2010 Jaguar Xf on 2040-cars

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Jaguar hints at what might become of XK after F-Type's arrival

Jaguar may move the company's XK further upmarket following the introduction of its forthcoming F-Type. The newcomer to the range easily shoulders the burden of carrying the Jaguar sportscar mantle, freeing up the XK to evolve in another direction. While speaking with Autocar, Jaguar Design Director Ian Callum said there's an opportunity to grow the grand tourer both in size and luxury.
Whether that means the vehicle will retain its two-plus-two seating configuration or swell to offer buyers even more space remains to be seen. Either way, the future will likely see the XK soften its claws moving forward. And that's no bad thing. Jaguar has a long history of building luxurious grand tourers more content to soak up miles of highway than bounce from apex to apex.
What else is in store for the brand? Callum seems to have kept his cards close to his chest, refusing to acknowledge ongoing rumors of a Jaguar crossover beyond saying the brand "had to take notice" of the popularity of the luxury SUV market.

Jaguar gets to work on next-gen XF sedan

With the XE now out in the open, Jaguar can begin to focus on what comes next. That means a new crossover, but also replacements for some of its aging current models - chief among them, the XF. Introduced back in 2007, Jaguar's mid-range sedan is growing a little long in the tooth. But from these latest spy shots, we can see that the British automaker is hard at work developing its successor.
Expected to be based on the same iQ A1 platform that underpins the new XE, the new XF promises to be lighter in weight and more advanced than the model it replaces. Look for most of the same engines to carry over, including gasoline and diesel options ranging from four cylinders to eight, with and without forced induction, with a potential plug-in hybrid version to follow. The current model is available in rear- and all-wheel-drive configurations and in sedan and wagon body styles, and we'd expect its replacement to follow suit.
The low-profile wheels and dual exhaust pipes on one of the prototypes spotted suggests it would lie somewhere near the top of the range, while the second prototype packs taller sidewalls and a trailer hitch. It's hard to discern much esle from the spy shots, heavily camouflaged as they are, but as with the technology underneath, we'd expect styling to takes some cues from the smaller XE as well. Jaguar will, of course, need to tread the line between distinctive and understated if it's going to fend off the Maserati Ghibli and take a bigger slice of the pie away from the likes of the Audi A6, BMW 5 Series and Mercedes-Benz E-Class, the Lexus GS and Infiniti Q70, the Cadillac CTS and the upcoming new Volvo S90.

Jaguar launches new classic racing series

One-make racing series have become all the rage for customers who want to actually race their exotic sports cars (or competition-spec versions of them, anyway). Ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini and Aston Martin all offer such programs, and Porsche supports several. Now Jaguar is getting in on the action as well, but instead of turning one of its production models - we're looking at you, F-Type - into a spec racer, it's launching an historic racing series instead.
The 2015 Jaguar Heritage Challenge will be open to cars made by the Leaping Cat marque before 1966, including the C-Type, D-Type, E-Type and Mk I and MkII sedans. The series, which builds on the success of the previous Jaguar E-Type Challenge, will be administered by the Historic Sports Car Club (HSCC) based at Silverstone and will include four races in the UK and one in Europe, with the exact schedule still to be determined.
The program was announced at the launch of the Jaguar Heritage Driving Experience, where Jaguar Land Rover Special Operations director John Edwards was also named chairman of the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust, replacing former Jaguar managing director Mike O'Driscoll who chaired the organization for the past five years.