SUBSCRIBE TO THE
MAGAZINE NOW
Facebook-f Instagram
Search
Close this search box.

Follow Idris Elba and the new Jaguar XE across Europe — episode three live now

26 February, 2015

British actor and DJ Idris Elba, best known for his roles as Nelson Mandela in the film Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, and Baltimore drug lord Russell ‘Stringer’ Bell in the HBO TV series The Wire — has been appointed by Jaguar to drive a diesel-powered Jaguar XE.

It’s not just any old drive, though. Idris has been tasked with the 1000km drive from London to Berlin, where he has been booked to DJ at the XE’s European launch. The trip will see Idris travel across four countries over the course of three days, and Jaguar will be releasing a series of short films documenting the journey.

The first instalment has Idris introduced to the XE, where he is wowed by the car’s connectivity and cutting-edge technological features.

“I’m looking forward to it ‘cause it’s got a lot of gadgets in it, and I’ve got a playlist to get together. I can just connect it to the internet and do my playlist while I’m driving, without taking my eyes off the road,” he says.

Find episodes one and two below. We’ll keep you informed when the next ones are available. They promise a refreshing, modern take on the iconic trans-Europe road trip.  

Episode one:

Episode two:

Episode three:

Escort services – 1968 Escort 1100 Restomod

19 September, 2024

The Escort started off as a 1968 1100 cc two-door sold-new in Britain. At some point it was retired from daily duty and set aside as a pet project for someone. When that project began is unclear, but much of the work was completed in 2014 including a complete rotisserie restoration.
By the end of 2014, it was finished but not completed. Its Wellingtonian owner bought it sight unseen from the UK and it landed here in early 2020. It was soon dispatched to Macbilt in Grenada North, Wellington for them to work their magic.
Macbilt had two instructions: to get the car through compliance for use on the road; and to improve the vehicle and finish the project so it drove as well as it looked. Looking at the car now, it has an amazing presence and stance. It can’t help but attract attention and a bevy of admirers.

Lunch with … Cary Taylor

11 September, 2024

Many years ago — in June 1995 to be more precise — I was being wowed with yet another terrific tale from Geoff Manning who had worked spanners on all types of racing cars. We were chatting at Bruce McLaren Intermediate school on the 25th anniversary of the death of the extraordinary Kiwi for whom the school was named. Geoff, who had been part of Ford’s Le Mans programme in the ’60s, and also Graham Hill’s chief mechanic — clearly realising that he had me in the palm of his hand — offered a piece of advice that I’ve never forgotten: “If you want the really good stories, talk to the mechanics.”
Without doubt the top mechanics, those involved in the highest echelons of motor racing, have stories galore — after all, they had relationships with their drivers so intimate that, to quote Geoff all those years ago, “Mechanics know what really happened.”