1954 Jaguar Xk on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Jaguar Land Rover UK factories could shut down in two weeks due to coronavirus

COVENTRY, England — Jaguar Land Rover has enough parts from China to maintain its British production for the next two weeks but not beyond that at the moment, Chief Executive Ralf Speth said on Tuesday. Britain's biggest carmaker, which operate three car factories in its home market, joined major global companies such as Apple in warning of the impact of the virus on supply chains. The rapidly spreading virus has killed nearly 1,900 in China and stricken some 72,000 people, confining millions to their homes, disrupting supply chains and delaying reopening of factories after the extended Lunar New Year holiday break. "We are safe for this week and we are safe for next week and in the third week we have... parts missing," said Speth when asking about the potential impact on British production. He said the firm's Chinese factory would open next week and was "safe for the very first week." Sales were not currently happening in China and it was unclear when they would return, he added. The boss of Tata Motors, JLR's parent company, speaking at the same event, said the company does not have sufficient visibility regarding parts suppliers from China. "We are safe for the month of February and for a good part of March," said Guenter Butschek. "Are we fully covered at this point of time for the full month of March? Unfortunately...not." Related Video:

Jaguar XJ electric sedan debut pushed to late 2021

Jaguar's been testing prototypes of the coming all-electric XJ sedan for a while now, an example we saw earlier this year testing in the cold having reached an advanced stage. The plan had been to launch the battery-powered flagship fastback this year, with sales to commence early 2021. A report in The Sunday Times says that plan has changed, Jaguar pushing the XJ back to the third quarter of next year while the automaker focuses on its finances and its most profitable models. The site FormaCar reports, "The presentation date on the official website now reads, 'October 2021,'" but we haven't found that XJ-specific page. In response to questions about the Jaguar canceling the XJ, a spokesperson responded, "Our engineers continue to work on the next-generation all-electric Jaguar XJ. We remain committed to our long-term strategy and our product portfolio remains the same, but the unprecedented situation will inevitably have an impact on our immediate plans." The Jaguar Land Rover group, coming off a string of deep losses during 2018 and 2019, was working through a cost-cutting and turnaround plan when Covid-19 hammered the global economy. The whispered concern among outsiders is that Jaguar will drop the XJ entirely, but that doesn't appear to be the case for now. The automaker cut thousand of jobs while investing more than a billion pounds into its Castle Bromwich factory to prepare for electric-car assembly. At the moment, Castle Bromwich normally builds the XE and XF sedans, those offerings also in flux while Jaguar reportedly considers turning one or both of them into a small hatchback or a compact plug-in hybrid sedan. We write "normally" because the factory was put on pause to deal with Covid lockdowns, and isn't scheduled to restart until August 14. And above all of this, JLR is on the hunt for a new CEO to replace Ralf Speth. We've been expecting the new sedan to open the book on mainstream luxury EVs, the same way the I-Pace did for SUVs, but it appears that won't happen. The electric XJ will come on the Modular Longitudinal Architecture, and we've understood the specs include a 90.2-kWh battery pack, the same size as the I-Pace pack. There have been rumors about a four-motor setup, but odds favor a twin-motor arrangement. The motors in the I-Pace produce 394 horsepower and 512 pound-feet of torque. For an XJ flagship, we'd expect an even more powerful option in the range.

2018 Jaguar F-Type gets four-cylinder turbo engine option

At the 2017 New York Auto Show, Jaguar has revealed the final piece of the 2018 F-Type puzzle: a four-cylinder entry-level model. It rounds out an expanded lineup of F-Type variants that have all gotten a bit of a facelift and some additional content for 2018, which we told you about back in January. But the little four-cylinder is definitely the biggest surprise. Underhood is the state-of-the-art 2.0-liter, turbocharged, gasoline-fueled Ingenium engine, which is making its way into several Jaguar-Land Rover products for the first time in the 2018 model year. It has a full suite of contemporary technologies, like a variable-lift electrohydraulic valvetrain that eliminates the need for a traditional throttle, an integrated exhaust manifold, and a dual-scroll turbocharger. You might recall that the Ingenium gas engine is replacing an older 2.0-liter turbo four in the XE, and also will show up in the F-Pace and XF. Add the F-Type to this burgeoning list, and don't expect it to stop there. The Range Rover Velar has also been announced for the US with this engine. In the F-Type, the 2.0T makes 296 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque, which is higher than some of the other applications for this engine in the US. There's only one powertrain arrangement for the 2.0T in the US – rear-wheel drive and backed up by an eight-speed automatic – but buyers will be able to choose from a coupe or convertible body style. Jaguar claims the 2018 F-Type will scoot to 60 mph in as little as 5.4 seconds. It's also the lightest F-Type, by a smidgen. The 2.0T coupe weighs 3,360 pounds, which is 95 pounds lighter than the next-lightest coupe, the 3,455-pound, 340-horsepower supercharged V6 coupe equipped with a manual (and 117 pounds lighter than that car with an automatic). There's probably a fuel-economy benefit in EPA testing as well, but Jaguar doesn't have EPA numbers yet, so stay tuned on that. Don't forget that the 400 Sport variant will join the 2.0T on the stand. It's a one-year-only special edition model with a supercharged V6 uprated to 400 hp, but sadly there's no manual version on offer. Related Video: Featured Gallery New York Auto Show Jaguar Convertible Coupe Luxury Performance 2017 new york auto show ingenium