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Land Rover to build Discovery Sport at new Brazilian factory

Looking forward to getting your mitts on a new Land Rover Discovery Sport? Well you should, because it promises to be a markedly better product than the Freelander/LR2 it replaces. Just don't assume it will necessarily be built in the UK, as just about every Land Rover has in the company's 66-year history. The new Discovery Sport (pictured above in Sao Paulo) will, of course, be built in the UK, at the Halewood plant where the Evoque is made and which has in the past handled the Freelander, the Jaguar X-Type and a variety of Fords. But it will also be assembled for local consumption at JLR's new factory in Changsu, China. And, according to the press release down below, it will also be made for the Latin American market at the new factory being built in Brazil. The new plant is being built in Itatiaia on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro and will come online in 2016. Once it gets up to speed by the end of 2020, it will have the capacity to build 24,000 vehicles each year, ratcheting its workforce up from 400 when it opens to nearly 1,000 when all's said and done. The Discovery Sport will be one of the products made there for the local market, but it surely won't be the only one. As in China, we expect the Evoque will be built there as well, and we wouldn't be surprised to see the new Jaguar XE join it in the near future, either. Don't expect the Brazilian-made vehicles to be sold in the US, though: those will likely still be imported from the UK... at least, that is, until the facility said to be under consideration for the southern United States opens its doors. JAGUAR LAND ROVER CONFIRMS ITS ALL-NEW DISCOVERY SPORT FOR BRAZIL FACILITY - Jaguar Land Rover confirms Discovery Sport as one of the models to be produced at its new local manufacturing facility in Brazil - R$750m investment in the new facility in Itatiaia in the State of Rio de Janeiro - Annual production capacity of 24,000 units for the Brazilian market only – from 2016 Sao Paulo, Brazil – Jaguar Land Rover confirmed today, at the Sao Paulo International Motor Show, that its breakthrough Land Rover Discovery Sport will be one of the first models to be built at its new R$750m (GBP240m) local manufacturing facility in Itatiaia, Brazil. The new factory, which will see a total investment of R$750m (GBP240m) by the end of 2020, will supplement UK production and have the capacity to build 24,000 vehicles annually for the Brazilian market.

Jaguar Land Rover to drop supercharged V8 for turbocharged BMW power

There are few things that sound as good as Jaguar's 5.0 liter supercharged V8. As great as it is when the supercharger whines or the exhaust cracks and pops on throttle lift-off as the air pressure equalizes, the basic design dates back to the '90s. Plainly, the engine isn't as efficient as it needs to be, but designing a new V8 from the ground up is an expensive proposition. Instead, Automobile reports that Jaguar Land Rover is set to use a twin-turbocharged V8s supplied by BMW. Scalable architecture is all the rage as automakers streamline designs in order to save costs. For example, Jaguar's current supercharged V6 is quite literally a V8 with two holes missing. They didn't even change the length of the block. It seems both of those designs are on their way out, with the V6 being replaced by a inline-six closely related to the company's inline four. It seems that rather than designing an new and expensive V8 for their top of the line models JLR, is sourcing from BMW. From 1994 to 2000, BMW owned Land Rover. A few models, including the Land Rover Range Rover, used BMW engines then and in the initial years of Ford's JLR stewardship. It seems things have now come full circle. BMW currently makes a twin-turbo 4.4 liter V8 that produces anywhere from 440 to 600 horsepower, depending on the application. Automobile says that a new 4.0 liter V8 is in the works and that it will most likely be the engine that JLR uses. Expect it to be more powerful, more fuel efficient, and lighter than what both BMW and JLR currently offer. This seems like a win for both companies. BMW gets to offset the cost of a new motor while JLR, a smaller company, doesn't have to invest in a whole new architecture. As automakers search for ways to cut costs, expect collaborations like this to continue. Infiniti and Mercedes-Benz both share a four-cylinder engine. Ford and GM have worked together to design a shared 10-speed automatic. While we may lament the loss of that wonderful Jaguar Land Rover engine, we can still be happy that they haven't abandoned the V8. Related Video: News Source: Automobile Rumormill BMW Jaguar Land Rover

Jaguar Land Rover may build factory in Saudi Arabia

The Middle East is one of the fastest-growing markets for Land Rover, so it makes sense that the automaker is looking to set up shop in the region. According to Automotive News, Jaguar Land Rover is in talks with the people of Saudi Arabia to build a factory in the country at an expected initial cost of $1.2 billion. Still in the early stage of talks, the proposed facility could start up by 2017 using locally sourced materials such as steel and aluminum.
Such an arrangement could be beneficial for both entities as Saudi Arabia looks to diversify its oil-reliant economy and Land Rover could get local production capacity of around 50,000 units. The report also says that the agreement talks about the possibility for Jaguar models to be built at the same plant further down the road.
This won't be the first vehicle produced in Saudi Arabia - that honor goes to the KSU Gazal-1 - but it will be the first from a major global automaker.