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Carlex Jaguar XJ Coupe restomod is neither British nor understated

The Jaguar XJ Coupe was already an unconventional Jag. The dramatically long two-door was built on a Series II sedan chassis and kept most of the styling in tact, just losing two doors and gaining a whole lot of subtle elegance. However, the customizers at Carlex Design have created an XJC that takes things to the next level (and maybe a few levels beyond that). Based in Poland, Carlex has a history of cranking out modified vehicles for well-off clientele. Past projects have included a race-inspired Land Rover Defender, a yachting-inspired Mercedes G63, an aggressively styled Hyundai Santa Fe, and a gargoyle-esque Ford Ranger. The Jaguar XJ Coupe is clearly a favorite, though. The newest XJC takes the British classic and gives it racier look. De-bumpered and widened with blister flares, it evokes a touring car racer from back in the day. Actually, it's more accurate to say this is what a modern restomod inspired by a fictional 1970s race car would look like, as the real XJ Coupe race cars didn't quite look like this. That's because the wheels are gigantic, big enough to bathe a medium-sized dog in. No in-period race car would have had saucers that large. And while the side view maintains faithful to the classic, its face betrays its era. Circle to the front end and LED headlights and afterburner-style high beams complete the Jag's four-eyed gaze. The original's elegant grille has been replaced with a toothy maw that would look more at home on a SEMA Jeep. Underhood the Carlex sports a V8 (of unspecified origin) delivering 400 horsepower. The company says its brakes are new, and that suspension and air conditioning are suitable for everyday use. The interior has been upholstered in what Carlex calls hand-aged leather. The deep brown color gives it the feel of a mahogany-walled boardroom. Aside from the fluting everywhere, the interior is fairly clean, and less busy than the original XJC's. If we had to pick we'd go with the unflared body of Carlex's old XJC design, but replace its Kardashian-designed dash with this one. Carlex didn't disclose price or production run, but only that a few examples would be built each year. Or, you can try to find one of Jaguar's original XJ Coupes, which were only produced between 1975 and 1978, with a run of fewer than 10,000 units over the four-year span. Given its obscurity it's kind of a strange car to restomod, but perhaps we in the U.S.

Jaguar Land Rover likely to build US plant... in three years

Jaguar Land Rover may very well open a plant in the United States, but the latest word has it that it'll be another three years or so before the company even makes a decision on the matter. The prospect first came up on our radar back in October when we reported that JLR was considering building a plant in the South. Georgia governor Nathan Deal even flew to the UK to solicit JLR's business. Former parent-company chairman Ratan Tata subsequently confirmed the idea was under consideration last month. And now the British automaker's CEO has told Automotive News that JLR will need a US assembly plant to fuel its growth in the vital North American market, but that'll it'll take a while to get going. The reasons for the delay, according to chief executive Ralf Speth, are threefold. For one thing, the automaker has its hands full at the moment opening plants in other locations: last year it opened one in China and this year it opened one in Brazil. It also recently opened a new SVO facility, an electric-propulsion R&D center and a new engine plant all in the UK, and can only handle building so many new facilities at a time. JLR will also need US suppliers of aluminum components to step up their game, as the company relies heavily on aluminum construction for their vehicles. US automakers shifting to aluminum for models like the new Ford F-150 will encourage American suppliers to get into the game, but it may be a while before they're up to Jaguar Land Rover standards. Finally, JLR will need to increase its sales potential in the US in order to justify local production. Speth says the company would need one model of which it could sell 30,000 to 40,000 units in the US alone, and it sold less than 18,000 units of its best-selling the Range Rover Sport here last year. In fact the entire Jaguar brand sold less than 16,000 units throughout all of last year in America, with Land Rover selling far more at over 50,000 units to contribute to total sales of over 67,000 units. Related Video: Featured Gallery Jaguar Land Rover Engine Manufacturing Center View 16 Photos News Source: Automotive News - sub. req.Image Credit: Jaguar Land Rover Plants/Manufacturing Jaguar Land Rover jaguar land rover jlr

Jaguar Land Rover names ousted Renault boss as new CEO

LONDON — Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has picked ousted Renault boss Thierry Bollore as its next chief executive, with a mission to return Britain's biggest carmaker to profit after a big hit from the COVID-19 pandemic. Bollore took over at Renault in January 2019 after the fall of Carlos Ghosn, but was always viewed as close to the French carmaker's longtime boss and was pushed out in October when the company was looking for a fresh start. Bollore will take over at JLR on Sept. 10, replacing Ralf Speth, whose tenure ends after more than 10 years. "It will be my privilege to lead this fantastic company through what continues to be the most testing time of our generation," Bollore said in a statement on Tuesday. JLR was hit this year first by disruption to sales in China and then by lockdowns across Europe and North America as the COVID-19 outbreak spread around the globe. In 2019, it cut jobs to address tumbling diesel sales, which helped it return to profit. But as the pandemic struck, it slumped to a pretax loss of 422 million pounds ($545 million) for the year ended March 31, 2020. The company has already taken steps to tackle the crisis, including agreeing to a loan facility of around $700 million with lenders in China and further staff reductions. JLR is also in talks with the British government over potential support, according to media reports. Bollore takes over a business that built just over 500,000 cars in 2019/20. He faces a number of tasks, including how to handle the Jaguar brand, which underperforms the Land Rover marque, how quickly to electrify its lineup and a potential hit from Brexit if trade barriers are imposed. JLR has a partnership with BMW on electrification, and parent company Tata Motors recently recommitted to the company. "Tata Group recognizes and values Jaguar Land Rover's future potential highly," said JLR Chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran earlier this month. "That is why this company is central to our global automotive presence – a presence that we intend to develop for years to come." Related Video:         (Additional reporting by Chris Thomas in Bengaluru and Gilles Guillaume in Paris; editing by Jason Neely and Mark Potter)