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Jaguar Land Rover gets to work on new university R&D center

Jaguar Land Rover has a raft of new products in the pipeline, from the new Defender to the next-generation XF sedan. But new product isn't the only thing the British automaker is investing in: it's also opening new facilities around the world, including what it's calling the National Automotive Innovation Centre back home in the UK. Based at the University of Warwick, the new $220-million R&D center is the result of a joint effort between JLR, its parent company Tata, the manufacturing arm of the university and the British government. The facility will bring together professionals from the automaker as well as its suppliers with academics to encourage, as the name suggests, innovation in the automotive sector. Its 355,000 square feet are earmarked to become the hub for Jaguar Land Rover's advanced research activities, including "workshops, laboratories, virtual engineering suites and advanced powertrain facilities, equipped to enable a full range of design, visualisation and prototyping activities." The cornerstore was just laid in a ceremony this week, but the facility isn't due to open until the Spring of 2017 when it will encompass some 1,000 employees, including 600 relocated by JLR to the new location from other sites in the UK. Related Video: Construction Begins On New UK Automotive Innovation Centre For Jaguar Land Rover - GBP150 million National Automotive Innovation Centre (NAIC) will open in Spring 2017, providing a state-of-the-art technology hub for Jaguar Land Rover's advanced research team and collaborative partners from the supply chain and academia - To keep the UK and Jaguar Land Rover at the forefront of global innovation, the team will develop the vehicles and personal mobility solutions of the future - The NAIC will focus on inspiring the next generation of engineers - from schoolchildren to undergraduates.

David Brown Speedback GT marks US debut at The Quail

The British invasion has officially deployed another expeditionary force to these American shores with the arrival of the David Brown Speedback GT. The classically styled English grand tourer debuted nearly a year and a half ago, and has been racking up orders from discerning customers in the UK and across continental Europe. As promised, it has now made its American debut at the swanky Monterey event known as The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering. The Speedback GT is a coachbuilt grand touring coupe made by British startup David Brown Automotive. It's based on a Jaguar XKR, but reskinned inside and out to give it the look and feel of a classic Aston Martin – little wonder given the name it shares with the former Aston chief whose initials still adorn the DB model line. Underneath the retro bodywork lies Jaguar's celebrated 5.0-titer supercharged V8, giving the Speedback thoroughly modern levels of muscle with 510 horsepower and 461 pound-feet of torque. The resulting 0-60 time of 4.6 seconds and top speed of 155 miles per hour are suitably quick – not quite time-warping, but the performance is certainly nowhere near as old-school as the design would lead you to believe. Call it the best of both worlds, then, if you dig the styling. But don't expect everyone to be jumping on this particular gentlemanly bandwagon. At nearly half a million pounds sterling – over $750k at current exchange rates – it's sure to keep out the riffraff of which "the rest of us" are most certainly part. Featured Gallery David Brown Speedback GT: Monterey 2015 View 14 Photos Image Credit: Copyright 2015 Drew Phillips / AOL Misc. Auto Shows Jaguar Coupe Luxury Pebble Beach david brown automotive

Land Rover planning SVX hardcore off-roaders

The new Special Vehicle Operations division at Jaguar Land Rover has already given us an array of ultimate wheeled creations, but it isn't quite done yet. Next, according to Car and Driver, will be a new line of SVX models. Not to be confused with the Subaru coupe from the 1990s (which also had all-wheel drive, come to think of it), Land Rover's SVX models will be hardcore off-roaders. Details are few and far between at the moment, but they're said to take inspiration from rough-terrain events like the Dakar Rally and Camel Trophy as inspiration – different from the Ford F-150 Raptor that takes its cues from the Baja 1000. Last we heard, Land Rover was planning a hardcore Defender to send the model off to pasture in high-performance style, and considering an extreme Range Rover as well. If either of those rumors materialize, they look like they'd be prime candidates for the SVX line. JLR Special Vehicle Operations has already showcased what it can do with the high-performance Range Rover Sport SVR, the luxed-up Range Rover SVAutobiography, the exclusive F-Type Project 7 and the continuation classic Lightweight E-Type. C/D confirms that further SVR models are in store to replace Jaguar's R-S performance models, while the SVX line would likely remain exclusive to Land Rover.