2001 Jaguar Vanden Plas Base Sedan 4-door 4.0l on 2040-cars

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Bloodhound SSC makes its speed-ready debut in London

Bloodhound SSC, the 1,000-mph land speed record contender, broke cover this week in Canary Wharf, London, in the heart of the Docklands financial district. "This is the best of British engineering meets the best of British banking," quipped Philip Dunne, MP, minister of state for defense procurement, which has provided backing for the team in terms of Army and Royal Air Force personnel and equipment. The team announced that Bloodhound will do its first test runs in Newquay, Cornwall, next spring before traveling to Hakskeen Pan in northwest South Africa in the fall. There, on October 15, 2016, it will make its first attempt on the land speed record, which currently stands at 763.035 miles per hour. That speed was set by Thrust SSC in the Black Rock desert on October 15, 1997 by Bloodhound's driver, Andy Green. Nineteen years later to the day, Green will be shooting for a speed over 800 mph. Over 8,000 people will come to Canary Wharf to see this extraordinary jet- and rocket-powered car over the next couple of days. This is the first-ever viewing of the machine in assembled form. The right-hand side is fully dressed in desert spec, complete with forged aluminum wheels and aerodynamics. The left-hand side is in 'naked' Newquay test spec, with panels removed for easy access and the whole thing riding on rubber tires that can run on tarmac. First impressions are of a big yet muscular car simply crammed with engines, jets, and rockets. The most recognizable thing, apart from the seven fire extinguishers, is the Jaguar AJ133 5.0-liter V8, lifted from an F-Type, which will run the fuel pumps that deliver over 211 gallons of high-test peroxide over the rocket motor's 20-second burn time. The EJ200 Typhoon military jet engine occupies the top floor and provides nine tons of thrust, and underneath is the single Nammo rocket motor providing an additional four tons. "When we go for 1,000 mph, we'll need another two rocket motors," says Mark Chapman, Bloodhound's chief engineer. "That total additional eight tons of thrust is what we'll need to get from 800 to 1,000 mph." He explains that the rear of the car will have to be redesigned to accommodate the two additional rocket motors, and the suspension might have to be adapted with longitudinal rear spring units like the fronts. There are still unknowns in the project, such as the area of vacuum that will follow the car several meters behind.

Tata Motors posts quarterly loss and warns of inflationary costs

BENGALURU — Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) owner Tata Motors reported a quarterly loss on Monday that was bigger than expected and warned of rising inflationary costs. Automakers worldwide have been roiled by chip shortages, supply chain disruptions, COVID-19 restrictions and rising raw material prices after a short-lived recovery towards the end of 2020. "Demand remains strong despite near term concerns ... the semiconductor supply situation is improving gradually whilst inflation worries persist," Tata Motors said in an exchange filing. The company expects chip shortages at JLR to continue through 2022 as suppliers gradually ramp up production, and is also engaging directly with chip manufacturers to secure supply longer-term supplies for the Range Rover maker, it said. Tata Motors' consolidated net loss came in at 15.16 billion rupees ($203.23 million) for the quarter ended Dec. 31, compared to a profit of 29.06 billion rupees a year earlier, when an easing of pandemic-related restrictions led to a pick-up in sales. However, the recovery was short-lived as acute semiconductor shortages and supply chain disruptions delayed production, and Tata Motors slipped back to losses. For the reported quarter, analysts had expected the Mumbai-based company to report a loss of 3.30 billion rupees, according to Refinitiv IBES data. Tata Motors' earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) margin, a key measure of profitability, was 10.2% for the quarter, above estimates of 9.3%. Total revenue from operations for the quarter fell 4.5% to 722.29 billion rupees, below estimates of 775.93 billion rupees. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Earnings/Financials Jaguar Land Rover

Jaguar Land Rover to cut thousands of UK jobs

LONDON — Britain's biggest carmaker Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is set to cut thousands of jobs as the company faces lower demand in China and a slump in sales of diesel cars in Europe. The central English firm builds a higher proportion of its cars in Britain than any other major or medium-sized carmaker and has also spent millions of pounds preparing for Brexit, in case there are tariffs or customs checks. Britain's business minister Greg Clark said on Thursday it is clear why a no-deal Brexit would add to the problems with further costs and disruption. JLR lost 354 million pounds ($450 million) between April and September 2018 and had already cut around 1,000 roles in Britain, shut its Solihull plant for two weeks and announced a three-day week at its Castle Bromwich site. Its Chief Executive Ralf Speth warned in September that the wrong Brexit deal could cost tens of thousands of car jobs and posed a threat to production at the automaker. The Tata Motors-owned company, which employs around 40,000 people in Britain and has boosted its workforce at new plants in China and Slovakia in recent years, unveiled plans to cut costs and improve cash flows by 2.5 billion pounds last year including "reducing employment costs and employment levels." Those cuts will be "substantial" and run into the thousands, the source told Reuters. "The announcement on job losses will be substantial, affecting managerial, research, sales, design," said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, not affecting production-line staff "at this stage." The company declined to comment when contacted by Reuters on Thursday. Ford also said on Thursday it will cut thousands of jobs in Europe, exit unprofitable markets and discontinue loss-making vehicle lines as part of a turnaround effort aimed at improving profit margins in the region. Brexit warnings JLR, which became Britain's biggest carmaker in 2016, had been on course to build around 1 million vehicles by the turn of the decade, reported on Thursday a 4.6 percent drop in full-year sales to just under 600,000 vehicles. Demand in China, which had once been one of its strongest countries but has since been hit by a slowdown, fell by 21.6 percent, the biggest drop of any of its markets. "The economic slowdown in China along with ongoing trade tensions is continuing to influence consumer confidence," said Jaguar Land Rover Chief Commercial Officer Felix Brautigam.