1997 Jaguar Xk8 Base Convertible 2-door 4.0l on 2040-cars

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Leno and Ian Callum pilot Jaguar XK120 at 2014 Mille Miglia

Jay Leno has been in a British mood recently with his videos highlighting the McLaren P1, 1962 Norton 650SS and Steve McQueen's 1956 Jaguar XKSS. He's keeping the streak alive this week with a look at driving a Jaguar XK120 in the 2014 Mille Miglia historic rally with Jaguar Design Director Ian Callum.
The video show off Jay Leno's Garage in top form. It's way more than just Jay driving the 1,000-mile route from Brescia, Italy, to Rome and back. He also includes interviews with Stirling Moss about winning the race back in 1955, and racer Martin Brundle about what it's like to drive a long-nose Jaguar D-Type this year.
Today, the Mille Miglia is only for historic cars, and it has a much more relaxed pace than the original all-out event. However, this isn't entirely a cruise. Leno seems scared at times talking about it because the drivers are free to ignore the speed limits and open the cars up as much as they are willing to. The roads aren't shut down for regular traffic, either, and things can be dangerous.

UK electric motor maker YASA expands production 50-fold for EVs

LONDON — British electric motor manufacturer YASA said on Thursday it was increasing its production capacity from 2,000 to 100,000 units with a new factory to tap into growing demand from carmakers for greener technologies. Automakers are racing to build greener vehicles and improve charge times in a bid to meet rising customer demand and air quality targets but Britain lacks sufficient manufacturing capacity, an area the government is building up. Last year, the government picked a site in central England to house a new automotive battery development facility, which will develop the processes required to manufacture the latest battery advancements. On Thursday, YASA, based near the English city of Oxford, said it had raised another 15 million pounds ($21 million) as part of its expansion. "Our customers are looking to adopt innovative new technologies such as YASA's axial-flux electric motors and controllers in order to meet the needs of the rapidly expanding hybrid and pure electric automotive market," said Chief Executive Chris Harris. The firm exports 80 percent of production and has worked with companies including Britain's two biggest carmakers Jaguar Land Rover and Nissan as well as Aston Martin. JLR will decide this year whether to build electric cars in its home market, previously citing factors such as pilot testing and support from science and government as pre-requisites. Reporting by Costas PitasRelated Video:

Chinese patent filing shows what could be next Royal Limo from Jaguar

Someone filed a patent application in China for the Jaguar XJ limousine seen above, but no one's sure who filed it or what the car is for. One camp thinks it's a State limo for UK royals like the Bentley State Limousine, another camp thinks it's the work of aftermarket coachbuilders.
One thing's for sure: Assuming it ever gets made, anyone who buys it wants an XJ in name only; the modifications have removed almost all of the grace of the standard sedan. Estimated to be more than three feet longer than an XJ, the stretched rear doors are backed by an even more stretched rear section that, in losing the trademark XJ C-pillar (the D-pillar on this car), adds all sorts of ungainliness to its backside. What's more, the roof rises from front to rear, we can only assume to make room for people with large hats. Or the NBA player that the Chinese call "Sweet Melon."
Head over to AutoSohu for more photos from the application, if you're sure that's what you really want.