Breckland Beira

Norfolk-based Breckland - part of Hong Kong-based multi-national, Riche Holdings - will display a new hand-built, two-seat Beira roadster at the forthcoming London Motorexpo. Based GM's Kappa platform, the Beira features new front and rear body sections made from lightweight composites instead of steel. This not only enabled the creation of a distinctive nose section and pronounced fastback rear, but it also cut down on weight.

Legends of the Autobahn at Monterey 2013

To prove that there really is something for everyone in Monterey Historics week, on the same day that Concorso Italiano takes place, and The Quail, there’s a further gathering that focuses on Teutonic machinery – Legends of the Autobahn. Now in its fifth year and run by the BMW Car Club of America, Legends of the Autobahn sees the Mercedes-Benz Club of America, Porsche Club of America and Audi Club North America teaming up to produce a show that’s more intimate than most other parts of the Monterey Historics week – but no less absorbing.

Jaguar Land Rover open new engineering test centre in Dubai

Jaguar Land Rover are growing at a tremendous rate, and that means more and more testing of cars to make sure they can cope with the extremes of climate they’re subjected to by owners around the world. So as part of their growing test programme, JLR have extended their testing and engineering facilities in the Al Barsha area of Dubai so they can test durability, calibration and hot weather testing for heat and humidity as well as test the powertrains, chassis, HVAC and, as this is Dubai and it has plenty of sand, they can also give the Land Rover Terrain Response systems a proper workout. JLR has been hot weather testing in Dubai for more than 12 years – an area where temperatures can reach 50 degrees Celsius – and the new facility replaces a much smaller one in the same area, and joins Jaguar Land Rover’s other test facilities at the Nurburgring, Arjeplog in Sweden and Phoenix and International Falls in the States to ensure all JLR’s new cars get subjected to everything from extreme hot and cold to track work.