1994 Jaguar Xjs Convertible (collector/driver) on 2040-cars

Auto blog

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:

Jaguar refreshes the 2018 F-Type lineup and adds a high-performance V6 model

Jaguar is giving the F-Type line a refresh for 2018 and adding two new variants. All new F-Types feature LED headlights and slightly darker taillights. Every model except the SVR also gets updated front bumpers. The most noticeable change is the side vents, which morph from the double slots to single openings in most cases. The F-Type R's large side vents are bisected horizontally. The two new F-Type models are the R Dynamic and the limited edition 400 Sport. The R Dynamic isn't particularly exciting, since it's pretty much just a dress-up package for the entry level 340- and 380-horsepower F-Types. All the model adds are 19- and 20-inch wheel options, as well gloss black-painted hood vents, splitter, side sills, and rear diffuser. The 400 Sport, on the other hand, comes with much more. It's only available for one year, and comes with a modified supercharged V6 producing 400 horsepower. The 400 Sport can be ordered with either rear- or all-wheel-drive, but the 8-speed automatic is the only available transmission. The car also benefits from larger 15-inch brakes at each corner. Owners of the 400 Sport can personalize their driving settings as well, thanks to the car's Configurable Dynamics system. Inside and out, the 400 Sport gets some visual upgrades, too. It includes the Sport Design Pack, which adds a deeper front spoiler, larger side sills, and a rear diffuser. A flat-bottom steering wheel, yellow contrast stitching, and black brushed aluminum accents finish off the interior. There are also plenty of 400 Sport badges on the car. View 12 Photos The two other major changes for the F-Type line involve infotainment. One of which is that every model now comes standard with Jaguar's Touch Pro infotainment system and its 8-inch touchscreen with which the driver can interact. The other is a cool new app the company developed with GoPro. It's called ReRun, and it allows the driver to connect a GoPro camera to the car, and download footage to the phone. The reason for connecting the camera to the car, is so that it can add telemetry data including speed, gear, g force, and steering and brake inputs to the video footage. After a spirited drive in the country or on a racetrack, the footage can be downloaded to the phone to be reviewed and shared. The app even generates "highlights" automatically. The new F-Type range will go on sale in the first quarter of 2017.

Land Rover to build Discovery Sport at new Brazilian factory

Looking forward to getting your mitts on a new Land Rover Discovery Sport? Well you should, because it promises to be a markedly better product than the Freelander/LR2 it replaces. Just don't assume it will necessarily be built in the UK, as just about every Land Rover has in the company's 66-year history. The new Discovery Sport (pictured above in Sao Paulo) will, of course, be built in the UK, at the Halewood plant where the Evoque is made and which has in the past handled the Freelander, the Jaguar X-Type and a variety of Fords. But it will also be assembled for local consumption at JLR's new factory in Changsu, China. And, according to the press release down below, it will also be made for the Latin American market at the new factory being built in Brazil. The new plant is being built in Itatiaia on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro and will come online in 2016. Once it gets up to speed by the end of 2020, it will have the capacity to build 24,000 vehicles each year, ratcheting its workforce up from 400 when it opens to nearly 1,000 when all's said and done. The Discovery Sport will be one of the products made there for the local market, but it surely won't be the only one. As in China, we expect the Evoque will be built there as well, and we wouldn't be surprised to see the new Jaguar XE join it in the near future, either. Don't expect the Brazilian-made vehicles to be sold in the US, though: those will likely still be imported from the UK... at least, that is, until the facility said to be under consideration for the southern United States opens its doors. JAGUAR LAND ROVER CONFIRMS ITS ALL-NEW DISCOVERY SPORT FOR BRAZIL FACILITY - Jaguar Land Rover confirms Discovery Sport as one of the models to be produced at its new local manufacturing facility in Brazil - R$750m investment in the new facility in Itatiaia in the State of Rio de Janeiro - Annual production capacity of 24,000 units for the Brazilian market only – from 2016 Sao Paulo, Brazil – Jaguar Land Rover confirmed today, at the Sao Paulo International Motor Show, that its breakthrough Land Rover Discovery Sport will be one of the first models to be built at its new R$750m (GBP240m) local manufacturing facility in Itatiaia, Brazil. The new factory, which will see a total investment of R$750m (GBP240m) by the end of 2020, will supplement UK production and have the capacity to build 24,000 vehicles annually for the Brazilian market.