1990 Jaguar Xjs Base Coupe 2-door 5.3l on 2040-cars

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Top Gear season 25 opens with a V8 roadtrip through America

Great news for fans of BBC Top Gear: the first episode of season 25 is here. Viewers of BBC America will catch the season opener on March 3, and for the American audience this episode is definitely suitable watching. The episode has been dedicated to V8 sportscars almost in its entirety, as it's been wrapped around a Western roadtrip with a motorsport bias. The three hosts get to choose three V8 sports cars, with the basic idea of finding the best all-rounder. Matt LeBlanc goes for a Hennessey-tuned GT350R, Rory Reid chooses a Jaguar F-Type SVR, and Chris Harris shakes up the pack by selecting a McLaren 570GT. It's a nicely varied trio, with V8 power still showing what it's good for. There are various challenges along the way, just like there should be on a Top Gear roadtrip episode – even if the road surface itself isn't always ideal. But things smoothen out, all the way to a NASCAR oval and an airport runway; the flooded Bonneville salt flats aren't suitable for shenanigans, so substitutes have to be found. The trio also hit dirt roads, and have to evade a buggy-driving Ken Block during a "moonshine run to the border." Fans of Sabine Schmitz will be pleased to find her piloting a chain car racer, which consists of two American junk cars with a Honda CRX chained in the middle. It must make sense to someone. The Star In A Reasonably Priced Car segment has been retained for this season. This time it's the British actor Rob Brydon driving the Toyota GT86, on a very wet lap around the show's Dunsfold Aerodrome track that must be a cult classic by now. All in all, the season 25 opener is exactly what it says on the tin. There's nothing out of the ordinary, but it still has excellent cinematography, V8 roar and some nice landscapes. Classic Top Gear. Cowboy duels, Sabine Schmitz chain car racing, @RobBrydon, a @kblock43 car chase and #TheStig The latest episode of #TopGear is available on @BBCiPlayer now. Outside the UK? See local listings here: https://t.co/HPPhbUErDu pic.twitter.com/87F53C8oYb — Top Gear (@BBC_TopGear) February 26, 2018 Related Video:

Why this could be the perfect time for Apple to make a car play

While the automotive and technology worlds have been pouring billions into autonomous vehicles (AVs) and preparing to bring them to market soon as shared robo-taxis, Apple has mostly sat on the sidelines. Of course, Apple is the last company to ever make its intentions known, and the super-secret tech cult giant hasn't been totally out of the AV game based on the clues that have slipped out of its Cupertino, Calif., citadel over the past few years. Related: Apple self-driving cars are real — one was just in an accident News first broke in 2015 that it had assembled an automotive development team, in part by poaching high-profile talent from car companies, to work on a top-secret self-driving vehicle project code-named Titan. (Thank you very much, Nissan.) Apple also subsequently broke cover by making inquiries into using a Northern California AV testing facility and receiving a permit to test AVs on public roads in California. But then as the AV race started to heat up in the last few years, Apple reportedly began scaling back its car activities by downsizing team Titan. More recently, Apple's car project has shown signs of life with the hiring a high-level engineer away from Waymo and luring one Tesla's top engineers and a former employee back to Apple. It also inked a deal with Volkswagen to provide a technology platform and software to convert the automaker's new T6 Transporter vans into autonomous shuttles for employees at tech company's new campus. That is a far cry from giving rides to Wal-Mart shoppers, like Waymo is doing as part of its AV testing in Phoenix. But this could be the perfect time for Apple to enter the AV market now that ride-sharing is reaching critical mass and automakers and others are planning to deploy fleets of robo-taxis. Apple could easily establish a niche as a high-end ride-sharing service – and charge a premium – given its cult-like brand loyalty and design savvy. The growth of car subscription models could also play in Apple's favor since is already has many people hooked on paying for phones in monthly installments – and eager to upgrade when a new and better model becomes available. To achieve this, some believe Apple will fulfill co-founder and CEO Steve Job's dream of building a car. And as the world's first and only $1 trillion company it's sitting on a mountain of cash that certainly gives it the means. But other tech darlings like Tesla and Google have discovered how difficult it can be to build cars at scale.

Jaguar F-Type to pace Bloodhound SSC as rapid response vehicle

The Bloodhound SSC is out to beat the world land speed record, but it can't do it all on its own. The team is going to need a motorcade of support vehicles, like this specially equipped Jaguar F-Type. Outfitted by JLR Special Vehicle Operations with radio equipment and a unique livery, the Bloodhound SSC rapid response vehicle is based on the latest F-Type R AWD coupe. It'll serve a similar role that a pace or safety car does for a race, and be called into service in case of a high-speed emergency. The Bloodhound SSC itself will likewise be equipped with the same 5.0-liter supercharged V8, its 542 horses powering the jet-car's hydraulic system and oxidizer pump. The special F-Type will mark its debut at the Coventry MotoFest later this month (appearing again at Goodwood next month) alongside a '56 Long-Nose D-Type, the one-of-a-kind '66 XJ13, a '76 Broadspeed XJ12 Coupe, and the XJR-9 that won Le Mans in 1988. JAGUAR TO DEBUT BLOODHOUND F-TYPE RAPID RESPONSE VEHICLE AT COVENTRY MOTOFEST - World debut of Jaguar F-TYPE R AWD Bloodhound SSC Rapid Response Vehicle (RRV) at Coventry MotoFest (30/31 May) - Jaguar's 5.0-litre supercharged V8 550 PS sports car will support Bloodhound SSC World Land Speed Record attempt - Jaguar will be at the heart of Bloodhound SSC providing its 5.0-litre 550PS supercharged V8 engine to provide hydraulic services to the car and drive the rocket's oxidiser pump - Jaguar also previewing Goodwood Festival of Speed activity at MotoFest with a host of iconic heritage cars (Whitley, Coventry – 20 May 2015). Jaguar will unveil the F-TYPE R AWD Bloodhound SSC RRV at Coventry MotoFest – one of the cars that will support the Bloodhound world land speed record attempt. The Bloodhound F-TYPE R is the latest project of Jaguar Land Rover's Special Vehicle Operations and is wrapped in a bespoke livery created by Jaguar Design incorporating the Bloodhound SSC colours. This year's MotorFest promises to be bigger than ever with a range of attractions and gigs. The organisers close off the Coventry ring road to public traffic in order to host a number of motorsport activities and the Bloodhound F-TYPE will be taking part in laps on Saturday May 30 and Sunday May 31. Jaguar will also be previewing its activities at the 2015 Goodwood Festival of Speed – the theme of which this year is 'Flat Out and Fearless: Racing on the Edge' - by bringing along some of the most iconic cars from its rich heritage.