2002 Jaguar Xj8 Vanden Plas 20 Inch Rims. Tons Of Maintenance Records 300hp on 2040-cars

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Jaguar Land Rover building new Special Vehicle Operations facility

It's only been a couple of months since Jaguar Land Rover announced the formation of its new Special Operations division, and we've already seen a number of vehicles to come out of it. But now the British automaker has announced a new facility that will house its elite skunkworks department.
Set to be built at Prologis Park in Ryton, England, on the outskirts of Coventry, the new Special Vehicle Operations Technical Centre will encompass dedicated production lines, F1-style flexible workshops, a dedicated paint studio and VIP suite for commissioning bespoke projects. JLR will spend some $33 million on the facility that will be home to 150 specialists - 100 of them being new hires.
The first project which the Special Operations division is working on is the F-Type Project 7, but we've already seen more projects in the pipeline - including the upcoming Range Rover Sport SVR - and you can bet there'll be more. The revival of the Lightweight E-Type also falls under Special Operations, but is undertaken by the Jaguar Heritage department located nearby at Browns Lane.

Porsche 911 tops a list of must-have classics, but No. 2 is more of a surprise

No surprise here: In Europe, the Porsche 911 is the most sought-after classic car. Surprise here: Slip-streaming the 911 in the most sought-after chart compiled by the Car & Classic marketplace is the Ford Mustang. Using the Google search engine as a means to pick the winners, as well as the average prices achieved on the “Car and Classic” website, the venerable 911 was tagged 1.45 million times per month according to data stretching back 15 years. The number of 911Â’s sold though the C&C marketplace was 21,141, at an average price of 58,409 pounds, or $74,300. FordÂ’s pony car, still a popular choice for buyers in Europe, placed second on the list with 1.2 million monthly searches. The average sales price over 15 years was 31,107 pounds ($39,570), and the number of older Mustangs sold reached a total of 8,332. Models that also finished among the charted top 10 include the Land Rover Range Rover, the Corvette, the ultra-classic British favorite Jaguar E-Type and the BMW 3 Series. “Whilst a 1973 Porsche 911 Carrera 2.7 RS could set you back the best part of GBP500,000 ($636,000), there are many more affordable models, which bring the average sale price of a 911 on Car & Classic to GBP58,000 ($73,800) – the third highest average selling price of any make and model on the site,” explained Dale Vinten of Car & Classic. According to the site, the Jaguar fetched the highest average selling price: a whopping 89,000 pounds, or $113,000. But thatÂ’s peanuts compared to a Series 1 Roadster in excellent condition, said Vinten. For that, “you can expect to spend up to GBP250,000 ($318,000), A Series 2 or 3 will cost less, as they are not as desirable, but in decent condition you can expect to pay around GBP40,000-GBP50,000. Even a barn find 1969 E-Type Series 2 Roadster can set you back to the tune of GBP33,000 ($42,000)." Launched in 2005, Car & Classic is among EuropeÂ’s most popular classic car clearinghouses. It also runs a stand-alone auction site.

Jaguar redesigned the F-Type for 2021, and you can win one here

Autoblog may receive a share from purchases made via links on this page. Pricing and availability are subject to change. No donation or payment is necessary to enter or win this sweepstakes. See official rules on Omaze. Before it was redesigned for the 2021 model year, the Jaguar F-Type was one of the best-looking vehicles on the market. The same can be said for the updated version. What also hasn’t changed is the fact that, while it looks great, it sounds even better. Thanks to a supercharged V8 that makes 575 horsepower, the growl of the F-Type can be heard long before you see it coming. Oh, itÂ’ll turn heads. ItÂ’s also quite a bit of fun to drive too. And Omaze is giving one away.  Win a 2021 Jaguar F-Type R Coupe - Enter at Omaze HereÂ’s what we thought of the F-Type when we first drove it last summer: “Being behind the wheel of the V8-powered F-Type R also remains an absolute hoot. You sit low in the cockpit, looking out over the long hood — we couldnÂ’t see the end of it without raising the seat up a smidge. The round steering wheel is large for a sports car, and while the leather is supple and grippy, it was tough to find a position where our hands were comfortable and our fingers could reach the clicky metal paddle shifters. Two seat types are available on F-Type models, but the more aggressive 'Performance' seats come standard on the R. TheyÂ’re plenty bolstered, but wide enough to not be restricting on longer journeys. “The supercharged V8 fires up with a loud snarl, but a new Quiet Start mode can tone it down by closing the valves in the exhaust at startup. Your next-door neighbors will appreciate this feature, as the F-Type R is one of the loudest vehicles with a factory exhaust weÂ’ve ever tested. The engine and exhaust dominate the experience of the car from start to finish. Volume levels range from extremely loud to how the hell is this legal?  “Jaguar claims 60 mph comes in just 3.5 seconds, so acceleration within the speed limits is short-lived. This engineÂ’s nature, the way it makes power, is the most alluring part of the acceleration. You donÂ’t have to wait that split second for a couple turbos to spin up. The power is simply here, and thereÂ’s zero disconnect between your right foot and the Jag bounding forward. DonÂ’t shift before max horsepower comes on at 6,500 rpm, either, as the feeling of forward thrust just gets stronger the more you wind it out.