Jaguar News

Jaguar unveiled the new F-Type Coupe in all its gorgeous glory just an hour apart at motor shows on two sides of the world, with both Tokyo and Los Angeles getting to see the car. Based on the C-X16 Concept unveiled at Frankfurt two years ago, the F-Type Coupe has fairly closely echoed that blueprint with its streamlined design, and showcased it by debuting the car in race-inspired top spec.The three-model line-up is led by the show star F-Type R Coupé powered by a 404kW/680Nm 5.0-litre V8 supercharged engine that gets to 0-100km/h in 4.2-seconds, and to a top speed of 300km/h (electronically limited), making it more powerful and swifter than the top-spec convertible V8 S, with its 364kW/625Nm and 4.3 sec time.The two other variants have the same power outputs and acceleration as the convertible, with the entry' F-Type’s supercharged 250kW/450Nm 3-litre delivering a 0-100km/h time of 5.3 seconds, while the mid-spec 'S' is powered by a 280kW/460Nm V6 for a 4.9sec sprint. A fourth engine -- tipped to be the 180kW 2.0-litre four-cylinder borrowed from Jaguar Land Rover stablemate Evoque -- could slot in to make a new entry level for the Coupe.An eight-speed 'Quickshift' sequential auto transmission with paddles delivers drive to the rear wheels, for which the R and S coupes  can option a carbon-ceramic matrix brake package with 398mm discs on the front and 380mm on the rear. An electronic active differential works in concert with a new torque vectoring system to optimise handling.A panoramic glass roof features in the official images, but not on some of the leaked ones, meaning it's likely to also be an optional extra for those who still want a bit of air in the cabin but don't want to go the full monty with the convertible. Jaguar Australia hasn't released local pricing for the Coupe, which is expected to arrive here from the third quarter of next year. And the prices of the convertible -- from $138,645 to $201,945 -- may yet be altered, with the local HQ  suggesting they may reposition pricing to retaliate against Porsche price cutting.  "The F-Type was never going to be a volume-seller but it is a halo car for the brand and we'll defend its position in the segment as required," Jaguar Land Rover Asia-Pacific boss David Blackhall told Carsguide.

Ken Block makes do with a specially-built Ford Fiesta Gymkhana thrash machine for his video ventures, but the anonymous souls at Tax The Rich like to create their sideways sequences using museum-grade thoroughbred supercars or ultra-luxury machines.Over the past 18 months we’ve seen a Ferrari 288 GTO, Bugatti EB110 SS, Rolls Royce Phantom, twin Ferrari F50s, a Ferrari Enzo, and a Jaguar XJ220 thrashed mercilessly around their agricultural playground, to the chagrin of supercar fanciers and the guilty pleasure of everyone else.For their latest and tenth instalment, the mega-dollar 288 GTO returns to the Tax The Rich farm, where they put it through the usual opposite-lock action across mud, gravel and tarmac, all to the tune of Wagner’s Ride of the Valkyries.The 288 GTO was developed for Group B rallying, but never raced due to the disbanding of the category, and the 272 road cars are now worth serious money. Perfect for the Tax The Rich treatment then!The highlight this time are the slo-mo figure-eights the GTO executes within the tight confines of a hay shed, with its composite body slewing sideways just inches from brick walls.And as with recent entries, it looks like there’s a clue to the subject of the next Tax The Rich instalment, with what looks to be a prototype Ferrari F40 (chassis 74047 as seen below) appearing through smoke at the end of the film. If so, it will be the most precious to be pummelled yet.While the identities of the Tax The Rich progenitors officially remain a mystery, the elaborate gates shown in the Phantom film just happen to signify the entrance to Heveningham Hall, a palatial 25 bedroom manor that makes Downton Abbey look like an outhouse, set in 460 acres of lush Suffolk farmland. Significantly, Heveningham Hall is owned by real-estate magnate Jon Hunt, and his rally driver son Harry…This reporter is on Twitter: @Mal_Flynn Watch the desktop version of the Tax The Rich Ferrari 288 GTO video here.  

You know you're getting old when car comfort is more important than a stoplight sprint. Either that or, like me, you've recently spent too much time with doctors and comfort suddenly becomes the single most important thing in your driving day.I love the Ferrari 458, but right now I would hobble straight past the rip-snorter Italian thoroughbred on the way to a cushy Jaguar XJ limo. It would be the same situation for my first-choice funster, the Porsche Cayman.I've recently driven a race-prepared Fiat 500 Abarth and the pain was almost - almost - worse than the pleasure of romping the pocket rocket around the high-speed swoops and curves of Phillip Island. I was more than happy to slide back into the cushiness of a Chrysler 300 for the drive home, even if the seats in the motown monster don't give as much support as I normally like.The ride back to the airport got me thinking about the strengths and weaknesses of a number of vehicles that have recently passed through the Carsguide garage, focusing on how they make you feel in the body instead of in the head. Every week there are emails to CarsGuide from people of age, asking about upgrading - from a conventional passenger car into something in the SUV style that's easier on the hips and legs at mounting and dismounting time.An SUV can look like a good idea on the comfort front, but lots have bench-flat seats, crappy ergonomics and nowhere near enough suspension compliance. The Subaru Forester has a nice ride, but I prefer the seats in the Toyota RAV4. On the car front, the new Nissan Pulsar has seats that do nothing for me, but the Renault Clio is surprisingly comfy for a little, affordable car.My top favourite seat is a Recaro racing bucket that is almost shrink-wrapped to my shape, like a bathtub full of jelly that provides perfect support. But it's just about the toughest seat to get into or away from. So, right now, the first-choice comfort car is a Range Rover. It's stupidly expensive, but everything works for me, from a body that drops down on its air springs for easy access to beautifully-shaped front buckets finished in lovely leather and even a user-friendly automatic gearbox that means my left leg never has to move out of its comfort zone.This reporter is on Twitter: @PaulWardGover 

Purists will think this a sacrilegious abomination of design. A 1968 Jaguar E-Type has been unveiled as the world's first stretched example -- with a matching trailer -- and will go on display at a coming UK motoring event.The US-based owner has had his left-hand drive car stretched 4.5 inches by UK's Classic Motor Cars, whose managing director described the result as being what the storied Jaguar brand should have done with their design.“The car is phenomenal to drive. This is the E-Type that Jaguar Cars should have built. The extra space makes all the difference and actually alters the whole attitude of the car,” Nick Goldthorp said.Owner Paul Branstad had CMC rebuild the car after a front end crash, and stretch it during the restoration. He also had them build a trailer from two E-Type rear ends to tow behind it -- with a removable tow hitch and a hitch mechanism hidden behind the car's reversing light.Branstad said he's named the creation The Kaizen, from the Toyota principle of “understand the imperative to make continuous improvements and then get to work” -- adding he thinks the E-Type's designer Malcolm Sayer would have approved of the changes.“The stretched E-Type I have conceived sits between the Series I and the subsequent vehicles produced after the merger and formation of British Leyland, when the design of the cars underwent several transformations as a consequence of cuts in production costs and the need for more space that resulted in the Series II 2+2 and Series III V12,” Branstead said.The extra length gives the legroom of the Series 3 V12 E-Type (which was 9 inches longer than the Series 1, with the extra space largely going to rear storage), while the roof has been raised 1.25 inches and the boot floor dropped and reshaped to accommodate a 20-gallon tank and wider spare wheel. CMC have also upgraded the airconditioning, power steering, brakes, gearbox and suspension.“The four and a half inches added to the Kaizen E-type could make the car even more beautiful than the original Series I edition,” Branstad said. “Perhaps this car would have represented the very last chance for Malcolm Sayer to apply his ideas for the E-Type.”This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott 

Jaguar has booked into the world's most expensive ad programming, the annual US Super Bowl -- which sees more interest in its ads than in the football final being played out on the field.

The 59-year-old, one of the last senior executives from the tumultuous Jacques Nasser era, started as Ford's vice president of design in 1997 after working with BMW, Audi and Volkswagen.

The Jaguar F-Type Coupe will get its official unveiling at the Los Angeles motor show later this month, but the brand has released the first official teaser image giving us a glimpse of the hardtop. Based on the C-X16 Concept unveiled at Frankfurt two years ago, the F-Type Coupe is expected to stick closely to that blueprint. The birds-eye photo they've released shows little of the styling -- which will echo the F-Type convertible -- but does reveal a glass roof and hatchback tail carrying the active spoiler. Under the bonnet is most likely to be the same engine line-up as the convertible. The 'entry' F-Type is powered by a supercharged 250kW/450Nm 3-litre that delivers a 0-100km/h time of 5.3 seconds, while the mid-level 'S' gets a 280kW/460Nm V6 for a 4.9sec sprint, and the top-spec V8 S gets the 364kW/625Nm snarler clocking a 4.3sec time. There's no indication yet of the coupe's Australian pricing when the Coupe goes on here from the third quarter of 2014. The convertible ranges from $138,645 for the base supercharged V6 up to $201,945 for the V8 S. However Jaguar's local HQ has already said they might reposition prices to better equip the F-Type against price cuts from Porsche. This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott  

Price cuts and/or feature upgrades are a chance for the Jaguar F-Type despite strong early demand for the roadster. Jaguar Land Rover Asia-Pacific boss David Blackhall says Porsche's price cuts in response to the launch of the F-Type earlier this year prompted JLR to re-evaluate. 'The results seems to say (Porsche) took a look at the car and the segment and thought ‘We're going to protect our turf'." Blackhall says. 'We were comfortable with where the F-Type's price and position ended up but when the goalposts moved, we've had to respond to that." The F-Type Jaguar is priced between the Porsche Boxster and 911 cabrio, ranging from $138,645 for the base supercharged V6 to $201,945 for the V8 S. The Boxster range starts at $101,500 while the 911 drop-top kicks off at $228,900. Former Porsche Australia head Michael Winkler will take over local JLR operations from November 11. His appointment comes at a time when demand for Land Rovers and Range Rovers is outstripping supply. 'We would sell in Australia almost anything we can get across the entire Land Rover range except Defender," Blackhall says. The first shipment of 40 F-Types for Australia was pre-sold and Blackhall says a second batch of 80 also will be a sellout. 'The F-Type was never going to be a volume-seller but it is a halo car for the brand and we'll defend its position in the segment as required," Blackhall says. Quizzed as to whether basic options - such as dual-zone aircon, manual activation of the active sports exhaust and reversing camera - would be standard to bolster the value-for-money equation, Blackhall says: 'That's all on the table as part of this review. We won't rule anything out at this stage."  

Carsguide was delighted to learn this week that our free iPad app, CarsMag, has been chosen as a finalist in the Motoring Magazine of the Year category of the prestigious global Digital Magazine Awards. The shortlisting among 10 finalists caps a great 12 months for CarsMag, which has grown to more than 35,000 subscribers.The Digital Magazine Awards are the premiere competitive showcase for the digital publishing industry, and target innovation, creativity and design as prime judging factors.The other nine finalists include some of the world’s leading brands: Auto Bild; BBC Top Gear; Dream Machines; ignition; Jaguar F-Type App; Motor Sport; Ride Through Magazine; and 2010 Motoring Magazine of the Year category winner Zoom-Zoom (Mazda magazine).Some of our own favourite reading is on that list and we’re truly honoured to be on it as well, no matter which way the judging goes when the winners are announced in London on November 26.To download the free app for iPad, visit the iTunes store here. 

The hot mid-size prestige car market is ready to boil from 2015 when Jaguar unleashes an all-aluminium compact sedan. Australian buyers are in one of the first cabs off the ranks with the sedan