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Jaguar XE hits the 'Ring wearing swirly camo

Jaguar is happy to show off its new XE sedan on its social media sites, but when testing at the Nürburgring, it's a very different story. These spy shots show the new model in camouflage to make it much harder to discern, but there are still some intriguing details to pick out.
These photos give us a really good look at the XE's quirky rear end. The sedan has a super short trunk that almost fools you into thinking its a notchback, but the top edge of the trunk is clearly visible. It's a somewhat odd-looking design with the rear glass running underneath the roof's overhang to create an integrated spoiler. Despite the camo, the front end is the same as ever with a blunt edge and sharp headlights. Jag certainly isn't afraid to try something a little different compared to the XE's competitors, notably the BMW 3 Series and Audi A4.
Some technical details about the XE are already established. This 3 Series-fighter is slated to go on sale in foreign markets in 2015 and in the US in 2016. We know that it ride's on Jag's new aluminum platform that also underpins the C-X17 crossover concept, and power comes from a pair of 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engines, available in petrol- or diesel-fueled configurations.

Jaguar's V8-powered XE looks to take aim at the BMW M3

It seems that Jaguar's littlest sedan is about to get one of the company's biggest engines. One of our spy photographers caught the company testing a disguised XE. While most people's first instincts would be to dissect the car, our photographer paid some extra attention to the number plate, and looked up the car's registration. He says the registration reveals that this little car is packing a 5.0-liter V8. The only sort of 5.0-liter V8 Jaguar makes is supercharged and makes 550 horsepower or more. So what we're probably looking at is a future 550-horsepower XE R. On the car itself, there appear to be larger intake vents on each side of the front bumper, likely for cooling off a much bigger, hotter engine. And of course a more aggressive appearance. The V8 theory is further backed up by the quad-tip exhaust that clearly needs more development. Aside from these changes, this XE looks pretty similar to the sportier models in the current range. It has the same side skirts as the XE R-Sport and XE S. It also uses the same wheels as the XE S. We can safely say that at least the wheels will be different when the V8 model reaches production. As for when that will be, we'd say don't expect to see a revealed production model for at least a year, and possibly more, since there appears to be a decent amount of development left to do. Related Video:

'New' continuation Jaguar XKSS to debut in November in LA

Jaguar announced on Tuesday two important debuts for Jaguar Classic's continuation models, the Lightweight Jaguar E-Type and the new XKSS. In November, the Jaguar XKSS continuation model will make its debut in California to coincide with this year's LA Auto Show. The company revealed the plan to build nine of these cars a few months ago in order to complete the original production run. That run began in 1957 when Jaguar began building road legal versions of unsold D-Type race cars. However, production stopped short when a fire at the Browns Lane factory destroyed the remaining cars. Jaguar explained that the company will use what they learned from developing the Lightweight E-Type continuation series, and Jaguar Classic employees will build these XKSS models to the original specifications. If you had your heart set on ordering one to fulfill your Steve McQueen fantasy, you're out of luck. All nine have already been sold. View 46 Photos In addition to the XKSS public reveal, the 2015 Jaguar Lightweight E-Type will soon make its competition debut. The car in particular is chassis number 15, one of the six continuation cars, and it will compete in the Jaguar Classic Challenge race on July 9 at this year's Le Mans Classic. Another automotive icon will be behind the wheel of this iconic sports car. Top Gear presenter and automotive journalist Chris Harris will pilot the E-Type at Circuit de la Sarthe alongside an array of other vintage Jaguar race cars. Like the XKSS continuation cars, the Lightweight E-Types were also built to finish their respective production run. And although these continuation cars are only a couple of years old, they are identical to the originals and are thus FIA compliant for historic racing. Related Video: