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.