2007 Jaguar Xj8 Automatic 4-door Sedan - Clean Carfax -1 Owner on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Jaguar Land Rover backs Arc startup that sells $100,000 electric motorcycles

Before it even put its first motorcycle on the road, new startup Arc reeled in a major player to back its ambitious product plan. In conjunction with the reveal of the fully electric Vector superbike at the Esposizione Internazionale Ciclo Motociclo e Accessori ( EICMA) show in Milan, Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) announced it is placing capital in Arc, using JLR's investment company InMotion Ventures. Arc claims the Vector is the first all-electric motorcycle with integrated Human Machine Interface (HMI) to come to market. Arc, not to be confused with Keanu Reeve's Arch motorcycle company, has a pretty typical mission statement: "To use progressive design and technology to transform people's relationship with an automative experience. For us, for you, for our planet." At the core, Arc wants to make connected, clean, exclusive superbikes, and the Vector is its first try. Although Arc didn't get into the nitty gritty details about the make-up of the bike, it did give some surface specs and information. The bike's structure is built using a carbon composite to create a "unique Arc battery monocoque." Weight is also kept low using carbon fiber swing arms. There is no mention of the size or type of electric powertrain, but Arc claims it will have a highway range of about 120 miles or a city range of 170 miles on a single charge. Arc says it will be able to sprint from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 2.7 seconds and has a top speed of 124 mph. Stopping power comes from a Brembo brake system, while ride and handling relies on Ohlins dampers. The launch does not stop at the motorcycle, but includes gear, as well. The Vector links up with a jacket and a helmet for a fully connected experience. Partnering with U.K.-based impact protection design company Knox, Arc created the Arc Pilot System. Using audio, the armored Origin riding jacket provides haptic feedback based on numerous riding inputs to help keep the driver safe and aware. Furthermore, Arc linked up with luxury helmet maker Hedon to build the WiFi-connected Zenith helmet that houses an integrated projection heads-up display. In addition to showing things such as speed or battery life of the bike, the helmet uses a built-in rear camera to display other vehicles in the rider's blind spots. The rider can command the system using controls on the bike or via voice commands.

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:

Cadillac CTS-V and Suzuki e-Survivor | Autoblog Podcast #527

This week, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by General Manager Adam Morath. They discuss driving the Cadillac CTS-V and talk about the Suzuki e-Survivor concept. Other news includes possible Jaguar Land Rover acquisitions, the Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk and the Autoblog Car Finder. Autoblog Podcast #527 Your browser does not support the audio element. Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Topics and stories we mention Rundown Jaguar Land Rover acquisitions? Suzuki e-Survivor concept Tesla Model 3 Autoblog Car Finder tool Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk Cadillac CTS-V What we've been driving: Jaguar F-Pace Ken Block's "Climbkhana" Spend my money Feedback Email – Podcast at Autoblog dot com Review the show on iTunes Green Podcasts Cadillac Jaguar Jeep Suzuki Electric Performance Videos Sedan jaguar land rover