Jaguar Straightline Archives

Jaguar isn't the first high-end manufacturer to offer driving school to owners of its highest-performance cars, but we're glad to see the company step up to the plate now that it sells a couple of 510-horsepower cars.

If you buy a 2010 Jaguar XFR or XKR coupe or convertible, you can sign up for a free, one-day performance driving course. Jaguar has hand-picked the team of instructors, and it includes the accomplished driver Davy Jones, 1996 24 Hours of Le Mans winner. The automaker has already set up camp for a week each at Homestead Speedway in Florida and the Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Nevada.

Upcoming track dates include May 24-28 at Monticello Motor Club in Monticello, New York; August 3-7 at California Speedway in Fontana, California; and another round at Homestead December 6-10. If you own one of the cars, all you have to do is register and show up.

Jaguar says it has sold 825 model-year 2010 R cars, and so far 10 percent of owners have signed up for school.

"We're hoping for 25 percent of our customers to participate," says BJ Colaric, general manager of Jaguar sales operations in the U.S. "The R Performance Academy turns our customers who are already passionate about our cars into advocates for them."

You don't get to drive your own car at the school, but then, why would you want to beat up on your own Jag anyway? There are plenty of well-prepped XFRs and XKRs (coupes only) waiting to endure your ham-fisted inputs.

Or in this case, ours. Inside Line attended one of the day sessions in Vegas. We offer a few impressions about the school and the cars after the jump.

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Categories: Consumer Track Events,Coupes,Jaguar,Luxury Cars,Sedans

In an effort to give the XKR a little extra punch for serious enthusiasts, Jaguar will introduce a couple new options packages for the supercharged coupe at the 2010 Geneva Auto Show.

The Speed Pack will instantly bump the XKR's top speed from 155mph to 174mph through a recalibration of the engine and transmission computer. Revised front and rear splitters are then added to keep the thing on the ground at the higher speeds. And to make sure that everyone else knows you ordered the Speed Pack there are special exterior colors available.

And then there's the Black Pack, which as you might expect includes a whole bunch of dark trim. The window frames, grille surrounds and side vents all get a dark coating while the wheels are changed to 20-inch black Kalimnos alloys. If that's not enough, a sizable "XKR" side graphic can be added as well.   

Categories: Coupes,Geneva Motor Show,Jaguar,Luxury Cars

What comes after the new Jaguar XJ flagship after it launches in the U.S. this spring? We'd thought it would be the XJ coupe rendered here, but now we're hearing Jaguar C-Type.

An unnamed source in Europe with knowledge of Jaguar's future product plans says the C-Type would be compact, offered in two-seat coupe and convertible body styles, and target such cars as the Audi TT, BMW Z4 and Mercedes-Benz SLK.

Jaguar can't very easily stuff its 5.0-liter V8 in a car this size, so company engineers will have downsize that engine into a V6. Our source tells us further that Tata is likely to tap into Jaguar's relationship with Ford and pull some EcoBoost technology to make a turbocharged version of the new V6.

This will all have to happen very quickly, as Jaguar intends to sell the car C-Type as a 2012 model.

IL News: Jaguar C-Type Is a Go, But XJ Coupe Ain't

Image source: Fox Syndication

Categories: Convertibles,Coupes,Future Vehicles,Jaguar

Jaguar is trying to reinvent the image of its XJ flagship, which had come to be associated with crusty old men trundling around England's Lake Country. The first step was to revitalize its styling, which company design chief Ian Callum did to ambitious effect. Now Jaguar is trying to put fresh sets of eyes on the 2011 Jaguar XJ, which goes on sale in the U.S. in April.

And so the company announced yesterday at the LA Auto Show, that the XJ will have a promient role in an upcoming Jay-Z video, "On to the Next One." Jaguar showed a 60-second trailer yesterday, while releasing this photo of the XJ on the video set.

The video will be released in full on the Jaguar web site in January.

First Look: 2011 Jaguar XJ

Categories: Celebrities,Jaguar,LA Auto Show

Curious whether the new 2010 Honda Accord has an optional neck massager? How about the tow rating on the Ford F-150? And what about those European cars, they're always adding some new totally nonessential technological "feature."

Now there's an easy way to find out. Our 2010 Buyer's Guide lists every model change from every manufacturer. From colors to options to full redesigns, it's all there.

2010 Buyer's Guide 

Categories: Acura,Aston Martin,Audi,BMW,Bentley,Bugatti,Buick,Cadillac,Chevrolet,Chrysler,Dodge,Ferrari,Fiat,Ford,GMC,General Motors,HUMMER,Honda,Hyundai,Infiniti,Jaguar,Jeep,Kia,Lamborghini,Land Rover,Lexus,Lincoln,Lotus,MINI,Maserati,Maybach,Mazda,Mercedes-Benz,Mercury,Mitsubishi,Nissan,Pontiac,Porsche,Rolls-Royce,SMART,Saab,Saturn,Scion,Subaru,Suzuki,Tesla Motors,Toyota,Volkswagen,Volvo

The auction weekend in Scottsdale is just two months away and the various auction house lineups are starting to fall into place. Gooding and Company has announced the cars that will headline its event on January 23rd and as usual they're all quite nice -- and expensive.

Bidders will be able to choose from a 1956 Jaguar D-Type Sports Racer, a 1959 Ferrari 250 GT Series 1 Cabriolet and a numbers matching 1956 Maserati A6G/54 Berlinetta that's expected to fetch as much $400,000 when it crosses the block.

Gooding and Company

Categories: Car Auctions,Classic Cars,Ferrari,Jaguar,Maserati,Sports Cars

There's nothing like a lime green Jaguar XKR to pierce the UK's gray landscape. Our English spy caught a prototype under test, sporting all of the cues found on Jag's "Goodwood Special" XKR, that showed up at this year's Goodwood Festival of Speed. In addition to the lime green paint, the special Jag gets low-key graphite-colored trim where bright chrome would usually reside.

The car running at Goodwood was plated only with PR-spec XKR license plates, but this car is officially registered in the UK as a prototype. The only other difference between the promotional vehicle and the vehicle caught under test here is the omission of the original car's grey-and-orange XKR decals. Perhaps they were deemed a little over-the-top.

This prototype shares the original's 21-inch alloys, lowered suspension, and more aggressive exhaust tuning. It also likely shares its engine mods, which reportedly bumped-up the output  20 horses to 530hp, along with an increase in torque from 461 lb-ft to about 515 lb-ft. When the eye-singeing XKR was originally presented at Goodwood, Jag officials said it was a one-off model, but could attain limited-run status if demand warranted.

This prototype's appearance on Jaguar's normal test routes suggests that the Goodwood Special may be destined for showrooms after all.

Categories: Coupes,Future Vehicles,Jaguar,Luxury Cars,Sports Cars,Spy Photos

Let's be clear about something here: The CTS-V Challenge was not, strictly a fair race. It was a publicity stunt. Cadillac acknowledges this. Still, as a publicity stunt, it was a hell of a lot more fun than basically every other car-maker publicity stunt we've attended.

And it's a stunt that a young guy, who claimed to be a Skip Barber school graduate but not a racer, won in his BMW M3. His fast lap of 2:50:424 was the fastest single lap of any driver that wasn't a ringer (Heinricy, Link and Redman). No other CTS-V could touch him.

Here, for the record, are the final lap times of the day:

Mystery Driver (Johnny O'Connell), CTS-V, ringer, 2:45:537

John Heinricy, CTS-V, ringer, 2:46:560

Aaron Link, CTS-V, ringer, 2:48:902

Brian Redman, CTS-V, ringer, 2:49:596

Michael Cooper, BMW M3, private owner, 2:50:424

Jack Baruth, CTS-V, journalist, 2:51:153

Lawrence Ulrich, CTS-V, journalist, 2:53:157

Bob Lutz, CTS-V, The Bob, 2:56:321

Michael Mainwald, BMW M5, private owner, 3:05:398

Wes Siler, Mitsubishi Evo, journalist, 3:08:126

Chris Fairman, CTS-V, private owner, 3:14:292

Archan Basu, Jaguar XF, private owner, 3:15:670

Tom Loder, Audi RS4, private owner, 3:15:702

Categories: Audi,BMW,Cadillac,Jaguar,Mitsubishi

No surprise here: Professional racer and retired GM engineer, John Heinricy posted the day's fastest lap at 2:46:560.

This knowledge is useful mostly for getting an idea of how fast a CTS-V is capable of running here at Monticello. Do not, however, compare that lap time (nor that of the other GM ringer), to the laps posted by the privately owned BMWs, Jag and Audi. Those were more-or-less average guys that happen to own fast cars, not professional drivers.

Categories: Audi,BMW,Cadillac,General Motors,Jaguar

The timed laps have begun here at Monticello and the fastest lap of the first session of three cars goes to not the journalist-driven CTS-V or, predictably, the Jaguar XF, but to the BMW M3 driven by owner Michael Cooper of Long Island.

Cooper, who has had all of five years with a driver's license laid down an impressive 2:50:424. The CTS-V automatic driven by Jack Baruth of thetruthaboutcars.com recorded a best lap of 2:51:153. The Jag pulled up the rear at 3:15:670.

Nice work by the young Mr. Cooper. Three more heats to go, including the heavy-hitter fourth heat.

Categories: BMW,Cadillac,Jaguar

If you've been obsessively following the run-up to this little shin-dig, you'll know that late in the going -- in fact only a couple days ago -- Jaguar public relations pulled the 510-hp XFR it had promised to a couple of media types, leaving the journos scrambling to find something to, you know, challenge Bob Lutz in this challenge.

Well, there's been a late addition to the list of competitors: A Jaguar XF. You'll notice that we left off the "R" suffix. That's because the Jag in question is not an R; it's a supercharged XF. Nice car, but hardly in the league of heavy-hitters like the M5 and CTS-V. As with the M5, M3 and RS4, the Jag is a private owner's car chosen by Cadillac to compete.

We wish him luck, but we ain't putting our money on the guy.

Categories: Cadillac,Jaguar

There's been a change of plans for the Cadillac CTS-V challenge scheduled for Thursday. Jaguar originally said it would provide a XFR for journalists to drive, but has now backed out over safety concerns according to company spokesman Stuart Schorr. That leaves a field of just two challengers for now -- an Audi RS4 and a BMW M5.

In response to the sudden departure of the XFR, Bob Lutz told a GM fan site the following:

"I think it means that the European high-performance sedans are excellent, even superb cars, but quite possibly not ready for racing laps right out of the show-room. The CTS-V is not only quicker, but will, in totally untweaked, stock form, run hot laps at any race track until it runs out of fuel. Transmission oil and diff oil temps are stable, engine oil temp doesn't go up, brakes get a bit more pedal travel, but don't fade. The street tires get a tad greasy, but handling and control remain excellent. "May the best car win"! (It wins automatically if the competitors won't show up!)"

The GMSource

Categories: Audi,Auto Industry,BMW,Cadillac,Consumer Track Events,Jaguar,Luxury Cars,Sedans

At the swank "Rusnak Jaguar Reveals - A Night of Luxury" event at Universal Studios back lot on Saturday, we rubbed elbows with Miss California, Natasha Henstridge (Species), some actress from Desperate Housewives (not one of the wives) and even good ol' Scott Baio of Happy Days' Chachi fame. There were complimentary cocktails from Effen Vodka and Courvoisier as well as Maddalena wines to make things interesting for the well-heeled masses as they carefully negotiated the cobblestone streets. A cigar lounge welcomed those who wanted to puff on the free stogies from Cigars by Chivas. And at the end of the night, this "California chic" attired crowd enjoyed the Kevan Hall fashion show.

Yes, a fashion show. At first, we, too, thought that this seemed an odd thing to pair with a luxury car reveal. But then it made sense. Much like designer fashions, luxury cars connote high-quality and the best there is to be had. To own these items shows the world that not only do you have a well-padded bank account but that you possess exquisite taste. So it was no wonder that after each reveal of the 2010 Jaguar XJ, Porsche Panamera and the Rolls-Royce Ghost, party guests swarmed the luxo-cars for their chance to get in the driver seat; well, except the Ghost, whose doors remained locked. It was difficult to get close enough to the cars to even sniff their sumptuous leather interior, let alone check our reflection in their windows.

In any case, it was a fun albeit surreal way to see how enthusiastic the other half gets over cars.

More pictures after the jump.

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Categories: Celebrities,Jaguar,Luxury Cars,Manufacturers,Porsche,Rolls-Royce

Inside Line has learned that Jaguar is working on a compact five-door coupe a la Audi A5 Sportback or BMW 5 Series GT. It's based on the Jaguar XF (pictured) platform architecture.

Codenamed RD7, the Jaguar hatchback has suicide-type rear doors and a side-hinged tailgate as on the beloved XK-E (E-type). Apparently, Jaguar has been considering both three- and five-door versions but has decided to concentrate on the five-door, which the company believes would sell in greater numbers. Under the hood is the 2.7-liter V6 diesel Jaguar introduced in the XF.

Although this project is timely given Audi's and BMW's efforts to create the luxury five-door hatchback segment, our sources suggest that Jaguar's hatch is at least four years from production as the company has limited manpower to push through such a project. A new sportscar, codenamed XE, is likely to precede it; this reborn E-Type would be unveiled sometime in 2011, with a plan to put it on sale in 2012.

Categories: Coupes,Hatchbacks,Jaguar,Luxury Cars

Qualifying for the 10-hour, 1,000-mile Petit Le Mans race is today at Road Atlanta, and the race starts tomorrow at 11:15 a.m. EST with coverage on Speed Channel. However, you just can't escape social media anymore, and Audi will be tweeting and facebooking about the R15 TDI thoughout. This car hasn't lost the P1 class here since 2000. The company just posted this video of the racecar being prepped for Thursday night's practice session.

Apart from that, the major news here is the debut of the RSR (Rocket Sport Racing) Jaguar XKR GT2. Underneath the racecar's carbon-fiber body work, says RSR team owner Paul Gentilozzi, is the aluminum frame of the showroom XKR -- in keeping with GT2 class rules. The 4.2-liter V8 is heavily modified, of course, and it's hooked up to a sequential rear transaxle. Brakes are by Brembo (14.9-inch with 6-piston calipers up front, 13.8-inch with 4-pot calipers in back); tires are by Yokohama.

RSR is using this race as a shakedown for the XKR GT2, as it prepares for the full 2010 ALMS season.

Inside Line News: RSR's Jaguar XKR GT2 To Debut at Petit Le Mans This Weekend

R15 TDI Facebook, Twitter

Categories: Audi,Jaguar,Motorsports