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Jaguar Land Rover building new R&D center for hybrids, EVs, autonomous cars

The success of Jaguar Land Rover in recent years has largely been down to a resurgent product lineup, but a recent move into the research and development will see the British-based, Indian-owned brands take the fight to its German rivals more aggressively than ever before.
JLR is investing 50 million pounds ($80,345,000, as of this writing) in a joint R&D center in central England. The move will more than triple its staff dedicated to research, from 150 to 500, with Wolfgang Epple, JLR's Director of Research and Technology telling Automotive News Europe, "In order to play among the big animals in automotive and to be anchored in the mind of customers you have to have offered something unique, to be first in market. We want to be one of the key premier automotive manufacturers."
Jaguar Land Rover's 50-million-pound contribution represents more than half of the 94-million-pound tab, on the so-called National Automotive Innovation Campus. Based at Warwick University, Tata's European Technical Center, Warwick Manufacturing Group and the Higher Education Funding Council, an agency of the British government, are all chipping in for the facility.

2020 Jaguar I-Pace Suspension Deep Dive | All kinds of weird and wonderful

I’ve driven the Jaguar I-Pace a handful of times, and it always proves to be an enjoyable experience. In case youÂ’re not up to speed, this is JaguarÂ’s dual-motor all-wheel drive all-electric SUV. ItÂ’s quick, it looks cool in a running shoe sort of way, and it delivers a decent 234 miles of range. Sure, it has its faults, particularly when it comes to the infotainment and climate control layout. But the electric JagÂ’s smooth ride comfort and direct steering feel are clear strong points, and its handling stays nicely balanced and displays sharp reflexes as far as IÂ’ve pushed it. That is to say, a strong pace, but nothing that would land me in jail. The suspension plays a big role in all of this, of course. I wanted to see what theyÂ’d done, so I recently put an I-Pace HSE up on jackstands and took a look underneath. Electric powertrain notwithstanding, I found this to be an utterly weird and fascinating machine.    From this vantage it is easy to see the big air spring (yellow arrow). The use of this type of spring medium allows the I-Pace to run at different heights. It mostly runs at standard height, but can also lower the car at highway speeds to lessen aerodynamic drag. ThereÂ’s an even lower mode to ease the loading of passengers and cargo, along with a raised-height off-road mode because, well, this is theoretically an SUV. It looks like it has a double wishbone front suspension, too, with a high-mount upper arm (green). But we canÂ’t be sure until we move in closer.   With the wheel turned, we can see that this is a double wishbone front suspension in the sense that it has a single ball joint (green) at the bottom. ThereÂ’s lots of nice-looking forged and hollow-cast aluminum bits and pieces, too. But it looks odd in some other respects. The lower arm (yellow), for example, seems to have a joint of some kind in it. Meanwhile, near the top, you can see how the tall upright (or hub carrier, if you like) is curved (red) to provide tire and wheel clearance. Use the wheel studs as a reference point and you can imagine how the tire assembly will nestle into that area.   The shock absorber (green) runs up the middle of what is a doughnut-shaped air chamber. A very tall tower of a doughnut, but you get the idea. But you canÂ’t call this a coil-over. Do I hear bag-over? Anyway, a position sensor (yellow) is connected to the upper arm so the height-control system can regulate itself properly.

The Jaguar XJR-15 is a 215 mph, barely-legal road car that's for sale

The late 1980s and early 1990s were awash with supercars from automakers across the globe. Classic Driver in the UK is selling one of the rarest of all of these supercars, the road-going racecar that is the Jaguar XJR-15. The XJR-15 is the lesser known sibling of the Jaguar XJ220. Only 27 were ever built. The XJ220 may not have received the same recognition and reverence as the Ferrari F40, the Porsche 959, and the McLaren F1, but for a time it held the record for the fastest road-going automobile, 217.1 mph. All of the XJ220's engineering and prowess is owed to the development of the XJR-15, which in turn owes everything to driver Tom Walkinshaw and his experience in touring and Le Mans racecars. Unlike the twin-turbocharged XJ220, the XJR-15 features a big, naturally-aspirated V12 that turned out 450 horsepower and 420 lb-ft of torque when new. The engine has a dry sump oil system, a Cosworth forged crankshaft, connecting rods, aluminum pistons, and fuel delivery from a Zytec electronically controlled sequential fuel injection system. The engine is mated to a five-speed transaxle from Tom Walkinshaw Racing, while the suspension - fabricated wishbones and horizontal pushrod-spring dampers at the front and coil springs at the rear - is pulled straight from the XJR-9 racecar. At the time, the car was capable of hitting 60 mph in under four seconds and topped out at 215 mph, just shy of the mark later set by the Jaguar XJ220. The XJR-15 was also the first road car to make extensive use of carbon fiber. In fact, at 2,315 lbs, the car's listed weight is less than that of a new ND Mazda Miata. The body was designed by future McLaren F1 engineer Peter Stevens. While the McLaren and Porsche were more complete and well rounded machines, the XJR-15 was a bare bones, uncompromised track machine. The interior was barely more than a carbon tub fitted with a pair of one-piece seats. The car in this listing is chassis number 21 and only has 1,400 miles on the odometer. Some minor modifications to the hinges allow the hood and engine cover to be quickly and easily opened. The car is listed for GBP450,000, or about $560,000. Not cheap, but what rare, early 1990s supercar is? Related Video: News Source: Classic Driver via Car Buzz Jaguar Coupe Performance ferrari f40 jaguar xj220