1994 - Jaguar Xjs on 2040-cars

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This Jaguar E-Type is an even longer-legged feline

Paul Branstad loves the shape and purity of the Series 1 Jaguar E-Type, produced from 1961 to 1968, but appreciates the longer length of the Series 3 V12 model, which affords occupants a more comfortable space in which to enjoy long trips. So when Branstad brought his damaged left-hand-drive 1968 roadster from its home in the US to Classic Motor Cars in the UK for a restoration, he had a special request: restore his car, but make it a bit longer.
"This is something that we have never done before. Our client wanted the interior leg room of a Series 3 V12 E-Type but the aesthetics of a Series 1 car," says Nick Goldthorp, managing director of CMC.
For the restoration, CMC added 4.5 inches of length to the floor pan of Branstad's E-Type to create the extra legroom. Goldthorp relates, "The V12 was actually nine inches longer than a Series 1 but a lot of the additional room was behind the seats as storage and was not required on our project." That's because CMC also built a trailer out of two E-Type rear ends that attaches to a custom-made removable tow hitch.

Autoblog Podcast #339

Farewell, Zach Bowman; Pikes Peak 2013; Datsun; 2014 Ram lineup
Episode #339 of the Autoblog Podcast is here, and it's the last rodeo for Zach Bowman before he departs for other pastures. The crew this week consists of Dan Roth, Zach Bowman and Jeff Ross, who talk about the astounding records set at this year's Pike's Peak hill climb, the return of the Datsun brand name and the recently-announced 2014 Ram truck lineup. Of course, we start with the garage and end with your questions and comments. For those of you who hung with us live on our UStream channel, thanks for taking the time. You can follow along after the jump with our Q&A. Thanks for listening!
Autoblog Podcast #339:

Jaguar shows the face of its upcoming XE S sports sedan

Jaguar has a bunch of projects in the hopper, from the replacements for the XJ sedan and XK coupe/convertible to its very first crossover. But arguably the most important among them is the XE - the British automaker's upcoming new sports sedan. Coventry has given us all sorts of peeks at what to expect from the new XE, from a shadowy rendering of the front end to a photo of a camo-wrapped prototype. But this is our best look yet.
As part of an announcement of a planned audio-visual spectacle scheduled to herald the arrival of the XE, Jaguar has released the image you see above, showing the undisguised XE in apparent S specification. From what we can see, it sports a fascia that looks pretty much exactly as we'd expect, though that's no bad thing. The XE is set to introduce the new Ingenium family of 2.0-liter four-cylinder engines. Whether the XE S shown here would carry a version of that (with a potential supercharger) or transplant the 3.0-liter supercharged V6 from the F-Type S remains to be seen, but whatever's under the hood, we'd expect it to hold the top end of the XE range - at least for the car's introduction before a potential R, R-S or SVR version might come along to supplant it.
One way or another, don't be surprised if you see some BMW 3 Series sedans pacing down the street nervously for the next little while. In the meantime, you can scope out all the glorious details of Jaguar's planned collaborations with the likes of Emeli Sandé, Stella McCartney and Idris Elba as part of the FEEL XE campaign in the press release below.