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Junkyard Gem: 2002 Jaguar XJR

One thing that's a constant in the big self-service car graveyards is the presence of massively depreciated European luxury sedans. These cars come from the factory stuffed full of complex leading-edge technology, and they require the owner to check every box on the maintenance schedule, year after year. Once that 10-year-old A8 or S-Class reaches its fourth owner, broken stuff often goes unrepaired, convenience-store generic oil goes in the engine (that is, if the engine even gets any new oil), and the European Luxury Sedan Doomsday Clock starts ticking. Here's a factory-hot-rod Jag that sold new for quite a bit more than a BMW 745i and just 20 bucks less than a Mercedes-Benz S430, back when Enron's machinations were in the news and a lot of energy-industry execs were about to get their luxury sedans repossessed, now in a Colorado self-serve yard. We live in a golden age of forced-induction engines in U-Wrench junkyards, with all sorts of turbocharged and supercharged machinery just waiting to provide the raw materials for a really stupid engine swap. The 4.0-liter, 370-horsepower V8 in the 2002 XJR would be just about perfect for installation into, say, a Datsun Maxima. This yard charges just $44.99 plus $10.60 in core charges and environmental fees for any supercharger, be it the dime-a-dozen Eaton M62 found on GM 3800s or the mighty M112 that was once buried between the heads on this engine. Thing is, you need to get to a car like this immediately after it hits the yard, because the first junkyard shopper with sufficient tools is going to grab that ultra-cool blower right away. The price tag for this car started at $71,830, which comes to about $105,550 in 2020 dollars. We can assume that some four-figure repair became necessary, and that this car's final owner had to let it go to the highest bidder with cash on hand… which turned out to be U-Pull-&-Pay. Look, you could still get a cassette player in a high-end luxury car in 2002! When do you suppose CD players will finally disappear from new cars? Here in the junkyard, the lowly Kia becomes equal to the majestic Jaguar. Perhaps their metals will be reused in a Geely next year. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. The security of knowing you'll never, ever lose it in the parking lot. Featured Gallery Junked 2002 Jaguar XJR View 20 Photos Auto News Jaguar Automotive History Sedan jaguar xjr Junkyard Gems

Jaguar Land Rover likely to build US plant... in three years

Jaguar Land Rover may very well open a plant in the United States, but the latest word has it that it'll be another three years or so before the company even makes a decision on the matter. The prospect first came up on our radar back in October when we reported that JLR was considering building a plant in the South. Georgia governor Nathan Deal even flew to the UK to solicit JLR's business. Former parent-company chairman Ratan Tata subsequently confirmed the idea was under consideration last month. And now the British automaker's CEO has told Automotive News that JLR will need a US assembly plant to fuel its growth in the vital North American market, but that'll it'll take a while to get going. The reasons for the delay, according to chief executive Ralf Speth, are threefold. For one thing, the automaker has its hands full at the moment opening plants in other locations: last year it opened one in China and this year it opened one in Brazil. It also recently opened a new SVO facility, an electric-propulsion R&D center and a new engine plant all in the UK, and can only handle building so many new facilities at a time. JLR will also need US suppliers of aluminum components to step up their game, as the company relies heavily on aluminum construction for their vehicles. US automakers shifting to aluminum for models like the new Ford F-150 will encourage American suppliers to get into the game, but it may be a while before they're up to Jaguar Land Rover standards. Finally, JLR will need to increase its sales potential in the US in order to justify local production. Speth says the company would need one model of which it could sell 30,000 to 40,000 units in the US alone, and it sold less than 18,000 units of its best-selling the Range Rover Sport here last year. In fact the entire Jaguar brand sold less than 16,000 units throughout all of last year in America, with Land Rover selling far more at over 50,000 units to contribute to total sales of over 67,000 units. Related Video: Featured Gallery Jaguar Land Rover Engine Manufacturing Center View 16 Photos News Source: Automotive News - sub. req.Image Credit: Jaguar Land Rover Plants/Manufacturing Jaguar Land Rover jaguar land rover jlr

Jay Leno gets reacquainted with the Bertone Pirana

Jay Leno gets all manner of vehicles stopping by his garage – some more rare than others, but this one is an entirely unique creation unearthed from another time. It's the Pirana, a one-off commissioned by a British newspaper in the late Sixties that we actually found listed on eBay a few years back. It was built atop a Jaguar E-Type, but with custom bodywork designed by Marcello Gandini and crafted by Bertone. The result looks like a Maserati Ghibli or Lamborghini Espada of the same era, but actually came out just before either, previewing the Italian exotics that would follow from Gandini's pen and Bertone's carrozzeria. The Pirana is now undergoing a complete restoration to bring it back to the original condition in which it appeared at the 1967 London Motor Show, but before the process is complete, Leno shows us around and takes it out on the open road to relive memories of a relic from a bygone era.