Jaguar has announced its 2013 schedule for its Performance Driving Academy, which will make five stops throughout the U.S. this year.
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The voting is in and the 2012 Women’s World Car of the Year is the Range Rover Evoque. The Evoque took home top honors after women motoring writers from 12 different countries chimed in with their votes.
Back in 2009, Jaguar North America launched its first Performance R Driving Academy as a complimentary course designed to help owners of XFR and XKR models to explore the limits of their cars in a controlled environment.
The 2012 Women’s World Car of the Year short list has just been announced, and women motoring writers from around the world will begin voting for their top picks.
Cutting a list of contenders from 300 down to 32, judges will now allocate points to the nominated cars that fall into four categories: Family Car, Luxury Car, Sports Car and Economy Car. Just one of the 10 criteria that cars are allotting points for is Child Friendliness, which is something vehicles aren’t usually judged on in a competition.
Winners of the 2012 Women’s World Car of the Year will be announced before the end of March, and awards will be presented at the Paris Motor Show in September. You can check out the complete short list after below.
Jaguar has announced that its XK and XKR Special Edition models are now available for order in either coupe or convertible form – or both, if that’s how you roll.
The Special Edition models gives the XK and XKR a new “Artisan” interior which features sumptuous scraffito grain leather on the seats, instrument binnacle, door and rear quarter casings, and Poltrana Frau leather headlinings. Along with the interior changes, customers will be able to choose between trim colors from Shadow Walnut and Dark Figured Aluminium. In addition, 16×16-way heated performance front seats find their way in the cabin along with a 525-watt Bowers & Wilkins sound system, unique treadplates, and stainless steel pedals.
There are discreet exterior changes along with two new 20-inch wheel designs that customers can choose from. The XK gets an exclusive color of Celestial Black.
The Special Edition will also get a slight performance change from Jaguar’s dynamic pack that changes top speed from 155-mph to 174-mph. The Dynamic Pack also comes with side skirt extensions, a new rear diffuser, revised adaptive dynamics, spring and rear damper rates, and a new front steering knuckle for optimized precision.
No pricing was announced.
GALLERY: 2012 Jaguar XK and XKR Special Edition
The ultra-limited production Jaguar XKR-S will get a droptop companion sometime in 2012, with Jaguar unveiling the 2013 Jaguar XKR-S Convertible at the 2011 Los Angeles Auto Show on November 16th.
With a 5.0L supercharged V8 making 542 horsepower and 502 lb-ft , making it the most powerful Jaguar ever produced. The coupe can hit 60 mph in 4.2 seconds while reaching speeds of 186 mph. Expect the droptop to be just a tick slower due to the added weight. Jaguar will also show the C-X16 concept in North America for the first time, giving domestic show goers a glimpse of the amazing turbine powered concept.
[Source: Motor Authority]
Next year, the UK’s National Motor Museum will stage the largest exhibition of James Bond cars ever displayed. The exhibition will run at the museum through 2012 and will include some of the most famous vehicles from the movies, to celebrate fifty years of the film franchise. Some of the heavy hitters will include the 2002 Jaguar XKR with SFX weapons from Die Another Day, the 1964 Aston Martin DB5 from Goldeneye and the 1937 Rolls Royce Phantom III from Goldfinger. In total, fifty James Bond vehicles will be present at the museum.
2012 also marks the 40th anniversary of the National Motor Museum, so it works out well that in this special year, both the franchise and the museum can celebrate monumental anniversaries.
GALLERY: James Bond Cars
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
If you’re buying a Jaguar XKR, you are probably the kind of customer who expects to be swaddled in leather, but an Italian special edition tore the leather out and replaced with with plaid Alcantara.
The example pictured above is finished in a pattern known as “Prince of Wales check” and is a bit more subdued than the hipster style Buffalo plaid we were expecting. The car in question is actually a super-rare XKR 75, which already came with an exclusive leather interior. Guess this new material makes the car even more rare – but maybe not any more tasteful.
[Source: Autoblog]
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]
It’s arguably the most famous car in the world, but the 1964 Aston Martin DB5 driven by Sean Connery as James Bond in the film Goldfinger, is to be joined at RM’s Automobiles of London auction on October 27th by other Bond artifacts – namely a Hiller UH-12 Helicopter piloted by Pussy Galore (Honor Blackman), in the same film, plus a more recent Bond vehicle, a 1998 Jaguar XKR used in the Iceland chase sequence in 2002′s Die Another Day.
This was one of three such cars prepared for filming that featured all-wheel drive and an onboard weapons system and until recently was the property of the Jaguar Heritage Trust.
On a final note, although not directly Bond related, a 1969 Lamborghini Islero, driven by Sir Roger Moore in the film The Man who Haunted Himself, will also be up for auction at RM’s Automobiles of London. For more information on this prestigious event, click on the link below.
[Source: RM Auctions]
We’re hoping that Arden’s finished product is a tad better than their Photoshop rendering, but we’re certainly not going to argue with the performance side of the German tuning house’s Jaguar XKR 75 tuning package. Total output from the supercharged 5.0-liter V8 is raised from 530-hp to 580-hp with 530 ft-lbs of torque on tap.
The horsepower upgrades come from a retuned ECU, an exhaust system with high-flow cats and a matching silencer to preserve the V8 growl. The performance kit also raises top speed from 174 mph to 190 mph.
Exterior modifications are kept to a subtle minimum, but just enough to separate the XKR75 from any rolling off the factory lot. Suspension lowers the vehicle and Arden outfits it with a set of 21×10-inch wheels. The stainless steel front grilles are handmade and an Arden Jaguar hood ornament completes the job.
No pricing has been released, but we’ll go ahead and guess it’s not quite cheap.
There’s also no official word from Arden if they’ll offer this same kit for the U.S.-spec XKR175.
Official press release available after the break.
Jaguar is celebrating its 75th birthday this year, and is set to launch a special edition XKR at this years Goodwood Festival of Speed to honor this milestone.
North Americans, as usual, will get the shaft with a detuned version of the European special edition which gets a ride height drop of nearly half an inch all around, and an additional 20 horsepower and 22 lb-ft of torque, bumping output to 530 horsepower and 483 lb-ft respectively.
North American buyers are offered the XKR175, which remains untouched in the power department but has its top speed governor lifted to 174 mph. Outside, a new body kit with a front splitter, rear diffuser, side skirts, red painted brake calipers and a rear spoiler complete the look, while red stitching, piano black trim and numbered door sill plates adorn the interior. 175 cars will be built for the United States and 15 for Canada, with prices starting at $104,500.