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Tata confirms JLR is looking at NA for new plant

Despite recent rumors to the contrary, Jaguar Land Rover is considering building a factory in North America, though not necessarily in the United States. The confirmation comes directly from former Tata Motors boss and still chairman emeritus Ratan Tata in a conversation with Automotive News. "The company is indeed looking at North America as a location for another plant. Where they locate that plant, in which country or which state they locate, is something they will need to decide," Tata said to AN. The magnate indicated that he wasn't taking part in the decision, though. Rumors of JLR's plans to open a factory in the US go back to at least to 2014. The automaker was reportedly looking to open a plant in the South to produce around 200,000 vehicles a year, and at the time, South Carolina was considered a possible location. However, later speculation made Georgia a likely contender, especially after the state's governor reportedly flew to the UK to pitch the company on the idea. Recently, the business had allegedly changed its mind and had turned the sights towards Austria or Turkey as potential alternatives. JLR is seemingly on a factory building binge at the moment. It opened a new engine plant in the UK late last year and its first manufacturing center in China at about the same time. The latest Land Rover Discovery Sport will also get assembled in Brazil for the local market. Related Video: Featured Gallery Land Rover Discovery Sport production at Halewood View 44 Photos News Source: Automotive News - sub. req.Image Credit: Jaguar Land Rover Plants/Manufacturing Jaguar Land Rover Luxury jaguar land rover

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

Lots of Land Rovers, Jaguars and Minis actually survived that near-capsized ship

Despite a severe list to starboard, many of the 1,400 cars and SUVs aboard the 51,000-ton Hoegh Osaka are currently being recovered in salvageable condition, with video showing some of the vehicles from British brands Land Rover, Jaguar and Mini, being driven ashore under their own power. The car-carrying vessel developed a severe list on January 3 and was intentionally run aground on a sandbar between England and the Isle of Wight. It has since limped its way back to port in Southampton, where damage assessments are being conducted on both the ship and its $53-million in cargo. According to the company that owns the car carrier, the ship itself only suffered minor damage in the incident, while Car and Driver is reporting that many of the damaged vehicles will almost certainly be scrapped. Still, the fact that there are vehicles, some of which appear undamaged (look at that Defender at 0:50!), being removed from the Hoegh Osaka needs to count as a net win. News Source: Car and Driver, WonkaBar007 via YouTube Jaguar Land Rover MINI Coupe Crossover Hatchback Luxury Off-Road Vehicles Performance Videos Sedan