1997 Jaguar Xj6 Base Sedan 4-door 4.0l on 2040-cars

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Jaguar working on 700-hp, 200-mph hybrid F-Type?

After first driving the 2014 Jaguar F-Type in Spain this spring, we came away mighty impressed. Of course, if you had to pin us down for a top three wish list of what improvements we'd like to see, we'd probably hit you with something like: 1) Less weight. 2) Less weight and 3) Less weight. Oh, and if we're feeling presumptuous, maybe some additional transmission choices.
Despite leveraging aluminum for the body and chassis, this Jaguar is still a bit of a fat cat compared to its rival models from Porsche. We never felt like it was lacking for power in any of its three supercharged trims, least of them the 495-horsepower V8 S, which is a genuine madman. We knew the variants would come, though - a quick look at the rest of Jag's lineup provides all the evidence you need of that. And so we're not surprised to see word of a hyper-powered F-Type on the horizon, an R-S version. What is surprising, however, is a new report that put its motivation at over 700 horsepower and its top speed at 200+ mph. Us? We're just hoping the latter figure comes at least partially as a result of a hardcore diet.
This F-Type R-S news comes according to the rumormongers at AutoExpress, who expect the high-power Brit to come in coupe form, at least initially. We still haven't seen the debut of the fixed-head F, but plenty of spy shots suggest its arrival is imminent. Wildly, AE posits that Jag won't look for more displacement to gain power, it will instead radically downsize by using a 1.6-liter turbo- and supercharged four-cylinder and an array of electric motors. If that sounds familiar, that's because AE suggests the high-tech powertrain will be scavenged from the defunct C-X75 supercar program (interestingly, earlier reports suggested this combination would only deliver about 500 horsepower).

Who picks car colors and materials? Designers like Hannah Custance

As automotive journalists, we're often asked "how did you get that job?" People usually didn't even know you could do such a thing. In this 7 Questions series, we're highlighting other jobs in the automotive industry that you might not have heard about before. What do they do, how'd they get to do it and other questions about their particular corner of the car world. Slowly but surely, the automotive landscape is becoming more colorful. Look beyond the unrelentingly conservative palette of white, black and gray most buyers opt for and you'll see the increased use of exterior trim types beyond the usual chrome. There's gloss black, of course, but also other metallic finishes like gold or copper. Those can be found inside, too, where there's also an increase in colorful leathers and trims, innovative fabrics, new wood types and finishes, and greater creativity in general. So where is this change coming from? The answer is designers like Hannah Custance, the color and materials design manager for Jaguar Land Rover. Her team's latest effort is also its magnum opus, the 2022 Range Rover. Although saddled with the expectations that comes with one of the automotive industry's classic nameplates, the all-new Range Rover is also a celebration of cutting edge manufacturing and fashion-forward materials selection. We sat down with Hannah at the L.A. Auto Show to find out more about color and materials designers, how she ended up in the industry, and advice she might have for young designers out there. It has been condensed for brevity. Autoblog: What does a color and materials design manager to do?Hannah Custance: I basically look after a team of designers who design finishes for every A surface on the car. So, that could be exterior finishes. It could be interior trim materials, soft materials, hard materials, chromes, metals, woods, ceramic – that's one of the new ones – anything you can kind of touch and see is color material design. Autoblog: How early in the design process does your team become involved.Hannah: Right at the very start. In fact, we look at materials that don't have a product assigned to them or a car assigned to them. So, it takes actually a very long time for us to get materials approved and fully validated. We have to find suppliers that are willing to work in automotive and our test standards are incredibly high, some of the highest in the industry.

2018 Jaguar XE S AWD Drivers' Notes | Don't stop me now ...

The 2018 Jaguar XE S AWD plays in a tough segment. The relative newcomer jumps into the fray with the BMW 3 Series, the Mercedes-Benz C Class, Audi A4 and Cadillac ATS. While it's available with a number of engine and drivetrain combinations, this model came with the top-tier 380-horsepower supercharged V6, the same one found in the Jaguar F-Type. It transforms the XE from a calm but capable sport sedan into a real hotrod. Our test car had nearly all the bells and whistles Jaguar offers. The Firenze Red paint was accented by blacked-out trim, giving it a far cooler look than the standard chrome brightwork does. The interior features red-and-black heated and ventilated leather seats, carbon-fiber trim, a 10-inch touchscreen infotainment system and more. It comes with adaptive cruise control, but, as we learned, you need to scrape all the ice off the sensors for it to play ball. Associate Editor Reese Counts: I have a love/hate relationship with snow. I utterly despise the white stuff when it's 6:30 a.m. and I'm digging out my driveway and dreaming of the warm pillow I left behind as my pants slowly soak through and the fine motor control in my fingers decides to call it quits. Then I get behind the heated steering wheel of something like the XE S AWD and all my anger fades behind the plume of snow being thrown up by the tires. Sport sedans in the winter are amazing. I'm a big fan of the XE. Our old long-term diesel was a great little sedan, even if not everyone agreed with my sentiments. This platform is capable of so much more than the diesel can deliver. The XE S ditches that car's fuel-efficient-but-clattery oil burner for the sweet soundtrack of a supercharged V6, the same one that's under the hood of our current long-term F-Pace S. It's paired with ZF's ubiquitous eight-speed automatic and sends 380 horsepower to all four wheels. It feels damn near unstoppable in the snow. I'll be honest, I was flat-footing the car everywhere I went. I was searching for unplowed roads or empty parking lots because I just wanted to make the car dance. The all-wheel-drive system is rear biased, giving you enough of a leash to let loose without spinning out. The throttle response from the V6 was smooth and instant. It was easy to manage the car's angle just using the gas. The XE S was so good at clawing its way through the snow, I was convinced it was wearing winter rubber until I looked and saw a set of Pirelli all-seasons.