2000 Jaguar Xj8 Vanden Plas In Like New Condition With Only 75000 Miles on 2040-cars

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Weekly Recap: Automakers rethink the definition of luxury

Variety is the spice of life, but it's becoming a prerequisite for luxury carmakers in the ultra-competitive US market. The Detroit Auto Show was strong evidence of this reality. It's not enough to offer attractive and well-appointed cars and SUVs anymore. Luxury brands that want to be competitive need to invest in everything from high-powered supercars to clever hybrids. To be relevant, you need to be green and mean – and everything in between. As General Motors product chief Mark Reuss said after the reveal of the 640-horsepower Cadillac CTS-V: "We are not leaving anything on the table." He was speaking for Cadillac, but he might as well have been speaking for the luxury car market. The CTS-V debuted in Detroit about an hour after Lexus surprised showgoers with the reveal of the RC F GT3 race car and then announced ambitious plans to return to competitive racing. That almost overshadowed the fact Lexus had just revealed another potent addition to its growing F line, the 467-hp GS F. View 20 Photos But for luxury brands, it's not just about maximum horsepower for well-heeled enthusiasts or decadent amenities for the Grey Poupon set. Strong competition from all corners has forced automakers to refine and expand their lineups in ways unforeseen even a few years ago. Case in point: Mercedes-Benz finally has an answer to the BMW X6, rolling out the GLE coupe in Detroit. The X6, which blends coupe-like styling cues with some of the functionality of an SUV, debuted in 2008. Back then it was a punchline, but seven years and more than 260,000 sales later, the X6's success has compelled Benz to respond. Mercedes – one of the strongest proponents of diesel technology – also debuted the C350 plug-in hybrid sedan, which promises a range of 20 miles on electricity, though fuel economy figures were not announced. The car pairs Mercedes' well-received 208-hp turbocharged four-cylinder with an electric motor for total output of 275 hp and 443 pound-feet of torque. Meanwhile, Infiniti will add the Q30 hatchback to its lineup by the end of the year, new president Roland Kruger reiterated in Detroit. It's expected to be joined by a crossover variant, and the additions will help strengthen Infiniti in the United States and abroad. "While we're expanding our product line, we're also expanding our market reach," he said. That's something echoed by Jaguar executives, who are preparing to launch the brand's first crossover, the F-Pace, in 2016.

2018 Jaguar E-Pace (almost) revealed in new spy photos

Each time we've seen the Jaguar E-Pace out testing, it has been covered in a variety of fake plastic body parts to obscure the actual body. Finally, Jaguar relaxed its camouflage campaign, giving us the chance to see the car's bodywork almost entirely exposed. The only disguise this car was wearing was a form-fitting vinyl wrap. The test car in question confirms a number of our suspicions. The rear hatch is, indeed, extremely raked, which gives the vehicle a sportier look, though will surely reduce cargo capacity. If this crossover was coming from one of the German automakers, they would probably call this a "coupe." The front and rear fenders are also rather exaggerated, and the rear haunches are accented by a rising window line that ends in a pinched-off quarter window. The nose and tail of the crossover are pretty standard Jaguar. The layout of the lights and grilles are generally what you would find on its big brother, the F-Pace. The headlights appear to have some sort of LED arrangement as there are no clearly defined projector or reflector elements. Of course, there's no guarantee that these lights will be used across the line-up. They may just be a feature on higher trim levels. Now that we've also seen the car with so few covers and with production-ready sheet metal, we now expect to see the E-Pace fully revealed in person very soon, probably by the end of the year. It will likely be a 2018 model, and may share engines and drivetrains with the Land Rover Range Rover Evoque, since the body shape matches that of a vehicle with a transverse mounted engine. Related Video: Featured Gallery Jaguar E-Pace Spy Shots View 30 Photos Image Credit: KGP Photography Spy Photos Jaguar Crossover SUV Luxury jaguar e-pace

The Jaguar XE SV Project 8 looks like an XE, but is almost completely new

Jaguar's XE SV Project 8 is a thoroughly astonishing sports sedan. With a 592-horsepower V8, it's the most powerful Jaguar road car ever produced. And it's amazing to think that Jaguar's most powerful car is a version of its entry-level sedan. Or at least it looks that way. In reality, the majority of the body is completely unique to the Project 8. A Jaguar representative told us that only the roof and door skins are shared with the standard XE. The other 70 percent of the exterior is completely unique to the car. These changed body panels include wider fenders of course, and many of the pieces are made from carbon fiber rather than metal, but there are also some more unusual tweaks. For instance, the headlights actually had to be moved to a different position to make space for the Project 8's massive wheels and tires. The tires, for reference, are 265-mm wide at the front, and the rears are 305-mm wide. There were also some changes for style. The air vents at the front that consist of many small holes in the bumper are a tribute to Jaguars of the past. The hexagonal shape of the holes apes that of the vintage Jaguar logo, which featured the word Jaguar in an elongated hexagon. All in all, there's an impressive amount of new engineering that went into creating the Project 8. The results are, in a word, stunning. Related Video: