Arias Pistons 12.5:1 Compression 82mm Bore Honda B-series on 2040-parts.com

Jaguar to offer 4WD across its range – but does that mean for the UK too?

Jaguar has revealed it plans to offer all wheel drive models across its range for future models, but will the UK get the chance to buy a 4WD Jaguar? Not only was the lack of a four wheel drive platform hampering sales, but it was cited as one of the main reasons Jaguar hadn’t given the green light to an XF Estate. But things have moved on in the last couple of years and Jaguar has recently launched a 4WD XJ and 4WD XF (although not for the UK) and finally delivered the XF Sportbrake (but without a 4WD option).

Video: Jaguar's Julian Thomson on the importance of design values

Jaguar's Head of Advanced Design, Julian Thomson, appeared at this month's PSFK Conference in London giving a talk on design values. Thomson's talk, ‘Concepting Dreams, Making Reality Happen', dealt with questions of creating a design story as well as how Jaguar uses the value of its heritage while keeping things original and new. Thomson – the man behind the 2010 C-X75 and the recently revealed F-Type – said, "You can't get a good design story if you don't look at your heritage, where you came from, where your values came from." He went on to discuss the ‘sad years of Jaguar', from around 1968 to 2004 where Jaguar was too timid to develop and "essentially made the same-looking car." He put this down to a reluctance on Jaguar's part to move too far away from its successful models and, quite interestingly, because "not only did we start doing market research, we started asking Americans what they wanted." Watch the full video on the left.

Video: GM's Frank Saucedo, Niki Smart and Gael Buzyn on the Elmiraj concept

GM director advanced design Frank Saucedo features in a new video explaining the design process behind the new Elmiraj concept. Saucedo, who oversaw the concept's development at GM's advanced design studio in North Hollywood, California, talks about how the Elmiraj – the second in a series of three concept cars that began with last's year Ciel – is a study of how they can progress and evolve the carmaker's ‘Art and Science' design philosophy. GM's interior design manager Gael Buzyn and exterior design manager Niki Smart also feature, with Smart explaining how the Elmiraj concept is focused on the notion of ‘the drive' and has been designed to reflect dynamism while the Ciel was about ‘the journey', represented by a luxurious interior.