2012 Jaguar Xj Supercharged Sedan 4-door on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Jaguar Land Rover proposes seats that scientifically massage your butt, for your health

Habitually sitting too long can degrade a person's health. Scientific research has proven that dormancy can increase the risk of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, deep-vein thrombosis, and metabolic syndrome, according to the Harvard Medical School. Although sitting can be avoided in many cases, such as using a standing desk at work, taking a seat is the only option when hopping in the car for a drive. Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is hoping to address this negative aspect of cars with a new high-tech seat that the company says mimics the act of walking.  JLR calls the concept a shape-shifting, or morphable, seat system, and it is currently in a trial period with Jaguar Land Rover’s Body Interiors Research division. Using actuators built into the seat's foam, the seat will constantly be in motion with micro-adjustments that can be tuned to the needs of different people and body types. JLR believes it has created a system that recreates what is known as pelvic oscillation, a motion that can supposedly trick the brain into thinking the body is walking. In addition to helping to prevent internal health issues, JLR also notes that a sedentary lifestyle can degrade and shorten muscles in the legs, hips, and rear. If these muscles are worked on a regular basis, the chance and risk of injury and back issues could potentially be reduced. The new seats are just one of many car interior technologies JLR has explored. In the past, we've seen tech that tracks brainwaves and heart rates, creates augmented reality, helps prevent motion sickness, and helps stop the spread of germs. They've also taken the time to have an expert demonstrate the perfect seating position. Most of this stuff is experimental for now, but it's possible similar features could eventually trickle down to production cars, in time. See how the seat moves in the video below. Related Video:    

Jaguar-based Eagle E-Type Low Drag GT makes its bid for most beautiful car ever with EVO

The Jaguar E-Type is one of the icons of automotive design, and British company Eagle has made a business out of restoring, upgrading and building their bespoke versions for the last 30 years. It does for the E-Type what Singer does for the Porsche 911 - takes an already great classic car and updates its mechanicals for the modern age.
The firm's latest creation, the Low Drag GT, might be its greatest ever, at least according to editor Henry Catchpole in Evo magazine's latest video. The car takes its inspiration from a trio of low-drag E-Type coupes built in the 1960s, but thoroughly modernizes the concept. The engine is based on Jag's inline-six, but made from aluminum and bored out to 4.7 liters to produce 346 horsepower and 360 pound-feet of torque. Catchpole says it's enough to propel it to 60 miles per hour in about 4.5 seconds. The body, transmission and differential are all also made from aluminum to cut the weight to 2,288 pounds, and modern upgrades include Ohlins dampers, AP Racing brakes and even extras like concealed GPS navigation and an Alcantara headliner. There's more head- and legroom than the originals, too.
Each car is built bespoke for each buyer, so prices vary, but Catchpole says the one he is in would run about half the cost of a LaFerrari - around $700,000.

Jaguar Land Rover building new Special Vehicle Operations facility

It's only been a couple of months since Jaguar Land Rover announced the formation of its new Special Operations division, and we've already seen a number of vehicles to come out of it. But now the British automaker has announced a new facility that will house its elite skunkworks department.
Set to be built at Prologis Park in Ryton, England, on the outskirts of Coventry, the new Special Vehicle Operations Technical Centre will encompass dedicated production lines, F1-style flexible workshops, a dedicated paint studio and VIP suite for commissioning bespoke projects. JLR will spend some $33 million on the facility that will be home to 150 specialists - 100 of them being new hires.
The first project which the Special Operations division is working on is the F-Type Project 7, but we've already seen more projects in the pipeline - including the upcoming Range Rover Sport SVR - and you can bet there'll be more. The revival of the Lightweight E-Type also falls under Special Operations, but is undertaken by the Jaguar Heritage department located nearby at Browns Lane.