35 Miles-2014 Range Rover, Lwb, Autobiography S/c, $145k+ Msrp! All Options! on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Queen Elizabeth II was a longtime automotive enthusiast

Since driver's licenses, license plates, and passports were issued in her own name, Queen Elizabeth II didn't need them to drive and travel. She started combining the two just before she turned 19, joining the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) transport division in 1945 for vehicle mechanic training. She wanted to help the British effort during World War II and would drive an ambulance — one that, theoretically, she could also fix if it broke down. The war ended before she graduated as an Honorary Junior Commander, the other ATS members dubbing her Princess Auto Mechanic. We donÂ’t know if she got under the hoods of the many official state vehicles and the far more numerous unofficial fleet in the royal garages, but she was still driving herself around England as late as this year. Here is a tiny selection of royal conveyances used during her 70-year reign. Gold State Coach (1762) True, she never drove this one, but a tour of every royal garage should start with the coach. King George III commissioned Samuel Butler to build it in 1760. Butler spent two years on the gilded carriage 24 feet long and more than 12 feet high. The quarters are suspended from the frame by leather straps, so occupants get tossed about even during a slow stroll, which is as fast as the eight Windsor Gray horses can pull it. It wasnÂ’t until the 1900s that King George VI rubberized the wooden wheels. Word is the queen didnÂ’t like it.   1953 Land Rover Series 1 Land Rover gave Queen ElizabethÂ’s father, King George VI, the 100th example of the 80 Series off the line in 1948. She picked up the Landie habit for herself five years later, when a 1953 Series 1 with a custom 86-inch wheelbase was part of the fleet used for her six-month tour of the Commonwealth in 1953 and 1954. That Land Rover became Ceremonial Vehicle State IV. The models above were built in Australia in 1958 as near copies of the Commonwealth tour vehicle, when Australia decided it wanted six identical versions for royal service. ItÂ’s thought the royal family went through around 30 Land Rover Series cars and Defenders since then, and many of the most common photos of her have her posing in or near one, especially the 2002 Defender built just for her. The royal family isnÂ’t finished with them, either: A current Defender 110 served as a luggage hauler for family members headed to Balmoral Castle during the queenÂ’s final days.

BMW and Jaguar Land Rover to jointly develop electric car tech

FRANKFURT – BMW and Jaguar Land Rover on Wednesday said they will jointly develop electric motors, transmissions and power electronics, unveiling yet another industry alliance designed to lower the costs of developing electric cars. Both carmakers are under pressure to roll out zero-emission vehicles to meet stringent anti-pollution rules, but have struggled to maintain profit margins faced with the rising costs of making electric, connected and autonomous cars. "Together, we have the opportunity to cater more effectively for customer needs by shortening development time and bringing vehicles and state-of-the-art technologies more rapidly to market," said BMW board member Klaus Froehlich. BMW and Jaguar Land Rover said they will save costs through shared development, production planning and joint purchasing of electric car components. Both companies will produce electric drivetrains in their own manufacturing facilities, BMW said. The BMW Jaguar Land Rover pact comes as rivals FiatChrysler and Renault explore a $35 billion tie-up of the Italian-American and French carmaking groups. Nick Rogers, Jaguar Land Rover's engineering director said, "We've proven we can build world beating electric cars but now we need to scale the technology to support the next generation of Jaguar and Land Rover products." BMW was in talks with rival Daimler about developing electric car components but was also in discussions with Jaguar Land Rover, a company it once owned, to explore an alliance on engines. BMW already has a deal to supply an 8 cylinder engine to Jaguar Land Rover. Carmakers are increasingly open to sharing electric car parts because the technology is expensive and because customers no longer buy a car based on what engine a vehicle has. "Carmakers are much less precious about sharing electric car technology because it is much harder to create product differentiation with electric car tech. They all accelerate fast, and everybody can do quality and ride and handling," according to Carl-Peter Forster a former chief executive of Tata Motors and a former BMW executive. Jaguar Land Rover is still run by former BMW managers, including Ralf Speth the company's chief executive who spent 20 years at BMW prior to joining JLR, and Wolfgang Ziebart, the engineer who oversaw Jaguar's I-Pace electric car program, who is a former head of research and development at BMW.

2016 Jaguar F-Type R at Monticello | AutoblogVR

This week we indulged in a bit of fun. We took one of our favorite sports cars, the 2016 Jaguar F-Type to Monticello Motor Club north of New York. Senior Editor Greg Migliore selected the 550-horsepower R variant and pushed this Jag to the limit at one of North America's prettiest tracks. He reveled in the supercharged V8's power and sound as he embraced Monticello's curves and long straightaways. Meanwhile, Consumer Editor Jeremy Korzeniewski had a similar experience. Kind of. He lapped Monticello in the 2016 Land Rover Range Rover Sport SVR and then went off-roading at a challenging course nearby. It's the best of both worlds. He gets to soak in the blown V8 – but also gets to splatter a little mud. Each week, new episodes will launch on the AutoblogVR App. We'll preview them here on Autoblog, but for the full immersive experience, head over to the app, which you can download for free from the App store and Google Play. Be sure to try it with a cardboard viewer, too! Jaguar Land Rover Driving Off-Road Vehicles Videos VR Original Video virtual reality 360video