1986 Jaguar Xjs Base Coupe 2-door 5.3l Low Miles No Reserve on 2040-cars

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Jaguar Land Rover names new manufacturing chief for EV transformation

LONDON — Britain's biggest carmaker Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is replacing its director for manufacturing as it prepares its plants for an electrified future, the firm said on Thursday. JLR operates three factories in its home market but is building its first electric car, the I-PACE, in Austria. The Indian-owned automaker's Chief Executive Ralf Speth told Reuters earlier this year he is waiting for more information on trading conditions after Brexit before he decides whether to make electric cars in Britain. On Thursday, he said Executive Director for Manufacturing Wolfgang Stadler is retiring from the business, to be replaced by Director of Quality and Automotive Safety Grant McPherson starting July 1. "He will oversee the ongoing investment into our UK and global manufacturing, transforming our plants to enable Jaguar Land Rover's exciting electrified future," Speth said. Reporting by Costas PitasRelated Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. 2019 Jaguar I-Pace deep dive with designer Wayne Burgess

Geely poaches Jaguar designer Wayne Burgess

The fact is simple: Chinese automaker Geely just poached designer Wayne Burgess from Jaguar. Burgess will oversee a team of 100 designers and staff, in charge of projects encompassing all of Geely's brands, and report to Peter Horbury, Geely's EVP of design. Burgess, who started at Jaguar in 1997, was lately the production studio director for Jaguar Land Rover's Special Vehicle Operations, and the head of Jaguar's production cars. His credits include the F-Type, F-Pace, I-Pace, and current XJ, as well as being an Ian Callum stand-in at events. The implications of this personnel move carry the easy-to-ignore weight of another domino falling in what could be a monumental Chinese long game. Geely owns an eponymous car brand in China, as well the Chinese-Swedish Lynk & Co, Sweden's Volvo, England's Lotus and London Electric Vehicle Company (makers of electric black cabs), Malaysia's Proton, and U.S. flying car startup Terrafugia. Burgess won't need to leave home, because Geely's opening a design center in Coventry, England, to go along with its other centers in Barcelona, Gothenburg, Los Angeles and Shanghai. If you're keeping track, Burgess' flight maintains the quickening pace of talent headed to Chinese automakers that we give scant attention. After Geely bought Volvo in 2010, it moved longtime Volvo designer Peter Horbury, now Burgess' boss, to Shanghai. At the time, the news evoked a chortle. Compare that to last week, when GAC Motor designer David Hilton said, "There are now more auto designers in Shanghai than in any other city in the world, including Detroit and L.A." Hilton, by the way, was Bentley's head of exterior design until September last year. The same month, ex-Rolls Royce pen Giles Taylor, who brought us the Cullinan, jetted to Munich to lead FAW's Hongqi luxury brand. One month before that, ex- Land Rover designer Phil Simmons had taken over at Great Wall brand Haval. One month after that, ex- Mazda and BMW designer Kevin Rice became VP of design at Chery. Ex- Audi man Wolfgang Egger took over at BYD in 2017. Oh yeah, Hilton's comments came in a Wall Street Journal article about this very migration. Mass distribution is nearing the developed world in the Northern Hemisphere, too. Lynk & Co wants to get its papers for Europe this year. Zotye just named its first batch of U.S. dealers in advance of a planned launch here in 2020. Guangzhou Auto was at the same U.S. dealer meetings at Zotye, aiming for a U.S. rollout in early 2020.

Jaguar F-Pace prototype goes to work at the Nurburgring

Jaguar is hard at work again, testing its upcoming F-Pace crossover. And here's our latest look at the prototype testing at the Nurburgring. The tester spotted here appears the same as the one we recently saw undergoing cold-weather development, only this time it's wearing summer rubber on fullsize wheels instead of winter tires on smaller ones. It's also missing the old prototype's auxiliary lights, and a bit more camouflage covering the quarter panels. The fact that it was seen on the Nordschleife, however, bodes well for the F-Pace and speaks to its orientation: Jaguar's first crossover promises to be geared towards performance, a sort of on-road counterpart to the off-road prowess of the SUVs offered by its sister brand Land Rover. We're looking forward to seeing the finished product at the Frankfurt Motor Show in the fall, but in the meantime you can scope out the spy shots in the slideshow above.