 1927. The award-winning actor hit a top speed of 180.361 mph at the wheel of a new Continental GT Speed on Pendine Sands, Wales. 

This broke the existing record of 174.8 mph set by Sir Malcolm nearly 90 years ago in his legendary Napier-Campbell Blue Bird. The record was independently verified by the UK Timing Association.

Elba, who famously played Nelson Mandela in the multi-award winning Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, said: “I'm absolutely elated to have broken the 'Flying Mile' at Pendine Sands. It’s an honour to have taken on the challenge, and to successfully follow in the footsteps of the illustrious Sir Malcolm Campbell.”

Despite some challenging tidal conditions on the beach in south Wales, the record was broken in the Crewe-built Continental during filming for an upcoming four-part Discovery Channel series, Idris Elba: No Limits, which will air in July.

Bentley Continental GT Speed

Powered by Bentley’s iconic 6-litre twin-turbo W12 engine, the GT Speed develops 635 PS and 820 Nm for instantly accessible high performance. Coupled with a new ZF eight-speed close-ratio automatic transmission and state-of-the-art engine management software, the GT Speed despatches the zero-to-sixty sprint in 4.0 seconds (0-100 km/h in 4.2s), on its way to a top speed of 331 km/h (206 mph).

In the Bentley Speed tradition, outstanding performance is matched by an enhanced chassis with up-rated springs, anti-roll bars and bushes, a lowered ride height (by 10mm front and rear) together with re-tuning of the electronically controlled damping and steering systems.

Škoda Fabia Combi R5 Concept car promises to pack 'em in at the 34th Worthersee GTi Gathering.

• Fabia Combi R5 to make debut at mid-May GTI meeting
• ŠKODA reinterprets its new rally car as an estate
• Follows ŠKODA Fabia R5’s spectacular opening in Czech Rally Championships

The new ŠKODA Fabia R5 caused a sensation at its first ever race, with the ŠKODA team bringing home a clear victory from the new model’s world premiere in the Šumava Klatovy Rally. Now the high-tech racer will be presented as an estate show car at the 34th GTI meeting at Wörthersee (13 to 16 May 2015). 

ŠKODA will also be presenting the ŠKODA Fabia R5 alongside three other sports cars.

PREVIOUS SKODA WORTHERSEE CONCEPTS

As many as 200,000 tuning and motorsport enthusiasts will be making the pilgrimage to Wörthersee in Austria between 13 and 16 May to indulge in their passion for fast cars. This will be ŠKODA’s sixth appearance at the GTI meeting, where the brand will be presenting five sporty models.

ŠKODA’s designers have reinterpreted the Fabia R5 as an estate model to create the ŠKODA Fabia R5 Combi show car. The green, white and black ŠKODA Fabia R5 Combi will be driving onto the stage on 18-inch alloys. At the front, a powerful bumper and wide air intakes signify the car’s rallying ambitions. 

The wide contoured grille is finished in black, as are the door mirror covers. Flared mudguards and powerful doorsills accentuate the model’s racy appearance.

The rear sports a huge spoiler, as well as a giant rear bumper, and a wide central exhaust pipe. Beneath the surface, the Fabia R5 features an ultra-modern 1.6-litre turbo petrol engine, all-wheel-drive, sequential five-speed transmission and McPherson struts.

ŠKODA will also be showing the ‘original’ ŠKODA Fabia R5 at Wörthersee. ŠKODA’s brand new racing car celebrated its dazzling world premiere at the end of April with a triumphant victory at the opening of this year's Czech Rally Championship. Driven by the Asia-Pacific Champion Jan Kopecky (CZ), the car proved to be both fast and reliable. 

The Fabia R5 is based on ŠKODA’s new production Fabia, and is the successor to the Fabia Super 2000, which went down as the most successful rally car in ŠKODA’s history.

Aston Martin teams set out to conquer the infamous Nurburgring in Germany.

Luxury British sports car maker Aston Martin, along with its race team Aston Martin Racing, today announces an ambitious five-car assault on the 2015 ADAC Zurich N24 endurance race at Germany’s infamous Nürburgring.

Aston Martin Racing heads to the world-renowned endurance event on 16/17 May with a pair of works V12 Vantage GT3s, and has its sights set firmly on the outright race win in the top SP9 class.

While Aston Martin has been racing at the annual Nordschleife event for a decade, 2015 is only the third time that its works race team has entered the top SP9 class for GT3 cars.

In 2013, with the car running in the iconic blue and yellow livery of Aston Martin’s technical partner Bilstein for the first time, the team finished tenth after leading the gruelling race for more than half the running time, and in 2014 it finished fifth. This year, Team Principal John Gaw is confident that the race win could be within sight.

“The worst thing you can do at the Nürburgring is underestimate it,” he commented. “However, we’ve shown in the last two years that we have the potential to take the outright race win.

“We’ve learned a lot here, and this year we come with two cars which are well proven and reliable, and a strong driver line-up. The race win is the ultimate goal.”

Aston Martin Engineering Team

Continuing its tradition of intensive product prove-out at this unique and gruelling race, Aston Martin will also enter two race-prepared Vantage GT12s in the event’s close-to-production SP8 class.

The Vantage GT12 was launched to worldwide acclaim in March this year at the Geneva Motorshow, with all 100 examples sold before the car was publicly unveiled. Taking its inspiration directly from Aston Martin Racing’s Vantage GT3, the Vantage GT12 benefits from the learning drawn from the brand’s ten years of racing and developing its road cars at the Nürburgring.

In the 24-hour race, the Vantage GT12s will run as close to production specification as possible with only required racing safety upgrades added, emphasising its track capabilities and demonstrating its durability under the most intense conditions.

David King, Director of Special Projects and Motorsport at Aston Martin said: “This is a unique event where our professional AMR race team and our Gaydon engineering team come together to compete as one entity. The team spirit is very special and we learn a great deal, both technically and organisationally, each year. I am very proud that we have kept a 100 percent finishing record over the past ten years and we will be doing everything possible to maintain that.”

He added: “We are very fortunate to have the continued backing and technical support of partners Bilstein and Castrol, as well as tyre partner Michelin who have been selected as tyre supplier for the Vantage GT12 road car.”      

Finally, to celebrate the company’s tenth year at the race, the brand’s line-up will be completed by a Vantage GT4 to be driven by Aston Martin non-executive chairman, Dr Ulrich Bez, and presented in the same yellow livery as the original Vantage N24 he drove in 2006.

The Nürburgring 24 Hours starts at 16:00hrs CET on 16 May. Follow and support the team on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and now Periscope using #teamAMR.

Concours of Elegance celebrates Scotland’s historic racing heroes at the Palace of Holyroodhouse

• Concours of Elegance celebrates Scotland’s historic racing heroes at the Palace of Holyroodhouse
• Jim Clark’s 1963 F1 Championship-winning Lotus 25 will be on show, alongside his Lotus-Cortina and Lotus 43-BRM H16
• Andrew Cowan’s 1968 London-to-Sydney-winning Hillman Hunter and the Jaguar XJR-9 piloted by Johnny Dumfries to victory at Le Mans will also be displayed

The Concours of Elegance 2015 will be held at Edinburgh’s Palace of Holyroodhouse, and the organisers are planning a special tribute feature to some of Scotland’s most famous racing drivers and their cars.

As well as the main Concours event, featuring sixty of the world’s rarest and most elegant cars, the grounds of the Palace of Holyroodhouse will host iconic cars driven by Scottish legends like Jim Clark, Johnny Dumfries and Andrew Cowan.

Representing Jim Clark will be a Lotus-Cortina he drove to victory in the 1964 British Touring Car Championship, the Lotus 43-BRM H16 that he won the 1966 US Grand Prix with and his 1963 Formula One Driver’s Championship-winning Lotus 25.

Also on display will be a Hillman Hunter driven to victory by Andrew Cowan in the gruelling 1968 London-Sydney Marathon, and a Jaguar XJR-9 piloted by Johnny Dumfries and his co-drivers to a win at the 1988 Le Mans 24 Hours race.

Sir Jackie Stewart said: “Scotland has a very successful history of producing excellent racing drivers. When you consider that Jim Clark, Johnny Dumfries, David Coulthard and Allan McNish are all from Scotland – a country of just 5 million people – you quickly realise that there’s plenty of reason to celebrate Scotland’s racing heroes.”

The Concours of Elegance takes place between 4-6 September, showcasing 60 of the world’s finest cars alongside special Scottish motor racing features, including an Ecurie Ecosse display and a tribute to Sir Jackie Stewart.

With an odd name, Quarter of a Million Pounds and a G-Wagen for starters, is it worth it - Too damned right it is !

Fresh from the studios of Prindiville Design (Prindiville’s coachbuilding division), comes the Indomitable G styling and performance enhancement package for the Mercedes-Benz G-wagen, creating an even more aggressive demeanour for the stunning G63 AMG.

The 30-piece body kit is handcrafted in military-grade large weave carbonfibre; buyers have the option of a matt or lacquered finish, plus a choice of colour-ways, weaves and patterns.

The lightweight carbonfibre kit comprises re-engineered front and rear bumpers, new front grille and headlight surrounds, wider wheel arches, bolder bonnet treatment, side skirts with an anti-slip coating on their upper surfaces, re-designed tail-lamp surrounds, and carbon replacements for the door handles, rubbing strips, door mirrors, induction vents and spare wheel cover.

In addition to the body styling enhancements, the Indomitable G is fitted with a set of six-spoke Prindiville Design alloy wheels, engineered for the weight of the vehicle, and uprated brake discs and calipers to cope with an extra 50bhp. 

The power hike is made possible by a remapped ECU and a Prindiville sports exhaust system; the automatic gearbox’s software is also recalibrated to take into account the performance boost. Further performance tuning is available, according the whim and budget of the customer.

The Prindiville Indomitable G’s cabin is retrimmed in high quality leather and Alcantara, although customers are invited to express their personal preferences for a wide range of optional upholstery finishes and colours, as well as a multitude of wood, carbon fibre and metal materials for other interior trim pieces.

While the Prindiville Indomitable G package is designed specifically for the G63 AMG, various elements of the kit can be applied to different models, enabling customers with older cars to refresh the appearance and performance of their existing cherished vehicle.

Completed new Prindiville Indomitable Gs are available – in limited numbers – from £250,000.