1970 Jaguar E-type on 2040-cars

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Harry bravely drives Jaguar XJ-S V12 1,000 miles to Monaco

There are a great many cars we'd like to take on a transcontinental journey – especially across Europe. And a good portion of them would probably be grand tourers with twelve-cylinder engines. We're just not sure we'd be as brave as Harry Metcalfe, who drove his 1980 Jaguar XJ-S V12 from his home in the UK all the way down to Monaco. Don't get us wrong, the XJ-S looks like a rather comfortable ride, and with the V12 is surely both smooth and powerful. It's just that Jags didn't have the best reputation for reliability back then, and we'd have been at least a little worried that we wouldn't make it all the way across France on this trip. Nor are we sure we would have wanted to without air conditioning. The model in question, as you'll find out if you watch the video, is an early 1980 example, produced just before Jaguar updated the line with the High-Efficiency versions. As such, it's got a bit more power and shorter gearing than later models. The XJS (as it would later be labeled) would undergo a number of updates over the following years, and would stay on the market until 1996 when the XK came along to relieve it. By Harry's reckoning, his early XJ-S was every bit as good as the Porsche 928 and other front-engined GTs of the era, and would have been more fondly remembered if it hadn't had to live in the shadow of the E-Type that came before. You'll want to watch the 17-minute video of the journey, undertaken for a cover story to appear in the September issue of Octane, to see for yourself. Related Video:

Xcar focuses on famed Jaguar test driver Norman Dewis

If you have any interest at all in motoring history, especially when it comes to European sports car racing from the '50s and '60s, do absolutely whatever you can to set aside 38 minutes for this interview with former Jaguar test driver Norman Dewis from XCar. Dewis had a hand in developing the British brand's vehicles from 1952 to 1985, and as expected over that time, he amassed some fantastic stories. Xcar did a great job of teasing a few of those great tales out of him here. From the very beginning, Dewis was gifted with a natural talent to read a car as a test driver. When he was just 16, he was taken out on his first chance to evaluate a vehicle and picked out even more intricacies than his instructor. Dewis eventually wound up at Jaguar, and that's where his career really took off. Among his many accomplishments there, he had a role in developing disc brakes both for racing and the road, set multiple world top speed records, and helped bring the E-Type to the world. Dewis even made the famous overnight drive in an XKE convertible from England to display it at the Geneva Motor Show. Dewis tells a first-hand account of being in the Jaguar paddock during the tragic accident during the 1955 24 Hours of Le Mans that took the lives of dozens of spectators. It's a story that we usually can only read about or watch in black-and-white films. Hearing Dewis' side really brings this history to life.

Jaguar I-Pace vs. Tesla Model X and Model S: How they compare on paper

When Jaguar released its first specifications on the 2019 I-Pace, we decided to see how it stacks up with a number of other EVs including the Tesla Model 3, Chevy Bolt EV, and Hyundai Kona EV. The reason being that they all deliver between 200 and 300 miles of range, and they were all quite close in size. But it wasn't a perfectly accurate comparison, because the Jaguar occupies an odd space in the electric market. While it offers similar range and size to those more entry-level EVs, it packs substantially more power, more brand cachet, and, once the official pricing was released, a much higher price tag. As such, we wanted to also compare it with the cars synonymous with luxury electric motoring (literally), the Tesla Model X and Model S. We're only comparing it with the base-level 75D models of each Tesla, since they are the closest in price and performance to the Jaguar. You can see the raw stats below, and can find more analysis and highlights farther down. If you'd like to compare these cars with others, be sure to try out our comparison tools. Performance All three of these electric cars use a similar powertrain consisting of two electric motors, one up front and one in the rear to power all four wheels. The Jaguar I-Pace's 394 horsepower and 512 pound-feet of torque is a fair bit more than the 328 horsepower and 387 pound-feet combined power from the Teslas, according to Motor Trend. But in the sprint to 60 mph, the Jaguar doesn't really gain an advantage. It's 0.4 seconds quicker than the Model X, but 0.3 sec. behind the Model S. This is despite the Jaguar weighing about the same as the Model S, and a few hundred pounds lighter than the Model X. View 32 Photos At 90 kWh, the Jaguar also has a larger battery capacity than the Tesla 75D models, but range is again mid-pack between Musk's cars. At 240 miles, it's just 3 miles ahead of the Model X, and 19 miles behind the Model S. The I-Pace and Model X also are about as hungry for electricity as each other, both with an energy consumption estimate of about 36 kWh/100 miles, while the Model S is the most frugal at 33. All three vehicles have the ability to use DC fast chargers, with Jaguar claiming an 80-percent charge in 40 minutes at a 100-kW charger. But only the Teslas have access to the Supercharger network, and they come with credits for free charging up to 400 kWh at those stations. Exterior and Interior Dimensions In every measurable way, the Jaguar is smaller than the two Teslas.