1960 Jaguar Xk150 Fixed Head Coupe 1 Owner 89072 Actual Miles on 2040-cars

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Jaguar Land Rover exploring 3D HUD and infotainment projections

With its most recent technology research, Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is exploring the use of 3D projections for a world before and/or after autonomous vehicles come to fruition. In collaboration with the United Kingdom's University of Cambridge, JLR has developed concepts for a 3D head-up display that shows information on the road ahead and a system that projects personalized 3D infotainment for vehicle passengers.  As of right now, hundreds of production vehicles are equipped with two-dimensional head-up displays, some color, others black and white. Using various techniques and different technologies, manufacturers display information in a flat image in front of a driver. Some might find it distracting or unhelpful to have this in the driver's line of sight, and JLR might have found a solution. Rather than wedge the information in between the person and the view ahead, a 3D system that uses augmented reality could display the info onto the road in front of the driver. JLR thinks the system could project navigation directions, safety alerts such as lane departure, hazard detection or other bits typically found in a car's infotainment or instrument cluster. Some might find this to be even more distracting that 2D head-up displays, but to each his or her own. While the 3D head-up display is something that could be used right now, if it were released and passed legal, part two of JLR's 3D technology research is imagined for a life where truly autonomous vehicles are skating across the country. Using head- and eye-tracking technology, the system could lock into the position of numerous people in a vehicle and give each of them a personalized 3D projection "screen." This could be used to track a trip, look up points of interest, or even watch movies. JLR points out this could be used during ride-sharing without bothering others in the vehicle. The work with the Center for Advanced Photonics and Electronics at Cambridge is still in development for now, but it's only a matter of time before 3D tech makes it into cars in some degree.

Jaguar lifts the tailgate on XFR-S Sportbrake

In the market for an amped-up Jaguar? Look for the letter R, adorning such performance models as the XFR and XJR sedans, the XKR coupe and convertible and the new F-Type R. But if it's bonkers performance you're after, you'll want to add the letter S into the mix as well. Jaguar uses the letters to connote its most hard-core performance variants like the two-door XKR-S and four-door XFR-S. And now it's applied them to the XF wagon as well, skipping the R treatment and going straight for the new XFR-S Sportbrake.
Leaked just the other day and headed for the Geneva Motor Show, Jaguar has now revealed its new power wagon in full. The XFR-S Sportbrake packs Coventry's ubiquitous 5.0-liter supercharged V8 engine boasting 542 horsepower and 502 pound-feet of torque. That's the same version that powers the XKR-S and XFR-S sedan (not to mention the F-Type R and XJR), and drives the rear wheels through an eight-speed automatic to rocket the estate to 60 in 4.6 seconds and on to an electronically limited top speed of 186 miles per hour.
That may be pretty quick, but doesn't quite stack up to the Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG S-Model 4Matic Estate whose 5.5-liter twin-turbo V8 offers up 577 hp and 590 lb-ft for a 3.6-second 0-60 time, or to the Audi RS6 Avant whose 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 churns out 552 hp and 516 lb-ft for a 3.9-second 0-62 sprint. Though the Jaguar is only a little behind in output, it's a good second slower where it's measured. Granted that the Benz and the Audi are both all-wheel-drive where the Jaguar powers the rear only, but if four-wheel traction is how you get the power to the road, we wonder why Jaguar wouldn't fall in line. Particularly when the Jag's starting price in the UK (don't expect to see it imported here) is quoted at £82,495 - several grand more than the £76,985 RS6 but just shy of the £85,880 Mercedes gets for the E63 S-Model wagon in the UK (where the less potent 'base' version is also available as the cheapest in the bunch at £75,885).

Here's today's round of auto plant closures in response to coronavirus

More automakers have shuttered factories, as businesses everywhere work to slow the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus — and as the pandemic slows sales and disrupts parts supply chains. On Friday, the following closures were announced: • Volvo will close its factories in Sweden and the United States from March 26 to April 14. Volvo's U.S. facility, in Charleston, South Carolina, makes the S60 sedan. Its assembly plant in Torslanda, Sweden, turns out the XC90, SC60, and V90. Other Swedish facilities make engines and component parts. A Volvo factory in Ghent, Belgium, that builds the XC40 and V60 closed earlier this week and is expected to remain offline until April 6. Volvo's four factories in China have been reopened after a shutdown earlier this year. • Jaguar Land Rover announced that it will suspend production at its assembly plants in the UK over the coming week. The shutdown is expected to last until April 20. Elsewhere, production continues at the company's factories in India and Brazil, and JLR's joint-venture plant in China reopened at the end of February. • Bentley is closing its factory in Crewe, England, for four weeks, effective today. • Bugatti has put its atelier in Molsheim, France, on hiatus. No date was given for when assembly of its supercars might resume. • Mercedes-Benz on Monday will shut down its SUV factory in Alabama and its van assembly plant in South Carolina. Both will remain closed for a minimum of two weeks. Tesla yesterday revealed that it will suspend operations at its Fremont, California, vehicle assembly plant next week, on order from local officials there. Yesterday's factory closure announcements also included the U.S. assembly plants for Toyota (until April 6), Volkswagen (through March 29), Subaru (through March 29), and Hyundai (no time period specified). They join GM, Ford, Chrysler, Honda, Nissan, and Harley-Davidson, which earlier this week announced the suspension of production at their facilities. Plants/Manufacturing Bentley Bugatti Jaguar Land Rover Mercedes-Benz Volvo coronavirus