Xf Premium Luxury Nav Black Clean Carfax One Owner on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Ex-Jaguar design boss Ian Callum starts his own design firm

A month ago, Ian Callum stepped down from his position as Jaguar's director of design. In a 20-year career with the English sports car maker, Callum's pen has traced the lines of everything from the original XK, the XJ, the F-Type, I-Pace, and more. Before that, he made use of employ at Aston Martin by contributing to the original DB7, the DB9, the previous Vantage, and the first Vanquish. After a career in service to OEMs that's been brilliant enough to earn him a CBE, for Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, Callum has stepped up to take the reins at his eponymous design firm, called "Callum." Established with four fellow ex-Jaguar executives, Callum will design and engineer bespoke and limited-edition creations in the worlds of art, audio, automotive, fashion, lifestyle, and motorsports. The other trio of founding members are program director David Fairborn, engineering director Adam Donfrancesco, and commercial director Tom Bird. Fairbarn was the head of bespoke and special commissions at Jaguar Land Rover, where he helped bring the Lightweight E-Type to life. Donfrancesco left his role as engineering manager for JLR 's bespoke and special commissions; before that, he developed road and race cars like the Aston Martin GT8 and GT12. Bird, after stints at PWC and Barclays, had been commercial manager at JLR, where he shepherded the C-X75 concept into the James Bond movie Spectre. Callum said of the venture, "I wanted to get back to the essence of creativity; the challenge of producing something wonderful and personal. To design the alternative has always been my mantra, but always the beautiful alternative and something to enjoy." The man's still contracted to Jaguar as a brand ambassador, but at 64 years old, he feels "I've got maybe 15 years of design aptitude left, and I want to make the most of it." With 18 employees and based in a 20,000-square-foot facility in Warwick, the firm is ready right now with the engineering and manufacturing machinery to create products in-house. Even with the company's wide remit, we expect to see Callum take a stand in the automotive space. He admitted that he'd "like to take some of the cars I've designed and maybe redo them a little bit," but the team will always consider the entire vehicle, looking to upgrade dynamics and handling, too. We're told the first project will be announced soon.

Lister Stealth debuts as a reworked Jaguar F-Pace SVR with 195-mph top speed

The Lister Jaguar F-Pace is here, and according to Lister, it’s “BritainÂ’s fastest and most powerful SUV.” Top speed is 195 mph. Bentley might like a word about this claim, as it considers the Bentayga Speed to be the fastest SUV in the world. However, the Bentley only tops out at 190 mph. ThereÂ’s the question of whether or not the Lister should count, too. At its core, the Lister Stealth (this vehicleÂ’s proper name) is a heavily reworked Jaguar F-Pace SVR.  None of the above will really matter unless you find yourself on the autobahn or an airstrip. Practically speaking, the StealthÂ’s 0-60 mph time of 3.6 seconds will be far more useful. ThatÂ’s a half second quicker than the F-Pace SVRÂ’s 4.1-second 0-60 mph time. It comes courtesy of Lister upping power from the 5.0-liter supercharged V8 to 666 horsepower and 650 pound-feet of torque. Lister gets more power and better cooling via upgraded dual supercharger pulleys, a custom-built intercooler and a new high performance air filtration system. It then applies a custom tune to the powertrain software to make it as smooth and easy to drive as the regular F-Pace SVR. Cooling is enhanced further via a new carbon fiber front bumper that has two massive air intakes for added airflow. In addition to the bumper, Lister fits a new front splitter and larger rear diffuser for better aerodynamics. Larger side skirts and wider wheel arches enhance the stance of the vehicle, while 23-inch wheels make it stand out even more. A custom stainless steel exhaust pokes out through the carbon fiber diffuser, and uprated brakes hide behind those big wheels. Lister gives folks a ton of customization options for the interior. You can choose between 36 different color choices of the fancy Bridge of Weir Nappa leather. There are up to 90 different stitching options available, too.  We have a feeling there wonÂ’t be a single one exactly like another, because Lister is only building 100 Stealths. Pricing starts at GBP109,950 and goes up from there. At todayÂ’s exchange rates, itÂ’s equal to about $145,000. ThatÂ’s $63,250 more than a base F-Pace SVR. But hey, maybe that extra 19 mph on the top end is worth it to you. Related video: Featured Gallery Lister Stealth View 17 Photos Aftermarket Jaguar Crossover SUV Luxury Performance

Junkyard Gem: 1973 Jaguar XJ6

It requires a certain high level of commitment to keep an old Jaguar on the road, and so plenty of first-generation Jaguar XJs end up as projects that never get finished, sitting in yards or garages for decades before winding up in the nearest U-Wrench yard. As I clomp through car graveyards around the country in search of interesting machinery, I see so many 1980s XJs that I don't bother to photograph many of them … but a genuine Series I early Jag is a different story. Here's a '73 XJ6 whose final parking space (prior to facing the cold steel jaws of The Crusher) sits right next to that of a same-year Mercedes-Benz 450SLC in an East Bay yard. How the mighty have fallen! The C107 was too picked-over to be worth photographing, but you can admire the photos of this much nicer '72 I found in Denver a few years back. Unlike the last Series 1 XJ6 that I've photographed (in the very same yard, albeit 13 years ago), this car has not had its original straight-six engine replaced by a small-block Chevrolet V8 (because Jaguar parts were expensive and Chevy parts were cheap during the 1970s, that swap happened frequently). The US-market XJ6 got 150 horsepower from this smooth-running DOHC six, 40 fewer horses than the (far more expensive) 450SLC that year. The interior looks ravaged by the decades, but you can still discern the opulence that once reigned in this wood-and-leather-lined space. The dash boasts a full complement of authentic Smiths gauges, with a tasteful Kienzle clock right in the middle. Here's why we can assume that fewer than two of those instruments functioned at any given time during the life of this car: wiring by The Prince of Darkness! Working on electrical faults in these cars built up your patience while undermining your faith in symptom-to-problem relationships. The six-digit odometer ensures that we'll never know if we're looking at a 56,819-mile car or a 356,819-mile car. I'd guess 156,819 if I had to, based on pedal wear. These cars were very popular in the Bay Area, which has been full of European-car aficionados since the first Renault AXs sputtered off the docks of the San Francisco waterfront. Back in the 1970s and 1980s, you'd never see an old XJ without one of these pre-EU "GB" stickers on the back. The faded condition of this one suggests decades of sitting in the sun, probably while the car sat dead in the driveway due to electrical problems.