2000 Jaguar Xjr Base Sedan 4-door 4.0l on 2040-cars

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Ecurie Ecosse collection brings in millions

It's rare to see an entire racing team's collection go up for auction at once, but that's just what happened this past weekend at Bonhams' new headquarters in London, where there Ecurrie Ecosse collection brought in top dollar (or pound, anyway).
The collection, whose consignment we first reported on back in September, included a smattering of Jaguars, other classic racers and an iconic transporter truck, all decked out in the same blue and white livery of the Scottish flag. After reportedly feverish bidding on Sunday, the 1952 Jaguar C-Type sold for £2,900,000 ($4.75m), the '56 short-nose D-Type for another £2,600,000 ($4.26m), and the transporter for a shocking £1,800,000 (nearly $3 million) - all to the same unnamed American collector. A 1952 Jaguar XK120 roadster went to another buyer for a record £707,000 ($1.16m).
With Ringo Star's Facel Vega selling for £337,500 ($550k) and Michael Schumacher's Benetton B194 fetching another £617,500 (just over a million), the auction total skyrocketed to £16,861,630 ($2.75m), which Bonhams described as "a roaring success". Scope out the press release below for more info.

Jaguar Land Rover reportedly developing Road Rover car

Reports are circulating in the automotive media that Jaguar Land Rover is developing a vehicle that's not an SUV. Called the Road Rover, it would be an all-electric luxury car with "some" all-terrain capability, hinting at all wheel drive. Initially, the EV would launch in late 2019, then spawn more models to complete the lineup. There is also talk about JLR's interest in an outright purchase of an existing luxury car brand to join its portfolio, and that parent company Tata has already given this strategic move the green light. Tata has also reportedly made moves to protect its JLR ownership via acquiring more of its own stock. All this excitement brings to mind the fact that there once existed an actual Road Rover — the Rover brand. Having evolved into MG Rover before going into administration in 2005 and subsequently reborn in China under SAIC Motor ownership, Rover was a moderately posh British carmaker just beneath the level of prestige that Jaguar offered. For some years, both were part of the same corporation. The last Rover saloons were designed and built with BMW input, and at that point Land Rover had already become part of Ford, almost a decade after Jaguar did. Ford's tenure with Land Rover lasted from 2000 to 2008, when Tata bought the British brand — along with the Rover name. Would it just make sense to badge the road car Rover, with no Road or Land affixed to it? Rover's slovenly demise is more than a decade old now, but there's plenty of valuable history still embedded in the long-shelved Viking ship logo. Cast aside memories of Sterling-badged Honda Legend platform siblings and unattractively Federalized SD1 series cars, and take whatever good the 1999-2005 Rover 75 brought to the table — maybe it's time for Rover to be reborn in the current Jaguar Land Rover family. According to Autocar, the first Road Rover would be developed in tandem with the next-generation Jaguar XJ, so they would share an aluminum architecture suitable for both internal combustion engines and battery electric technology, depending of the model. If anything, there is delicious irony to this: The 1980s XJ generation that Jaguar spent decades developing was claimed to be engineered in such a way that the occasional stablemate Rover's Buick-derived 3,5-liter V8 wouldn't have fit in its engine bay — to preserve the Jaguar bloodline. To have the new XJ and a Rover cross paths again would only be fitting. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party.

2018 Jaguar XF Sportbrake Quick Spin Review | Special XF no more

The 2018 Jaguar XF Sportbrake is a wagon, and as such, one must praise its existence. We need more of them. It looks sensational in all its long-roofed glory, especially in Firenze Red and the gloss black exterior trim package — yowza. Plus, its cargo area is deep, wide and generally voluminous. It would be nice if Jaguar included a roll-up net partition for dogs or to prevent high-mounted cargo from flying forward (as Audi does in the Allroad), but nevertheless, the XF Sportbrake should be more functional than many crossover SUVs. It should certainly be more enjoyable to drive, as the XF delivers with Jag's usual steering excellence and body control. While other midsize luxury sedans have drifted away from the sporting realm (cough, BMW 5 Series), the XF maintains its engagement with the driver. As we discovered when driven back-to-back with the Volvo V90, it's one of the sportiest of sport wagons. It's definitely the sportiest of Sportbrakes. However, it's the "XF" bit that disappoints. The original XF was really something when it debuted, featuring seductively sleek styling in a segment of serious German sedans. The distinctive cabin put on a show with rotating air vents and a rotary shifter that rose into your hand upon pressing the start button. The fact that the XF was different inside and outside from its fellow Jaguars also differed from the Russian nesting doll design approach of its competitors. The original wasn't without flaws, but it was special. This 2018 XF just isn't. The cabin is the biggest problem, as it looks identical to those of the cheaper XE and F-Pace SUV, and is pretty unremarkable and, well, dull to behold. Even the "show" elements that have survived seem vestigial now, as only the outer air vents rotate and the shifter no longer rises into your hand since the starter has migrated elsewhere. More concerning, though, is that the materials are just not up to the segment standards, and certainly not in keeping with a test car that has a sticker of $84,815. For instance, the old XF could be fitted with soft leather covering the doors and the broad, downward sloping dash. The new one has coarsely grained pleather. Then there's the matter of functionality. The rotary shifter in the original XF was certainly part of the "show" but it also freed up significant space on the center console for three cupholders/bins. The new one resides in an expanse of wood trim the size of a shift boot, leaving no room for that third cupholder/bin.