1979 Jaguar Xj 12l on 2040-cars

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Porsche 911 Turbo and Nissan GT-R Nismo star in World's Greatest Drag Race 4

We love Motor Trend's annual World's Greatest Drag Race video. Now back for its fourth appearance, the idea of lining some of the world's fastest cars up for a ten-wide, straight-line, full-throttle run is, well... it's pretty freaking badass.
The lineup this year boasts some impressively fast cars to be sure. The group of ten includes the following darlings: Alfa Romeo 4C, BMW i8, BMW M4, Chevrolet Camaro Z/28, Ford Fiesta ST, Jaguar F-Type R Coupe, Nissan GT-R Nismo, Porsche 911 Turbo S, Subaru WRX STI and, last but not least, the Volkswagen GTI. Give us any one of those for the weekend, and we're happy to take the keys.
It must be said though, that for a publication that draws as much water as Motor Trend does, there are some big cars that we might expect to be here instead. The Lamborghini Huracán or Ferrari 458 Speciale would have added some exotic flare to the list, and the omissions of the Chevy Corvette Stingray (for the second year in a row) and the Dodge Challenger Hellcat are real head-scratchers.

Jaguar releases C-X75 concept build story

If you want to know what was going through the minds of decisionmakers at Jaguar when the company decided to build the batty C-X75 Concept, look no further than the quick video after the jump. Jaguar set about building a car with the performance of a Bugatti Veyron, the electric range of a Chevrolet Volt and the emissions of a Toyota Prius, and they turned to a legendary engineering firm to help make it happen. Williams, the same crew behind Williams F1, helped Jaguar stitch the concept car together, and the result is unlike anything we've seen before.
The twin-charged 1.6-liter four-cylinder mounted amidship is paired with an electric motor at each wheel for a combined output of over 850 horsepower. And, since the whole chassis is hewn from carbon fiber, a production version would've been light enough to give machines like the McLaren P1 and Ferrari LaFerrari a run for their money. Shame they apparently couldn't make the business case work. Watch the concept build story in the video below for yourself.

2018 Jaguar XJ stars in 'Game of Drones'

Looking for a fun way to put the its 2018 XJ in the spotlight, Jaguar turned to a fresh form of racing. The automaker placed three of the long-wheelbase XJL models in a studio, and surrounded them with illuminated, door-shaped gates. Then Jaguar brought in a pair of professional drone racers to compete in the glowing circuit, which includes pass-through of the rear of the XJL cabins. The drone pilots, donning VR headsets, sat in the rear of the 575-horsepower version of the XJL, the Jaguar XJR575, and launched the drones from the trunk of the car. They raced the drones through the gates and through the cars at speeds of up to 60 miles per hour. "The course was a great test, but the fact we were able to go at such speeds proves how much space the doors of the Jaguar XJL gave us," said the winning drone pilot, Brett Collis. "Despite having to fly through the cabin, we were still pushing the drones to their top speeds." The "Game of Drones," as Jaguar dubbed the race, took place at Alexandra Palace in London, but the automaker is bringing similar experiences to more locations. Jaguar plans to go on an "Art of Performance Tour," where it will bring drone and Smart Cone driving challenges to the public, free of charge.