1996 Jaquar Xj^ on 2040-cars

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Recharge Wrap-up: Jaguar Land Rover talks EVs, Batteries should be modular

A new study out of Germany suggests adopting a modular approach to battery offerings in plug-in hybrid and extended range electric vehicles. Automakers could offer the same car with different battery sizes (and different costs, accordingly) to drivers depending on their driving ranges. This would optimize the total cost of ownership for various drivers better than the current approach. Developing a modular battery design and offering appropriate batteries for different customers "is the key for electric powertrains to meet customer expectations and become cost competitive against conventional technologies," according to the report from the Institute of Vehicle Concepts, German Aerospace Center. Learn more at Green Car Congress. Jaguar and Land Rover are looking to offer more electric driving from their vehicles. Wolfgang Ziebart, head of product development for Jaguar Land Rover, said in an interview that its hybrid system is being tweaked for more electric power and "downsized" combustion. He also said the likely target market for EVs would be second and third vehicles, rather than primary vehicles for urban driving. Within that market, Europeans look for something smaller, while American drivers lean toward larger luxury vehicles for their second car. Ziebart uses the Tesla Model S as an example of American tastes, and compares its size to that of the Jaguar XJ. Read more at Automotive News Europe. Thailand will likely approve a Volkswagen factory as early as next week. A German newspaper suggests that Thailand's Board of Investment is set to greenlight the plant, which is planned for a site near the Port of Bangkok. Thailand is a relatively large and growing auto manufacturing country, which seeks to be a major producer of eco-friendly vehicles. The country's "Eco2" program would provide incentives to Volkswagen if it builds clean cars and meets certain production targets. Read more at Reuters. Formula E has chosen Sky Deutschland for broadcasting rights in the German market. The deal includes television rights, as well as online broadcasting. Sky Deutschland has 3.8 million subscribers in Germany and Austria. Showing the races on Germany's largest pay television provider should help generate interest for the series, particularly the Berlin ePrix - the inaugural season's penultimate race - scheduled for May 30, 2015. Read more at the Formula E website.

2017 Jaguar Model Year Preview and Updates

Jaguar, the upscale Brit, is currently enjoying a resurgence in the US, built on an improved value proposition, credible quality, better reliability, and an expanded lineup. That larger lineup now includes an all-new XE four door sedan and Jaguar's first crossover, the F-Pace - pictured above. JAGUAR F-TYPE: An entry-level F-Type has been added to the lineup, improving its accessibility by some $3,600 on the F-Type coupe and roughly $2,700 for the F-Type convertible. XE: Jaguar's compact four door is all-new, and intended to make headway into the sport sedan market long dominated by BMW's 3 Series and, more recently, Audi's A4. The XE brings a tightly drawn platform, responsive drive character and three powertrains to the table, including a 2.0-liter turbocharged diesel. It is on sale now. XF: Jaguar's midsize 'saloon' adds a 2.0-liter turbodiesel to its menu, along with Configurable Dynamics. This optional package allows individual settings for suspension, steering, throttle and transmission. XJ: Jaguar's 2017 XJ builds on the 2016 refresh with the addition of new colors and wheels. F-Pace: Jaguar's first crossover has everything it needs to compete with Porsche's Macan, BMW's X3/X5 and M-B's GLC/GLE. As this suggests, the F-Pace is a 'tweener, sitting between compact and midsize crossovers. It seats five, and is available with either a 2.0-liter turbodiesel or supercharged V6. The line starts at your local Jaguar showroom.

2014 Jaguar XKR-S GT takes fiercest feline further [UPDATE]

If there were any car to overshadow the 542-horsepower Jaguar XJR that's coming to the New York Auto Show, this is it. Meet the Jaguar XKR-S GT - a street-legal, higher-performance version of the already hardcore XKR-S that will be headed to North America in very limited quantities. Only 30 will be offered on our continent, with 25 earmarked for the United States and the remaining five going to Canada. The cost of entry? $174,000 when it goes on sale this August.
What that gets you is a coupe that is, without any doubt, ready to attack any racetrack it might encounter. The XKR-S' supercharged 5.0-liter V8 has not been upgraded in terms of power - not that 550 horsepower and 502 pound-feet of torque is anything to sneeze at - but instead, Jaguar focused on tuning the bits of the car that help effectively put all that grunt to the ground. There's a new hood with rows of louvers to aid in engine cooling, and elsewhere on the car's body, you'll find carbon fiber on the redesigned front air splitter, dive planes, extended wheel arch spats, as well as a new rear diffuser, an aluminum front under tray and an absolutely massive wing out back to keep downforce to a maximum.
Underneath that hot body are retuned and height-adjustable adaptive dampers; spring rates have been increased by 68 percent in front and 25 percent at the rear versus a standard XKR-S. Most of the front and rear suspension geometry has been upgraded, larger carbon ceramic brakes have been fitted at all four corners, and wider 20-inch forged alloy wheels are found here, wrapped in Pirelli Corsa tires - 255/35-series rubber in front and 305/30-series stuff out back. There's also a revised active exhaust system, which should only improve the already thunderous roar coming out the back of the Jag coupe, and a faster steering rack has been added for improved agility.