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Jaguar sets a lap record at a near-forgotten French race track

If asked to name any race track in France, most racing and car enthusiasts would probably answer the Circuit de la Sarthe, known for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Then there's the famous Magny-Cours or Circuit Paul Ricard, but not everyone remembers the Circuit de Charade near Clermont-Ferrand. This challenging track has been called a "twistier and faster" version of the Nurburgring, and in its original five-mile form, it barely had any straights. Formula 1 races were held there in the late 1960s and early 1970s, but safety concerns saw the French Grand Prix moved to Paul Ricard for most of the 1970s and 1980s, alternating with Dijon-Prenois. Later on, the track was essentially halved during modernization work, and it's now largely used for track days. The full length circuit was last used in 1988. This history lesson about a seemingly forgotten French race track is due to one good reason: Jaguar has returned to the venue to set a lap time with a new, all-wheel drive XE. The flying lap of the full five-mile track was the first one in 30 years, and the 4-minute, 9-second lap time set by Belgian racing driver Vincent Radermecker now stands as a record. Due to changes and the fact that the track originally utilized parts of public roads, the lap now included two gateways and a roundabout. Unshockingly, those weren't around in its racing days. The comparisons with the Nurburgring are apt, as Radermecker's comment confirms. "I set the production (sedan) record at the Nurburgring in the XE SV Project 8 last year and this lap was every bit as demanding. The longest straight is barely 600 metres, so I can see why drivers used to call this the French Nurburgring." The Jaguar used for the record lap is an XE 300 Sport, which is powered by Jaguar's 300-horsepower 2.0-liter four-cylinder turbo engine. It hits 60 mph in 5.4 seconds, and the average speed on the Charade lap was 72 mph. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Featured Gallery Jaguar XE record lap View 9 Photos Image Credit: Jaguar Jaguar Automotive History jaguar xe

Why Land Rover's reluctant to show concepts: Chinese clones

While the Chinese auto industry continues to grow and expand with new and original products, a number of automakers still refuse to play by the rules. Rather than coming up with original designs, these automakers shamelessly copy designs from other automakers, slapping their badge on the front as if it were an original product. According to Auto Express, Land Rover has grown tired of dealing with these frauds to the point that it's essentially stopped showing concept cars in order to stave off these clones. One of the most notable and brazen examples of these Chinese copycats is the LandWind X7. While that car looks like an obvious ripoff of the Range Rover Evoque, complaints by Jaguar Land Rover were dismissed, and the X7 hit the market for about a third of the price of the Evoque. Further efforts by JLR have done nothing to halt or change the car's production. It seems Chinese authorities are more interested in protecting the home team than upholding copyright laws. Land Rover design boss Gerry McGovern said the automaker was "wary of showing new concepts" because they just give these competitors time to work up a copy. Land Rover's latest model, the Velar, debuted in Geneva in production form. Skipping concepts may not stop competitors from making copies, but it does give Land Rover a huge head start when it comes to production. Related Video: Featured Gallery Production LandWind X7 News Source: Auto Express via Road & Track Design/Style Government/Legal Jaguar Land Rover SUV Concept Cars Luxury jaguar land rover

Jaguar F-Pace V6 reminds us why we love supercharged engines

There are many things we like about our 2018 Jaguar F-Pace long-term car, as well as some things we don't care for, but easily one of the best things about it is the engine. Under the hood is the 380-horsepower supercharged V6 that Jaguar offers on other models. That amount of power would be fun in just about any car with any engine, but there are specific reasons why this particular engine is special, and it's because of that supercharger. Supercharged engines have a very different character than increasingly common turbo engines. One of the most noticeable differences being engine response. Unlike turbo engines, the F-Pace's V6 feels hardwired to your foot. Every extra millimeter of pedal travel yields a slightly greater amount of tug. And the tug is felt immediately. Even the best turbo engines have a hard time recreating this response. The power band is very linear, as well, so you know exactly what you're getting every time you hit the gas. The engine is wonderfully torquey, too. Because the Jaguar's engine uses a classic Roots-type blower, there's a major improvement in low-end torque. This means that our F-Pace has loads of grunt for punting around at low-rpm and can seriously move when tromping on the gas. And because of the near-instant throttle response and linear power band, it doesn't slam you in the back unexpectedly like some turbo engines do. Despite how great these supercharged engines are to experience, we're concerned that supercharged engines like this may disappear in all but ultra-limited production, high-performance cars such as the Chevy Corvette Z06 and Cadillac CTS-V. The reason being that car companies have to keep making cars more fuel efficient and lower emitting. Putting a supercharger on an engine is adding a handicap, since it takes engine power to spin the belt-driven supercharger. And when a turbo, which uses wasted energy from exhaust gas to spin the compressor and built boost, can effectively do the same thing, it's hard to make a case for a supercharger. We won't give up hope completely, though. Mazda is using superchargers on its spark-assisted compression ignition gasoline engines. And while we're not sure how powerful and sporty those will be, Mazda has said that it's going with superchargers for exactly the reasons we like the Jaguar engine: smooth power and fast throttle response.