2016 Jaguar Xj 4dr Sdn R-sport Rwd on 2040-cars

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Jaguar may join the FWD, small-car parade

Was it right for Chevrolet to detune the 1975 Corvette's base engine to 165 horsepower? Was Aston Martin wrong to make the Toyota iQ-based Cygnet? Is BMW crazy to be testing the new 1 Series with three-cylinder engines and front-wheel drive? It seems now, just as in the 1970s and 1980s, that emissions regulations and social considerations are driving some automakers to adopt unbefitting practices to maintain acceptance in the eyes of governments and consumers. Jaguar has jumped on the bandwagon, and is considering development of small, frugal, front-wheel-drive cars to help lower Jaguar Land Rover's average vehicle CO2 levels in light of tightening European emissions regulations, Autocar reports.
By 2020, the European Union expects the model range of every manufacturer to average 95 grams per kilometer, which is a new law passed by the European Parliament in April. Manufacturers who make more than 300,000 vehicles per year must meet these targets, and JLR is expected to be producing up to 700,000 vehicles per year by then. CO2 regulations after 2020 will only get stricter, as EU politicians already are talking about lowering CO2 levels to between 68 g/km and 78 g/km. (To put that in perspective, Autocar posits that driving a fully charged electric vehicle in Europe produces about 75 g/km when factoring in the power-generation infrastructure.)
Jaguar has some choices here, but so far they all have drawbacks. It could develop a new, compact chassis architecture for a line of compact vehicles, but the investment required for such a project could be prohibitively expensive. Jaguar has been looking into using the Land Rover Evoque platform for a small SUV, Autocar reports, but Land Rover brand manager John Edwards raises issue with such a plan, saying it may not be financially feasible.

Jaguar XJ220 hooned remotely by a kid

The Tax the Rich crew has a knack for indulging in automotive fantasies and capturing it all on video, such as a tug-of-war battle between two Ferrari F50s, drifting a Ferrari Enzo on gravel roads and even powersliding a Rolls-Royce Phantom on a field of wet grass. This latest video features a Jaguar XJ220 and a kid with an iPad, who somehow is able to control the old supercar with the Apple product.
No, there's no app for that (yet), and we lied - the boy isn't actually controlling the car - but it sure is nice to see the XJ220 in all its turbocharged, six-cylinder glory doing donuts and sliding across a grassy field. It jolts us to see the old Jaguar - capable of 217 miles per hour and once described by Jeremy Clarkson as having no brakes and massive turbo lag - thrown about like a rally car, but then we never imagined anybody would abuse a Rolls-Royce like that either. We'll continue to leave the high-stakes antics to Tax the Rich - we're just glad somebody had the guts to behave so badly in such a valuable machine. What else were they made for?
Be sure to check out the video below, if you have a pulse.

Jaguar Land Rover may build factory in Saudi Arabia

The Middle East is one of the fastest-growing markets for Land Rover, so it makes sense that the automaker is looking to set up shop in the region. According to Automotive News, Jaguar Land Rover is in talks with the people of Saudi Arabia to build a factory in the country at an expected initial cost of $1.2 billion. Still in the early stage of talks, the proposed facility could start up by 2017 using locally sourced materials such as steel and aluminum.
Such an arrangement could be beneficial for both entities as Saudi Arabia looks to diversify its oil-reliant economy and Land Rover could get local production capacity of around 50,000 units. The report also says that the agreement talks about the possibility for Jaguar models to be built at the same plant further down the road.
This won't be the first vehicle produced in Saudi Arabia - that honor goes to the KSU Gazal-1 - but it will be the first from a major global automaker.