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Land Rover will put a Covid-nuking air filtration system in future cars

Jaguar - Land Rover (JLR) is developing an air filtration system that inhibits up to 97% of viruses and airborne bacteria. Designed like a face mask for your car's HVAC system, it's built on Panasonic's Nanoe X technology. Most of the company's models (including the Land Rover Defender) currently come equipped with Panasonic's Nanoe technology and PM2.5 filtration. Nanoe X is 10 times more effective, according to the brand, because it relies on a high voltage to create trillions of hydroxyl (OH) radicals enveloped in nano-sized water molecules. Think of them as Roman guards in front of a fortress: they keep the bad out, and ensure only the good can come in. Viruses and bacteria proteins are denatured when they come into contact with the filtration system, meaning they can't reproduce or grow. The OH radicals also zap common allergens and mold, but they're harmless to humans. JLR stressed it's not relying on computer simulations to decide whether its filtration system works as designed. It asked British laboratory Perfectus Biomed to perform a test that simulates a ventilation system in recirculation mode for a 30-minute cycle in a sealed chamber. The results were encouraging: 97% of viruses and airborne bacteria were nuked. The carmaker pointed out Panasonic's Nanoe X technology has been independently proven to inhibit 99.995% of coronaviruses during a two-hour laboratory test carried out by French immunology lab Texcell. Future models from Jaguar and Land Rover will use this technology, though a representative for both companies declined to tell us when it will reach production, and which nameplate(s) will inaugurate it. Meanwhile, Honda launched its own coronavirus killer across the pond. It's a cabin air filter sold as a genuine replacement part that consists of four layers, including one coated with an active substance of fruit extract that inactivates nearly 100% of the viral aerosols it captures. It's available in Europe through Honda dealers, but it won't be sold in America. Jaguar Land Rover

Jaguar C-X75 James Bond movie car is going up for auction

Back in 2010, Jaguar presented a show-stopper of a concept: the C-X75. Besides its curvaceous body, it boasted a wild hybrid powertrain with a gas turbine engine providing electricity. Sadly, it never reached full production, and it only reappeared as a villain car in the James Bond film Spectre. But between the concept and the film, there were a few production prototypes built as part of a planned 250, and a few stunt cars. Auction company RM Sotheby's is offering one of the latter cars. This Jaguar C-X75 stunt car is actually the first stunt car built, according to the auction house. The stunt cars were built by Williams Advanced Engineering, the same company that has been competing in Formula 1 for decades. The stunt car has little in common mechanically with the concept, or the five prototype cars Jaguar built with four-cylinder hybrid powertrains. Under the skin is a custom tubeframe chassis and long-travel rally car suspension. Powering it is a version of the Jaguar F-Type's V8 engine with a dry-sump oiling system. It's coupled to a sequential manual six-speed transmission and a rear transaxle with a mechanical limited-slip differential. Brakes are AP Racing units and are adjustable from the cabin, and they feature a hydraulic handbrake. One consequence of this stunt car's burly underpinnings is that the cockpit is more like that of a race car, with a small Momo steering wheel and toggle switches and controllers all over. But this unsophisticated cabin has played host to some famous folks. The car was used for getting shots with the actors, with a driver's seat mounted to the top. Since this was a villain car, the actor in the driver's seat was Dave Bautista. The car also was featured at the Mexico Grand Prix to promote the movie, and Felipe Massa took it for a test drive. RM Sotheby's hasn't given an estimated price for the car, but expect it to be expensive. If you have the means, it will be crossing the block at the auction company's Abu Dhabi sale on November 30. The car will come with a bill of sale, a movie call sheet and a specification sheet from Jaguar Land Rover Special Vehicle Operations. We're not sure that this car would be able to be titled in the U.S., but we bet it would be just as fun, if not more so, on a race track, rather than public roads.

Jaguar Land Rover posts profitable quarter amidst big yearly losses

Jaguar has posted its first profit in quite some time, as the financial quarter ending on March 31 brought in a net income of $151.6 million. However, that is the light in the end of the tunnel, as full year results through March showed a $4.58 billion loss (GBP3.6 billion). The losses are again attributable to declining sales in China, with a whiff of the still-lingering Brexit process. While JLR's annual U.S. sales were up 8.1 percent, and U.K. sales improved by 8.4%, overall sales came down 5.8% to 578,915 vehicles. For April, Chinese sales nearly halved as they dropped by 46 percent. Earlier this year, JLR's woes caused its owner Tata Motors to post the biggest ever quarterly loss in Indian corporate history, at nearly $4 billion. JLR's CEO Ralf Speth stated that the company is "reducing complexity" and transforming its business by cost savings and cash flow improvements, citing the fourth-quarter profits as an example of the ongoing turnaround. Speth said JLR has already managed to deliver $1.59 billion (GBP1.25 billion) of efficiencies and savings. JLR says its turnaround program, dubbed Charge, will drive it to at least $3.18 billion (GBP2.5 billion) of investment, working capital and profit improvements by March 2020, and that it currently has $4.84 billion (GBP3.8 billion) of cash. Speth continued that JLR will "go forward as a transformed company that's leaner and fitter," and that the sustained investment in new products and technologies will drive future demand. There has been earlier speculation of Tata Motors selling JLR to the PSA Group, but as Autocar reports, Tata's financial chief again refuted these rumors. JLR also announced today that its CFO of 11 years, Ken Gregor is stepping down after 22 years with the company, and that he will be succeeded by JLR's Chief Transformation Officer, Adrian Mardell.