2017 Jaguar Xj R-sport $83k Msrp on 2040-cars

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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.

Ride like a royal with Queen Elizabeth II's Jaguar X-Type

The British royal family may be best known for more high-end machinery such as Land Rovers, Bentleys or even King Charles' wine-powered Aston Martin. But not everything was quite so flashy, such as this 2009 Jaguar X-Type wagon, which was owned and driven by the late Queen Elizabeth II. And now it could be yours, since it's heading for auction. We heard about it via Robb Report, and it's being sold by Historic Auctioneers in the U.K. It was very clearly owned by the royal family, as evidenced by the photos of her driving the car, and apparently its initial registration was a royal plate number. We also noticed that in photos of her driving, there's a dog barrier in the back, so the queen's corgis may have been onboard at some point, too. It also has a little over 70,000 miles and has a comprehensive service history. Set aside the royal connection, though, and the X-Type is a relatively unexceptional car. Though it features plenty of Jaguar trimmings from the exterior design, to the wood and leather interior and the J-gate shifter, underneath it was based on the front-wheel-drive Ford Mondeo. In America at the time, that was seen as beneath a luxury brand, particularly to be based on a Ford. Jaguar executives later even admitted that they made some major mistakes with the X-Type, which were rectified with the spiritual successor, the rear-drive XE. The queen's example of the X-Type is, unsurprisingly, about the best-equipped version. It has all-wheel drive and the 3.0-liter gas-powered V6. In the U.S., gas V6s were the only engine options, with a 2.5-liter available early on. It made 227 horsepower and 206 pound-feet of torque. In the U.K., though, there were turbodiesel four-cylinder engines available, as well as front-wheel drive. It also has a lovely tan leather interior with the aforementioned wood trimmings. And being a wagon, it's the most practical. According to Historic Auctioneers, the X-Type wagon was also the first Jag that designer Ian Callum worked on, who went on to revitalize the brand with clean, modern designs for the next decade. The car will be auctioned on November 26 in the Mercedes-Benz World auction. No price estimates were given. With its royal connection, it will surely go for more than your average old Jaguar. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Jaguar will build 9 XKSS continuation cars at $1.4m each

The Jaguar D-Type was, for its time, a cutting-edge race car. It was also a car that could, theoretically, drive from Jaguar's Browns Lane factory to the race in France and back. This was an era in which top-tier race cars weren't all that different from their road-going counterparts. You couldn't really do the same in an Audi R18 E-Tron Quattro, now could you? The XKSS was a D-Type with the barest nod to road-going conveniences, like proper wind protection. With some unsold D-Type racers cluttering up the shop after three successive Le Mans wins, Jaguar converted 16 into XKSS spec, and had more in the works. It wasn't a comprehensive transformation, really. A windshield and a passenger door were added; a cabin partition and the striking fin behind the driver were removed. Otherwise, it wasn't much different than the all-conquering Le Mans-winners. And then tragedy struck. A fire destroyed nine of the cars, and the company never picked up where it left off after the mess was cleaned up. Hence Jaguar aficionados, and the company itself, keenly felt the absence of the "lost" cars. After the success of the continuation E-Type lightweights built by the Jaguar Classic division of Special Operations, the company will finish the run. Nine cars will be hand-crafted for a select group of customers and collectors, much as the company did for the lightweights. Jaguar expects the cars to fetch more than $1.5 million each. Considering the mystique of these "lost" cars, and the fact that Steve McQueen is heavily associated with the XKSS, they may trade hands for considerably more after the initial owners part with them. Jaguar expects to start delivering the continuation XKSS cars early next year. Related Video: New York Auto Show Jaguar Convertible Performance Classics jaguar special operations jaguar xkss