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Jaguar Land Rover opens winter testing facility in Minnesota

As it begins the rollout of the all-wheel-drive Jaguar XJ and XF models, Jaguar Land Rover has just announced that it has opened a new facility in northern Minnesota for winter testing. Located in International Falls, MN (on the US and Canadian border), the British automaker says it is one of the coldest locations in the Continental US. Jaguar's new Instinctive All Wheel Drive system was developed primarily to help sell more cars in the northern US, so it only makes sense to open a testing area in the US as well.
With temperatures that can drop to minus 55 degrees Fahrenheit, International Falls was chosen to mimic some of the worst weather a Jaguar or Land Rover will ever see. The grounds house testing chambers, various road surfaces and even a frozen lake. This new facility complements the hot-weather testing grounds in Phoenix, AZ.
The official press release is posted below.

Xcar experiences the 2015 Mille Miglia from a Jaguar C-Type

Xcar Films has returned to the Mille Miglia this year for another trip from Brescia to Rome and back. However, unlike the last survey of the historic rally from the comfy seat of a Jaguar F-Type, it did things properly in 2015 with a first-person look at the entire event from a somewhat temperamental Jaguar C-Type. As you'd expect, you get to check out 1,000 miles of beautiful Italian roads and similarly gorgeous vintage sports cars, but the reporting here is great, too. Alex Goy alternates between navigating and learning to drive the C-Type with its tricky gearbox over the four-day rally, and he narrates the entire video, as well. From what we can tell, participating in the Mille Miglia is essentially a license to break every law of the road imaginable. The police not only allow this to happen; they encourage it. Goy does a fantastic job of giving viewers an idea of what's it like to take part in the historic event. Being in a 50-year-old racecar for that long looks absolutely exhausting but also completely worth it.

2016 Jaguar XJ sedan revealed

Jaguar has been steadily updating its sedan lineup, launching the entry-level XE and a new version of the mid-range XF – and now it's revealed an refreshed version of its flagship XJ. A facelifted version of the existing model (which was first launched in 2009 and arrived in the US in 2011), the 2016 Jaguar XJ benefits from a few key enhancements to keep it current. The principal visual updates revolve around the exterior lighting, which now includes full LED headlights, new daytime running lights and redesigned LED tail lights. There are new oval exhaust tips as well, but some of the most vital updates have been carried out inside. The refreshed interior includes a new InControl Touch Pro touchscreen infotainment system, with multi-touch control and backed up by a 60-gig solid-state hard drive. A new 17-speaker Meridian sound system comes standard, and the instrument cluster has been redesigned as well. The XJ also benefits from Jaguar's All-Surface Progress Control system and a raft of driver assistance features. Rear-drive models also get a new electric power-assisted steering rack and semi-automated parking system. Between engine options, drivetrain choices, wheelbase lengths, and trim levels, the updated XJ continues to offer an array of configurations – and Jaguar has worked to further differentiate them from one another. The base model carries the 340-horsepower, 3.0-liter, supercharged V6 and can be specified with rear- or all-wheel drive. There are regular and long wheelbase versions, and in R-Sport and Portfolio trim lines (the former now coming standard in the shorter car). Though the entire range is supercharged, the model designated as the XJ Supercharged packs a 470-hp version of the company's celebrated 5.0-liter force-fed V8, while the performance flagship XJR packs the same engine but with 550 hp (once again in either wheelbase) and now comes standard with the Black Pack. The 2016 Jaguar XJ is slated to reach US showrooms this fall. The updates will surely go a long way towards keeping Coventry's flagship sedan in the game for longer until an all-new model is ready. The question is whether these updates will be enough to keep the XJ competitive against the newer BMW 7 Series, Mercedes S-Class, and Maserati Quattroporte. Or for that matter with the Audi A8 that's just as old but was also recently refreshed, or the Lexus LS that's been around for longer with similar updates along the way.