2005 Jaguar X-type 3.0 Sport Package Edition on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Ecurie Ecosse collection brings in millions

It's rare to see an entire racing team's collection go up for auction at once, but that's just what happened this past weekend at Bonhams' new headquarters in London, where there Ecurrie Ecosse collection brought in top dollar (or pound, anyway).
The collection, whose consignment we first reported on back in September, included a smattering of Jaguars, other classic racers and an iconic transporter truck, all decked out in the same blue and white livery of the Scottish flag. After reportedly feverish bidding on Sunday, the 1952 Jaguar C-Type sold for £2,900,000 ($4.75m), the '56 short-nose D-Type for another £2,600,000 ($4.26m), and the transporter for a shocking £1,800,000 (nearly $3 million) - all to the same unnamed American collector. A 1952 Jaguar XK120 roadster went to another buyer for a record £707,000 ($1.16m).
With Ringo Star's Facel Vega selling for £337,500 ($550k) and Michael Schumacher's Benetton B194 fetching another £617,500 (just over a million), the auction total skyrocketed to £16,861,630 ($2.75m), which Bonhams described as "a roaring success". Scope out the press release below for more info.

Lister LFT-C brings 666 horsepower to the Jaguar F-Type

Lister just announced a limited run of its LFT-C Jaguar F-Type conversion cars. It made 99 of the coupes in this spec, but now there will be 10 convertibles available for purchase worldwide. The LFT-C name further confuses Lister's naming for this car, which was initially known as the Thunder, then morphed into the LFT-666, and now these new convertibles are called LFT-C. We would've just stuck with Thunder all along and called this one a Thunder convertible. It makes the same 666 horsepower as the Lister F-Types before it, but that's still substantially more than the 575 horsepower out of the F-Type SVR. Lister does a lot of its own work to the 5.0-liter supercharged V8 to eke out the extra horsepower on top of what Jag is able to do with its performance division at the factory. The nice part of this aftermarket work is that it still comes with a seven-year warranty from Lister, so it's similar to a new car powertrain warranty. This should give you some peace of mind when dashing to 62 mph in just over three seconds. Related: Lister Knobbly roadster gets green light for production There's more than just engine work done to the LFT-C, though. Lister has designed its own suspension, exhaust, braking system and wheels to bring the rest of the car up to snuff. Carbon fiber body panels replace everything from Jaguar where possible. Other Lister design touches on the exterior include a new front bumper, front splitter, rear diffuser, rear spoiler, rear wheel arches, a new grille design and lightweight alloy wheels fitted with Michelin tires. Lister is differentiating this 10-car run by adding in a unique interior, but customers can request anything they desire on the customization front. With so few cars available, it's unlikely to see one on this side of the world after being manufactured in the U.K. That said, we asked Lister, and they said you can buy one here. Base price for the LFT-C is a cool $182,995, and that's only where it starts. We're sure customization options will allow it to skyrocket from there. The price for a base F-Type SVR Convertible is $127,725, so you're looking at a hefty premium over the donor car for what Lister has to offer. The LFT-C is available to order now.

2016 Jaguar XF Review

We last drove the new Jaguar XF in Spain last September, sampling it in 380-horsepower S spec and in 2.0-liter turbodiesel forms. We found both versions to provide a supple ride, despite some body roll, and loved the supercharged model's ample thrust from any engine speed. The ZF-provided eight-speed automatic was also applauded for its competence, making the sport paddles an unnecessary formality. If anything, our last drive only left us pining for a better infotainment system, as Jaguar Land Rover's painfully outdated one has been a target of our ire for a while. A limited amount of time behind the wheel, and a desire to see how much the slightly less powerful 2016 Jaguar XF 35t R-Sport gives away to its S-badged stablemate, leads us to our tester. In British Racing Green, the new XF is both more handsome than the slightly manic-looking old XF, yet also slightly more anonymous. This is a lithe shape, with crisp lines and few gimmicks, save the fender vents, which are about as tasteful as that element comes. The car's charms are especially evident from up front. Despite a distracting cut line, the hood is tastefully built up in two steps: a sharp rise from the headlight/fender area, and in the middle a tasteful power bulge. The overall effect is one of thoughtful, purposeful design – after all, this is Ian Callum's work – rather than taking a corporate-mandated design language and scaling it up or down to suit the hardpoints. Spend some time around FCA's UConnect system and you'll see where Jaguar needs to improve. Inside, this XF is a mixed bag. Let's start with the positives. Despite being shod in a rather boring black hide, the front seats are wonderfully comfortable and supportive without aggressive bolstering. The cabin would really wake up with a more interesting leather, like the brown that Jaguar calls "Brogue," covering the seats and door panels. Whatever you think of the rotary shift selector, the knurling on its diameter and the solidity of its action conveys the sense of craftsmanship you'd expect from a British luxury car. Some other controls, such as the cheap-looking and -feeling control stalks sprouting form the otherwise wonderful steering wheel, do not. And that takes us to the infotainment system. This XF does away with Jaguar's old, much-maligned user interface, which was blocky and balky in equal measures.