1964 Jaguar Xke Roadster Frame Off Restoration Extraordinary Inside&out Showcar on 2040-cars

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E.C.D. Automotive Design gets into the Jaguar restomod game

Florida-based E.C.D. Automotive Design — formerly East Coast Defender — made its bones turning the barely disguised Midlands tractors emerging from Land Rover's Solihull plant into finely detailed Chelsea tractors that cost almost as much as a genuine John Deere (which means a lot, for those unaware of the frightening costs of farm equipment). With its territory well marked and established, ECD decided to expand its offerings to "something that would sit nicely next to one of our existing Land Rover builds and be on a par, but something different, something sporty and quintessentially British." The search began and ended with the Jaguar E-Type. Not only do we know the formula for this, but Jaguar Classic Works just advertised its own adroitness with such builds in showing off the 1968 Series 1 E-Type Roadster that took part in the Queen's Platinum Jubilee Pageant. ECD offers a few options Jaguar Classic Works doesn't, though, starting with the same kinds of engine conversions performed on the Land Rovers. The outfitter will be happy to rebuild or source an age appropriate inline-six or V12 and a five-speed manual transmission, warning that the mill "will require higher ongoing maintenance" and "come with leaks and all." Less grubby options are either a GM LT1 6.2-liter V8 with 450 horsepower, shifting through an eight-speed automatic, or an electric conversion using a 450-horsepower Tesla powertrain that provides a range of 200 miles in the city and 140 miles on the highway. All variants get performance suspension and brakes; the ICE versions get a sports exhaust, too. The standard menu of paint and interior options includes 11 historic Jaguar paint colors from the 1960s through the 1980s, and 10 modern colors from the 2023 lineup. Inside, 12 solid hues of Nappa leather can be upgraded with two-tone, hand-tipped, spinneybeck, woven, or distressed treatments to go with the European weave carpeting. Prices start at $299,995, each build taking about 14 months to deliver.  Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Jaguar wants to make real-life driving just like a video game

Jaguar Land Rover is on a bit of a tech bent today. It's announced its new family of four-cylinder engines and a "self-learning" vehicle Range Rover prototype, and now it's announced what it calls the Jaguar Virtual Windscreen.
The technology is similar to other head-up displays and telematics recorders already on the market, the Jaguar Virtual Windscreen concept takes things to the next level to turn real-life driving into a video game-like experience. It's being demonstrated with data like lap times, grid positions, virtual racing line and brake guidance... even "ghost" cars from previous laps and virtual cones for simulated autocrossing. Just like you'd find in the latest version of Forza or Gran Turismo, but you know... in an actual car - in this case a Jaguar F-Type. It's similar to the Transparent Bonnet system Land Rover revealed a couple of months ago, but instead of rock-crawling, it's for the race track.
The system also incorporates gesture controls and could be configured to display instrument data, a video feed from a rear-view camera to replace the mirror. Check out the details and the video below for a closer look at what JLR has got in store for the near future.

Jaguar to offer high-performance SVR models like Land Rover?

At the Goodwood Festival of Speed this past weekend, Land Rover previewed its upcoming performance version of the Range Rover Sport. Only instead of wearing the R-S badge that adorns the most hardcore of Jaguar models, the performance SUV from JLR's Special Operations unit introduced the letters SVR. And now, it seems that badge is here to stay.
Following the Range Rover Sport SVR, a new report from Motor Authority now says that Jaguar Land Rover will use those letters to distinguish the top-of-the-line performance models from both marques moving forward. As such, we might expect SVR models of the upcoming Jaguar XE compact sedan and Land Rover Discovery Sport, as well as potential new performance models based on the new F-Type and next-generation XF.
If accurate, the move would seem to separate Jaguar in particular from the R-S badge that has adorned performance models like the XFR-S and XKR-S. Both Audi and Porsche use the letters RS to distinguish its most hardcore models as well (e.g. Audi RS7 Sportback and Porsche 911 GT3 RS). Whether the similarity was a factor in shifting to the SVR moniker, we don't know, but either way, we welcome the arrival of a new generation of Jaguar and Land Rover performance models - especially if they pack the 575-horsepower version of the company's ubiquitous 5.0-liter supercharged V8. Not incidentally, that delicious powerplant gained a couple of new engine bays to call home at Goodwood as well - it's not just found in the forthcoming Range Rover Sport SVR, it's found a home in the F-Type Project 7, too.