2005 Jaguar S-type R Sedan 4-door 4.2l on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Weekly Recap: Hyundai scores NFL sponsorship after GM exits

Hyundai replaced General Motors as the official automotive sponsor of the NFL with a four-season deal that was announced this week. Hyundai gets exclusive sponsorship rights for mainstream and luxury cars, though not for pickups – as it doesn't have one in its current portfolio. "There may be another automotive truck sponsor, but not one that competes with our vehicle lineup," a Hyundai spokesman said in an email. That leaves the door open for another truckmaker to enter the fray. GM used the NFL to promote its GMC division, which makes pickups and sport-utility vehicles. The Detroit automaker decided to quit the sponsorship, which it had held since 2001, a GM spokesman said. Financials were not released, but ESPN said the sponsorship will cost Hyundai $50 million a year, double what GM paid. It gives Hyundai access to NFL trademarks for use in its marketing and advertising, and Hyundai will provide promotional vehicles to the league for the Super Bowl and other events. Hyundai celebrated the agreement by lighting up its Fountain Valley, CA, headquarters this week with a football field and the NFL logo. Hyundai's sister company, Kia, is the official automotive sponsor of the NBA. "We are huge football fans at Hyundai and feel there is no better venue to reach consumers, increase consideration, and tell the Hyundai brand story," Hyundai Motor America CEO Dave Zuchowski said in a statement. Hyundai will officially kick off its sponsorship when the NFL season begins on Sept. 10 with a primetime game featuring the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots. OTHER NEWS & NOTES Toyota Mirai rated at 67 mpge, 312-mile range The Environmental Protection Agency gave the Toyota Mirai hydrogen fuel cell electric car a 67-miles-per-gallon-equivalent rating. The figure is for city, highway, and combined driving. The EPA also said the Mirai will have a 312-mile range. The sedan will arrive in dealerships in California this fall and will cost $57,500, though incentives can drop the price significantly. The Mirai will also be offered as a $499-per-month lease. Both come with three years or $15,000 worth of free fuel. Toyota plans to expand sales to the Northeast United States later. Toyota's top female exec resigns in wake of arrest Meanwhile, in other Toyota news, the automaker's communications chief and top female executive, Julie Hamp, resigned.

Jaguar F-Type Coupe unveiled with range-topping R model

This is the Jaguar F-Type Coupe, the long-awaited hardtop counterpart to the F-Type roadster we tested earlier this year. Besides adding a roof, it shuffles up the engine range that we saw on the Convertible model, and in two of three cases, it cuts the cost of entry rather quite nicely (a happy contradiction to earlier reports).
The big change is that the F-Type Coupe does away with the Convertible's V8S trim (although the 495-horsepower variant will still be available in the droptop), and adds an even more potent letter to the top of the range. The $99,000 F-Type R Coupe is the latest member of Jaguar's R Performance line, and despite being down a letter on the XFR-S and XKR-S, it features the same 5.0-liter, 550-hp supercharged V8. With all that power on tap, the F-Type R will sprint to 60 mph in just 4.0 seconds (if it doesn't break into the 3s in independent testing, we'll be shocked) and on to a top speed of 186 miles per hour. If you need to get to freeway speeds quickly, the F-Type R will also go from 50 to 75 mph in just 2.4 seconds.
As the top tier model, the F-Type R is loaded down with performance-oriented tech. The suspension features adaptive dynamics that manage the car's body movements and adjust accordingly, while the suspension itself is 4.3-percent stiffer in front and 3.7-percent tighter in the back than the F-Type V8S Convertible. Drivers can dial up an even stiffer suspension setting in Dynamic Mode, which will also tweak the steering, the shift schedule of the eight-speed SportShift automatic and the throttle response of that brawny engine.

Carlex Jaguar XJ Coupe restomod is neither British nor understated

The Jaguar XJ Coupe was already an unconventional Jag. The dramatically long two-door was built on a Series II sedan chassis and kept most of the styling in tact, just losing two doors and gaining a whole lot of subtle elegance. However, the customizers at Carlex Design have created an XJC that takes things to the next level (and maybe a few levels beyond that). Based in Poland, Carlex has a history of cranking out modified vehicles for well-off clientele. Past projects have included a race-inspired Land Rover Defender, a yachting-inspired Mercedes G63, an aggressively styled Hyundai Santa Fe, and a gargoyle-esque Ford Ranger. The Jaguar XJ Coupe is clearly a favorite, though. The newest XJC takes the British classic and gives it racier look. De-bumpered and widened with blister flares, it evokes a touring car racer from back in the day. Actually, it's more accurate to say this is what a modern restomod inspired by a fictional 1970s race car would look like, as the real XJ Coupe race cars didn't quite look like this. That's because the wheels are gigantic, big enough to bathe a medium-sized dog in. No in-period race car would have had saucers that large. And while the side view maintains faithful to the classic, its face betrays its era. Circle to the front end and LED headlights and afterburner-style high beams complete the Jag's four-eyed gaze. The original's elegant grille has been replaced with a toothy maw that would look more at home on a SEMA Jeep. Underhood the Carlex sports a V8 (of unspecified origin) delivering 400 horsepower. The company says its brakes are new, and that suspension and air conditioning are suitable for everyday use. The interior has been upholstered in what Carlex calls hand-aged leather. The deep brown color gives it the feel of a mahogany-walled boardroom. Aside from the fluting everywhere, the interior is fairly clean, and less busy than the original XJC's. If we had to pick we'd go with the unflared body of Carlex's old XJC design, but replace its Kardashian-designed dash with this one. Carlex didn't disclose price or production run, but only that a few examples would be built each year. Or, you can try to find one of Jaguar's original XJ Coupes, which were only produced between 1975 and 1978, with a run of fewer than 10,000 units over the four-year span. Given its obscurity it's kind of a strange car to restomod, but perhaps we in the U.S.