1966 Jaguar 3.8s 4 Door Sedan Project Car on 2040-cars

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Jaguar-Land Rover rules out downsizing into new segments

Jaguar-Land Rover (JLR) will continue expanding its portfolio of models during the 2020s, but the group confirmed it won't chase volume by branching out into smaller segments like its German rivals. The two brands will instead seek partnerships to generate economies of scale. "We should not and will not drive down into segments just to get economies of scale," said Felix Brautigam, Jaguar-Land Rover's chief commercial officer, in an interview with Autocar. He added the second-generation Range Rover Evoque (pictured) released in 2018 is already a relatively small car. It stretches 172 inches from bumper to bumper and 75 inches from side to side, so it's approximately 4 inches longer and 5 inches wider than the eighth-generation Volkswagen Golf. It's about 8 inches taller than the German hatchback, however. While that's small by luxury car standards, Mercedes-Benz and BMW respectively went smaller with their Smart and Mini brands. Audi doesn't have an entry-level sub-brand, but it doesn't need to because it's part of the gigantic Volkswagen Group. Japanese luxury firms like Lexus and Infiniti are also part of bigger companies. Brautigam's comments bury numerous rumors. They confirm Jaguar won't take on the Mercedes-Benz A-Class, the Audi A3, and the BMW 1 Series with a model positioned below the XE, which competes against the C-Class, the A4, and the 3 Series, respectively. They also douse cold water on the born-again Freelander (which ultimately morphed into the LR2 in America), which Land Rover was allegedly developing to slot directly below the aforementioned Evoque. Ironically, JLR might soon have access to platforms capable of underpinning smaller vehicles. Parent company Tata Motors is actively looking for an outside company to link arms with the British brands, according to a separate report. Officials reportedly approached BMW -- which used to own Land Rover, and announced a joint-venture with the group in 2019 -- and Geely, the Chinese giant whose portfolio of brands includes Volvo, Polestar, Lotus, Proton, London Taxi Company, Terrafugia, and half of Smart, plus a sizeable, nearly-10% stake in Mercedes-Benz parent company Daimler. Geely told Bloomberg it hasn't heard from Tata or JLR. BMW and Tata remained silent. While a partnership with someone looks likely considering the significant hurdles faced by JLR, its parent company has categorically ruled out selling the duo it purchased from Ford for $2.3 billion in 2008.

Exploring Romania's storied Transfagarasan Highway in a Jaguar F-Type V8 S

Top Gear is, in some ways, a victim of its own success. When it declares a road the best in the world, like it did with Romania's Transfagarasan Highway during its 14th season, you can't blame people for showing up and wanting to check it out. Of course, then the road becomes clogged with tourists and is less fun to drive.
But is it possible that there is an even better driving road in Romania? One that is higher, smoother and undiscovered by tourists - at least not yet? Henry Catchpole from Evo thinks that he may have found it while driving a Jaguar F-Type V8 S that makes a sound that evokes a World War II British fighter plane.
Scroll down to take a brief trip to Romania and bask in the wonderful roar of this topless Jaguar.

On Location in Montenegro with Jaguar

I didn't know much about Montenegro until just a few weeks ago, when Jaguar invited Autoblog to the country to test out the 2017 F-Pace. In case you missed our write-up, the vehicle is excellent. So, it turns out, is Montenegro. According to the all-knowing Wikipedia, "It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the southwest and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast, and Albania to the southeast." That's a dry way of saying that Montenegro is situated in a beautiful part of Europe, with mountains galore, glorious coastlines, and spectacular rocky cliffs that plummet into the Adriatic Sea. Getting to Montenegro is a bit difficult. There are two airports in the country, neither of which is particularly large or easily accessible. Driving can be a challenge, too; since most of the country is mountainous, there are exactly zero highways within its boundaries. There are, however, lots of winding two-lane roads with picturesque views and a ferry system to shuttle vehicles across some of the larger bodies of water. Montenegro is a great place to experience a vehicle like the Jaguar F-Pace, which offers great driving dynamics across a wide variety of road surfaces. And as you'll see in the video above, surfaces vary widely in Montenegro. If you want learn more about the 2017 Jaguar F-Pace, stick around for the second video in the playlist. Related Gallery 2017 Jaguar F-Pace: First Drive View 33 Photos Jaguar Crossover Luxury Performance Videos Original Video jaguar f-pace on location