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Jaguar XFR-S is motor-porn on a mountain road

The 2014 Jaguar XFR-S might have only been good enough to take the runner-up spot in our Editor's Choice top five debuts at the LA Auto Show, but we'd be hard-pressed to find a car with a more exhilarating exhaust note. As proof of this, Jaguar released a video showing the XFR-S tearing up a windy, European mountain road in close to a minute of hardcore driving footage.
The big blue cat has the same great exhaust note of the XKR-S, and the driver puts all of the car's 550 horsepower to work demonstrating the handling - and drifting - abilities of the new XFR-S. If there's any disappointment to be had, it's the fact that you have to jump to the 30-second mark of the video for any of the action to start.
Scroll down to watch the video, and be sure your speakers are turned all the way up.

Dick Van Dyke escapes his flaming Jaguar on the 101

Actor Dick Van Dyke was caught in a dangerous situation on a Los Angeles highway (who are we kidding, every situation on an LA highway is dangerous), when his Jaguar XJ spontaneously caught fire. The 87-year-old actor/comedian pulled to the side and attempted to call emergency services when another motorist pulled him from the car. There seems to be some confusion as to whether Van Dyke was passed out or merely calling emergency services.
According to the photos and video from NBC and The Today Show, the car was thoroughly cooked in the blaze and is now a total loss. After the incident, Van Dyke's wife, Arlene, posted that the actor was "fine," sharing a Vine video of the star, the car, and a few CHP troopers that were on hand. Later in the day, Van Dyke tweeted a photo of his toasted sedan, saying, "Used Jag for sale REAL CHEAP!!"
You can view the Today show segment on the incident as well as Arlene Van Dyke's Vine video, below.

Jaguar Project 7 concept is an F-Type in a D-Type mold [w/video]

In addition to the XJR, XFR-S and XKR-S GT models Jaguar is bringing to the Goodwood Festival of Speed this weekend, the manufacturer announced that the F-Type-based, D-Type-inspired Project 7 design study will make its "dynamic" debut at the festival, with driving duties assigned to Mike Cross, Jaguar's chief engineer of vehicle integrity. Here's the cool part: With Jaguar's Director of Design, Ian Callum, leading the team responsible for Project 7, it went from the drawing board to track testing in only four months, Jaguar states, with a claimed 0-60 time of 4.1 seconds and top speed of 186 miles per hour.
Project 7, which was named in honor of Jaguar's seven wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, will be making runs up the hill at Goodwood over all three days of the festival, which starts at the Goodwood House in West Sussex, England, this Friday.
Far from a fragile concept car, Jaguar says, the single-seat Project 7 is a fully functional sports car. It uses the all-aluminum chassis and body of the F-Type, retains that car's 550-horsepower, supercharged 5.0-liter V8 and eight-speed automatic transmission but features lots of bespoke carbon fiber aerodynamic bits, some of which were inspired by the Le Mans-winning D-Type of the 1950s. The most obvious nod to that classic is the rear fairing with integrated rollover hoop - the F-Type's convertible top is gone. The windshield was also lowered, giving the roadster a more rakish silhouette as it sits on 20-inch forged-alloy wheels with carbon fiber inserts.