1997 Jaguar Xj6 Leather Loaded Low Miles Non Smoker on 2040-cars

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Harry bravely drives Jaguar XJ-S V12 1,000 miles to Monaco

There are a great many cars we'd like to take on a transcontinental journey – especially across Europe. And a good portion of them would probably be grand tourers with twelve-cylinder engines. We're just not sure we'd be as brave as Harry Metcalfe, who drove his 1980 Jaguar XJ-S V12 from his home in the UK all the way down to Monaco. Don't get us wrong, the XJ-S looks like a rather comfortable ride, and with the V12 is surely both smooth and powerful. It's just that Jags didn't have the best reputation for reliability back then, and we'd have been at least a little worried that we wouldn't make it all the way across France on this trip. Nor are we sure we would have wanted to without air conditioning. The model in question, as you'll find out if you watch the video, is an early 1980 example, produced just before Jaguar updated the line with the High-Efficiency versions. As such, it's got a bit more power and shorter gearing than later models. The XJS (as it would later be labeled) would undergo a number of updates over the following years, and would stay on the market until 1996 when the XK came along to relieve it. By Harry's reckoning, his early XJ-S was every bit as good as the Porsche 928 and other front-engined GTs of the era, and would have been more fondly remembered if it hadn't had to live in the shadow of the E-Type that came before. You'll want to watch the 17-minute video of the journey, undertaken for a cover story to appear in the September issue of Octane, to see for yourself. Related Video:

Jaguar Land Rover opens first overseas factory in China

Anyone who's a car fan knows that Jaguar and Land Rover cars and trucks all come from the UK. And while we don't doubt that will remain true for the most part, it won't be an absolute truth for long, as the British automaker has just opened its first factory overseas.
Its new plant in Changshu, China, is the result of a $1.8-billion joint venture between JLR and local automaker Chery. It covers some 4.3-million square feet and will, once at peak capacity, produce 130,000 units specifically for the Chinese market, where JLR sells over 100,000 vehicles each year to make it the company's single largest market worldwide.
Production at what's officially known as the Chery Jaguar Land Rover Automotive Company will start with the Evoque, of which one in five globally are currently sold in China. Production will eventually encompass three models. We already know that the Discovery Sport will be next, but the third model line has yet to be announced. JLR has confirmed, however, that the Changshu plant will produce unique models and derivatives specifically for the Chinese market, so we wouldn't be surprised to see a long-wheelbase version of the forthcoming XE or next-generation XF assembled there to satisfy local tastes.

Top Gear caught filming Best of British near Buckingham Palace

YouTuber and car-fan extraordinaire Shmee probably had very little trouble tracking down the Top Gear film crew recently, as the group was putting together an episode that could accurately be described as "excessive." With its flag-waving (literally) Best of British theme, the TG guys gathered a jaw-dropping array of British cars, and parked them all right in front of Buckingham Palace to make extra sure that the point was driven home.
Top Gear hosts Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May were outfitted with a trio of Jaguar F-Types festooned with gigantic Union Jacks, with which to survey the landscape of British motoring glory. In the video below, you'll see that this includes any number of Mini, Aston Martin, Lotus, McLaren, Land Rover, Bentley and Rolls-Royce models (just to name a few), as well as a healthy dose of weird stuff that most people would never guess at being built in the UK. The lawnmowers and military vehicles are especially cool.