With just over 500 hp on tap in the latest Nurburgring taxi, the Jaguar XJ Supersport feeds thrill-seekers adrenaline through a 5.0-liter supercharged V8 engine.
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Iconic racing cars never retire. Having not seen competitive action for a decade, a special 1952 Jaguar C-type returns to racing for the 2012 Royal Automobile Club Woodcote trophy, and the racing Reverend Simon Butler will be behind the wheel. Continue Reading…
Following the industry trend toward smaller, more efficient engines, Jaguar just announced its plan to offer two new engines, one of which will make its way into the new F-Type roadster.
A 3.0-liter supercharged V6 will sit under the F-Type’s hood to produce 380 hp. Using the same aluminum architecture currently found in the brand’s V8 engines, the company said the new V6 will perform comparably to its naturally aspirated V8 brother. Spray-guided direct injection will also help to keep power delivery smooth.
Run-of-the-mill Jaguar XJ not good enough for you? Not even the $111,000 Supersport version? Better dig deep into your pockets for the XJ Ultimate Edition.
Last year Range Rover introduced its Autobiography Ultimate Edition which became the most expensive Land Rover made. Even though official pricing hasn’t been announced, we expect the XJ Ultimate Edition to follow a similar path, possibly boasting a price tag upwards of $175,000.
Despite the Land Rover boasting such an exorbitant price tag, it quickly sold out and clearly the success has allowed the British automaker to do the same with its XJ model. Among the car’s luxury features, there are two separate, fully-reclining seats in the rear along with aluminum folding tables and space to serve your favorite champagne.
Embedded behind the seats are built-in Apple iPads, similar to what was in the Range Rover Ultimate, to provide entertainment. If Apple’s tablet isn’t good enough, passengers can also watch entertainment on the TVs in the headrests. Since the XJ Ultimate Edition is clearly intended for transporting passengers, the suspension has been modified to give a more comfortable, softer ride. Engine choices will, however, be the same as the standard XJ model.
GALLERY: Jaguar XJ Ultimate Edition
Booze flows, cigarettes are smoked and secretaries snogged on a regular basis during an episode of AMC’s popular show Mad Men, but it came as surprise to Jaguar when the automaker found itself the center of attention in last Monday’s installment.
Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce, the fictional ad agency which the plot is built around, tries to win Jaguar as a client.
British luxury and sports car maker Jaguar is often associated with older clientele. To help break it out of that stereotype, and to attract a younger, hipper audience; Jaguar enlisted the help of a grafitti artist.
Mr. Kaves, who is known for his free-hand style spray paint designs was given a brand new XKR as his blank canvas. The end result is a Jaguar unlike anything you’ve seen before.
On hand at the unveiling was the man who designed the XKR, Ian Callum, who praised Mr. Kaves for his art work. This might just be a publicity stunt, but it will surely attract an audience that normally would not spend time admiring a Jaguar.
While this might be the latest art car, it is not the first. BMW has had art cars since the 1970′s; and a few years ago, Infiniti presented their G37 coupe art car, which was later sold at an auction for $55,000 (proceeds from which went to ONE DROP, a charity founded by Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberte).
To get a glimpse of how the Jaguar art car was created, check out the video below.
At the 2012 New York Auto Show, Jaguar showed off a F-Type Roadster test mule, and rough details on when to expect the production model’s debut. Now, clearer photos of the test mule than our cameras could capture from the screen during the press release are available.
Based on the British automaker’s C-X16 concept, the all-new Jaguar F-Type sports car development has been accelerated based on all the positive feedback from the concept model. The F-Type will originally launch as a convertible, two-seater focused on rewarding its driver. Jaguar plans on offering a range of standard gasoline engines to power the F-Type, including a new powerplant family.
“That car will be called the F-Type, and it will be unveiled in production form later this year. The core appeal of Jaguar’s cars is their sporting heart, and that heart will beat stronger than ever before in the F-Type. Its development is a vivid representation of the confidence and ambition of the Jaguar brand, and the desire amongst our engineers and design team to produce a world-leader in a market segment that we have been absent from for too long. But no longer — the F-Type is coming,” said Adrian Hallmark, Global Brand Director of Jaguar Cars.
The F-Type is already on its final on-road testing phase and engineering prototypes are coming out of Jaguar’s Castle Brownwich plant which is where the production models will be produced. Full technical details and model ranges will be announced later this year. The F-Type will be on sale in mid-2013.
Hallmark also confirmed during the conference that the production model will be nearly identical to the concept we saw during last year’s Frankfurt Auto Show, a gallery of which you can click through below.
GALLERY: Jaguar F-Type Official Photos
GALLERY: Jaguar C-X16 Concept
Absence from the New York Auto Show today didn’t stop the new Jaguar F-Type from stealing the show.
Instead of a traditional teaser, Jaguar poked fun at the spy photographers publications rely on by offering them a break from hanging out in trees. Instead, those attending the press conference saw a short video featuring plenty of footage with a “properly camouflaged” test mule flying around a track.
While mechanical details weren’t released on the F-Type, Jaguar global brand director Adrian Hallmark said during the conference that the F-Type would remain almost entirely true to the C-X16 unveiled last September.
With the advent of hybrids and electric vehicles, many skeptics thought the age of high-performance sports car would die out. Reality couldn’t be any more different, as America has more than 70 cars on sale today that make 500-hp or more.
The number of vehicles pushing out 500-hp or more has nearly doubled in the last five years. What is more remarkable is more than a decade ago, there were just two vehicles in the club: the Ferrari 575M and the Lamborghini Murcielago. Now Ferrari alone has four models pushing out over 500-hp.
The ability to pump out so much horsepower has been aided by the leaps and bounds that engineering and technology has made over the last decade. Automakers are now able to equip their vehicles with smaller, more fuel efficient engines, which thanks to forced induction, can reliably crank out plenty of peak horsepower.
[Source: Autoweek]
The popular Xbox racing simulator Forza Motorsport 4 has had monthly add-ons ever since it came out in October 2011. For April though they’ve released another car-pack featuring 10 very different and very interesting cars to play with.
The Aplinestars Pack features a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3, fully decked out in racing livery. Gamers should be happy to note that 9 other interesting vehicles are included in the pack. For 560 Microsoft Points (about $7) you’ll get access to the 2011 Mercedes-Benz #35 Black Falcon SLS AMG GT3, 2011 Aston Martin #009 Aston Martin Racing AMR One, 2012 Jaguar XKR-S, 1995 BMW M5, 2011 Maserati Quattroporte Sport GT S, 1985 Mazda RX-7 GSL-SE, 1972 Mercedes-Benz 300 SEL 6.3, 1959 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz Convertible, 2012 Scion tC and 1997 Volvo 850 R.
Turn10 studio, the company behind Forza Motorsport 4 has provided a cool trailer for the upcoming add-on, which will be available April 3. Check it out below.
Luxury auto makers are all flocking to the Chinese market, and Jaguar Land Rover have been lagging behind. Today, they have signed a deal with Chinese automaker Chery to manufacture and sell vehicles in China.
The deal comes after news that Jaguar, and owner Tata motors have been seeking out a deal in the past few weeks.
China is considered one of the largest car markets, and this deal is expected to help boost Jaguar Land Rover sales. The agreement, worth $2.78 Million, is now undergoing a complex approval process.
“This is an important step for JLR and Tata Motors moving forward,” said Vineet Hetamasaria, auto analyst at PINC Research in Mumbai. “Though this is only an agreement, and it will be some time before we see the results.”
The first vehicles expected to be put into production are Land Rovers, and Jaguar vehicles will follow.
We’re wondering if Jaguar is a little too late to the party, since a recent report has indicated that car sales in China have cooled off, dropping 24% in January. Jaguar is clearly thinking that it still has a chance to cash in on the Chinese Market, but the results remain to be seen.
[Source: Automotive News]
Recently at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show, Jaguar debuted its XF Sportbrake model, a station wagon variant of the Jaguar XF. The CEO also spoke about Jaguar’s future at the show confirming that a new, baby Jaguar was on its way.
Now Jaguar’s design chief, Ian Callum, is speaking up about the company’s future confirming that the British automaker will not enter the SUV market, but that a crossover is still possible. The decision isn’t particularly surprising given that Land Rover is Jaguar’s sister company, but Callum did say that “maybe there are some grey areas in between [they] could investigate.”
Of course Callum wouldn’t comment on whether or not Jaguar has already started working on a Jaguar crossover concept, but our guess would be yes if he didn’t dismiss it entirely. With emerging markets like Asia embracing crossover models, it would be a nice fit for Jaguar to enter into that market, though it will be interesting to see how it plans on differentiating from the Range Rover Evoque.
As expected, Callum said that no decision has been made, but Jaguar is actively looking at new vehicle segments – one possibility being a BMW 3-Series competitor.
[Source: Car Advice]
British luxury car brand Jaguar stunned the world with its beautiful C-X75 concept back in 2010. Not only was its sleek design alluring, but also its jet-turbine technology.
The concept car used a pair of micro-turbines which would power the electric drive-train. So instead of using a conventional gas engine to power the electric motors, like in the Fisker Karma, Jaguar showed that using these lighter micro-turbines would be a more powerful and more efficient alternative.
But a concept is one thing, and the reality can be quite different. When Jaguar gave the C-X75 the green-light for production, they found that micro-turbine technology is still very much in its infancy, and that long-term reliability is not known for such a system. Plus, these turbines do generate more heat, so would require longer air-intakes to channel air to these motors.
So Jaguar has decided that the production, road-going C-X75, which will look pretty much identical to the concept car, will be offered with a Cosworth and Williams F1 developed 1.6-liter, turbo-charged, four cylinder engine, which will be able to produce roughly 500-hp. This engine will work with a pair of electric motors that not only assist in achieving better fuel-economy, but also add to the performance of this car.
All this is well and good, but what is to become of the original micro-turbine idea? Not to worry, that idea is not dead. Jaguar and its parent company Tata have invested and opened a new factory in Coventry, U.K. called the Bladon Jets Engineering Center. This facility, which employs 15-people, is dedicated towards the development of these micro-turbines. As for their first application, Jaguar global brand director Adrian Hallmark has said that this power plant will be featured on a track-only version of the C-X75.
Testing the system for track use will eventually pave the way forward for using the system on a road car. This means, cars with jet engines (just like what the Jetsons had) are going to be on our roads in the not too distant future.
GALLERY: Jaguar C-X75
GALLERY: Jaguar C-X75 2010 Paris Auto Show
[Source: Inside Line]
In celebration of the most extensive new product cycle in history, Jaguar announced today that it will run both C- and D-Types in a series of races returning the cars to competitive action.
The season-long series will see both cars racing on such tracks as Goodwood and the Nürburgring. Alongside the races, Jaguar said it also plans to support other historic automotive events like the Mille Miglia, the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, and each round of the E-type challenge in the U.K.
2012 marks the 60-year anniversary of the company being the first to race the first disc brake-equipped C-Type. Driven by Norman Dewis and Sir Stirling Moss, the car would go on that year to record the first win with disc brakes, paving the way for that technology to be implemented to the degree it is today.
“The Nürburgring Nordschleife presents a unique automotive challenge that Jaguar’s development team continually subject our current and future models to in order to perfect their attributes of quality, durability and dynamic precision. To also see historic works Jaguars in competitive action at the Nürburgring this year will be fascinating,” Jaguar Land Rover global head of communications, Frank Klaas said.
When it comes to reusing and recycling, this vintage Jaguar repurposed as a bookshelf isn’t just a cool eco-idea, it’s also a great way to get people interested in reading.
Brought to us by Dutch design studio Denieuwegeneratie, the Jag bookcase is featured in “Dutch Mountain,” which is an eco-friendly house built halfway into a hill. Before this bookcase could be installed, a few modifications had to be made. The engine was removed, the large rectangular window in the roof was cut out and the Jag was placed upright. The result is one-of-a-kind storage and shelving space – plus, you can even store stuff in the trunk!
Would you put a car-turned-bookshelf in your home? Do you have any suggestions on how to turn old cars into interior works of art? Let us know in the comment section below.
[Source: Dvice]
Jaguar has just unveiled their XF Sportbrake wagon at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show, but Jaguar Land Rover CEO Ralph Speth is already speaking about the future of the British automaker.
According to the CEO, the rumors of a new, baby Jaguar will come to an end at the upcoming 2012 New York International Auto Show when a formal announcement will be made. In addition, Speth confirmed that the Jaguar C-X75 project is still on the plate. To debunk some rumors, Speth confirmed that the new coupe will not be called the “XE”, but wouldn’t reveal to Motor Trend what the name will be.
In the same interview, Speth elaborated that the C-X75 is still under development, but since it is a high-end, low-volume vehicle, it won’t be ready anytime soon. The C-X75 is expected to pack an all-new, high-tech drivetrain. The market will also see at least four more new products from Jaguar in the near future in addition to the new coupe and XF Sportbrake. The British automaker hinted at the Geneva Motor Show that they’ll be more variant models similar to the Sportbrake than actual all-new vehicles.
Lastly, Jaguar elaborated on its engine development hoping to build a new, dedicated factory just for small powerplants. Both Jaguar and Land Rover hope to bring engine production in-house rather than having to purchase engines from other automakers such as Ford. It appears that the British automakers are working on their own four- and six-cylinder engines in both gas and diesel versions. And of course, like all other automakers are right now, Jaguar will tap into hybrid powertrains, it’s just unsure how big of a role hybrids will play in Jaguar’s lineup.
GALLERY: Jaguar XF Sportbrake
[Source: Motor Trend]
After seeing spy photos and leaked photos of the new Jaguar XF Sportbrake over the last few months, the real deal has finally been unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show.
As expected, the station wagon variant of the Jaguar XF is as beautiful in the flesh as it is in photos. In fact, the XF Sportbrake looks surprisingly sporty with its aggressive front-end design while the traditional wagon rear is rather classy.
The stretched variant of the XF sedan is a mere 5-mm longer than the sedan, but also weighs 150 lbs less. But don’t let the overall length fool you, there’s almost two inches more of rear seat headroom thanks to all new sheetmetal from the B-pillar back.
Unfortunately this sporty and versatile XF wagon won’t be making its way to America, since it’s believed that Americans are very anti-wagon. The rear-wheel drive wagon will be available in Europe with Jaguar’s 2.2L four-cylinder, turbo-diesel powerplant and a pair of 3.0L twin-turbo, six-cylinder engine variants with either 237-hp or 271-hp. All engine choices will be mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission.
After seeing the XF Sportbrake on the show floor at Geneva, we’re saddened by the fact that it won’t make its way to America. But hopefully this could help persuade the market to be more acceptable toward wagon models in the future.
See the rest of our 2012 Geneva Motor Show coverage here.
GALLERY: Jaguar XF Sportbrake
GALLERY: Jaguar XF Sportbrake
Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is looking to increase its stake into the worlds largest automotive market by way of a $2.87 billion joint venture with Chery Automobile.
With BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi all having local manufacturing facilities within China, JLR is playing catch up and trying join the club. Last year, JLR sold 42,000 cars in China, a pittance when compared to Audi’s 313,000 sold. With the Chinese luxury automotive market still on the rise, the need for localized manufacturing is increasing and will no doubt help to boost JLR’s sales numbers.
The issue that now exists however, is the Chinese government has been less than accommodating lately when it comes to foreign investment in its automotive industry. Fuji Heavy Industries proposed a joint venture also with Chery Automobile to build Subaru’s in China last year, and has still yet to be informed by the government whether or not the venture will get the go ahead.
“It’s hard to second guess whether the JLR deal would get the green light. But one thing is obvious, it’s getting harder and harder for foreign automakers to get joint venture deal in China,” said John Zeng, the director for industry consultancy LMC Automotive Asia Pacific region.
A 1965 Jaguar XKE 4.2L Series I Roadster that Sir Elton John formerly owned just fetched around $130,000 (£82,140) at a recent Oxford, England auction. The British roadster was purchased by Elton John back in 1987 before he sold it at an auction in 2001 alongside other vehicles he owned.
Even though it’s obvious that the Jaguar got the amount it did because it was once owned by the famous artist, it’s also hard to not admire how immaculate and beautiful it is. It was last restored back in 1979, so it’s almost a miracle what great condition it is after all these decades. The classic 1965 E-Type Jaguar has a 4.2L with 265-hp mated to a four-speed manual transmission.
GALLERY: Elton John’s Jaguar E-Type
[Source: Jalopnik]
February treated the auto industry well this year, at least for the most part. The majority of automakers saw sales increases over the same month last year.
Chrysler was the big winner, reporting a 40 percent sales increase over February of last year. Even GM posted a tiny 1.1 percent gain over last year despite suffering from poor Cadillac and Buick sales. In fact, industry sales grew 16 percent overall compared to last year.
Cars made in North America grew the most, by 17 percent, while European manufactured vehicles saw the smallest increase — only 2 percent.
Last month’s sales numbers were nothing short of striking, but one of the most interesting developments came from the muscle car battle Chevrolet and Ford are waging against one another. The Mustang finally beat the Camaro in sales with 7,351 units to Chevrolet’s 6,923.
The next question is how long those numbers will last, given that the new 580-horsepower ZL1 Camaro is being released and is said to be the best bow tie-bearing pony car yet.
Among the other companies with impressive growth, Mercedes-Benz sub-brand Smart saw a 59 percent increase. British luxury brand Jaguar enjoyed a 48 percent boost, and while Volkswagen and MINI enjoyed 43 and 42 percent increases respectively. Even econo-box manufacturer Kia saw a 37 percent sales jump over last year.
More proof that a station wagon can in fact be beautiful, Jaguar has just released the first official photos and details on what it is calling the XF Sportbrake.
An elongated version of the XF sedan, its billed as the most versatile Jag ever. At just 5 mm longer than the four-door it, surprisingly, weighs over 150 lbs less. Based on the same platform as the sedan, it is also designed to retain that model’s driving dynamics.
With all new sheetmetal from the B-pillar back, there’s an additional 48mm (almost two inches) of rear seat headoom. Cargo room is a decent 19.4 cu-ft, and grows to 59 cu-ft with the rear seats folded flat. That, of course, can be achieved with easily accessible latches, while the rear tailgate can be ordered as a power option. Jaguar says the rear cargo area floor can be split into sections so valuables don’t roll around, while there’s also a storage compartment below the bed.
In addition to the cosmetic and functionality changes, the XF includes a self-leveling air suspension, designed so that it can be used to tow.
At launch just two diesel engines will be available, a 2.2-liter four cylinder and a 3.0-liter six-cylinder, each mated to an 8-speed automatic with rear-wheel drive. Those diesel engines are an indication that Jaguar has no immediate plans to offer the XF Sportbrake in North America, yet.
Set to go on sale in Europe in the third quarter of this year, look for more on the car when it makes its official debut next week at the Geneva Motor Show.
GALLERY: 2013 Jaguar XF Sportbrake
What appears to be a couple of scanned images of the upcoming 2013 Jaguar XF Sportbrake have found their way online. Set to debut at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show, the XF Sportbrake will be the British luxury carmaker’s answer to the Mercedes-Benz E-Class Wagon, the BMW 5-Series Wagon, and the Audi A6 Avant.
Even though the XF Sportbrake will probably never make it to America, Europeans will be able to enjoy a full engine lineup from Jaguar, including their ultra-efficient 2.2L diesel engine, all the way up to their 5.0L V8. Given how the images look, it’s safe to believe these were scanned out of a print catalog, and could have been leaked on purpose to garner more interest ahead the vehicles official debut.
This is also not the first time photos of the Jaguar XF Sportbrake have leaked online. Last year, photos were strategically released to show off the car’s front- to mid-section, and it appears that this time around Jaguar has no problems showing off its rear-end. Put the two leaks together and well, we’ve got ourselves a full car… give or take.
GALLERY: 2013 Jaguar XF Sportbrake Leaked Photos
[Source: Joke For Blog via WorldCarFans]
For decades, the recipe for a supercar had always been about stuffing a fire-breathing V12 engine in the middle. Some super cars receive the occasional quad-turbo W16, V10, and supercharged or turbocharged v8, but these all build upon pretty much the same idea. What many car enthusiasts have actually been wondering ever since they witnessed the Batmobile for the first time is whether jet engines could be fitted into cars in real life.
Finally, Jaguar answers the question with not one, but two jet engines. The Jaguar C-X75 concept was first unveiled in 2010 at the Paris Auto Show, boasting a twin-turbine power plant tucked within a sleek shell reminiscent of the Jaguar XJ220. However, when Jaguar announced the C-X75 would make it to production last year, the twin-turbine was replaced with a more conservative hybrid drivetrain mated to a turbocharged four-cylinder engine. Despite the fact that the power train will be co-developed with Williams F1, the C-X75 isn’t the same without rockets.
Now, Jaguar has revealed that while 250 examples of the C-X75 will be powered by the hybrid turbo-4, an extremely limited quantity of C-X75 supercars will receive the micro-turbines as envisioned from the original concept. These jet engines are produced by the Bladon Jets Engineering Centre in Coventry, which is based very close to Jaguar’s headquarters and is even partially owned by parent company Tata.
Driving the rear wheels, the turbines are expected to produce an extra 95-hp each. Requiring no cooling or lubricant systems like a traditional internal combustion engine, the micro-turbines are also light and easy to package.
While exact numbers are unknown, the C-X75 is expected to meet all supercar requirements, including acceleration to 60 mph in 3 seconds and a top speed exceeding 200 mph.
GALLERY: Jaguar C-X75
[Source: Auto Express]