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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

2021 Jaguar F-Type arrives, and it still looks spectacular

The 2021 Jaguar F-Type is officially here, and proportionally, it looks a whole lot like the current F-Type. There’s nothing wrong with that, as the F-Type is still one of the best looking cars on sale today. Jaguar didnÂ’t want to mess with that winning formula, so it took a light brush to the British sports car. Despite the silhouette remaining largely unchanged, the finer styling points are significantly different. Jaguar gave the F-Type a larger grille, slimmer horizontal headlights, a new clamshell hood and reshaped side air intakes. Its taillights are smoothed out, but they feature JaguarÂ’s “Chicane” light graphic from the I-Pace. Thankfully, the V8Â’s menacing quad exhaust design remains for the high-performance R trim. “F-Type has always had great proportions and stance, and our latest design is all about enhancing those key Jaguar values. Our aim was to make the car more contemporary, more purposeful, and even more dramatic,” said Adam Hatton, Jaguar exterior design director. When it comes to engines, Jaguar is staying the course for the most part. The base engine is still the 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder that makes 296 horsepower. Jag took the manual transmission away for the 2020 model year, and the eight-speed automatic transmission remains the only option for 2021 as well. The upgrade engine is still the supercharged V6 that makes 380 horsepower, though the 340-horsepower version is no longer available. Jaguar promises it still sounds spectacular. If you want maximum performance, the F-Type R is the way to go for the time being. Power is up to 575 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque in the R — these figures happen to be exactly the same as the SVR, but 25 horsepower and 14 pound-feet of torque more than the previous R.  Jaguar didnÂ’t reveal plans for a SVR version of this new F-Type down the road, but we assume one must be in development. Expect even more horsepower from that car if/when it arrives. As of now, Jaguar claims the R will hit 60 mph in 3.5 seconds, the same time as the SVR. Top speed is electronically limited to 186 mph. Every engine configuration comes with an active exhaust system as standard or optional. The R features a new “Quiet Start” mode thatÂ’ll help you maintain a friendly relationship with your neighbors. Jaguar made some handling improvements to the new F-Type, too. New springs and anti-roll bars complement recalibrated continuously variable dampers.

Jaguar F-Type Coupe spotted testing

The automotive world has been hot on fire with the Jaguar F-Type of late. We're still recovering from the excitement of driving Jaguar's new sports car for the first time, and recently we had a predictive look at a coupe version. As it turns out, those 'patent sketches' were just a warm up for the real deal F-Type Coupe, as this brand new set of spy images proves out.
Word from our shooter is that security around the F coupe was and is really tight. The photographer had to hide in the cargo area of his clandestine SUV, just to catch these few, not-perfectly-clear images (that odd color your see is window tint). Still, the photos are good enough to see that the rakish silhouette of the hardtop is going to do justice to the convertible. In fact, the new top seems to flow quite perfectly into the car's rear haunches.
Expect that the F-Type Coupe will share an engine lineup with the roadster, meaning both a naturally aspirated and a supercharged V6, as well as a V8 option. Hot R and R-S versions of the Jaguar coupe are a virtual lock, too, though how far down the product pipeline they are is unclear.