Jaguar announced today that it has issued a recall on its 2012 XF.

The recall is expected to affect only 51 units that were built from September 7th, 2011 through November 24th, 2011. The issue is an improper GVWR (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating) sticker that was placed on these vehicles. Customers may unknowingly exceed the GVWR because of this sticker which can lead to loss of vehicle stability, increasing the risk of a collision.

The recall is set to begin on January 23rd, 2012. For more information you can contact Jaguar at 1-800-452-4827 or visit the NHTSA website.

With Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi offering wagon versions of their E-Class, 5-Series and A6 mid-luxury sedans, Jaguar is prepping a wagon version of its XF sedan, and like modern Jaguar‘s, it will take a slightly different approach to the traditional luxury formula.

In the UK, a “Shooting Brake” denotes a sports car converted into a wagon-like vehicle. Some were converted solely to meet the whims of wealthy owners, while others were used to hold hunting gear and other sporting equipment, giving the owner the best of both worlds. The XF Sportbrake will likely take after this tradition, placing an emphasis on style rather than practicality (in the same way that the 5-Series and A6 do, rather than the E-Class with its focus on cargo capacity).

A full engine lineup, ranging from the XF’s ultra-efficient 2.2L diesel engine, up to the 5.0L V8, should be available.  The XF will also get Jaguar’s upcoming AWD system, but what you won’t see is a Sportbrake sold in America.

Gallery: Jaguar XF Sportbrake

Say the word Jaguar, and probably the first thing to come to mind won’t be fuel efficiency.

Jaguar recently took a road trip from New York to Los Angeles in a British spec XF 2.2 Diesel, and covered the 2884-miles journey at an average of 62.9-mpg. This makes it the most efficient Jaguar ever made.

The car Jaguar used was a showroom stock model and was not modified in any way. The trip took 8 days to complete, while the car made just 4 fuel stops.

The XF diesel achieved its best result on the penultimate day of the trek, achieving 67-mpg. That is incredible for a five-seater luxury sedan of any size, even if the trek was done at an average speed of just 53-mph. Jaguar credits its new 8-speed automatic gearbox and revised aerodynamics, which is available on all the 2012 XF models.

Despite these uncertain economic times, some luxury car makers have made healthy sales gains in recent months, particularly Land Rover. Along with sister company Jaguar, which had been languishing behind somewhat, the JLR group collectively boasted a 26 percent gain in global sales last month.

Much of the increase came from Jaguar, which saw demand rise by a whopping 157 percent in China, Land Rover, by comparison, reported gains of 85 percent in the same market.

In Europe, demand for both brands was up by some 37 percent, largely fueled by strong demand for new Range Rover Evoque and Jaguar XF diesel.

In North America, where Jaguar Land Rover has been struggling recently, September represented a refreshing turn of events, with demand up by some 10 percent, largely aided by the XF, which is proving quite popular with buyers here.

Phil Popham, Group Sales Director for Jaguar Land Rover went on the record stating that [2011] “has been our strongest September since 2007 when the industry was hit hard by the recession. Since that time we have introduced a host of new models and engines that has driven sales growth and attracted new consumers to our brands.”

It’s nice to know there’s at least some bright spots in an era seemingly dominated by much doom and gloom.

The last Jaguar to offer all-wheel drive was the X-Type, a compact sedan that was ignored by the U.S. marketplace. But that isn’t detering Jaguar from planning to offer AWD on their XF and XJ sedans.

With a significant portion of Jaguar customers based on the East Coast, Jaguar needs to offer AWD for customers in the snowbelt, despite it being “cost prohibitive” according to Jaguar boss Adrian Hallmark. Hallmark said that AWD is a major selling point for brands like Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi, and if the brand wants to keep up its momentum among luxury buyers, it needs to offer AWD.

[Source: Car and Driver]

Jaguar plans to move the XF, it’s current bread and butter model, up in size for the car’s next redesign, scheduled for 2015. In addition, the company will augment its product offerings, with a new smaller car at around the same time.

The main motivation for up-sizing the next generation XF, comes from the car’s German competition, particularly the Mercedes E-Class and BMW 5-series, which Jag boss Adrian Hallmark notes “given that [these models] have moved up in size, so will the next XF.”

Originally, Jaguar had planned to offer a new, baby offering ahead of the XF redesign, but there were some that felt it could potentially steal sales away from the current XF, the car which ‘saved,’ Jaguar, since the two models would likely be harder to differentiate.

Hallmark is strongly enthusiastic about the idea of a new smaller Jaguar, but along with engineering chief Bob Joyce, believes that the car has to be designed and engineered exactly right for its target audience, avoiding the same mistakes the company got into when it launched the Ford Mondeo based X-Type.

“We’ve got to be careful and not be too British and think that just because we didn’t hit the bullseye first time, we can’t hit it a second time,” Hallmark said.

[Source: Autocar]

It’s not that often you here about new automotive job creation in the United Kingdom these days, but Jaguar is planning to do just that, by building a factory to produce a brand-new V6 engine for its XF and possibly XJ models.

Although in North America, Jaguars are currently only available with a 5.0-liter V8; in Europe, a pair of turbo diesel engines (a 2.2-liter four and 3.0-liter V6) are offered, along with the hoary old 240 horsepower 3.0-liter Ford V6.

Needless to say, given recent fuel price spikes, Jaguar needs an entry-level V6 model for U.S. buyers and this new motor will no doubt fit the bill very well. No specifics are available yet, but it is likely that this engine will be paired with the new eight-speed automatic transmission and crank out somewhere in the region of 300 hp, which will give it equal footing to current V6 offerings from the likes of the German competition, namely Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz.

Whether diesel Jaguars will make it to our shores, remains to be seen, but given the brand’s current status, along with its product mix here, that’s probably unlikely, at least in the short term.

[Source: Car & Driver]

One of the worst kept secrets at the New York Auto Show belong to Jaguar, which unveiled their revised XF and XK luxury cars, including a 550 horsepower XK-RS.

The XK-RS is billed as the fastest Jaguar ever, with a 550 horsepower version of the 5.0L supercharged V8. Jaguar hinted that their power rating was a bit below what the car’s actually capable of, and we’ll welcome the chance to verify this claim, as well as the car’s 186 mph top speed.

The XF sedan gets minor styling tweaks both inside and out, while the XFR gets a more aggressive bodywork treatment to help differentiate it from the more sedate members of the XF family. A new Jaguar leaping cat badge will also be found on the decklid, giving teenage vandals a new target for their hijinks.

Gallery: 2012 Jaguar XK-RS and XF

Jaguar has slowly been releasing details of their new products expected to debut in the next few years, and each leak makes us more excited for what’s in store.

The new SUV is expected to help bulk up the brand’s total sales and take on cars like the Range Rover Sport, BMW X5 and Porsche Cayenne. Unlike some of the more rugged offerings in the segment, the Jaguar will use the brand’s aluminum spaceframe construction, and be oriented towards on-road performance. The main challenge will be keeping it from cannibalizing sales from Land Rover, and the two will undoubtedly share hardware to keep costs down.

Jaguar is also planning a new sports car positioned below their XK grand tourer, said to evoke the iconic E-Type of the 1960′s, while also avoiding competition with the Porsche Boxster, BMW Z4 and Mercedes-Benz SLK. The new sports car will be out around the same time as Jaguar’s new small sedan and the all-wheel drive XJ sedan .

[Source: Inside Line]

After confirming that there would be an all-wheel drive version of the Jaguar XJ, CEO Adrian Hallmark also confirmed future product plans, including a smaller sedan and a hotter version of the XFR.

Jaguar hasn’t elaborated on their plans for a new small car, but such a vehicle will be crucial for them to expand and take on other European luxury marques, as well as provide an entry point for younger, less affluent customers.

Jaguar is also planning on an XFR-S, similar to the XKR-S supercar, while a 4-cylinder diesel XF and a 6-cylinder XJ are being developed to cater to the other end of the market. The two economical engine choices will open up new markets for the XF in Europe and the XJ in China (where the 6-cylinder configuration will help the car skirt hefty import taxes).

[Source: Pistonheads]