Jaguar unveil special edition XKR

Jaguar is set to release an extra special edition XK to mark the quality car manufacturer's 75 years in the motoring industry.

To whet car buyers appetites, Car Dealer Magazine has revealed that this supercar Jag is no pussycat, offering 530 bhp from a 5.0 litre supercharged engine. With 655Nm of torque, the car has no problems reaching 60 mph in just over four seconds with a top speed of 174 mph. With stiffer dampners and a lower ride height the '75' is reportedly one of the best Jaguar's ever made.

On the outside, the XKR 75's looks fail to disappoint, with a sporty bodykit, massive exhaust and 20 inch alloys. According to Auto Express, owners will be able to choose an individual graphics pack and stratus paint job if they really want to stand out.

Priced at around £85,000, only 75 models will be produced, meaning Jaguar enthusiasts are already looking to sign the order book in July. If you're lucky, you may spot the exclusive car at high-end events or under pristine Chelsea pads.

Managing director of Jaguar, Mike O'Driscoll, commented on the sumptuous model, saying: ''This is a fitting way to celebrate the sporting credentials of the XK marque in the 75th year of the Jaguar name.''

Jaguar XKR 75 Anniversary Edition

At 2010 Goodwood Festival of Speed Jaguar will unveil the new XKR 75 super coupe, a special edition which marks the company’s 75th anniversary. This model is limited to 75 units, obviously, and features a unique Stratus Grey finish, Red brake callipers and 20-inch gloss Vortex rims, while you can also order some graphics for it just like the picture above.

Jaguar XKR 75 also benefits from enhanced performance. The 5.0 liter supercharged V8 of the car is tweaked to develop 530PS and 655Nm, which reduces its 0-60 time to 4.4 seconds (standard XKR 4.6). The top speed is still limited but to 174 mph or 280 km/h, so no complaints here!

It also gets a semi-active sports exhaust system for an even nicer soundtrack.

To cope with the extra power, XKR75 comes with a re-tuned chassis featuring revised suspension and an aero kit for the body consisting of a front splitter, side sills extensions, a rear diffuser and larger rear spoiler. Inside the cabin new items exclusive to the 75 include Charcoal with ivory stitch, piano black finish to facia and centre console and a Jet suedecloth headlining.

Mike O’Driscoll, managing director, Jaguar Cars, said: “The XKR 75 will provide owners with exclusivity, excitement and a hint of Jaguar’s great heritage. This is a fitting way to celebrate the sporting credentials of the XK marque in the 75^th year of the Jaguar name,” he continued.

“We conceived the XR 75 as a sports car with a duality of character that makes it perfectly suited to driving across Europe to the Nurburgring, completing some very fast laps, and then driving home again, added Mike Cross, Chief Engineer Vehicle Integrity.

THE XKR 75 AT A GLANCE

The unique features of the exclusive new XKR 75 include:

• Increased performance through detailed engine and transmission recalibration
  • Power increased to 530PS (compared to 510 PS on XKR)
    Torque increased to 655Nm (compared to 625Nm on XKR)
    Upgraded torque converter to handle the increased torque
• Upgraded suspension systems for increased precision and agility
  • Increased spring and damper rates (front springs 28 per cent stiffer, rear springs 32 per cent stiffer)
  • New fully-machined aluminium front and revised rear suspension upright for increased camber stiffness (increased by 25 per cent)
  • Re-tuned Adaptive Dynamics damper control software
  • Reduced ride height (15mm front and 10mm rear)
• Aerodynamic body pack with body coloured finish to front splitter, side sills extensions and rear diffuser, and body coloured larger rear spoiler and rear trunk lid finisher
• Sports exhaust with improved performance and acoustics – system has new crossover pipe and larger exhaust outlets
• New Stratus Grey exterior paint with optional graphics pack
• Red brake callipers and 20” Vortex forged lightweight alloy wheels, diamond turned with dark grey finish
• XKR performance interior in Charcoal and Ivory stitch leather, with Jet suedecloth headlining and XKR 75 tread plate
• Active front lighting
• Final calibration was done in partnership with the RSR engineering team which has been collaborating with Jaguar on the 2010 motorsport programme.

Jaguar Land Rover now in Hyderabad

Tata Motors’ gave their dealership to their Jaguar Land Rover line of cars to Inline4Motors, Hyderabad. Inline4Motors is the fourth company to their dealership, being the fourth to have right for a Jaguar Land Rover outlet. Tata Motors already has two outlets in Delhi and one in Mumbai.

Rohit Suri of Tata Motors said over 12,000 luxury cars are sold a year which are part of Jaguar Land Rover. Tata Motors’ rivals BMW and Mercedes Benz have over 12 outlets in the country and Suri of Tata Motors said Jaguar Land Rover will soon open outlets in other metros in the country to compete with BMW and the Benz.

Jaguar Land Rover is planning to set up in China also. Tata Motors believes the move will help Jaguar Land Rover sell faster in China which is the world’s fastest growing car market. "Clearly China is a very important and growing market for Jaguar Land Rover. It is currently the third biggest individual market in terms of volume for Land Rover and the fourth biggest for Jaguar," a Jaguar Land Rover spokesperson said. "Material cost is a significant challenge and JLR has previously said that over the next few years it will grow the amount of materials and components it purchases from lower cost countries," he added.

Jaguar Land Rover sold over 2,132 units in China during the first quarter of sales last year. This year the company sold 5,786 units in the same period, i. e. the first quarter between January and March.

2010 Jaguar XJ Review and Prices

Jaguar may have just been sold, but it's plowing ahead with a new flagship sedan. With brawny coupe-like styling, more power and a futuristic interior, this thoroughly modern XJ could be the crown jewel for Jaguar's new owner.

Jaguar keeps hemorrhaging red ink, so does Ford Motor Company, in part because Jaguar has been such a money pit since Ford bought the famed British automaker some 20 years ago. With Ford now desperate for cash, it's just finished the process of selling Jaguar as well as Land Rover after offloading a third British property, Aston Martin, in early 2007. Fortunately for Ford, several suitors lined up, including the new owner Tata Motors of India, part of the big Tata industrial combine. But that's another story.

Meantime, Jaguar sales keep sliding, especially in the U.S. The X-Type compact premium sedan has been a major flop here, which is why it's being dropped from the local lineup. Demand for the aged S-Type is down to a trickle, but that midrange sedan goes away in mid-2008 to make room for the new XF. The sporty XK coupes and convertibles are doing okay, but the flagship XJ sedans have been a hard sell even after their wholesale redesign just four years ago.

Critics contend the latest XJs aren't moving because they look so much like the previous-generation cars. But Jaguar realized some time ago that it was trapped by its own visual past and began searching for a new design tradition, a 21st-century take on "Jaguarness." The XF is the first fruit of that effort. The 2010 Jaguar XJ will be the second.

2010 Jaguar XJ

For a long time, worrying about Jaguar was the only sensible thing to do. While it was never exactly clear if the marque had (ever) achieved profitability, we enthusiasts were only too happy to give them the benefit of the doubt. After all, the English automaker serially gifted us with watershed designs. Sublime mechanical creatures like the E- and D-Type sports cars, as well as the curvacious Mark II and original XJ. How could we not be totally and utterly smitten? Yet somehow, the once proud automaker eventually found itself adrift in mediocrity, turning out maligned and slow-selling products with an unpleasant odor of unreliability as the money began to run dry. When the then Ford-owned brand launched headlong into its "democratization of luxury" strategy that resulted in the lamentable 2001 X-Type and serious talk of an SUV, well, we couldn't help but grow gravely concerned.

2011 Jaguar XJ 5.0L SC First Drive

2011 Jaguar XJ 5.0L SC Picture

Specs & Performance

Vehicle
Year Make Model	2011 Jaguar XJ XJL Supercharged 4dr Sedan (5.0L 8cyl S/C 6A)
Vehicle Type	Five-passenger rear-wheel-drive four-door sedan
Estimated MSRP	$90,500
Assembly location	Birmingham, England, United Kingdom

Drivetrain
Configuration	Longitudinal, front-engine, rear-wheel drive
Engine type	Supercharged direct-injected gasoline V8
Displacement (cc/cu-in)	5,000cc (305 cu-in)
Block/head material	Aluminum/aluminum
Valvetrain	DOHC, four valves per cylinder, variable intake + exhaust-valve timing
Compression ratio (x:1)	9.5
Horsepower (hp @ rpm)	464 @ 6,000-6,500
Torque (lb-ft @ rpm)	424 @ 2,500-5,500
Fuel type	Premium unleaded (required)
Transmission type	Six-speed automatic with console shifter and steering-wheel-mounted paddles with sport/competition modes
Transmission ratios (x:1)	I=4.017; II=2.43; III=1.52; IV=1.14: V=0.87; VI=0.69
Final-drive ratio (x:1)	3.31
Differential(s)	Electronically controlled limited-slip

Chassis
Suspension, front	Independent double wishbones, coil springs, self-adjusting two-mode variable dampers, stabilizer bar
Suspension, rear	Independent multilink, coil springs, self-adjusting two-mode variable dampers, stabilizer bar
Steering type	Hydraulic-assist, speed-proportional variable-ratio rack-and-pinion steering
Tire make and model	Dunlop SP Sport Maxx GT J
Tire type	Performance front and rear
Tire size, front	245/40ZR20
Tire size, rear	274/35ZR20
Wheel size, front	20-by-9 inches
Wheel size, rear	20-by-10 inches
Wheel material	Cast aluminum
Brakes, front	15.0-inch ventilated cast-iron discs with 2-piston fixed calipers
Brakes, rear	14.8-inch solid cast-iron discs with single-piston sliding calipers

Track Test Results
0-60 mph, mfr. claim (sec.)	4.9

Fuel Consumption
Fuel tank capacity (U.S. gal.)	21.7

Dimensions & Capacities
Curb weight, mfr. claim (lbs.)	4,323
Length (in.)	206.6
Width (in.)	74.6
Height (in.)	57.0
Wheelbase (in.)	124.3
Track, front (in.)	64.0
Track, rear (in.)	63.1
Turning circle (ft.)	41.7
Legroom, front (in.)	41.5
Legroom, rear (in.)	44.1
Headroom, front (in.)	39.4
Headroom, rear (in.)	37.4
Seating capacity	5
Trunk volume (cu-ft)	18.4
GVWR (lbs.)	5,270

Warranty
Bumper-to-bumper	5 years/50,000 miles
Powertrain	5 years/50,000 miles
Corrosion	6 years/Unlimited miles
Roadside assistance	5 years/50,000 miles
Free scheduled maintenance	5 years/50,000 miles

2010 Jaguar XFR

2010 Jaguar XFR

The XFR, too, induced the same sort of awe. Few cars I test turn women’s heads as much as men’s, but Jaguar’s designers have a knack for making beautiful baubles that almost no woman can ignore. I’d love to think it was the recent tan I’ve acquired of course but young, fashionable, well-heeled ladies both fair and dark sent lustful glances toward the car—and just toward the car. One woman in a supermarket parking lot walked right up to the XFR, addressing it, not me, with a huge grin on her face, and peppered away with rapid-fire questions. Sated with knowledge, she just walked away, looked back at the car as if to confirm a mental catalog of details, and belatedly remembered there had been a human being she’d been talking to and said, “oh, sorry, thanks….”

Fast as Bloody Hell

If only I could’ve given a ride to every ogler of the Jag the company might find itself a huge new client list. True, maybe all those ladies (and men too) wouldn’t ever tap into the 510 horsepower V-8 under the bulging hood of the XFR, but that also might not matter, because this four-door is quite civilized unless you don’t want it to be.

I certainly didn’t; with 40 more horsepower than the XF Supercharged (and $15k more tallied to the sticker price) and an engine that nails peak torque (461 pound-feet) at a a barely twisting 2,500 rpm, the stats box alone should tell you what this car can do. That torque curve feels nearly flat as well, and that huge grunt equals more than a fast run (4.7 seconds, claimed) to 60mph. From 70 mph, passing a logging truck and three SUVs on a two-lane rural highway, the XFR downshifted its six-speed gearbox to third, held it to the nearly 7,000 rpm redline, and proceeded to upshift into fourth and so on. Looking down finally at the speedo I was rocketing at twice the legal limit. This could get dangerously addictive.