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Jaguar Land Rover might buy another luxury brand that it doesn't need

It seems that Jaguar Land Rover may be getting bigger in the near future. According to Bloomberg, the company is looking at acquiring some tech companies, and possibly yet another luxury car brand, provided that it fits with the current lineup of cars. On the surface, this makes some sense since Bloomberg reports that a whopping 78 percent of Tata Motors' revenue comes from luxury brands. And of course, any kind of tech acquisition could be useful considering the rapid development of electric and autonomous vehicles. But dig a little deeper, and a possible luxury brand acquisition just doesn't make sense for Jaguar Land Rover. The main reason for this is that the Jaguar and Land Rover brands have the luxury market thoroughly covered. Both brands offer full luxury lines from entry-level to high-end ( Discovery Sport to Range Rover on the Land Rover side, and XE to XJ on the Jaguar side). They also cater to every kind of luxury, from sporty vehicles such as the F-Type and SVR Land Rovers, to cushy luxury machines such as the XJ and Range Rover. So whether the company is competing with BMW or Mercedes, Jaguar and Land Rover have the bases covered. There aren't any other typical luxury brands that would actually add anything to the current lineup. In fact, adding another conventional luxury brand could actually result in the new brand poaching existing Jaguar and Land Rover buyers, rather than picking up new ones. What would make more sense for Jaguar Land Rover would be to pick up either a more mainstream brand, or an ultra-luxury marque. Neither Jaguar nor Land Rover has something that competes directly with the likes of Ford or Toyota in the mainstream game, or Rolls-Royce or Bentley at the top of the luxury heap. Picking up a brand in one of these segments would allow JLR and Tata Motors to actually expand offerings and pick up more sales, rather than having an internal competitor. What path would be ideal? Probably going even farther upmarket. Supercar makers and ultra-luxury brands continue to sell well, and there's the potential for significant profit by layering on features and content to existing platforms. Perhaps the best possibility for a high-end complement to Jaguar Land Rover would be Aston Martin. Not only does it have a strong reputation and line-up, it also could handle both supercars and luxury sedans, thanks to its Lagonda sub brand. Of course it would require Aston Martin to be receptive to a purchase.

Leno and Ian Callum pilot Jaguar XK120 at 2014 Mille Miglia

Jay Leno has been in a British mood recently with his videos highlighting the McLaren P1, 1962 Norton 650SS and Steve McQueen's 1956 Jaguar XKSS. He's keeping the streak alive this week with a look at driving a Jaguar XK120 in the 2014 Mille Miglia historic rally with Jaguar Design Director Ian Callum.
The video show off Jay Leno's Garage in top form. It's way more than just Jay driving the 1,000-mile route from Brescia, Italy, to Rome and back. He also includes interviews with Stirling Moss about winning the race back in 1955, and racer Martin Brundle about what it's like to drive a long-nose Jaguar D-Type this year.
Today, the Mille Miglia is only for historic cars, and it has a much more relaxed pace than the original all-out event. However, this isn't entirely a cruise. Leno seems scared at times talking about it because the drivers are free to ignore the speed limits and open the cars up as much as they are willing to. The roads aren't shut down for regular traffic, either, and things can be dangerous.

Jaguar details XE for North America

Jaguar is bringing the XE to North America next spring, and in advance of its arrival, the British automaker is giving us more details on its new compact sports sedan. The top engine choice is dubbed the XE 35t, which is a little misleading since its tried-and-tested 3.0-liter V6 is actually supercharged, not turbocharged. Regardless of the manner of forced induction, its 340 horsepower and 332 pound-feet of torque are claimed to propel the XE to 60 miles per hour in 4.9 seconds on its way to an electronically limited top speed of 155 miles per hour. Buyers looking for something more frugal at the pump may be more interested in the other engine option. The XE 20d adopts Jaguar's new Ingenium diesel, a 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-four good for 180 hp and 318 lb-ft of torque. That's quoted for a 0-60 time of 7.4 seconds and a top speed of 140 mph. Both are mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission. All-wheel drive will also be available on both versions, but come by default in rear-drive form. Buyers will also have the choice among three trim levels, staring with Premium, moving up to Prestige and on to R-Sport with satin chrome and gloss black trim, a rear spoiler and 20-inch alloys. Pricing is set to be announced closer to launch, but for now you can scope out the details in the press release below, and watch this space for our upcoming drive report to follow our earlier report. JAGUAR XE ALL-NEW COMPACT SPORTS SEDAN TO EXPAND JAGUAR U.S. LINEUP IN 2016 - All-new Jaguar XE sports sedan to arrive in U.S.