1989 Jaguar Xjs V12 Convertible on 2040-cars

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Jaguar turns down offers to join V8 Supercars, questions AMG, Volvo participation

Rumors have swirled in recent weeks that Jaguar may be the next manufacturer to join the V8 Supercars racing series, made popular in Australia but now well-known in other parts of the world as well. Sadly, Jag's participation is not to be. In fact, it would be "insane," according to Jaguar Land Rover Asia Pacific Managing Director David Blackhall, for it to accept either of the two offers it has received to bring Jaguar into V8 Supercars.
Not only is Jaguar not interested in entering V8 Supercars, says Blackhall, it also fails to understand the recent entries from AMG and Volvo. "I don't know what it does for AMG to get flogged by a V8 Commodore week after week, but it's their brand, their issue. And the same thing will happen to Volvo to be honest."
Judging by Blackhall's statements to motoring.com.au, after not-so-serious consideration, the automaker decided the monetary commitment it would take to compete for wins would be more than any potential exposure would be worth, despite the fact that Jaguar has a 5.0-liter V8 to go along with what would seem to be a tailor-made rear-wheel-drive chassis. For what it's worth, one offer would have had Jaguar putting its name across an engine made by someone else, an option that was flatly turned down.

Final Jaguar F-Type produced at Castle Bromwich

Last October, Jaguar told us that the F-Type ZP Edition would be the capstone for the F-Type line, the two-seat coupe and convertible retired at the end of the model year. That turned out to be maybe kind-of a little true; standard versions of the car will continue on sale until early 2025 as Jaguar sells out the car's production. The real last stand for the F-Type is the car above, the final unit down the line at Jaguar's Castle Bromwich facility on May 22, 2024, with its siblings the XE sedan and XF Sportbrake. Colored Giola Green outside with a Tan Windsor leather interior under a black roof, the F-Type will use its 5.0-liter V8 to drive to the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust collection on the same day that its inspiration, the Jaguar E-Type, ended production in 1974 with a British Racing Green Series III Roadster. Speaking of which, from 1961 to 1974, Jaguar says it built 75,528 E-Types across three Series'. From 2013 to 2024, the automaker built 87,731 F-Types.   Now that the dealer inventory's stocked, what comes next is the end of the long slog to electrification. We won't know what that looks like until the first product gets revealed sometime next year. It's been three years since Jaguar outlined its electric reinvention, promising a two-door sports car and two SUVs that would contend with Bentley and Rolls-Royce. Since then, the electric coupe is said to have given way to a four-seat GT that we presume has four doors, Autocar saying this one could be considered a reborn XJ, although larger and much more luxurious than the last. Sitting on the new long-wheelbase JEA platform, the outlet predicts each will come with baseline specs of at least least 450 horsepower, all-wheel drive and all-wheel steering, six-figure prices. and super-fast charging times. Designs will be minimalist, heavy on touchscreens and sustainable materials, which are pages pulled from the Range Rover playbook. And we're told the Leaper, Jaguar's leaping cat emblem around since World War II, will be put to bed. Instead, identification will be by Jaguar wordtype outside and in — another Range Rover tic. Even stranger: Autocar says none of the three will fit a rear window. Like the Polestar 3, the Jaguars will use "a digital 'mirror' at the base of the windscreen." If this is true, a mirror on the instrument panel at the bottom of the windshield would be proper old-school Jaguar. The GT is meant to debut first, next year, one SUV per year for the two years afterward.

Jaguar Land Rover moves closer to building Slovakia plant

Jaguar Land Rover has announced its intention to build a new assembly plant in Slovakia. Though it has yet to make the final decision, the British automaker has signed a Letter of Intent with the Slovakian government. Its next step is to launch a feasibility study before committing. If the company does go ahead with plans, it wouldn't be the first automaker – or even the first European luxury automaker for that matter – to start producing in Slovakia. Nor would it be the first Jaguar Land Rover plant outside the UK, either. The Volkswagen Group, PSA Peugeot Citroen, and Kia all manufacture in the Central European country. VW's Bratislava plant in particular handles production of the Touareg, Audi Q7, and Porsche Cayenne. In the past few years, JLR has expanded its production capacity to new locations outside of the UK. It has a new factory in China, one under construction in Brazil, and has been manufacturing in India – home country of its parent company Tata – since 2011. It recently announced a manufacturing contract with Magna Steyr in Austria, and is investing in its facilities back home as well. Though yet to be finalized, the prospect of manufacturing in Slovakia has proven more favorable to JLR than other locations in Europe or in the United States or Mexico – all possibilities that the company says it looked into. It has yet to reveal just what it would produce there, saying only that "the plant would manufacture a range of aluminium Jaguar Land Rover vehicles," that the plant would be earmarked to come online in 2018 and eventually ramp up production to 300,000 vehicles. The prevailing wisdom would seem to indicate, however, that the site is being considered for the next-generation Land Rover Defender. Related Video: JAGUAR LAND ROVER UNVEILS NEXT STAGE OF GLOBAL EXPANSION PLANS - Letter of Intent signed for potential new plant in the Slovak Republic - Indicates the next stage of the Company's expansion plans to support a competitive global business in the future - Jaguar Land Rover's global expansion underpins long-term investment in new vehicles and technologies in the UK Coventry, UK – Jaguar Land Rover has signed a Letter of Intent with the Government of the Slovak Republic for the potential development of a new manufacturing plant in the city of Nitra in western Slovakia. With its established premium automotive industry, Slovakia is an attractive possible development opportunity.