
David Gandy's bespoke Mini gets a 110bhp rally engine and much brown
Retro
Whaddya make of Gandy's coachbuilt, fully bespoke British icon? Skip 4 photos in the image carousel and continue reading
If you're David Gandy, what do you daily? A rally-engined classic Mini restomod, of course. Specifically, this wacky little thing, built by Callum Designs in partnership with a Mini specialist called Wood and Pickett.
Power is provided by a "road/rally" spec 1.3-litre four-pot producing 110bhp, courtesy of a tweaked ECU, new cylinder heads and twin-point fuel injection. That's mated to a five-speed manual 'box, with further upgrades including a sportier suspension setup and vented 8.4in brakes. Probably goes like the clappers.
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There's a new front grille for better cooling, a new splitter plus dandy blue light signatures. We very much approve of the extra fog lamps too, which add to the already cheeky look of the Mini.
There's very little gap between the pronounced arches and those caved four-spoke 13in alloys, and out back, there's that familiar upward-angled central twin-exhaust. The look is complete with an 'Anthracite' finish and two brown stripes running across the bonnet, roof and tailgate. You might like
Inside, you'll spot even more brownness. The redesigned dashboard gets a tiny screen with Apple CarPlay, plus gauges and metal bezel dials integrated within the same unit for a clean look. Meanwhile, the seats are cloaked in Bridge of Weir tan leather upholstery, with a black and white trim along the central sections.
Ian Callum said: 'The Mini is one of the most important cars ever created, not just for its innovative engineering, but for what it represents culturally as a symbol of British ingenuity and style. It's a car that broke the rules and became a global icon. To reimagine it through the lens of Callum, with Wood and Pickett's craftsmanship, has been deeply rewarding.'
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Pricing for the Callum x Wood and Pickett Mini will start from £75,000, and each example will be tailor-made for customers. Any thoughts on what the most outlandish spec would be?
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Telegraph
an hour ago
- Telegraph
Jaecoo 7 review: You will be fed up with this Chinese SUV after only 10 miles
Put a petrol engine, an electric motor and a socking great battery into a car and, hey presto, you have a plug-in hybrid, or PHEV. Once touted as the answer to all our problems, the reality has turned out to be somewhat different. Plug-in hybrids may sound like the best of both worlds but their relatively short electric ranges, and the need to then lug around a dead battery until you can charge it again, mean they're anything but. Jaecoo thinks it might have the answer. It's called SHS, or Super Hybrid System, and it's arrived in the UK courtesy of its first model to make it to these shores: the new 7 SUV. So can Chinese ingenuity put the plug-in hybrid's demons to rest – or is Jaecoo's hybrid system super in name only? Pros Smart interior Smooth powertrain Low price Cons Far too reliant on a fiddly touchscreen Horrible steering and accelerator pedal calibration Incessantly intrusive driver aids Who and what Unless you're a particular follower of the Chinese automotive industry, you've probably never heard of Jaecoo before. It is one of a mind-boggling array of automotive brands sold by Chery, one of China's state-owned automotive enterprises. Chery has been making cars since 1999 when it started churning out the Fengyun, a lightly facelifted first-generation Seat Toledo built under licence in Wuhu. Today, Chery makes more than two million cars a year; until now though, none have made it to the UK. But this year Jaecoo, along with Omoda, is spearheading the company's entry into the British market. The 7 is its first offering – a family SUV that's roughly the size of a Kia Sportage or Citroën C5 Aircross. It can come with either a 1.6-litre petrol turbo engine, or the SHS plug-in hybrid based around a 1.5-litre engine, with an 18.3kWh battery for an official electric-only range of 56 miles. In combination, the two power units give a maximum output of 201bhp, enough for a top speed of 112mph and a 0-62mph time of 8.5 seconds. So what about the Super Hybrid System makes it so super? Well, it's the fact that the battery never fully depletes, with the engine being used to charge it much like a normal full hybrid. You can even tell the car to force this recharging mode, which gains you electric range while you're driving, that you can use later on. This seems clever, but I'm not sure what you're actually gaining – after all, using the engine as a petrol generator seems like an expensive way to add energy to the battery. Better, surely, to charge it at home – or simply use it as a hybrid. Either way, if Jaecoo's claim of 745 miles from a full tank and a full battery is accurate and if you can fill up at £1.34 a litre, and charge at the current UK average of 27p/kWh, then you can cover that distance at a cost of £65-£70, which is distinctly reasonable compared with the £100-odd it would cost in a 45mpg pure petrol SUV. Insider trading Sounds good so far, then. And the good news continues inside. The doors open and shut with a satisfying heft; the faux metal is convincing; the synthetic leather seats feel reasonably upmarket. There's a minimalist dashboard with a full-width vent and a large, portrait-oriented touchscreen, below which sit a pair of phone holders, one with wireless charging and a cooling vent. There are two good-sized cupholders and a small, lidded cubby, with another larger bin beneath the floating centre console. Another screen sits in front of the driver, displaying speed and other essential information, as well as the pod-like driver monitoring camera – more of which anon. For the most part, the materials feel dense and high-quality, with slick switchgear and a sense that the 7 is perhaps not the bargain bin special you might have been expecting. The downside, as with most of the Chinese SUVs that are flooding the market, is that there are barely any buttons to speak of. This means you must control most of the car's functions, of which there are many, through the touchscreen; an often languorous process. For example, the climate control doesn't benefit from an 'always on' section of the display such as you'll find in Volvo XC40 or a Volkswagen Tiguan. So if you're using Apple Carplay or Android Auto, you have to swipe up to bring up the climate control display, before you can increase the temperature, meaning you need to look away from the road for far too long. There's plenty of room in the rear seats, mind you, while loading kids into the back is easy enough. The boot's a decent size at 500 litres, meanwhile – bigger than a Tiguan eHybrid's, though a Sportage boasts more space still at 542. The 7 also lacks any rear-seat versatility, which means it can't keep up with the sort of flexibility offered by the C5 Aircross or Skoda Karoq. Pounds and pence How does it compare on price, though? Well, the plug-in hybrid model is only available in top-spec 'Luxury' form, which provides a plethora of equipment. This comes in at just over £35,000; to get a C5 Aircross in a broadly equivalent specification will cost about £3,000 more, while a Sportage PHEV, even its entry-level specification, will set you back upwards of £40,000. Of course, most people choosing a PHEV won't be buying their car as they will be choosing it as a company car and in this regard the 7 stacks up, too. Its relatively long range lands it in the nine per cent BIK band which, together with the low P11D value, makes for extremely affordable company car tax bills. Not bad for a car that comes with a seven-year, 100,000-mile warranty, you might think. But don't be fooled: a look at the small print shows there are quite a few seemingly random items that aren't covered beyond a relatively paltry three years and 40,000 miles. These include the fuel pump and injectors, oil pump, starter motor, alternator, window regulators and the entire infotainment system. On the road Once underway, you'll find a few things that are even harder to forgive. For example, there's an odd, switch-like quality to the accelerator pedal that makes it rather difficult to modulate your speed. It's surprisingly tricky to simply set the throttle to gain consistent acceleration – you're always adding too much, or not enough. Then there's the steering, which feels completely disconnected from… well, anything. It's also completely inconsistent in its response, sometimes you turn it too quickly, sometimes too slowly. Plus, as with the accelerator, you're always having to add or wind off lock to get your turning radius right. The way the suspension deals with bumps leaves much to be desired too: the damping simply isn't sophisticated enough to keep up with the short, sharp ruts that are so much a feature of our pockmarked urban thoroughfares. The combination of these three traits makes urban use tiring and rather unpleasant. It doesn't improve much at speed, either, where the steering's vagueness means you constantly have to make small inputs to keep the noise pointing where you want it. And while the suspension does settle a little at speed, there's a lot of tyre noise, so it's hardly a serene experience. Frustrating driver aids I haven't even started on the driver 'aids'. These are truly awful. Indeed, I spent a good deal of time with the Jaecoo pondering which was the more frustrating. Is it the lane departure warning, which seizes the wheel and yanks it toward the kerb if you so much as inch toward the central white line? Is it the speed limit detection, which bongs at you repeatedly, telling you you're exceeding the speed limit, which it has invariably got wrong? In fact it's none of these. It's the driver monitoring system which, should you have the temerity to look away from the straight-ahead for more than a second, bleeps and flashes up a message chiding you for doing so. This despite the fact that you are forced to look away, frequently, because Jaecoo has shoehorned all of the 7's many functions into a menu that's six presses deep in the touchscreen. However, given the vague steering, you're well advised not to look away from the road for too long anyway. On this basis, you probably won't feel much like hustling your Jaecoo along a back road. That's no bad thing, because it gets rather floppy when you do, with quite a bit of body lean and shudder through the steering column over faster bumps. There's not much in the way of front-end traction, either, which means powering out of a slow bend usually results in the inside wheel spinning noisily, even when you aren't accelerating aggressively. But it's not all bad, in fact some of it is really good. The powertrain's refinement, for one thing, is exemplary. The engine is quieter than most plug-ins, while the change-over between petrol and electric modes is beautifully handled, so much so that you can rarely tell it's happening. The brakes have clearly been finessed, too, with regenerative and friction braking integrated extremely well. The Telegraph verdict These pluses, sadly, are not enough to compensate for the 7's myriad flaws. And nor is its price. Yes, it's cheap but that only buys you so much goodwill. What's the point in saving a few quid on your monthly payments – or, more likely, your company car tax bill – if you grow to resent the car you climb into each morning? There will be those for whom none of this matters and for whom that cost saving is all. It's cheap, it's spacious and for some that will be enough. My advice is not to think like one of them. For while the Jaecoo 7 might look as though it's solved all of the plug-in hybrid's problems, in reality it's brought too many of its own with it. The facts On test: Jaecoo 7 SHS Luxury Body style: five-door SUV On sale: now How much? £35,165 on the road (range from £30,115) How fast? 112mph, 0-62mph in 8.5sec How economical? 403mpg (WLTP Combined) Engine & gearbox: 1,499cc four-cylinder petrol engine, combined variable ratio/electric gearbox, front-wheel drive Electric powertrain: AC permanent magnet synchronous motor with18.3kWh battery, 40kW on-board charger, Type 2/CCS charging socket Electric-only range: 56 miles Maximum power/torque: 201bhp/229lb ft CO2 emissions: 23g/km (WLTP Combined) VED: £110 first year, then £195 Warranty: 7 years / 100,000 miles (notable limitations to cover after 3 years / 40,000 miles) Spare wheel as standard: no (not available) The rivals 248bhp, 235.4mpg, £40,685 on the road Kia's plug-in Sportage is pricier to buy, and with higher CO2 emissions, it'll also be costlier to tax as a company car. The payoff is that it'll be much nicer to drive than the Jaecoo – not to mention more powerful, too. Worth pointing out, too, that the Sportage has a far more comprehensive seven-year warranty – important to note if you're buying it yourself. Citroën C5 Aircross PHEV Max 222bhp, 220.9mpg, £37,360 on the road It's not long for this world, but the C5 Aircross is still a good car, endowed with great interior flexibility and one of the most comfortable suspension setups in the class. It isn't all that much more costly than the Jaecoo, and while its electric range is nowhere near as impressive, it's a compromise worth making. Volkswagen Tiguan 1.5 TSI eHybrid Life 201bhp, 707mpg, £42,665 on the road You might be deterred by the high price of the Tiguan – but if you're a company car user-chooser, the 77-mile electric range means it slips into a lower tax band than any of its rivals, meaning it won't actually cost that much more than the Jaecoo. And this is a far superior car, with a classier interior, more space, and a much more controlled driving experience. Worth every extra penny, in short.


Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
How China's BYD became world's biggest EV maker - now it's plotting to takeover the UK
In the modern era, no car maker has had such an instant impact on the UK car market like Build Your Dreams - or, as it's better known, BYD. Emerging from the virtually unknown in 2023, in less than two years it's become the Chinese electric car maker everyone can name, and the biggest EV manufacturer in the world. In doing so, it has toppled Elon Musk off the highest step of the podium, earning the moniker the 'Tesla killer'. As of March 2025, BYD's sold 11.6 million EVs to date. Tesla on the other hand has sold 7.5 million EVs. China's Geely, the owner of Volvo, Polestar and Lotus, is the third biggest EV manufacturer in the world, and yet has just 1.4 million EVs comparatively. It seems then that BYD is the largest 'overnight success' perhaps in the automotive industry ever. After all, it hasn't just put itself on the map, it's hauled Chinese cars into the mainstream. But, as Steve Jobs once famously said; 'If you really look closely, most overnight successes took a long time.' So, how has BYD done it? How did it go from battery maker to the biggest EV brand in the world? What's the secret behind its so called overnight success? And how is it plotting to takeover the UK? BYD was once the butt of Elon Musk's jokes - who's laughing now? In 2011, Elon Musk naively laughed off the threat of BYD. During a Bloomberg interview, the Tesla boss scoffed: 'Have you seen their [unnamed] car? I don't think it's particularly attractive, the technology is not very strong. And BYD as a company has pretty severe problems in their home turf in China. I think their focus is, and rightly should be, on making sure they don't die in China.' And Elon wasn't the only one to disregard BYD. China auto industry analyst Michael Dunne told The New York Times last year: 'They were the laughingstock of the industry'. But a decade after Musk's comments, BYD began exporting outside China. And by 2024, it reached an annual overseas sales figure of 417,204 units – a 71.86 per cent increase on 2023. And by 2030, BYD aims to sell half its cars outside its native land. In April, the Chinese brand officially sold more pure electric cars in Europe than Tesla for the first time on record. Described as a 'watershed moment' by industry insight specialists JATO Dynamics, the difference between BYD and Tesla's monthly sales (just 66 units) isn't by any means huge, but the implications are 'enormous' given the Chinese newcomer only started selling cars on the continent outside Norway and the Netherlands in late 2022. BYD sales rose 169 per cent compared to April 2024, versus Tesla's dropping 49 per cent. BYD was a sleeping giant BYD was founded in February 1995 by Wang Chuanfu, a Chinese chemist and entrepreneur. While Chuanfu's own story as an orphan born into one of China's most impoverished farming provinces, becoming a chemist and then the founder of BYD with an estimated net work of more than $25billion has the makings of a movie script, but it's the car company itself that interests us most. Launched in 1966, BYD was just an electric battery manufacturer based in Shenzhen, making lithium-ion batteries for mobile phones. The growth of the mobile phone market meant BYD by the early 2000s had ridden a wave of lithium-ion battery success, providing two of the sector's biggest companies, Motorola and Nokia, with rechargeable batteries. By 2003, BYD was in the position to sidestep into the automotive industry, acquiring a small car maker called Xi'an Qinchuan Automobile. It's first combustion car, the F3, arrived in 2005, before releasing the plug-in hybrid F3DM in 2008. This was BYD's breakthrough into electric, and thanks to a 10 per cent investment worth then $230million by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate, its plans could be ambitious. Crucially, this investment didn't just give BYD cash and clout, it gave the brand serious press coverage: its name was all over the media and early internet searches skyrocketed. Batteries are the powerhouse behind BYD's juggernaut rise Even in today's electric car era, where there are a million EVs on UK roads and almost 60 million worldwide, every manufacturer is embroiled in a race to have the most powerful, quickest-charging and safest battery. It is the most important - and expensive -component of an electric car, and the part that everyone – from converts to naysayers – focuses on. Range anxiety, charging anxiety, cost – it all links back to the battery. Investing in batteries and their advancement was (along with hiring Audi's designer Wolfgang Egger to make BYD's cars more Westernised) Wang Chuanfu's stroke of genius and BYD's saving grace. BYD's 'Megawatt Flash Chargers' use 1,000-volt architecture - double the peak power of Tesla's latest V4 Supercharger, which is the fastest device available to EV owners in Britain today The 2010s wasn't kind to BYD, and with more global choice coming in, BYD had taken a hit. But fast forward to 2020 and Chuanfu had worked out how to make lithium-ion Phosphate batteries instead of the conventional lithium-ion batteries everyone was using. And so BYD introduced the revolutionary Blade battery; developed for maximum safety, durability and performance it passed the 'Nail Penetration Test' - the Mount Everest of battery tests – while increasing space utilisation by 50 per cent and delivering a range boost also of up to 50 per cent. Range was extended – a convention battery could deliver 249 miles of range while the same size Blade Battery could give you 373 miles – for a fraction of the cost of a nickel-cobalt battery. BYD charged ahead with development and production, formulating its recipe for success. And still today, its battery and charging are so ahead of the competition that it's half the reason BYD is the world's EV leader. Only this month, BYD confirmed it's bringing its five-minute flash chargers to the UK, so EV owners can recharge in the time it takes to refill with petrol. Backed by Beijing Usually with success stories there's a moment when two key things come together. Whether that's two business partners joining up or two world events colliding, the effect is a catalyst. And for BYD, the fortuitous other factor was the willingness of China's government to back EV expansion to the hilt. In the mid-2000s, China realised it could never overtake Western and Japanese car makers with their established internal combustion engine legacies and so decided to (with significant risk) leapfrog the US and European manufacturers and invest heavily in EV technology. It allowed China to build globally competitive EVs, reduce its reliance on ICE imports and tech, and help address China's pollution problem, all at the same time. To this end China doled out (somewhat controversial) subsidies between 2009 and 2023 to the tune of £170.5 billion ($230bn). BYD annual reports show a total of £1.93bn ($2.6bn) in government assistance between 2008 and 2022. However, when other factors are considered like taxi companies buying BYD taxis in Shenzhen, Rhodium Group puts the estimates between 2015 and 2020 at £3.2bn ($4.3bn). China's doled out (somewhat controversial) subsidies between 2009 and 2023 to the tune of £170.5 billion ($230bn). China realised it could never compete with Western legacy combustion car brands so decided to leapfrog and become the biggest EV producer The MIT Technology Review states that the Chinese government's propping up of both the supply and demand of EVs – via generous government subsidies, tax breaks, policy incentives, and procurement contracts – is an industry acknowledged reason that China now dominates the sector and that 'a slew of homegrown EV brands have emerged'. While it's not to say this hasn't created its own issues, notably 'unsustainable' price wars, particularly between BYD and Tesla, China is now the world's latest electric car market – and has been for nine consecutive years. In 2024, China produced an estimated 12.4 million electric cars, accounting for over 70 per cent of global production. And BYD is the spearhead of this. Gregor Sebastian, senior analyst at Rhodium, told CNBC : 'BYD is a highly innovative and adaptive company, but its rise has been inextricably linked to Beijing's protection and support. 'Without Beijing's backing, BYD wouldn't be the global powerhouse it is today. 'Over time, the company has enjoyed below-market equity and debt financing allowing it to scale up production and R&D activities.' You can't beat the price – cheap cars sell BYD has always had one thing over Tesla: its cars are significantly cheaper. Tesla is outgunned on price both in China and abroad. The US maker currently offers the Model 3 and Model Y in BYD's home nation, with prices starting at 235,500 and RMB 263,500 yuan respectively. BYD on the other hand offers its Seagull city EV for just 56,800 yuan (approximately $7,800). In the UK, Tesla's cheapest new model is the Model 3 which costs £39,990. BYD though has brought its Dolphin Surf small EV to Britain for just £18,650. But while some inexpensive cars are cheap for a reason (sorry Dacia Spring EV and its one-star EuroNCAP safety rating) BYD delivers 'competitive cars with appealing design and good specs,' Felipe Munoz, senior analyst at JATO Dynamics tells This is Money. The BYD Atto 3 starts at £37,695 on the road in the UK, saving you a sliver of money compared to the Tesla Model 3. As well as price, Munoz says BYD is so successful because it has 'a full line-up of products that include city cars, hatchbacks, sedans, and many different crossovers/SUVs.' There are now 60 BYD dealers in the UK and counting, and six models to choose from in less than two years. Quentin Willson, Founder FairCharge told us: 'They've created a very diversified model strategy - from lower priced models to high - and discounted their prices to increase volume and eliminate competition. 'Having European factory footprints will reduce the effect of EU tariffs and make them the market leader in Europe and the U.K. Strategically BYD have made some very smart moves and outflanked Tesla with their slow-selling Cybertruck, cancellation of the Model 2 project and alienating the liberal customer base with Elon's political comments.' BYD's brand awareness In 2023, BYD's brand recognition in the UK was just one per cent. In 2024 it was up to 31 per cent. It also became the UK's fastest growing automotive brand last year; BYD sold over 8,700 passengers cars in the UK in 2024, an increase of 658 per cent vs 2023. And it was mainly down to BYD's sponsorship deal with the Euro 2024 football tournament. Following England's loss in the final to Spain, BYD celebrated a brand awareness lift of 187 per cent in key European markets. A stand of the Chinese car manufacturer BYD at the official UEFA Fan Zone prior the Group F match between Portugal and Czechia on 18 June Throughout half time over a billion people saw BYD's TV adverts for a month while the tournament lasted, and branding plastered pitch side. As a result, Auto Trader, the UK's largest new and used car marketplace, found that the opening weekend of Euro 2024 sparked a 69 per cent spike in BYD search compared to a week earlier. Erin Baker, editorial director at Auto Trader said that the traffic data 'triggered a step-change in awareness of BYD little more than a year after they entered the UK market.' How BYD plans to takeover the UK If you thought BYD's rise has been cataclysmic up until now, the brand is set to accelerate its offensive on the UK market over the coming months. At the launch of its new Dolphin Surf this month, the Chinese brand said it is on the verge of introducing more models more quickly than any car company ever has before. Alfredo Altavilla, BYD's special advisor for Europe, said: 'I have zero problem in saying I don't think there has ever been such a product offensive done in Europe as the one that BYD is doing.' As well as launching more new cars, this week it also confirmed a partnership that will make its EVs more affordable to run than anything else on the road. In a deal struck with UK energy firm Octopus Energy, it has delivered a new 'all-inclusive' EV bundle which, using 'vehicle-to-grid' - or V2G - technology, provides free charging. Called the Power Pack Bundle, customers can lease a BYD Dolphin supermini from just £299 per month. What makes it incredibly appealing is that Octopus provides a free EV charger, and charging is included in the price. Using the British firm's bi-directional Zaptec Pro wallbox, owners plug their cars in at the end of the day and the device drains the battery, with the electricity sold back to the grid at peak times when prices are highest. Then, at off-peak hours (typically the middle of the night), it will feed the energy back into the car, fully charging it for when it's needed in the morning. The higher earnings from peak electricity sale will offset the cost off-peak charging. Greg Jackson, Octopus' CEO, says customers will need to plug their car in around 20 times per month for 12 hours sessions to benefit from cost-free charging. Given that most EV owners leave their cars plugged in when they get home from work and leave it until the morning, it shouldn't be an inconvenience. Reuters claims BYD has already slashed shifts at some factories and delayed plans to add new production lines as it grapples with a rising inventory and more competition in China Has BYD's rise come to fast too soon? While BYD appears to be steaming ahead with its plans to dominate the car market, recent reports suggest it has slowed its production and expansion pace in recent months. Reuters claims it has already slashed shifts at some factories in China and delayed plans to add new production lines, based on comments from 'two people with knowledge of the matter'. The decisions are a sign that BYD's robust sales growth could slow, as it grapples with rising inventory even after offering deep price cuts in China's cutthroat auto market. BYD has cancelled night shifts and reduced output by at least a third of the capacity at some of its factories, said the sources who declined to be named because the matter is private. These previously unreported measures were imposed on at least four factories and BYD had also suspended some plans to set up new production lines, one of the people said. Reuters was not able to identify the exact scale of the production reduction and expansion suspension, nor to ascertain how long these measures may last. One of the sources said the moves were aimed at saving costs, while the other said they were imposed after sales failed to meet targets. Data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers showed growth of BYD's output had slowed to 13 per cent and 0.2 per cent year-on-year in April and May, respectively, both of which were the slowest pace since February 2024 when factory activities were disrupted by a week-long lunar New Year holiday. This is Money has contacted BYD for comment.


The Sun
2 hours ago
- The Sun
M6 closed with drivers facing huge rush hour delays & warned ‘avoid the area'
THE M6 has been closed by police over a "very serious incident" with drivers facing lengthy delays. The major motorway is closed for a "police-led incident" between Junction 6 (Gravelly Hill/Aston) and Junction 8 (M5). A spokesman for West Midlands Police said: "We are at the scene of a very serious incident on the M6 and the motorway is currently closed Northbound between Junction 7 and Junction 8. "It is closed Northbound between Junction 7 at Great Barr Interchange and Junction 8 at the M5. "Road closures are expected to be in place for some time, and drivers are advised to find alternative routes." A spokesman for Highways England added: "The M6 in the West Midlands is closed northbound between J6 (Gravelly Hill/Aston) and J8 (M5) due to a Police led Incident. "Emergency Services including West Midlands Police are on scene. "National Highways Traffic Officers are in attendance assisting with traffic management. "Police investigation work is in its final stages. Once complete carriageway clearance will take place and then the road can be reopen." Full diversion for M6 closure Road users for the M6 north are advised to first follow the hollow square diversion symbol on road signs: At M6 Junction 6 take the exit to A38(M), Aston Expressway. Continue along A38(M) southwards and leave at Dartmouth Circus. Take the exit to A4540 westbound, Newtown Middleway. At the junction with A34, Newtown Row, take the exit to A34 northbound. Continue along A34 northbound through the M6 Junction 7. From here follow the solid diamond diversion symbol on road signs: Continue along A34 to its junction with A4148, Broadway North. Take the exit to Broadway North and continue to its junction with A454. Take the exit to A454 westbound, Wolverhampton Road and continue to M6 junction 10 and take the 3rd exit at the roundabout to rejoin the M6 northbound. Road users heading on the M5 south are advised to first follow the solid triangle diversion symbol on road signs: At M6 Junction 6 take the exit to A38(M), Aston Expressway. Continue along A38(M) southwards and leave at Dartmouth Circus. Take the exit to A4540 westbound, Newtown Middleway. At the junction with A34, Newtown Row, take the exit to A34 northbound. Continue along A34 northbound to the signalised junction with the A4041 and turn left onto the A4041. From here follow the solid triangle diversion symbol on road signs: From here follow the solid triangle diversion symbol on road signs: Continue on A4041, westbound, to A4041/A4031 junction. At A4041/A4031 junction, turn left, onto A4031, southbound. Continue on A4031, southbound, to A4031/A41 roundabout. At A4031/A41 roundabout, turn left (1st exit) onto A41, eastbound. Continue on A41, eastbound to M5 junction 1. At M5 junction 1 take 4th exit, onto M5, southbound. 1