on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Jaguar Land Rover moves closer to building Slovakia plant

Jaguar Land Rover has announced its intention to build a new assembly plant in Slovakia. Though it has yet to make the final decision, the British automaker has signed a Letter of Intent with the Slovakian government. Its next step is to launch a feasibility study before committing. If the company does go ahead with plans, it wouldn't be the first automaker – or even the first European luxury automaker for that matter – to start producing in Slovakia. Nor would it be the first Jaguar Land Rover plant outside the UK, either. The Volkswagen Group, PSA Peugeot Citroen, and Kia all manufacture in the Central European country. VW's Bratislava plant in particular handles production of the Touareg, Audi Q7, and Porsche Cayenne. In the past few years, JLR has expanded its production capacity to new locations outside of the UK. It has a new factory in China, one under construction in Brazil, and has been manufacturing in India – home country of its parent company Tata – since 2011. It recently announced a manufacturing contract with Magna Steyr in Austria, and is investing in its facilities back home as well. Though yet to be finalized, the prospect of manufacturing in Slovakia has proven more favorable to JLR than other locations in Europe or in the United States or Mexico – all possibilities that the company says it looked into. It has yet to reveal just what it would produce there, saying only that "the plant would manufacture a range of aluminium Jaguar Land Rover vehicles," that the plant would be earmarked to come online in 2018 and eventually ramp up production to 300,000 vehicles. The prevailing wisdom would seem to indicate, however, that the site is being considered for the next-generation Land Rover Defender. Related Video: JAGUAR LAND ROVER UNVEILS NEXT STAGE OF GLOBAL EXPANSION PLANS - Letter of Intent signed for potential new plant in the Slovak Republic - Indicates the next stage of the Company's expansion plans to support a competitive global business in the future - Jaguar Land Rover's global expansion underpins long-term investment in new vehicles and technologies in the UK Coventry, UK – Jaguar Land Rover has signed a Letter of Intent with the Government of the Slovak Republic for the potential development of a new manufacturing plant in the city of Nitra in western Slovakia. With its established premium automotive industry, Slovakia is an attractive possible development opportunity.

Land Rover plotting high-performance Disco Sport, Evoque

Jaguar Land Rover is getting serious about performance with its new SVR line of high-output machinery. We've already seen the Range Rover Sport SVR, and we're anticipating more to follow with SVR versions of the new Jaguar XE, Range Rover LWB, outgoing Land Rover Defender and plenty more. The lineup will eventually include performance versions of most, but not all of the British automaker's products. But while the smallest Land Rovers may not get the full-on SVR treatment, JLR reportedly has something in the works. According to Australian website Motoring, Land Rover is watching the segment and considering its options. It sees Audi with its SQ5, BMW planning performance versions of the X3 and X4, and Mercedes plotting an AMG version of the GLC that's set to replace the GLK. The question is just what Land Rover will do. Both the Discovery Sport and Range Rover Evoque are based on the same D8 platform that incorporates transversely mounted inline-fours, so fitting something larger might be prohibitive, but a high-output turbo version of the new Ingenium four-cylinder engine design could do the trick. Considering what the likes of Volvo and Mercedes have managed to do with their high-strung turbo fours, Land Rover's approach could prove to be no slouch at all – even without the 5.0-liter supercharged V8 powering the flagship SVR models. In related news, Autovisie – the automotive section of Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf – projects that an SVR version of the Jaguar F-Type will be among the high-performance models coming up next. Slotting above the F-Type R with its 550 horsepower, the F-Type SVR will be even more powerful. The Project 7 speedster packaged a 575-hp version of the same supercharged V8, potentially pointing the way forward for future SVR models. Featured Gallery Land Rover Range Rover Evoque Autobiography View 17 Photos Related Gallery 2015 Land Rover Discovery Sport View 16 Photos News Source: Motoring.com.au, AutovisieImage Credit: Land Rover Jaguar Land Rover SUV Performance jaguar land rover svr

Xcar drives Jaguar C-X75, other Spectre villains of 007

James Bond returns to US theaters very soon in Spectre, and with the action-packed film wrapped, the producers are lending out the keys to some of the movie's automotive stars. We've already seen Jay Leno behind the wheel of Bond's Aston Martin DB10. Now, Xcar's Alex Goy has taken a turn in some of the flick's villainous rides from Jaguar Land Rover, including a very special Jaguar C-X75. The crew from JLR's Special Vehicle Operations team certainly did an impressive job of giving the movies baddies some appropriately nefarious rides. To challenge Bond, they turned the Land Rover Defender into a beast with chunky, off-road tires and blinding-spot lights. They also made the Range Rover Sport SVR even more diabolical than normal with a blacked-out look and LED lightbar. Of course, the king of Spectre's villain cars is the C-X75. According to Goy, most of the ones in the movie use the company's 5.0-liter, supercharged V8, but two are actually original prototypes with the hybrid setup. He gets to drive one of those special examples in this clip. While limited to some low-speed cruising, the coupe still looks wonderfully menacing on the road. Related Video: