2013 Jaguar Xj Portfolio on 2040-cars

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Jaguar likely moving HQ to Britain's most iconic racetrack

Jaguar Land Rover looks increasingly likely to make Britain's iconic Silverstone race track the automaker's new headquarters. There isn't a final deal in place yet, but the British Racing Drivers' Club, which owns the circuit, plans to have the membership vote on whether the negotiations should move forward, according to Autosport. BRDC leaders already presented the plan to members, and they were open to the idea. "The response was favorable so we will now set up an EGM for the members to vote and give the board a mandate to proceed with the deal and continue with the negotiations with JLR," BRDC president Derek Warwick told Autosport. There's no guarantee yet that JLR actually completes the deal. "There's still a lot of work to do to get the deal to where both sides are happy and more importantly what's right for the BRDC and its members." Warwick said. Rumors in early December suggested JLR was among the firms submitting bids to purchase the track, and the automaker allegedly offered 22.7 million pounds ($34.1 million at the time) for it. The company would also reportedly invest nearly $80 million to renovate the site, including adding a museum, experience center, hotel, and offices. The track would still be open for motorsport, too. Silverstone has hosted the Formula One British Grand Prix many times over the decades, and organizers signed a 17-year deal in 2009 to keep things that way well into the future. Series like the FIA World Endurance Championship, MotoGP, and British Touring Car Championship also compete there. Related Video:

Watch 2 clay modelers build Jaguar E-Types out of plasticine

Ah, quarantine time. When put to good use, it can be a time of ingenuity and creativity — precious time given back to us, in a sense. So here are two chaps, Joe and Lucas, who work at JaguarÂ’s Design Studio, stuck at home, ready to make a couple classic E-Type models out of some plasticine. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. ItÂ’s not exactly an instructional video, since itÂ’s mostly sped-up time lapse footage with no instructional explainers. But itÂ’s meant to show us that anyone can do it. The tools they use to shape the plasticine are common household items: a rolling pin or similar cylindrical items — they use a can of hair spray — to roll out the material, a plastic spoon, potato peeler, a knife, cardboard, tinfoil and a glass of water to apply to the plasticine and make a smooth finish. As for plasticine itself, itÂ’s a modeling clay thatÂ’s similar to Play-doh except that it is oil-based, where the latter is made of flour and water. (If youÂ’re interested, hereÂ’s a video that shows you how to convert Play-doh into plasticine.) So weÂ’re shown how the designers shape the signature fender bulges, greenhouse, head- and taillights and wheels. But it frankly all goes by in a blur, and we suspect that most of us amateurs would be left with something that looks more like an undefined blog. Still, itÂ’s fun to watch. Built between 1961 and 1975, the E-Type two-seat roadster is considered one of the major icons of automotive design and part of the AUTObodies collection at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Design/Style Jaguar Coupe Classics

Junkyard Gem: 1997 Jaguar XK8 Convertible

Jaguar sold the mighty XJS grand tourer from the 1976 through 1996 model years, and I've documented quite a few of them in their final parking spaces. For 1997, the replacement for that legendary car finally arrived, in the form of the oft-delayed XK8. Here's one of those first-year cars, found in a self-service yard in Denver, Colorado recently. Development of this car's platform and general shape goes back to 1980, when endless prototypes were built and forgotten. Once Ford took over Jaguar in 1990, the abaondoned XJ41 project was revived and became the 1994 Aston Martin DB7. Fast-forward three years and you get a Jaguar-badged cousin of that car. The 1997 XK8 could be purchased in coupe or convertible form. The top on this car has seen better days. How much, you ask? A cool $69,900, which would be around $130,165 in 2022 dollars. If you wanted the Aston Martin DB7 Volante convertible that year, the price tag was $135,000 ($251,395 now). As we've seen in this series, sophisticated European machinery requires fastidious maintenance on the dot, or you get hit with repair bills larger than the car's value once it hits age 10 or so. Once a car like this reaches its fourth or fifth owner, the Clock of Doom starts ticking very loudly if it was ever neglected prior to that. It appears that preparation for body and paint work took place but was never completed. The engine is a 4.0-liter Jaguar DOHC V8 rated at 290 horsepower, same as the one in the XJ8. In 1998, a 370-horse supercharged version known as the XKR became available. The Lincoln LS and 2002-2005 Ford Thunderbird got a de-bored 3.9-liter version of this engine. The transmission in 1997 was a mandatory five-speed ZF automatic, regardless of which side of the Atlantic you lived on. In fact, every street XK8 ever built had an automatic when it left the assembly line (though I'm sure some three-pedal swaps have been performed by now). These cars aren't exactly common in your local Ewe Pullet, but they are out there.  This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. As some 24 Hours of Lemons racers in Texas discovered, you can buy a DB7 shell cheap at auction and then bolt in everything you need to make it a runner by stripping an even cheaper XK8 donor car.  This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. A new breed of Jaguar. This content is hosted by a third party.