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Showing posts with the label one off

TATA-JAG, TATA-LR

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Ford has finally sold its Jaguar and Land Rover subsidiaries to Indian manufacturing giant Tata Motors. The Blue Oval announced the widely anticipated sale to the US stock markets and employees this morning, confirming it was paid $2.3 billion (£1.2bn) for the two premium British marques. It has sold them wholesale, rather than keeping a stake as it did with Aston Martin - ending a decade of American ownership. Ford bought Land Rover from the BMW-Rover break-up in 2000, 11 years after it acquired Jaguar. But over the years it has struggled to make money and its vaunted Premier Automotive Group is now rapidly being disbanded. The agreement announced today isn't the end of the wait, however. The deal should be completed by June, subject to regulatory approval which is expected to be granted. And Ford hasn't cut all ties with J-LR. It will continue to supply powertrains, body stampings and other components, and the Blue Oval has pledged to continue offering R&D, finance and ev

Maserati 'Cinqueporte' estate

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Meet the most practical Maserati ever – it’s an estate version of the Quattroporte. But it is a case of now you see and now you don’t , as the car is a one-off project that’s been commissioned by a Middle Eastern businessman whose identity is a secret. Italian coachbuilder StudioM was handed the task of constructing the Maserati wagon, which is dubbed the ‘Cinqueporte’ on account of its rear hatch. The project is still at the quarter-scale model stage, but the design is nearly finalised – and it’s clear extensive work will be needed to turn the saloon into an estate. Lengthening the roofline, repositioning the fuel tank and redesigning the rear seats so they can fold flat are just some of the alterations required. There is no word on the cost, but a previous customer paid StudioM €360,000 just to get a specially made interior for their Quattroporte – so it’s not likely to be cheap!