Cars today are getting extremely fast. The 2012 Jaguar XKR-S for example runs the quarter mile in 12.2 seconds @ 118.8 mph, slaloms at 68.5 mph and circles the skidpad at 0.90g. And virtually none of the car's owners will ever touch these performance benchmarks. Such is the life of the high-end, luxury/lifestyle sports car.
Jaguar, however, isn't content just letting its owners drift along in the slow lanes, as they're now offering a newly enhanced Jaguar Performance Driving Academy in the U.S. Jaguar launched their first driving academy, Jaguar R Peformance Academy, in 2009 as a gift to XFR and XKR owners. This, however, is a non-complimentary advanced course with the XFR, XKR and XJ Super Sports. The basic course is still complimentary for XFR, XKR, XKR-S and XJ Supersport owners, but is $1,850 for non owners. The advanced course is $2,495 for everyone.
What do you get for your money?
Continue reading...
Categories: Jaguar,Videos
Yep, the upcoming Jaguar F-Type will get V8 power, at least that's what a very reliable source has told Inside Line.
Jaguar made news earlier this week when it announced that the F-Type would be the first recipient of the company's new 3.0-liter, supercharged V6. With 380-horsepower, the more powerful of the two V6s is nicely suited to the smallish F-Type sportscar.
But of course, there will always be those who want a little more, and for them the 5.0-liter V8 should do quite nicely. It offers as much as 542 horsepower in top trim, so Jaguar has plenty of flexibility to work with. Now if they can just figure out how to mount a manual transmission behind it...
Categories: Convertibles,Coupes,Future Vehicles,Jaguar
Not even the luxury market is immune from the tightening belt of consumers and the tightening regulations of worldwide governments. That's why, at the 2012 Beijing Auto Show, Jaguar announced two new engines that will power future Jaguar cars.""Both the 3.0 V6 S/C and 2.0 I4 Ti make intelligent use of forced-induction technology to produce high-specific output in an efficient way, while delivering the compelling combination of flexibility, refinement and driver reward that are integral attributes in all Jaguar engines.""
Continue reading...
Categories: Beijing Auto Show,Future Vehicles,Jaguar
Jaguar isn't wasting any time hyping its upcoming F-Type sportscar. After making the official announcement of the car at the New York auto show, Jaguar has now confirmed that the new coupe and convertible will be the first recipient of a new 3.0-liter, supercharged V6.
The new engine will come in two states of tune: a standard 340-horsepower version and a pumped up 380-horsepower option. The engines are essentially downsized versions of the company's 5.0-liter V8s, so much of the same technology carries over.
Jaguar also announced that it would start offering a turbocharged, 2.0-liter four-cylinder but declined to specify which models.
All the new engines will be mated to a ZF-built, eight-speed automatic transmission.
Categories: Convertibles,Coupes,Future Vehicles,Jaguar,Sports Cars
In 2008, Ford sold Jaguar and Land Rover to Tata Motors for $2.5 billion. Most people saw this as the end of the line for the high-end British brands as it seemed unlikely that a low-cost, high-volume Indian carmaker could continue to produce some of the world's finest cars.
How wrong they were.
Continue reading...
Categories: Jaguar,Land Rover
Inside Line tests hundreds of vehicles a year. Cars, trucks, SUVs, we run them all, and the numbers always tell a story. With that in mind we present "IL Track Tested," a quick rundown of all the data we collect at the track, along with comments direct from the test drivers. Enjoy.
When we first drove the 2012 Jaguar XKR-S, we had high praise for Jag's newest R-rated rocket, saying, "Brash and extroverted in all the ways a Porsche is not, the 2012 Jaguar XKR-S is more than just a halo for the face-lifted XK range. It's a statement of Jaguar's newfound confidence. Freed from the shackles of Ford's ownership and the need to protect Aston Martin's market position, the automaker can at last give full expression to its sporting aspirations. The result is the most exciting Jaguar since the E-Type."
Cramming a 550-horsepower 5.0-liter supercharged V8 into an Ian Callum-designed sports car will have that effect. But what happens when we leave the sunny confines of Portugal and try to tackle our test track?
Continue reading...
Categories: Coupes,IL Track Tested,Jaguar,Sports Cars
Yesterday, Jaguar teased the world with the F-Type concept, or rather, it showed a very C-X16-looking taillight with the alpha-type name "F-Type" below it.
That teaser wasn't fooling anyone, though. The F-Type is the drop-top, production version of the C-X16 concept that's been floating around since the 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show. The minute we saw the coupe we knew this car was destined to be a convertible and had Mark Takahashi render one ASAP. While certain bits and pieces of this concept may change for the production vehicle, we are certain this car will have a soft top and not a power hardtop.
Jaguar's Ian Callum told us that a power hardtop was considered but ultimately rejected. His reasons for rejecting the power hardtop were that hardtops require a car to have a broad, square rear end, the soft top is more efficient and that the hardtop "is a piece of kinetics." The weight of a top first being high and then too far back and still high is not a trait he's looking for in this car.
Continue reading...
Categories: Jaguar,Sports Cars
After years of rumors, the official confirmation has finally come down. Jaguar will build an all-new, two-seat sports car that will compete with the likes of the Porsche Boxster and BMW Z4.
As expected, it will be called the F-Type and it will arrive in the summer of 2013. The convertible will come first, followed by the coupe a few months later.
It will be built out of aluminum and look very much like the C-X16 concept shown last year. Jaguar officials didn't say much about its power plant, but did confirm that it will deliver a 0-60 time of less than 5 seconds and a top speed well over 160 mph.
Continue reading...
Categories: Convertibles,Coupes,Jaguar,New York Auto Show
I won't spoil or preview this one at all...just watch this commercial, Machines, for the Jaguar XK. It's awesome. Jaguar says, "There are machines that can do things for us. Machines that can make things for us. Machines that can see right through us. And machines, that want to be us, want to replace us, but they are not us. There is one machine that makes us greater. A machine so instinctive, so seductive, it's as alive as we are. It doesn't click, or buzz. It roars. Jaguar."
Continue reading...
Categories: Jaguar,Videos
Jaguar, with the help of JD Classics, will be returning C-and D-type racers to the track for the first time since 1956 with its new Heritage Racing Program.
The program kicks off in May at the 2012 Mille Miglia retrospective. This date represents the 60th anniversary of Sir Stirling Moss starting in the first disc-brake equipped C-Type and, later in the year, posting the first win for the C-Type. Following that will be an appearance at the Nurburgring Oldtimer Grand Prix in August. "The Nurburgring Nordschleife presents a unique automotive challenge that Jaguar's development team continual subject our current and future models to in order to perfect their attributes of quality, durability and dynamic precision. To see Jaguars in competitive action at the Nurburgring this year will be fascinating." said Jaguar's Head of Communications Frank Klass in a statement. The last listed event is the Goodwood Revival which takes place in September.
Continue reading...
Categories: Classic Cars,Jaguar
Uh, that would be XF "wagon" to you and me. No matter what you prefer to call this more practical XF, it's a fine-looking variation of the standard sedan.
It's quite useful, too, as the extra sheet metal in back provides up to 59 cubic feet of cargo space. That's as much as you get in any midsize SUV without all the largely unnecessary all-wheel-drive hardware. Everything else is standard XF, although the rear suspension adds a self-leveling feature to keep the rear end from dragging should you really make use of all that space.
Can't say we were the least bit surprised to learn that there are absolutely no plans to bring this version of the XF to the U.S. After all, this XF is far too good-looking and practical to drag anyone out of their Range Rover.
Continue reading...
Categories: Geneva Motor Show,Jaguar,Luxury Cars,Wagons
If the 2012 Geneva Motor Show is known for one thing, it'll be leaks. Even in this leak-happy the-internet-can-publish-anything-very-quickly world, it seems that the cars bound for Geneva are especially good at slipping through the sieve.
The latest leak is the 2013 Jaguar XF Sportbrake. Of course, we knew this one was coming. Back in November Jaguar released their own spy photos of the 2013 Sportbrake complete with a Twitter name in the place of the a normal watermark. The biggest difference between these leaked shots and the earlier self-shot spy shots is that the rear window of the production wagon (yeah, it's a wagon) is much sleeker and narrower than the large, useful one displayed on the prototype. As we expected, and as it should be, the XF Sportbrake is identical to the sedan until you get to the rear doors. Considering that, we're expecting the same 5.0-liter V8 and hoping that the supercharged 5.0 makes it in eventually. More supercharged wagons = more better.
Continue reading...
Categories: Geneva Motor Show,Jaguar,Wagons
It's not every day you get to line up a new M5 against three of its biggest competitors -- the Porsche Panamera S, E63 AMG and Jaguar XFR -- so when the opportunity arises, capitalizing on it is a must.
EVO magazine found themselves in this exact position recently (okay, it's not a new video, but it's making the rounds again and it's fun) and instead of laboring with shaving tenths of a second around a circuit, they've put the super sedans into a drag race. A 3,280 foot drag race. That's nearly 2,000 feet longer than a traditional drag race and, as you'd expect, means the numbers-- especially the trap speed-- are a lot bigger.
While the Porsche Panamera S is certainly closer in price to the sedans here, we would still have loved to see the Turbo in action. And while we're on the subject of what we want, where's the CTS-V? 556 hp from a supercharged V8 with a manual trans vs 560 from a TT V8 and an autobox over 3,000 feet? That's a race.
Continue reading...
Categories: BMW,Jaguar,Mercedes-Benz,Porsche,Sedans,Sports Cars,Videos
One of six.
700 horsepower.
Carbon fiber body with adjustable spoiler.
$20,000 TWR titanium exhaust.
Lamborghini Reventon-matching paint.
Want.
Continue reading...
Categories: Coupes,Jaguar,Sports Cars
In an odd but not unheard of move, Jaguar is providing spy shots of the new XF Sportbrake. This isn't the first time we've seen manufacturers sending out their own spy photos, but it is the first time that they've A) Done so via twitter and B) added a twitter tag to the actual vehicle.
The Jag-owned twitter @Sportbrake is mostly full of references to people who have asked for, and received, the hand-out shots of the new Jag wagon. As we get closer to the car's release, though, they may turn to talking about things like the actual car.
But until they do, we have these photos.
Continue reading...
Categories: Jaguar,Wagons
How hard-core is the convertible version the Jaguar XKR-S? Hard-core enough that Jaguar has released video of a prototype testing on the Nurburgring.
This 2-minute movie is heavily edited, though, with music to boot. Now kill the music, we say, and show us that full, claimed sub-8-second lap via an on-board camera.
2011 L.A. Auto Show: 2012 Jaguar XKR-S Convertible
First Drive: 2012 Jaguar XKR-S Coupe
(Jaguar UK YouTube via Autoblog)
Continue reading...
Categories: Convertibles,Jaguar,Luxury Cars
The Jaguar C-X16 concept is nothing new to us. It premiered at the Frankfurt show a few months ago. We were already pretty excited, but now that we've seen it in person, we can say it's easily one of the most attractive designs out there.
Continue reading...
Categories: Jaguar,LA Auto Show
Jaguar pulled the sheet off its drop-top version of the XKR-S, which has, according to Jaguar, sold all available examples of the coupe model. With 500 horsepower and 502 pound-feet of torque, Jaguar expects similar performance out of this new convertible. With a claimed 0-60-mph time of 4.2 seconds and an electronically limited 186-mph top speed, the XKR-S is the fastest convertible Jaguar has ever produced.
Continue reading...
Categories: Jaguar
It may not have anything to do with steering feedback or ride quality, but a good-looking cabin can have a powerful impact on the way you experience your car.
After all, where would you rather spend the night: in a five-star hotel, or that dumpy Motel 6 on the skeezy side of town? Yeah, I thought so.
Continue reading...
Categories: Audi,Jaguar,Kia,Mercedes-Benz,Porsche,Volvo
The Jaguar XJ13 is, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful cars ever built. Only one was built. It is my unicorn -- an unattainable object of desire. Jaguar Design Director, Ian Callum feels the same. And it was this car that inspired the C-X75 concept. The evocative video by Dunhill after the break chronicles the process. Watch it. Love it. You're welcome.
Continue reading...
Categories: Jaguar
