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Jaguar XK to cease production this summer

With the introduction of the F-Type coupe and convertible, Jaguar has cleared room in its sports car lineup to drop the XK for new models. "There will be a 2015 model year XK, but the rumors are true, production for the XK will end later this year after eight years," said Wayne York Kung, Jaguar USA National Product Communications Manager, in an email to Autoblog. A replacement for the GT might be a very long way off.
The automaker told Auto Express that it's part of a "wider strategic vision and product planning cycle." Ending assembly will allow the feline luxury brand to build better-selling vehicles like the XE, its upcoming BMW 3 Series fighter. The new sedan is scheduled to go on sale in Europe in 2015 and in the US in 2016. It also needs to make room for the C-X17 crossover to be built, which is likely expected to sell better than a 2+2 GT car.
"There are no immediate plans to replace the XK," said Kung in his email. Jag was rumored to be considering moving a future generation of it upmarket. The new model would have been a bigger, softer grand tourer and allow the F-Type to be the brand's more hardcore sports car.

Child cobalt miners: Automakers pledge ethical minerals sourcing for EVs

BERLIN - Leading carmakers including Volkswagen and Toyota pledged on Wednesday to uphold ethical and socially responsible standards in their purchases of minerals for an expected boom in electric vehicle production. Demand for minerals such as cobalt, graphite and lithium is forecast to soar in the coming years as governments crack down on vehicle pollution and carmakers step up their investments in electric models. To cover its plans for more than 80 new models by 2025, Volkswagen alone is looking for partners in China, Europe and North America to provide battery cells and related technology worth more than 50 billion euros ($59 billion). Talks with major cobalt producers, including Glencore, at VW's Wolfsburg headquarters last week ended without a deal. More than half of the world's cobalt comes from the Democratic Republic of Congo, a country racked by political instability and legal opacity, and where child labor is used in mines. On Wednesday, a group of 10 leading passenger-car and truck manufacturers announced an initiative to jointly identify and address ethical, environmental, human and labor rights issues in raw materials sourcing. The partnership dubbed "Drive Sustainability" consists of VW, Toyota Motor Europe, Ford, Daimler, BMW, Honda, Jaguar Land Rover, Volvo Cars and truckmakers Scania and Volvo. The alliance "will assess the risks posed by the top raw materials (such as mica, cobalt, rubber and leather) in the automotive sector," said Stefan Crets of the CSR Europe business network. "This will allow Drive Sustainability to identify the most impactful activities to pursue" to address issues within the supply chain.Reporting by Andreas Cremer.Related Video: Image Credit: Michael Robinson Chavez/The Washington Post via Getty Images Green BMW Ford Honda Jaguar Land Rover Mercedes-Benz Automakers Toyota Volkswagen Volvo Green Automakers Green Culture Electric Scania ethics mining

2021 Jaguar F-Type R Exhaust Test | Music to a gearhead's ears

Against all odds, England has outmaneuvered America for the most savage and wicked-sounding V8 among the two countries. The 5.0-liter supercharged V8 in the Jaguar F-Type has sounded better than anything since it was popped into the R and SVR. Sorry Hellcats, Coyotes, and small blocks everywhere. Jaguar wins. Ford’s flat-plane crank Voodoo V8 in the GT350 and GT350R might be the only one that can compete on the same playing field. One drive in the 2021 Jaguar F-Type R will have you asking, how is this legal? The sheer level of noise coming out of those four very real chrome exhaust tips ensures every single head turns towards the Jaguar sports car if it hadnÂ’t already. In fact, itÂ’s so loud that we even struggled to record it authentically. You see, flooring it all but overwhelmed our microphone with the deafening roar. The key to hearing what the actual exhaust note sounds like is listening to it rev at a slower rate of speed. Then thereÂ’s the trouble of picking up its glorious overrun full of racecar-like yowls and crackling for days. No matter how you drive, youÂ’re guaranteed to be the most obnoxious individual around. Revving it up to around 3,500 rpm in first gear then releasing the throttle unloads a scary level of pops and crackles that echo throughout entire downtown blocks. ItÂ’s almost like Jaguar figured people would still want to make a stupid amount of noise even if theyÂ’re driving along slowly. This car has no chill. Pulling an upshift anywhere past 4,000 rpm prompts a chainsaw-like, ripping braaaaap that will scare small children and the easily-startled everywhere. It induces endless laughter and enjoyment for the driver behind the wheel. The cliche of "itÂ’ll bring out your inner child" perfectly applies to the F-Type R.  Americans can rest assured that theyÂ’re getting the most savage version of JaguarÂ’s exhaust, too. European F-Types have the required gasoline particulate filters that choke the noise, whereas U.S. cars donÂ’t. Sorry, Earth. If youÂ’ve done much reading on the 2021 F-Type already, youÂ’d know that this updated R actually gets the same engine as the previous generationÂ’s SVR. That means it has 575 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque. However, the exhaust on the new R is different from the old SVR in that itÂ’s slightly tamer. ItÂ’s difficult to fathom a wilder exhaust than the one fitted to this R, but it makes perfect sense to reserve the ultimate noise maker for the ultimate version of the F-Type.