1987 Jaguar Xj6 Venden Plas on 2040-cars

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Jaguar says F-Type sales off to flying start

As we noted in our recent first drive, Jaguar's luscious new F-Type roadster is a bit of a tweener in both size and cost, lining up in between rival Porsche's Boxster and 911. That one-for-two-segment strategy is showing early signs of paying off, with Automotive News reporting that half of the car's 2014 production allotment is already sold. We're not talking huge numbers - sports cars in this segment only "have a global annual volume of about 75,000 units and a market share of 0.1 percent," notes Jaguar brand director Adrian Hallmark. Yet the company figures the F-Type will work out to about 15 to 20 percent of its total volume of around 60,000 units.
From where we sit, this is all very encouraging news, but it's way too early to call the F-Type a smash hit. The sports car segment is known for its fickleness and its front-loaded sales curve, so the real measure of success will be how it fares over the next few years after early adopters get their cars. Jaguar will have to work to keep the F-Type fresh with new variants, and we hear it's prepared to do just that. The British luxury marque hasn't confirmed a hardtop coupe variant yet, but patent images and spy shots suggest one is on the way shortly, and it ought to extend the model's appeal greatly. A four-cylinder option and a manual transmission have also been rumored, and presumably Jaguar will eventually launch higher-performance R and R-S variants as it has done with various model lines, including its other sporty two door, the XK grand tourer.

Jaguar F-Type Project 7 leaks in production trim ahead of Goodwood debut

Just yesterday we brought you word that Jaguar was planning to bring something special to the Goodwood Festival of Speed this year - the first product of its Special Operations division - and now we have it right here.
Previewed in concept form last year, Jaguar's big reveal appears to be the production version of the Project 7 show car - an extreme speedster version of the F-Type. Though we still don't have official details, these images leaked courtesy of 4WheelsNews show that the roadster seems to have lost little in the transition from concept to reality.
The bright blue paint job has been replaced by a more British shade of green, but the white trim - including the racing stripes running across (not up) the hood, the grille surround and the number circle on the door - appear to have carried over. As has the D-Type-inspired, fin-like, single raised cowling on the rear deck, though now positioned behind the left-hand driver's seat instead of the right. The wheels are fresh and the front lip spoiler looks even bigger, and the rear wing appears to have been reshaped.

Here's what a front-row seat looked like in 2014 Mille Miglia

From 1927 to 1957, the Mille Miglia was one of the great, romantic European road races of the golden era of motorsports. The cars were fast, beautiful and loud but also extremely dangerous and regularly claimed drivers' lives. After two fatal accidents in '57, the event finally had to reform and came back in 1977 as a historic rally held over the course of several days. That didn't make things boring, though, and Xcar found that out firsthand with a front-row seat to this year's race in a 2015 Jaguar F-Type R Coupe.
Xcar was actually following the Jaguar team this year that included Ian Callum and Jay Leno in an XK120, which we previously got a glimpse of when it was covered on Jay Leno's Garage. Where Leno focuses on a more personal story of competing, this one takes a more macro view. You really get an idea of how crazy the Mille Miglia still is, and while the F-Type is way too new to actually compete in the rally, it can still wear an event sticker and drive with the vintage racers.
One amazing fact about today's Mille Miglia is that if you're competing in the event, there are basically no rules. The roads are technically still open to traffic, but the police shut down intersections and provide a rolling roadblock. Xcar's F-Type alternated between following on the course with the classics and snipping off chunks of the route to watch the participants arrive at each stop. Check out the video to experience fantastic historic rally.