Jag fans surely would like to see the new 2010 Jaguar XJ in the showrooms when it officially goes on sale this April. And kudos to Jag for bringing some new luster to their XJ flagship.

Just a refresher. The new XJ packs a range of engines which include a range-topping 5.0L all-alloy gasoline V8. There’s also a naturally-aspirated version of the V8 and a 3.0L engine twin-turbo diesel engine.

The car packs a six-speed ZF automatic gearbox complete with flappy-paddle shifters. The supercharged V8 dishes out a wicked 503 bhp.

The new Jaguar XJ range will cost from £53,775 when it goes on sale in April. With that price, it’s still cheaper than Mercs of almost the same specs.

So everyone’s still raving about the new 2010 Jaguar XKR. How about this one that’s tuned and improved? This here’s the product of German tuning company Arden.

They’ve taken the standard 2010 XKR Convertible and added 29 bhp and 37 lb-ft of torque to up the figures of the car to an insane 532 bhp and 498 lb-ft of torque. That brings Jag’s grand tourer to supercar territory.

For good measure, Arden removed the speed limiter on the XKR so that means that the car can go well over its 155 mph limit. Arden didn’t peg a definite number on the top speed though. With that power, shame if the car wouldn’t go past 180 mph. The car’s also fitted with a sport suspension kit and stiffer shocks.

As for the cosmetic tweaks, Arden slapped on chrome-plated grille and air intakes, a new rear diffuser and a new sport exhaust system to give it a better roar. The car sits on 21-inch Sportline alloys.

The Jaguar XJ is a cat with a special mission. Jag intends to use its new offering of the XJ flagship to restore the brand’s luster. Over the years, Jaguar has given up much of its share in the luxury saloon market. The company now hopes that this new car will change its fortunes.

One of the most hyped features of the XJ is its styling. Taking cues from the XF saloon, the XJ sports a mouth-shaped mesh grill, teardrop-shaped lines, and a new three-side-window design to create the illusion of sleekness. And that’s not purely aesthetic as well, with some science added too. The drag co-efficient on this one’s an amazing 0.29.

The car will have a choice of three engines – a supercharged 5.0-litre all-alloy petrol V8, a normally aspirated version of the same engine, and a 3.0-litre twin-turbo diesel. A six-speed ZF auto gearbox with flappy-paddle shifters come as standard. The superchagred V8 gets a choice between 503bhp and 464bhp outputs. The normally aspirated V8 dishes out 380 ponies.

The XJ will be rolled out with three trim levels dubbed Luxury, Premum Luxury and Portfolio. No word on pricing yet but the price would definitely be variable due to the engine choices, trim levels, and options that come with each.

Production is set to start this September and deliveries start early 2010.

There’s a looming threat of additional job cuts over at Jaguar Land Rover, especially after the company revealed that it has posted a loss worth £280 million (around $463 million) in 10 months. This development was confirmed by the automaker’s parent corporation, India-based Tata Motors.

Tata Motors released information that sales of Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles dropped by 32 percent over a period of 10 months up to the end of March. That’s a drop from 246,000 units to 167,000, which hardly makes the immense loss surprising.

“There has already been 2000 job losses. We may be looking at more job losses, more plant shutdowns,” said Jaaguar Land Rover vice chairman Ravi Kant in a Mumbai press conference. The company says that these job cuts could happen in the Castle Bromwich, Coventry and Solihull facilities.

Jaguar Land Rover is currently engaged in talks for some measure of financial aid from the British government. Maybe Tata can funnel some funds from their incredible Nano sales, yes?

With sales down, Jaguar is just relentless with their publicity and press releases. They have just announced that another XF variant will enter the Jag lineup. It will be a supercharged version that would pack a whopping 470 horses.

Power will come from a supercharged 5.0 L AJ-V8 Gen III engine that was showcased in last Detroit Auto Show. The 470hp boasts of a 12% increase over the 4.2L XF and can generate 424 lb/ft of torque. This gives the car a not-at-all slow 0-60 mph time of 4.9 seconds.

Aside from the beefed up engine, the car will also feature a computer-controlled variable damping system, an e-differential, ventilated disc brakes, and new bits of trim. Surely you can just slap on a supercharger and not do anything about braking and handling. A few added touches inside won’t hurt as well.

“The Jaguar XF Supercharged will offer consumers a compelling luxury sedan choice with benchmark handling ability and truly memorable performance,” says Mike O’Driscoll, Managing Director, Jaguar Cars. “This new luxury performance XF Supercharged sedan builds on the tremendous momentum Jaguar has achieved by introducing beautiful fast cars such as the XK sports car, the XF and the XKR and XFR models.”

The XF Supercharged is set to go on sale this October and MSRPs starting at $68,000.

There’s a looming threat of additional job cuts over at Jaguar Land Rover, especially after the company revealed that it has posted a loss worth £280 million (around $463 million) in 10 months. This development was confirmed by the automaker’s parent corporation, India-based Tata Motors.

Tata Motors released information that sales of Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles dropped by 32 percent over a period of 10 months up to the end of March. That’s a drop from 246,000 units to 167,000, which hardly makes the immense loss surprising.

“There has already been 2000 job losses. We may be looking at more job losses, more plant shutdowns,” said Jaaguar Land Rover vice chairman Ravi Kant in a Mumbai press conference. The company says that these job cuts could happen in the Castle Bromwich, Coventry and Solihull facilities.

Jaguar Land Rover is currently engaged in talks for some measure of financial aid from the British government. Maybe Tata can funnel some funds from their incredible Nano sales, yes?

I wonder why automakers still resort to teasers. Well, they sure do arouse the interest of people but how many people in the mass market segment buy cars just because of a 30-second clip? Take for example a slew of Grand Bentley “Arnage” replacement teaser videos. The Internet is flooded with these things and yet, how many netizens can actually afford a damned Bentley? Or a Jaguar for that matter (given the crunch these days).

At least motoring fans would have something to enjoy, huh? Here’s a small collection of the four Jaguar XJ teaser videos that have been released by Jag lately. At least these are way better than those stupid pictures of the Subaru Impreza’s silhouette from a year or so ago.

View a few more after the cut.

Read the rest of this entry »

Jaguar has just launched the first Jaguar XF intended for police use in the United Kingdom, and it is currently undergoing evaluation by law enforcement forces nationwide.

The police-spec XF is based on the diesel S trim, which makes the car good for 271 brake horsepower with the standard 3.0-liter engine. For this edition, a roof-mounted light bar and flashing LED lights around the car are all standard fare. There’s also a Home Office-specification ‘police pack’ that supply power to the car’s electronic equipment such as emergency lights and the radio.

“Police forces are looking for vehicles that represent value for money, have good environmental credentials and deliver the power and performance required of a pursuit vehicle,” said Jaguar’s UK managing director Geoff Cousins. “The police officers driving pursuit vehicles demand a very high level of performance and handling, as well as safety and comfort.”

Looks like the UK police will continue pursuit in style. This looks good on paper, starting from the fact that it’s Jaguar, which is British-made in contrast to the crop of BMWs that some of the plod currently use.

Source: Autocar

Jaguar is setting its sights on an electric hybrid model for its XJ luxury saloon. The plans are hot on the heels of a £307 million green technology loan to be given out by the European Union.

The new hybrid XJ will have a set-up that uses battery-supplied electric power. The batteries can be charged through a small engine that can recharge them on the move. This set-up is just like the one on the Chevrolet Volt.

Jaguar has set high goals for the planned car, concurrent with the car manufacturer’s need to cut back on emissions by 25 percent for 2012. The range of the electric drive is pegged at 30 miles. Jaguar is also looking at 57 mpg efficiency and less than 120 g/Km of CO2 emissions.

The £307 million EU loan adds to Jaguar’s current funds, pushing the company’s investments for green technology to a whopping £800 million. Along with the proposed hybrid XJ luxury saloon, there’s also a mild hybrid Range Rover Sport and a mini-Range Rover hybrid in the works for Jaguar Land Rover.

Source: Autocar

Jaguar has confirmed that it will be showcasing its new Jaguar XJ at July’s British International Motor Show in London. The radical new luxury sedan promises to retake some of the patronage that shifted to the Mercedes S-class, as Jaguar seeks to foster a new executive customer base in Britain.

The car is currently called Project X351, and it has grown from something more like a simple update to a new model with extensive engineering changes. Jaguar is banking on a made-over bodywork and new engines to generate more interest for the new car.

The XJR, expected to be at the forefront of the entire XJ range, is powered by a 5.0-liter V8 engine that pushes the executive sedan to a whopping 503 brake horsepower while still maintaining Jaguar-caliber handling. Other engines available include a 271-bhp 3.0-liter twin-turbo diesel and a lower-powered variant that goes for 237 bhp.

Upgrades for the interior are also on tap, described by sources as ‘a big step forward’. It’s all about the details with the XJ, and it looks like Jaguar really is sparing no expense on this luxury sedan.

Source: Autocar

With each passing day, green automotive technology gets better and better. Transmission specialist Torotrak is working with Land Rover to produce a mechanical hybrid system with a small infinitely variable transmission with a tiny flywheel.

The system is quite similar to the KERS (kinetic energy recovery systems) to be used in Formula 1 this season. KERS is a regenerative braking mechanism that converts kinetic energy to energy that the vehicle can use to boost efficiency.

As the car brakes, the energy that goes through the IVT is used to spin the flywheel at up to 64,000rpm. When the car accelerates again, that stored kinetic energy is discharged, providing a boost in power and increased energy efficiency.

Torotrak is poised to be successful in its development as it has gained support from US transmission-maker Allison. Wit the combined technologies of the two companies, both are poised to be able to deliver better transmission systems.

This new transmission is set to be used in Jaguar and Land Rover lines.

Source: Autocar

The economic crunch continues to nip away at jobs and the automotive industry is really taking a huge hit. Indian automaker Tata who owns Jaguar and Land Rover announced that 450 jobs will get the axe due to the low market demands for new cars. 300 managers and 150 agency staff will find themselves jobless soon.

To compound the bad news for the managers, Tata will not be giving managers in general any bonuses for the year and pay increases are deferred until fourth quarter this year. Jag and Land Rover Chief David Smith says that the outlook doesn’t look like things will turn around anytime soon.

Tata has taken some hard hits last year. For one, they have failed to launch the Tata Nano and got stuck in a legal row with the location of their Nano plant. Jag and Land Rover, while they still have a loyal following especially in the European market, they haven’t exactly fared too well in a global scale.

Jaguar took a new XFR stateside to the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah for a secret speed trial and guess what they’ve come up with – the fastest Jag ever. The XFR prototype hit a top speed of a little more than 225 mph.

For the car to do so, it got a remapped ECU, a modified air intake, a new supercharger setting and a new exhaust system. The Jag also sported some body mods for both aerodynamic improvement and safety. Power still came from the same Power comes from the same 5.4L V8 that can be found in the stock XFR.

No word on how much power this tuned XFR has but that would be definitely a lot more than the 510 horses one can get with the production model. The car edged out Jag’s old record of 217.1 mph.

There’s a new Jaguar on the prowl and it’s running on Satan’s fuel (according to Clarkson) – namely, the Jaguar XF Diesel S, tagged as the most advanced and perhaps most powerful diesel Jaguar yet. Jaguar Cars Managing Director Mike O’Driscoll said that the XF Diesel S is “the best of both worlds”, citing the car’s high performance along with great mileage and emission levels.

The XF Diesel S is equipped with a 2.7-liter 275PS engine. This allows the car to go from 0-60 in 5.9 seconds. There is also a 3.0-liter 240PS engine variant available. What’s equally impressive is that the 2010 Jaguar XF Diesel S has a combined average mileage of 42 mpg, a 10-percent improvement for the 2.7-liter engine. The car also posts an improved 179 g/km CO2 emission rating.

Additional features of the car include 19-inch wheels, a boot lid spoiler for added aerodynamics, and new sequential turbochargers. Ron Lee, the chief engineer for the car’s powertrain, said that the new turbocharger “delivers V8 levels of performance from very low revs. It’s a power unit that offers superb flexibility and remarkably low fuel consumption and emissions, while building on the refinement that has become a trademark of our Jaguar diesel engines.”

Source: Lethistorylive

Jaguar announced that the company will be laying off 850 workers at its West Midlands facility, a mere few hours after the automaker sought financial aid from the British government.

A spokesman for the company said that “It is a difficult decision but it is part of us taking responsible and rapid actions for the future of the business… The car industry globally is probably the sector most severely affected by the current economic climate, and the premium end we are in is even more so.”

The worker cut will affect both the Solihull and Merseyside Halewood plants. Additionally, the Merseyside facility is already scheduled for a week-off before the year ends. Two shifts had already been cut from the Solihull payroll. The latest cut leaves around 15,000 workers in the UK and puts the Tata-owned car manufacturer’s total worker cuts at 1,450.

This number is expected to rise, especially if the trend of declining sales doesn’t stop soon. Tata hopes to prevent further slipping sales by introducing some new models geared towards reviving interest and profits.

Source: MotorAuthority

UK automaker entity Jaguar Land Rover is the latest in the line of car manufacturers seeking financial aid to shore up finances, seeking a 1-billion-pound bail-out from the UK government. The company, owned by Tata Motors of India, has seen consecutive months of sales decline.

The government reportedly will make its decision in at least two weeks. David Smith, CEO of Jaguar Land Rover, said in October that government bail-outs are needed by UK automakers in order to weather the effects of the current economic crisis. “Unless we introduce further measures to reignite the UK economy, there is significant risk,” he said.

Land Rover saw a steep decline of 37 percent for its US car sales from January through October this year. The brand suffered a similar 27 percent decline in the UK through the year’s first ten months.

Jaguar Land Rover refused to comment on the reported bail-out request. With the German government stating its willingness to aid Opel, perhaps the UK government would also be more than willing to help its ailing car manufacturers.

Source: Autocar

Back to the battle of the flagships. Jaguar’s slowly inching its way back into the game after jumping from one ownership to the other. Now they’re under Tata Motors, Jaguar is gearing up for a new direction and part of that is reinventing their flagship car’s direction.

The next-generation XJ flagship is set to be available within two years’ time. Be prepared as the next XJ will be targeting a more upscale market compared to the current XJ. Jaguar execs claim that it will be more of a Bentley than a BMW.

Now that’s quite a big market sector shift if you ask me. For one, the Merc’s S Class and the BMW 7 Series fare better as luxury flagships. Now they plan to take on the spiffier crowd of Bentleys and Maybachs.

Jaguar has also patented the C-XE and C-XJ designations, possibly to be used for their concepts. The C-XE is speculated to be a roadster to compete with the Porsche Boxster and the BMW Z4.

Right now, I am really wondering how much money Tata has. Their profits have fallen and yet they’re still hell-bent on creating possible market breakthroughs like the Nano, and with an Autocar report, the comeback of the cat – Jaguar – with a new F-Type roadster.

Many die-hard British fans have been raised hell on the fall of their automaking culture and some even played a bit of a race card thinking it was a shame that Jag went on to be property of their former colony. Why can’t they just be happy that, at least, the Jag name is still alive.

Now, Tata seems to be trying to reinvent Jag as a sporting brand than a luxury line. And they have also decided that they needed to offer a two-seater roadster that would pump some life back into Jaguar but would be attractive to people who can’t afford the XK. Hence, the new F-Type, created to be compete with the Porsche Boxster.

They’re estimating a price of $40,000 when it is made available in a couple of years.

Via: Next Autos

Edmund’s came up with another head to head to head to head comparison. This time with mid-sized sports sedan featuring the Jaguar XF Supercharged, the BMW 550i, Mecerdes-Benz E550 and Audi A6. They took into consideration performance, handling, styling, price, and some of the bells and whistles that come with the cars. To round up, here are giblets of numbers for each of the cars.

• Jaguar XF Supercharged: 4.2L V8, 420 hp, 408 lb-ft of torque, 0-60 at 5.1 seconds.
• BMW 550i: 4.2L V8, 360 hp, 360 lb-ft of torque, 0-60 at 5.4 seconds.
• Mercedes-Benz E550: 5.4L V8, 382-hp, 391 lb-ft of torque, 0-60 at 5.4 seconds.
• Audi A6 4.2: 4.2L V8, 350 hp, 325 lb-ft of torque, 0-60 at 5.8 seconds.

Jaguar has had received a lot of negative criticism over the years. Probably the horrible styling of recent models. Probably its the performance that can be put to shame by some other entry-level car. And those are some of the things that their XF line is trying to do.

The 2009 Jaguar XF Supercharged is powered by a supercharged 4.2 liter V8 engine producing 420 hp with a max pull of 408 lb-ft mated to a 6-speed automatic transmission with Jaguar’s Sequential Shift accessible via flappy paddle shifters. 0-60 is achieved in a little over 5 seconds. Edmunds got a piece of some Jaguar XF action and they’re glad to show us some of the good stuff.

The Jaguar XKR currently can be seen in the Geneva Motor Show. This sports car packs a punch with its 4.2L supercharged V8 delivering 420 bhp mated to a six-speed with Jaguar Sequential Shift Transmission with paddleshift gear changer. And here’s a video featuring the Jaguar XKR-S.

So here’s the second part of the Jaguar announcement – the 2009 Jaguar XKR Portfolio will bee seen in next month’s Geneva Motor Show. And unlike its four-door sedan Jaguar co-debutante, the Jaguar XKR is a sports car which will be available either as a coupe or a convertible. With the Portfolio badge, this has some added pedigree to the XKR’s image.

While this XKR is a sports car, there are some things that you might find common with the XJ. The XKR also sports a 4.2L V8 supercharged though it packs a bit more oomph with 420 bhp (20 more compred to the XJ) and this one’s engine’s mated to a six-speed with Jaguar Sequential Shift Transmission with paddleshift gear change. Still, like the XJ, it also sits on 20-inch Selena alloy wheels.

To make the car a bit sportier, Jaguar offers a choice of dark grey or black hood colors for the softop. It also sports milled aluminum power vents. The car is also equipped with lcon® R Performance braking system with red calipers – dubbed as the largest ever fitted to Jaguar.

Source: Jaguar

A couple of announcements from Jaguar came out today and they’re all about their offerings to next month’s Geneva Motor Show. One of them (the other will be tackled in another post) is the limited production 2009 Jaguar XJ Portfolio which will be made available to the public just this summer. In fact, it’s already available for order in the US as we speak (write). So if you’re interested in owning one, ring up your nearest Jaguar dealership and inquire about this car. The Portfolio tag is Jaguar’s mark for its limited edition luxury runs.

The US-spec XJ Portfolio packs 4.2-liter supercharged V8 that delivers around 400 horses. Quite a wallop for something that’s not build for sporting and performance. But it does make sense given the load that this car will be carrying. Its 20-inch Selena alloy wheels already pack a lot of weight to the car. And that’s just only on the outside.

Inside, the XJ sports hand-crafted Rich Oak veneer and softgrain leather upholstery. The shifter’s aluminum with leather trims and the alloy gear selector, with aluminum gearshift surround also has leather trimmings on them. The car also packs a lot of electronics and control systems.

For the premium one, you get “individually heated and cooled front seats; 7-inch Touch-screen operation of the satellite navigation, Jaguar premium sound and dual-zone climate control systems; Bluetooth® connectivity for up to five separate telephones; JaguarVoiceTM, Adaptive Cruise Control, and rear multimedia system with DVD player and twin display screens.

Source: Jaguar

By itself, the baseline Jaguar XF is quite a pussycat compared to the four-door meanies like the BMW M5 and the AMG E63 or even the Audi RS4. But somehow, Jaguar tries to up the ante with the Jaguar XF-R that would take the fight to those other cars and basically because the XF just wouldn’t cut it.

According to Motor Trend, the XF-R will dish out horses teetering around the 500hp range coming from a 5.0L V8 and that would come close to the 400-500 horses being dished out by the M5s and the E63s. The XF-R’s V8 will be mater to the ZF 6-speed flappy-paddle shifters as with the XKR with a bit of modification.

The XF-R will also come with upgraded brakes and stiffer suspensions which is quite logical given any car with more horsepower. Add some more bells and whistles on this one like 20-inch rims, an exhaust with more punch and a sportier trim complete with a wire-mesh grille and aggressive fascias.

But come on, given a choice among the BMW, the Merc and the Audi, would you rather go for the Jag? If you’re a cheap bastard (not if you’re cheap with $80K to spend for the XF-R), then you might want to spring for the Jag.

Source: Motor Trend

March is the big month for Jaguar as they set to launch the Jaguar XF (pictured). It was not so long ago (early this year, actually) that we first saw a glimpse of what was to become the XF – the C-XF Concept. And as it was, it looked promising. I think it’s about time that Jaguar finally shake things up. It deviated from the classic stylings typical of other Jags and the C-XF Concept presented a coupe-ish design reminiscent of the Merc CLS class.

The leap from the concept to the production version isn’t even that large. With a few fascia stylings, the XF was set to be mass produced for the March 2008 launch. But even before the XF is launched, we now have news that an R version is in the works.

The R version is a 500 bhp monster with its massive 5L V8. It will also feature quad exhausts and tweaked engine cooling. It will also have a lower ride height and massive 20-inch alloy wheels. The XFR is supposed to go head to head with the BMW M5 but we’ll have to wait for 2009 to get this version.