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Jaguar Land Rover invests $1.5B to build factory in Slovakia

Jaguar Land Rover will invest 1 billion pounds ($1.5 billion at current rates) to build a new factory in Nitra, Slovakia. Construction will commence in 2016, and the site will have an initial capacity of 150,000 vehicles a year when the first of them roll out in late 2018. JLR expects to employ 2,800 people there. JLR won't yet say what vehicle it will build in Slovakia, other than it will be an all-new aluminum model. The 2018 timing for the plant's start of production seems to coincide with the launch of the radically different next-gen Land Rover Defender, though. Earlier reports suggested that JLR also considered locations in North America, particularly Georgia, and Europe for the new factory. However, the company signaled the Slovakia choice earlier this year when it signed a letter of intent with the government there in August. The automaker then did a final feasibility study before committing to the site. The new factory continues JLR's recent manufacturing expansion. The company opened an engine plant in the UK last year and a factory in China. There will also be one soon in Brazil, and it will reportedly bid to buy the Silverstone Circuit as a new headquarters. JAGUAR LAND ROVER CONFIRMS NEW FACTORY IN SLOVAKIA • New world-class premium manufacturing facility confirmed in Nitra • The next stage of the Company's plans for sustainable global growth • Today's announcement also supports long-term investment in the UK Bratislava, Slovakia – Jaguar Land Rover has confirmed that it will be the first British carmaker to open a manufacturing facility in Slovakia. The announcement follows an agreement between the company and the Government of the Slovak Republic to build a new plant in the city of Nitra, western Slovakia. The new world-class GBP1 billion premium manufacturing facility will eventually employ around 2,800 people. Today's announcement follows Jaguar Land Rover's recent confirmation to double its investment in its engine plant in the UK to almost GBP1 billion – the largest injection into a new British manufacturing plant in decades creating several hundred new jobs. Dr Ralf Speth, Chief Executive Officer, Jaguar Land Rover commented, "Jaguar Land Rover is delighted today to welcome Slovakia into our family. The new factory will complement our existing facilities in the UK, China, India and Brazil and marks the next step in the company's strategy to become a truly global business.

Buy a Jaguar E-Type continuation, get a matching wristwatch

From time to time, automakers release special branded watches. Jaguar and Land Rover are no different. The latest from Land Rover isn't particularly remarkable, but one new Jaguar piece is pretty special. Jaguar partnered with British watchmaker Bremont for a line of watches, the most impressive being a 43mm watch that commemorates Jaguar's continuation series of Lightweight E-Types. Like the cars, only six of the watches will be produced, and they will be offered to the owners of those $1.5 million cars. Each watch features a serial number that matches a corresponding car, and the faces have been designed to look like the instruments aboard the E-Types. The same goes for the hands, which look like the gauge needles. The winding crown also has a tire tread pattern that wraps around the sides, with Jaguar's heritage logo on the top. And these timepieces are built with aluminum left over from the continuation E-Types. On the back is the most impressive part, though. Here is where the watch's automatic winding weight is visible. It's shaped like a vintage steering wheel, and the outer rim is made from real wood. The weight keeps the watch and its exclusive Bremont movement wound. If you can't afford this ultra-limited watch, Bremont has a line of other Jaguar watches with many of the same design cues, at prices ranging from less than $5,000 to more than $11,000. The Land Rover watch is a bit disappointing, since it bears little apparent connection to the vehicles. Zenith, the Swiss company that partnered with Land Rover for the piece, claims the design is inspired by the Range Rover. And Land Rover claims a connection in that a British explorer wore the same series watch while completing an expedition with a pair of Range Rovers. There's also the fact that the watch and the SUV are both made of aluminum, but otherwise, the Zenith watch doesn't look particularly automotive. The box sounds pretty cool, though, since it's fashioned from Land Rover wood and upholstery. Related Video:

Jaguar lifts the tailgate on XFR-S Sportbrake

In the market for an amped-up Jaguar? Look for the letter R, adorning such performance models as the XFR and XJR sedans, the XKR coupe and convertible and the new F-Type R. But if it's bonkers performance you're after, you'll want to add the letter S into the mix as well. Jaguar uses the letters to connote its most hard-core performance variants like the two-door XKR-S and four-door XFR-S. And now it's applied them to the XF wagon as well, skipping the R treatment and going straight for the new XFR-S Sportbrake.
Leaked just the other day and headed for the Geneva Motor Show, Jaguar has now revealed its new power wagon in full. The XFR-S Sportbrake packs Coventry's ubiquitous 5.0-liter supercharged V8 engine boasting 542 horsepower and 502 pound-feet of torque. That's the same version that powers the XKR-S and XFR-S sedan (not to mention the F-Type R and XJR), and drives the rear wheels through an eight-speed automatic to rocket the estate to 60 in 4.6 seconds and on to an electronically limited top speed of 186 miles per hour.
That may be pretty quick, but doesn't quite stack up to the Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG S-Model 4Matic Estate whose 5.5-liter twin-turbo V8 offers up 577 hp and 590 lb-ft for a 3.6-second 0-60 time, or to the Audi RS6 Avant whose 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 churns out 552 hp and 516 lb-ft for a 3.9-second 0-62 sprint. Though the Jaguar is only a little behind in output, it's a good second slower where it's measured. Granted that the Benz and the Audi are both all-wheel-drive where the Jaguar powers the rear only, but if four-wheel traction is how you get the power to the road, we wonder why Jaguar wouldn't fall in line. Particularly when the Jag's starting price in the UK (don't expect to see it imported here) is quoted at £82,495 - several grand more than the £76,985 RS6 but just shy of the £85,880 Mercedes gets for the E63 S-Model wagon in the UK (where the less potent 'base' version is also available as the cheapest in the bunch at £75,885).