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Jaguar announces continuation run of 1953 C-Type race cars

Jaguar is adding the 1953 C-Type race car to its Jaguar Classic "Continuation" line of historic cars. These factory-built cars are crafted to the same specifications as their inspirations, making them some of the most accurate replicas of any classics available to the public.  For the C-Type, Jaguar turned to the 1953 Le Mans-winning works car, which was powered by a 3.4-liter, 220-horsepower straight-six sporting three Weber carbs. Unlike the road cars, the racers wore disc brakes at all four corners, which is good news for anybody who is purchasing one of these to drive.  "Driven by some of the most-admired racing drivers in history, the C-Type laid the foundations for Jaguar’s success in endurance racing and is synonymous with design and engineering innovation," said Dan Pink, director of Jaguar Classic. "Seventy years on, Jaguar Classic is proud to be able to utilize the latest innovations in manufacturing technology – alongside traditional skills and unrivaled expertise – to reintroduce this legendary car for a new generation of enthusiasts to enjoy." While a new generation of enthusiasts may get the opportunity to drool over a factory-fresh C-Type for the first time, these continuation cars won't exactly be flying off the assembly lines. In fact, the production pace won't come anywhere close to that of the original. Jaguar plans to build just eight examples to be delivered prior to a motorsports-themed celebration event for those lucky customers. (Just 53 were built in the original 1950s production run, of which 43 were sold to private owners.) If they're so inclined, owners of the new C-Types will be able to race their cars in sanctioned vintage series. FIA-approved harness mounts can even be included from the factory. Despite that nod to convention, Jaguar's key motivation with the C-Type revival is staying true to the originals. "Building on the experience gained with previous Jaguar Classic Continuation programs for Lightweight E-Type, XKSS and D-Type, Jaguar Classic engineers consulted the Jaguar archives and cross-referenced scan data taken from an original C-Type in conjunction with the latest computer aided design (CAD) technology, to create the most authentic new C-Type possible," Jaguar said in its announcement. Jaguar is even throwing a bone to those of us who will only be able to admire these beauties from afar. As of Wednesday, a configurator tool for the new C-Type Continuation is available on Jaguar's website.

Watch the Chevy Corvette dismiss its Euro rivals at the hands of a Brit magazine

European auto writers, especially the British, have a bit of a reputation for favoring their own domestic cars over foreign rivals in comparison tests. Just think about how many times you've heard Jeremy Clarkson deify the latest product of UK loins while denigrating an American rival as a hopeless "Yank Tank." However, we have to tip our hats to the folks at Autocar because in its latest video comparing the 2014 Corvette Stingray to the Porsche 911, Jaguar F-Type V8 S and Audi R8, it's actually given the Vette a fair shake.
Autocar has put the Stingray through a battery of tests against what it considers to be the three best sports cars on sale in Europe today. And while the tests that it has chosen are somewhat random and subjective, it has concluded that the C7 can stand up against its rivals, even irrespective of its price. It's one thing to hear about how great the Stingray is from American writers, but it's great to know that not all Brits think we've gone crazy for calling the new Chevrolet "exquisite."
Scroll down to see how it all plays out on video.

2017 Jaguar F-Type SVR First Drive

Jaguar's F-Type SVR has a special new exhaust. I drove the car in Monterey, California, where there's this tunnel right in the middle of town. You see where I'm going with this. The pipes attached to the "normal" F-Type R's supercharged 5.0-liter V8 is a flatulent riot, one of the most flamboyant wind sections in modern exhaust-dom. And then Jaguar's Special Vehicle Operations, the group of madmen responsible for the Project 7, comes along and rips it all out for the SVR. The room is needed for a rear diffuser, see. So a new system is fabbed using two fancy lightweight alloys, Inconel and titanium. A pair of mufflers sprout where one used to be. More. Better. Louder. Yes, all of that. Geez it's loud. And there's this tunnel, remember. Enter it and lift from the throttle, and it sounds as though there are some kids stowed away in the trunk tossing handfuls of M-80s out the back. "Big report" is what it'd say on the box if the F-Type SVR were a firework. It's dramatic, perhaps excessive. Scratch that – it's definitely excessive. This F-Type is only the second full-production effort from Jaguar Land Rover's SVO, the first being the Range Rover Sport SVR, and so it's also the first Jaguar SVR ever. Whereas that Range Rover combines quickness with surprising cross-country abilities, the F-Type SVR has a singular mission: Go faster. And so, with a tweak of the electronic limiter and some other fiddling, voila!, suddenly the coupe can reach a top speed of 200 mph. The convertible is not far behind at 195. Although there aren't many places in the world where you'll actually want to probe those max velocities, the engine's 575 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque are plenty to risk your license. The SVR adopts many of the engine improvements that hoisted the Project 7 to the same power level but bests that very special car's torque figure thanks mostly to new intercoolers. Remember, the regular F-Type R is only good for 550 hp. Only. What a world we live in. Aside from the added power, this is much more of a range-topping special trim than it is a significantly different model. Like the R, the SVR comes only with all-wheel drive and an eight-speed automatic transmission. Operating it in manual mode is more pleasant, in part because the paddle shifters behind the wheel are made out of aluminum instead of plastic like on other automatic F-Types.