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Junkyard Gem: 1984 Jaguar XJ-S with Chevrolet V8 swap

If you wanted to do some conspicuous consumption during the 1980s, you couldn't do much better than the Series II Jaguar XJ-S. A big, decadent-looking coupe with a smooth V12 engine under its vast bonnet, a new XJ-S would have been just the thing to celebrate a fresh round of S&L looting or a Stinger missile deal with Adnan Khashoggi in 1984. The XJ-S cost plenty to keep running, though; when the third or fourth owner got tired of huge repair bills for V12 problems, a small-block Chevy V8 engine often got swapped in. Today's Junkyard Gem in Denver is such a Jag, with an early-1990s Chevy 350 residing in the engine compartment. While the good old Chevy 350 didn't purr quite as silently as the nicely balanced 5.3-liter V12, it got the job done. Some junkyard shopper had already grabbed the heads off this engine before I got to it. The block casting number indicates that the engine began life in a 1987-1995 car or truck. The small-block Chevy is a common swap for Jaguar XJs, going back to the 1960s.  The cylinder-head buyer tossed the heavy intake manifold on the roof, which would be a junkyard no-no on a nice car. This car's body isn't so nice, though. It appears that some sort of aftermarket hood scoop once lived atop these layers of body filler and pop rivets. The interior looks decent enough, though the varnish on the dashboard wood shows signs of excessive Colorado sun exposure. The MSRP on this car began at $34,700, or about $87,300 in 2020 dollars. You could get a new Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz coupe that year for just $23,737, though the real competition for the XJ-S was more likely to be a Mercedes-Benz S-Class or BMW 6 Series with two doors. The 1984 BMW 633CSi went for $39,120, while the Mercedes-Benz 500SEC cost a staggering $56,800 that year. How the mighty have fallen! This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. You can't buy the race car, but you can buy V12 power wrapped in soft leather and paneled in rare wood. Featured Gallery Junked 1984 Jaguar XJ-S View 22 Photos Auto News Jaguar Automotive History Coupe Junkyard Gems

Jaguar I-Pace makes transition to production with hardly any changes

It looks like Jaguar designer Ian Callum wasn't kidding when he said the I-Pace concept was "a preview of a five-seat production car that will be on the road in 2018." Based on these spy photos, the production I-Pace will look darn near identical to the concept. The prototype seen above, in a unique and rather groovy green camouflage wrap, retains the swoopy cab-forward design of its concept predecessor. The headlights have the same shape and still sweep back nearly to the front wheel wells, and the door handles are still flush mounted ovals placed low on the doors. At the back, the crisp crease marking the trailing edge of the hatch is intact, as well as the triangular points on the rear spoiler. There have been a few minor changes here and there. At the front, the grille doesn't have quite as much depth as the concept, and the base of the front bumper doesn't have as aggressive an air dam. The big heat extractor vent in the hood is also gone. The rear bumper has also been rounded off a bit more with a simpler rear diffuser. The side glass is in production form, so now there are seams that show where the glass rolls down. It appears the rear doors will have quite a small glass opening, as the seam is roughly at the half-way point of the window. If the mechanicals of the concept end up as unchanged as this prototype's exterior, expect the production I-Pace to have a pair of electric motors that will produce 400 horsepower and 516 lb-ft of torque. Jaguar estimates these will propel the car to 60 mph in about 4 seconds. The motors will be supplied with power from a 90 kWh lithium-ion battery, which Jaguar says will provide a range of 220 miles. With a target date of 2018, we would expect to see the production model revealed at the end of 2017 or early in 2018. Related Video:

Jaguar is ready for the future, and its cars look the part thanks to Ian Callum

There are few living legends in the car business. Jaguar design director Ian Callum is one of them. The longtime stylist announced Tuesday he's stepping down after a decorated career that's seen the resurgence of Jaguar and its again superlative design. Callum, who turns 65 in July, has overseen Jaguar design for 20 years and shepherded it from an era of mediocrity and uncertainty to success with its current lineup of eye-catching products. The brand's 1990s and 2000s cars, led by the haggard X-Type, were too-often forgettable. But in the last decade, Callum has completely flipped the script, returning Jaguar to its sports-car roots with the F-Type while embracing the new period of electric vehicles and crossovers. "Yesterday I told my team I was leaving as Design Director for Jaguar after 20 years. I've done what I set out to do. Time for a new adventure. I pass the baton onto my good friend and great designer Julian Thomson...." Callum tweeted Tuesday. Thompson, a 19-year veteran of Jaguar takes the reins from Callum, who is staying on as a consultant. The move takes effect July 1. As Callum notes, it's not a retirement, though he didn't elaborate. "Given the strength of both our products and the design team I feel that now is the right time to move on, both personally and professionally, and explore other design projects," he said in a statement. The Scottish-born designer studied at the Royal College of Art and was steeped in the tradition of Jaguar and British cars. He had every reason to resist change. He didn't, instead evolving his dream job into an instrument of evolution, and today Jaguar has the most well-rounded portfolio in its history. With EVs like the I-Pace the brand has an elegant and efficient car capable of taking down Tesla, while the F-Pace and E-Pace crossovers are bringing Jaguar to a new kind of customer. "In my view, the World Car Design of the Year winning F-Type, F-Pace and I-Pace – true game changers – are perhaps his greatest achievements. I believe they will be future icons," Jaguar Land Rover chief executive Ralf Speth said in a statement. Through it all, Callum never lost focus on Jaguar's sense of purpose. Along with Aston Martin, McLaren and Rolls-Royce, Jaguar holds a place in Britain's car culture and broader identity. He recognized when Jaguar rolled out a sports car openly tapped as the successor to the E-type – and then called it the F-Type – it carried the weight of history on its aluminum chassis.