2006 Jaguar X-type 3.0l Awd 4dr Sedan on 2040-cars

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Jaguar's EV plans now include a large, lavish sedan that won't be called XJ

Autocar reports Jaguar has resuscitated plans for an electric XJ after canceling the previous attempt, albeit under a different name. There are supposedly two Jaguar-branded EVs arriving in 2025. We know one will be a four-door GT the automaker teased in April of this year. The scant intel we received on it claimed more power than any previous retail Jaguar, besting the 590-horsepower XE SV Project 8, and a starting price around GBP100,000 (around $125,000). We'll guess the output claim represents a top-shelf trim, the starting price represents an entry-trim. The most expensive hardtop the company sells in the U.K. now is the F-Type R 75, asking GBP103,075. A Porsche Taycan, the obvious comparison to a sporty, four-door, six-figure, battery-electric GT, starts at GBP79,200 and runs to GBP148,300 for the Taycan Turbo S. Autocar said company sources outed the Jag as a lavish electric sedan that is effectively, in the magazine's words, a "de-facto XJ replacement but larger and much more luxurious." The Coventry automaker's been dealing with even more turmoil than usual in the past several years, so it's difficult to pin down how many times plans have changed and when. It's thought the original plan had the GT launching ahead of two SUVs. The larger of the two SUVs would be flagship of a three-model electric lineup, specced and priced to challenge the Bentley Bentayga, the English maker joining a cadre of mass-market luxury brands going superluxe and repeatedly naming Bentley as the target. In July of last year, Autocar reported the new plan was "a trio of... electric crossovers," a near-production concept not due until the end of 2024. Now, Autocar's sources maintain the model count remains at three, all of which will sit on the dedicated, long-wheelbase Jaguar Electric Architecture (JEA). If this plan holds, there will be that four-door GT against the Taycan, the SUV against the Bentley, and the swanky sedan as something like a BMW i7 competitor. It is expected to be about the length of the 219-inch Bentley Mulsanne, offer all-wheel drive, all-wheel steering, a range spread of about 385 to 475 miles on the European cycle, and the ability to recharge its battery from 10% to 80% in 13 minutes. The report also said the output floor would be at around 450 hp.

E.C.D. Automotive Design gets into the Jaguar restomod game

Florida-based E.C.D. Automotive Design — formerly East Coast Defender — made its bones turning the barely disguised Midlands tractors emerging from Land Rover's Solihull plant into finely detailed Chelsea tractors that cost almost as much as a genuine John Deere (which means a lot, for those unaware of the frightening costs of farm equipment). With its territory well marked and established, ECD decided to expand its offerings to "something that would sit nicely next to one of our existing Land Rover builds and be on a par, but something different, something sporty and quintessentially British." The search began and ended with the Jaguar E-Type. Not only do we know the formula for this, but Jaguar Classic Works just advertised its own adroitness with such builds in showing off the 1968 Series 1 E-Type Roadster that took part in the Queen's Platinum Jubilee Pageant. ECD offers a few options Jaguar Classic Works doesn't, though, starting with the same kinds of engine conversions performed on the Land Rovers. The outfitter will be happy to rebuild or source an age appropriate inline-six or V12 and a five-speed manual transmission, warning that the mill "will require higher ongoing maintenance" and "come with leaks and all." Less grubby options are either a GM LT1 6.2-liter V8 with 450 horsepower, shifting through an eight-speed automatic, or an electric conversion using a 450-horsepower Tesla powertrain that provides a range of 200 miles in the city and 140 miles on the highway. All variants get performance suspension and brakes; the ICE versions get a sports exhaust, too. The standard menu of paint and interior options includes 11 historic Jaguar paint colors from the 1960s through the 1980s, and 10 modern colors from the 2023 lineup. Inside, 12 solid hues of Nappa leather can be upgraded with two-tone, hand-tipped, spinneybeck, woven, or distressed treatments to go with the European weave carpeting. Prices start at $299,995, each build taking about 14 months to deliver.  Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

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.