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Jaguar wants to become the British electric company

Jaguar has been telegraphing its electric future for years, and this week we're beginning to see it come to fruition. The company's Formula E race team officially launched September 8 with sponsorship, livery, and an interesting name for its racecar, the I-Type 1. It marks Jaguar's return to factory-supported racing and serves as a model for the company's future strategy. "The Formula E championship will enable us to engineer and test our advanced technologies under extreme performance conditions," Nick Rogers, executive director of product engineering at Jaguar Land Rover, said in a statement. "We will apply this vital knowledge as part of our real-world development." Formula E competition starts October 9 as the all-electric racing series begins its third season. Panasonic signed on as the title sponsor of the team. Formula E is a natural move for Jag and allows the British company to remain true to its racing heritage while still looking toward. The company claims seven Le Mans titles, which is the fourth-most in history, even though it hasn't won one since 1990. That's a great lineage, but Jaguar knows it's getting dusty. Launching a Formula E effort allows it to compete in a form of motorsports that should prove relevant to road-car technology. Jag is drawing on Williams Advanced Engineering (you might have heard of its F1 team) for the electric powertrain. Williams also helped with the development of Jaguar's C-X75 plug-in concept car. Meanwhile, we also captured an F-Pace crossover silently testing this week in the Alps. Though it looks like a normal F-Pace, spy shooters report it was producing no engine noise, leading (or perhaps leaping) to the conclusion it's the rumored electric SUV Jaguar is working on. Likely, this prototype has a diesel engine as a range extender. View 11 Photos Though the camouflaged F-Pace is great fodder for speculation, Jag's electric efforts are not a secret. Jaguar and Land Rover showed off three electric-vehicle demonstrators last year and the company is exploring everything from mild hybrids to full electric powertrains. JLR has filed paperwork to secure trademarks for I-Pace and E-Pace. "JLR is definitely rushing headfirst into electrification," said Ed Kim, vice president of industry analysis for research firm AutoPacific.

Jaguar Land Rover opening its first U.S.-based classic center in Georgia

Jaguar Land Rover Classic currently operates two of its Works Centres, one in Coventry, England and the other in Essen-Kettwig, Germany (pictured). Just in time for Pebble Beach, the English carmaker has announced that it will bring its first facility to the United States next year, having signed a deal to open the latest Works operation in Savannah, Georgia. To be located in the Crossroads Business Park near Gulfstream Aerospace, the facility will engage in the sales, service, and restoration of Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles out of production for at least ten years. The 150,000-square-foot Coventry site opened two years ago and is said to be the largest dedicated factory workshop of its kind (the largest unaffiliated shop is in the Philippines). Jaguar builds its continuation cars there, like the D-Type and XKSS, while Land Rover uses it to build the Defender Works V8. Shoppers can also buy vintage models off the showroom floor, a variation of the Certified Pre-Owned program called Works Legends, that come with a 12-month warranty. Or, Jaguar Land Rover will locate, restore, and maintain one of the classic company products that a buyer chooses. In the UK, a Land Rover Series 1 starts at around $90,000, a Jaguar E-Type starts at around $400,000. The 48,000 Essen-Kettwig center opened last year with the same brief, and the U.S. center can provide those services to the world's largest classic car market. Construction on the 75,000-square-foot complex is scheduled to begin next August, and the facility will include a 42-bay workshop and showroom. The automaker will invest from $10 to $15 million, and predicts more than $45 million in revenue. Savannah Economic Development Authority President and CEO Trip Tollison told The Savannah Morning News that JLR will hire 75 workers at a starting salary of $80,000. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Jaguar Land Rover creates new Special Operations division for halo vehicles, bespoke commissions

Jaguar Land Rover has announced that a new division of the British manufacturer will be dedicated to "bespoke commissions," as well as heritage products and apparel. Oh, and the new Special Operations division will also be behind JLR's halo cars from now on.
It's that last one that is the most tantalizing, as the last real halo product to see production from Jaguar was the XJ220. The Range Rover, meanwhile, has always had its own kind of halo reputation, although the Land Rover brand itself has never really gotten into the game with a dedicated model.
According to JLR, the new halo models will focus on ultra-high performance and luxury with a limited run of vehicles. The bespoke models, meanwhile, will give the wealthiest customers full sway over how vehicles are outfitted, with unique paints, trims and other accessories. The new SpecOps division will be run by John Edwards.