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Jaguar gives World Car jurors private viewing of J-Pace, next XJ

The brace of accolades bestowed on the Jaguar I-Pace include three awards given by the 86 jurors on the World Car of the Year panel. They anointed the I-Pace World Car of the Year, World Green Car of the Year, and World Car Design of the Year. Jaguar hosted a get-together for its new WCOTY friends, inviting jurors to the carmaker's Coventry design studios to check out future products. The coming all-electric XJ and flagship J-Pace were the stars of the gathering, this being the first time Jaguar's publicly got behind the range-topping crossover. Ex-head designer Ian Callum hinted about the J-Pace in April, but all he would say is, "We're looking at it." With Jaguar confident enough to show the vehicle to very important outsiders, the J-Pace could be on track for its rumored 2021 launch. Jaguar dropped hints of other new cars, too. The carmaker "gave a firm nod to" two new crossovers that will be "considerably less expensive" than current crossovers in the lineup, to be called A-Pace and B-Pace. We've never heard of these, but based on the brand's naming structure, the A-Pace would slot in at entry-level, the B-Pace just above. It's said that one or both of these will be sized to compete in the World Urban Car Awards sometime in the 2020s. That means subcompact dimensions along the lines of this year's World Urban Car winner the Suzuki Jimny, or the top-three finisher Kia Soul. The jurors also got a look at the imminent replacements for the F-Type and XE. The second-generation F-Type is said to wear an evolutionary design; the big changes will take place under the hood. A V8 could remain in the top tier, but one sourced from BMW instead of Jaguar's own supercharged 5.0-liter V8. The current V6 is expected to give way for an Ingenium inline-six developed in-house. And expect one or both of them to come with hybrid assistance, as Jaguar's made a point of saying that all of its offerings will get "electrified options" in the 2020s. What did Jaguar get out of the open-house? Insider information, apparently: "150 senior Jaguar employees" put questions to the WCOTY jurors about how the panel road-tests cars. Perhaps the WCOTY award will become the new Nurburgring for the next decade. As a final flourish to everyone who'd get the news, Jaguar CEO Ralph Speth informed the audience that his charge and Land Rover "are definitely not for sale to Peugeot-Citroen, Fiat-Chrysler, Hyundai-Kia or any other motor manufacturing companies." So there.

Junkyard Gem: 1997 Jaguar XK8 Convertible

Jaguar sold the mighty XJS grand tourer from the 1976 through 1996 model years, and I've documented quite a few of them in their final parking spaces. For 1997, the replacement for that legendary car finally arrived, in the form of the oft-delayed XK8. Here's one of those first-year cars, found in a self-service yard in Denver, Colorado recently. Development of this car's platform and general shape goes back to 1980, when endless prototypes were built and forgotten. Once Ford took over Jaguar in 1990, the abaondoned XJ41 project was revived and became the 1994 Aston Martin DB7. Fast-forward three years and you get a Jaguar-badged cousin of that car. The 1997 XK8 could be purchased in coupe or convertible form. The top on this car has seen better days. How much, you ask? A cool $69,900, which would be around $130,165 in 2022 dollars. If you wanted the Aston Martin DB7 Volante convertible that year, the price tag was $135,000 ($251,395 now). As we've seen in this series, sophisticated European machinery requires fastidious maintenance on the dot, or you get hit with repair bills larger than the car's value once it hits age 10 or so. Once a car like this reaches its fourth or fifth owner, the Clock of Doom starts ticking very loudly if it was ever neglected prior to that. It appears that preparation for body and paint work took place but was never completed. The engine is a 4.0-liter Jaguar DOHC V8 rated at 290 horsepower, same as the one in the XJ8. In 1998, a 370-horse supercharged version known as the XKR became available. The Lincoln LS and 2002-2005 Ford Thunderbird got a de-bored 3.9-liter version of this engine. The transmission in 1997 was a mandatory five-speed ZF automatic, regardless of which side of the Atlantic you lived on. In fact, every street XK8 ever built had an automatic when it left the assembly line (though I'm sure some three-pedal swaps have been performed by now). These cars aren't exactly common in your local Ewe Pullet, but they are out there.  This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. As some 24 Hours of Lemons racers in Texas discovered, you can buy a DB7 shell cheap at auction and then bolt in everything you need to make it a runner by stripping an even cheaper XK8 donor car.  This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. A new breed of Jaguar. This content is hosted by a third party.

Weekly Recap: Automakers rethink the definition of luxury

Variety is the spice of life, but it's becoming a prerequisite for luxury carmakers in the ultra-competitive US market. The Detroit Auto Show was strong evidence of this reality. It's not enough to offer attractive and well-appointed cars and SUVs anymore. Luxury brands that want to be competitive need to invest in everything from high-powered supercars to clever hybrids. To be relevant, you need to be green and mean – and everything in between. As General Motors product chief Mark Reuss said after the reveal of the 640-horsepower Cadillac CTS-V: "We are not leaving anything on the table." He was speaking for Cadillac, but he might as well have been speaking for the luxury car market. The CTS-V debuted in Detroit about an hour after Lexus surprised showgoers with the reveal of the RC F GT3 race car and then announced ambitious plans to return to competitive racing. That almost overshadowed the fact Lexus had just revealed another potent addition to its growing F line, the 467-hp GS F. View 20 Photos But for luxury brands, it's not just about maximum horsepower for well-heeled enthusiasts or decadent amenities for the Grey Poupon set. Strong competition from all corners has forced automakers to refine and expand their lineups in ways unforeseen even a few years ago. Case in point: Mercedes-Benz finally has an answer to the BMW X6, rolling out the GLE coupe in Detroit. The X6, which blends coupe-like styling cues with some of the functionality of an SUV, debuted in 2008. Back then it was a punchline, but seven years and more than 260,000 sales later, the X6's success has compelled Benz to respond. Mercedes – one of the strongest proponents of diesel technology – also debuted the C350 plug-in hybrid sedan, which promises a range of 20 miles on electricity, though fuel economy figures were not announced. The car pairs Mercedes' well-received 208-hp turbocharged four-cylinder with an electric motor for total output of 275 hp and 443 pound-feet of torque. Meanwhile, Infiniti will add the Q30 hatchback to its lineup by the end of the year, new president Roland Kruger reiterated in Detroit. It's expected to be joined by a crossover variant, and the additions will help strengthen Infiniti in the United States and abroad. "While we're expanding our product line, we're also expanding our market reach," he said. That's something echoed by Jaguar executives, who are preparing to launch the brand's first crossover, the F-Pace, in 2016.