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Cadillac CTS-V and Suzuki e-Survivor | Autoblog Podcast #527

This week, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by General Manager Adam Morath. They discuss driving the Cadillac CTS-V and talk about the Suzuki e-Survivor concept. Other news includes possible Jaguar Land Rover acquisitions, the Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk and the Autoblog Car Finder. Autoblog Podcast #527 Your browser does not support the audio element. Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Topics and stories we mention Rundown Jaguar Land Rover acquisitions? Suzuki e-Survivor concept Tesla Model 3 Autoblog Car Finder tool Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk Cadillac CTS-V What we've been driving: Jaguar F-Pace Ken Block's "Climbkhana" Spend my money Feedback Email – Podcast at Autoblog dot com Review the show on iTunes Green Podcasts Cadillac Jaguar Jeep Suzuki Electric Performance Videos Sedan jaguar land rover

Jaguar Land Rover Special Vehicle Operations could build standalone models

Jaguar Land Rover may be set to turn its Special Vehicle Operations division into something much bigger than a mere in-house tuner. Bloomberg spoke to the head of JLR's high-performance, customization outfit, John Edwards, who hinted that his team may move beyond simply modifying F-Types, Range Rovers and the like. "We're certainly looking at that, and we've got the capability to do that," Edwards told AN. "Is there an opportunity for us to do a completely standalone car? Maybe." Such a move into full-scale, standalone models would be a big step, particularly for a division that's still kind of in its infancy. Bloomberg references the success of Mercedes-AMG, but the German division has had the benefit of decades of growth. AMG spent years and years building high-performance versions of all manner of mainstream Mercedes vehicles, before moving onto cars like the SLS AMG and AMG GT, which have no mainstream analog. In other words, AMG had a long time to develop a reputation building high-performance vehicles that people know and recognize before it moved into building vehicles of its own. We aren't entirely convinced that SpecOps wouldn't benefit from taking a similar approach, delivering additional SVR vehicles, like the rumored XE SVR, before striking out on its own. We'd like to know what you think, though. Is it already time for Special Vehicle Operations to build standalone models, or should it learn to walk before it runs by modifying more of Jaguar Land Rover's existing product. Have your say in Comments. Related Video:

Ride like a royal with Queen Elizabeth II's Jaguar X-Type

The British royal family may be best known for more high-end machinery such as Land Rovers, Bentleys or even King Charles' wine-powered Aston Martin. But not everything was quite so flashy, such as this 2009 Jaguar X-Type wagon, which was owned and driven by the late Queen Elizabeth II. And now it could be yours, since it's heading for auction. We heard about it via Robb Report, and it's being sold by Historic Auctioneers in the U.K. It was very clearly owned by the royal family, as evidenced by the photos of her driving the car, and apparently its initial registration was a royal plate number. We also noticed that in photos of her driving, there's a dog barrier in the back, so the queen's corgis may have been onboard at some point, too. It also has a little over 70,000 miles and has a comprehensive service history. Set aside the royal connection, though, and the X-Type is a relatively unexceptional car. Though it features plenty of Jaguar trimmings from the exterior design, to the wood and leather interior and the J-gate shifter, underneath it was based on the front-wheel-drive Ford Mondeo. In America at the time, that was seen as beneath a luxury brand, particularly to be based on a Ford. Jaguar executives later even admitted that they made some major mistakes with the X-Type, which were rectified with the spiritual successor, the rear-drive XE. The queen's example of the X-Type is, unsurprisingly, about the best-equipped version. It has all-wheel drive and the 3.0-liter gas-powered V6. In the U.S., gas V6s were the only engine options, with a 2.5-liter available early on. It made 227 horsepower and 206 pound-feet of torque. In the U.K., though, there were turbodiesel four-cylinder engines available, as well as front-wheel drive. It also has a lovely tan leather interior with the aforementioned wood trimmings. And being a wagon, it's the most practical. According to Historic Auctioneers, the X-Type wagon was also the first Jag that designer Ian Callum worked on, who went on to revitalize the brand with clean, modern designs for the next decade. The car will be auctioned on November 26 in the Mercedes-Benz World auction. No price estimates were given. With its royal connection, it will surely go for more than your average old Jaguar. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.