1969 Jaguar E-type on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Jaguar may join the FWD, small-car parade

Was it right for Chevrolet to detune the 1975 Corvette's base engine to 165 horsepower? Was Aston Martin wrong to make the Toyota iQ-based Cygnet? Is BMW crazy to be testing the new 1 Series with three-cylinder engines and front-wheel drive? It seems now, just as in the 1970s and 1980s, that emissions regulations and social considerations are driving some automakers to adopt unbefitting practices to maintain acceptance in the eyes of governments and consumers. Jaguar has jumped on the bandwagon, and is considering development of small, frugal, front-wheel-drive cars to help lower Jaguar Land Rover's average vehicle CO2 levels in light of tightening European emissions regulations, Autocar reports.
By 2020, the European Union expects the model range of every manufacturer to average 95 grams per kilometer, which is a new law passed by the European Parliament in April. Manufacturers who make more than 300,000 vehicles per year must meet these targets, and JLR is expected to be producing up to 700,000 vehicles per year by then. CO2 regulations after 2020 will only get stricter, as EU politicians already are talking about lowering CO2 levels to between 68 g/km and 78 g/km. (To put that in perspective, Autocar posits that driving a fully charged electric vehicle in Europe produces about 75 g/km when factoring in the power-generation infrastructure.)
Jaguar has some choices here, but so far they all have drawbacks. It could develop a new, compact chassis architecture for a line of compact vehicles, but the investment required for such a project could be prohibitively expensive. Jaguar has been looking into using the Land Rover Evoque platform for a small SUV, Autocar reports, but Land Rover brand manager John Edwards raises issue with such a plan, saying it may not be financially feasible.

Jaguar unveils a Touring version of the XE SV Project 8 super sedan

Jaguar produced just 300 examples of the bonkers XE SV Project 8 super sedan. Now, it's going to build 15 more, but in a new street-spec Touring form. It's essentially the same as the track-spec version, but you lose the extreme aero elements. If you remember the Project 8 from a couple years ago, you know it has an adjustable carbon fiber wing sitting atop the decklid. This one just has a small lip spoiler, giving it a more discreet look. Additionally, the adjustable front splitter is swapped for a smaller fixed one that is less likely to scrape on everything you encounter on the road. Finally, Jaguar removed the aggressive decals, but you're allowed to put those back on optionally if you so choose. The Touring retains the 5.0-liter supercharged V8 making 592 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque. That's good for a 0-60 mph run in just 3.3 seconds. There is some bad news for those angling for the highest top speed, though. Jaguar limits the wingless Touring to just 186 mph, whereas the more stable, regular SV Project 8 is allowed to hit 200 mph. Another bit exclusive to the Touring is the required four-seat configuration. You were able to option the standard car with a half roll cage in place of the rear seats. But hey, don't you want to drive your friends around in your stupid-fast Jaguar? Weirdly enough, the Touring is actually a hair more expensive than the standard car. You'll be looking at a standard price of just over $190,000 to the regular car's $187,500 starting price. The difference is negligible at that point, and the Touring will actually be far more exclusive than the already limited standard Project 8. We certainly like the looks of the Touring version — it reminds us of the Porsche 911 GT3 Touring in nature and purpose, and there's a whole lot to love about that car. Jaguar says that even though it's only making 15 of them, some slots are still open for ordering. If the most powerful Jag without a wing strikes your fancy, we'd recommend getting in touch with Jaguar sooner rather than later.

Jaguar offers best glimpse yet at new F-Pace [w/video]

The upcoming new Jaguar F-Pace crossover promises to be both fast and comfortable, but its reveal has been somewhat slow and painful. Fortunately it'll all come to a close soon when Jaguar finally takes the wraps off the finished product at the Frankfurt Motor Show less than two weeks from now. But before it does, it's offering us one more glimpse at its forthcoming debut crossover. Though once satisfied leaving the high-riders to its sister brand Land Rover, Jaguar declared its intention to get into the crossover market when it presented the C-X17 at the Frankfurt show two years ago. We've since seen the concept rehashed in different colors, more spy shots of prototypes undergoing testing than we could shake an aluminum stick at, and even more teaser images and videos – including some barely wearing any camouflage at all. But this is out best look at it yet. And with it, the British automaker confirms that the crossover will hit US showrooms next Spring. The production F-Pace is pictured above and at the end of the video below in S trim, production spec, and in profile ahead of its global debut. And looking at it side by side with the concept, it's clear that Jaguar has kept faithful to the original design. The side vent has been reshaped, the rear haunch smoothed out, the roofline appears to slope a little more, and some minor details have been rethought. But otherwise it's a dead ringer, at least as far as we can tell so far. Even the wheel design is strikingly similar. But we'll reserve final judgement for when we see it up close, personal, and from all the angles upon its debut – though we don't doubt we'll see a bit more of it between now and then. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.