V12 4 Speed A/c Jaguar Xke In Red With Biscuit on 2040-cars

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Here's today's round of auto plant closures in response to coronavirus

More automakers have shuttered factories, as businesses everywhere work to slow the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus — and as the pandemic slows sales and disrupts parts supply chains. On Friday, the following closures were announced: • Volvo will close its factories in Sweden and the United States from March 26 to April 14. Volvo's U.S. facility, in Charleston, South Carolina, makes the S60 sedan. Its assembly plant in Torslanda, Sweden, turns out the XC90, SC60, and V90. Other Swedish facilities make engines and component parts. A Volvo factory in Ghent, Belgium, that builds the XC40 and V60 closed earlier this week and is expected to remain offline until April 6. Volvo's four factories in China have been reopened after a shutdown earlier this year. • Jaguar Land Rover announced that it will suspend production at its assembly plants in the UK over the coming week. The shutdown is expected to last until April 20. Elsewhere, production continues at the company's factories in India and Brazil, and JLR's joint-venture plant in China reopened at the end of February. • Bentley is closing its factory in Crewe, England, for four weeks, effective today. • Bugatti has put its atelier in Molsheim, France, on hiatus. No date was given for when assembly of its supercars might resume. • Mercedes-Benz on Monday will shut down its SUV factory in Alabama and its van assembly plant in South Carolina. Both will remain closed for a minimum of two weeks. Tesla yesterday revealed that it will suspend operations at its Fremont, California, vehicle assembly plant next week, on order from local officials there. Yesterday's factory closure announcements also included the U.S. assembly plants for Toyota (until April 6), Volkswagen (through March 29), Subaru (through March 29), and Hyundai (no time period specified). They join GM, Ford, Chrysler, Honda, Nissan, and Harley-Davidson, which earlier this week announced the suspension of production at their facilities. Plants/Manufacturing Bentley Bugatti Jaguar Land Rover Mercedes-Benz Volvo coronavirus

Jaguar XFR-S is motor-porn on a mountain road

The 2014 Jaguar XFR-S might have only been good enough to take the runner-up spot in our Editor's Choice top five debuts at the LA Auto Show, but we'd be hard-pressed to find a car with a more exhilarating exhaust note. As proof of this, Jaguar released a video showing the XFR-S tearing up a windy, European mountain road in close to a minute of hardcore driving footage.
The big blue cat has the same great exhaust note of the XKR-S, and the driver puts all of the car's 550 horsepower to work demonstrating the handling - and drifting - abilities of the new XFR-S. If there's any disappointment to be had, it's the fact that you have to jump to the 30-second mark of the video for any of the action to start.
Scroll down to watch the video, and be sure your speakers are turned all the way up.

RM Sotheby's 2015 Monterey auction sets records

RM Sotheby's wrapped up three days of beautiful cars crossing the block during Monterey Car Week with a company record of $172.7 million in vehicles sold. The first day's Pinnacle Portfolio collection alone brought in $75.4 million, a new high for a one-day, single-vendor auction. While nothing ever topped the $17.6 million 1964 Ferrari 250 LM, the hammer continued to fall on some very expensive vehicles each day. Expected to clear over $11 million, the sale of a 1956 Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta Competizione 'Tour de France' easily managed that with a final price of $13.2 million. Multiple bidders on the phone and in the room desperately wanted this famous racer, and it drove the price up. To make this thoroughbred worth the lavish amount, the coupe won the 1956 Tour de France series of events and was among seven with this body by Scaglietti. Many of the top sellers came from the first night's Pinnacle Portfolio, but records continued to be broken over the weekend. Notably, a 1953 Jaguar C-Type Works Lightweight brought $13.2 million to make it the most expensive Jag ever at auction. Also among RM Sotheby's top sellers were a 1950 Ferrari 275S/340 America Barchetta at $7.975 million and a 1952 Jaguar XK120 Supersonic for $2,062,500. Take a look at a few of these special vehicles in the gallery above. HISTORIC FERRARI 250 GT 'TOUR DE FRANCE' LEADS THIRD NIGHT OF RECORD SALES AT RM SOTHEBY'S MONTEREY World's largest collector car auction house concludes three day event with more than $172.7 million in auction and post-auction sales MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA (August 15, 2015) - A historic 1956 Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta Competizione 'Tour de France' set a new auction record for the model tonight, selling for an outstanding $13.2 million before another packed house at RM Sotheby's Monterey event. Spurring a lively bidding contest between multiple collectors in the room and on the telephones, the influential Ferrari is the actual car that instituted the 'Tour de France' nomenclature following its overall victory at that legendary race in 1956. The fifth of only seven Scaglietti-bodied first-series competition berlinettas, it was sold new to the Marquis Alfonso de Portago, the flamboyant and daring Spanish driver, who, joined by his close friend Ed Nelson, piloted to car to first place overall at the 1956 Tour de France Auto.