#JaguarXkr

The current Jaguar XKR will go out with a bang for the 2015 model year.

This week, AutoGuide readers were glued to our 2014 Jaguar XK-R convertible review, while Nissan GT-R fans continued to check out more on the 2015 model along with the new GT-R NISMO from the 2013 Tokyo Motor Show. Lastly, the Porsche Macan from the LA Auto Show is ranking high amongst new car shoppers.

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Jaguar has announced its 2013 schedule for its Performance Driving Academy, which will make five stops throughout the U.S. this year.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.