1970 Jaguar Xke Roadster Convertible on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Autoblog Podcast #339

Farewell, Zach Bowman; Pikes Peak 2013; Datsun; 2014 Ram lineup
Episode #339 of the Autoblog Podcast is here, and it's the last rodeo for Zach Bowman before he departs for other pastures. The crew this week consists of Dan Roth, Zach Bowman and Jeff Ross, who talk about the astounding records set at this year's Pike's Peak hill climb, the return of the Datsun brand name and the recently-announced 2014 Ram truck lineup. Of course, we start with the garage and end with your questions and comments. For those of you who hung with us live on our UStream channel, thanks for taking the time. You can follow along after the jump with our Q&A. Thanks for listening!
Autoblog Podcast #339:

2017 Jaguar F-Type SVR is a very fast, very angry kitty

Well, Jaguar has gone and done it. The British marque hit the perfect sweet spot with its newest F-Type, the range-topping SVR, landing squarely in a price/performance segment its butt-engined rivals from Stuttgart aren't playing in. Confirming our previous reports, the new SVR will debut at the 2016 Geneva Motor Show with the latest version of Jaguar Land Rover's 5.0-liter, supercharged V8. With some fettling by the team at JLR's Special Vehicle Operations, the engine has been boosted to 575 horsepower, 25 more than F-Type R. Torque is up from 501 pound-feet to 516 pound-feet, while the 0-60 time has dropped from 3.9 to just 3.5 seconds. And yes, 200 miles per hour is possible with the hardtop – the convertible will only do 195. That means you'll be getting more power, more torque, a quicker run to 60, and a higher top speed than an all-wheel-drive Porsche 911 GTS, but for just $5,000 more, a figure that's quickly erased by Porsche's insane options catalog. The Jag can't stand up to the 0-60 performance of 540-hp, 2.9-second 911 Turbo or the high speed of the 205-mph Turbo S, but with prices for the SVR Coupe starting at just $126,945 ($129,795 for the droptop), it's going to cost anywhere from $33,000 to $62,000 less than the Carreras. With only modest increases in output, it's pretty clear SVO made some bigger changes to score an extra 14 mph on the high end and cut 0.4 seconds off the 0-60 time. At its most basic level, the SVR is 55 pounds lighter than the F-Type R, thanks in large part to the new Inconel titanium exhaust, which cuts 35 pounds of fat (and makes for a more sinister note, we're told). Tack on the optional carbon-ceramic brakes, along with a few carbon-fiber accents, and the overall savings sits around 110 pounds. JLR is also promising faster performance from the eight-speed ZF automatic transmission, which still sends its power to all four wheels. Speaking of which, the new 20-inch forged aluminum alloys are shod in wider Pirelli PZero – 265s in front and 305s in the back, compared to 255/295 on the R model. There is also the usual array of aesthetic and aerodynamic changes. You can check out the more aggressive body work in the full gallery, but know the changes contribute to improved cooling and cut the coefficients of drag and lift by up to 7.5 and 45 percent, respectively, when the adjustable rear wing is in its aerodynamic down position, and 2.5 and 15 percent with the wing up.

2017 Jaguar F-Type SVR First Drive

Jaguar's F-Type SVR has a special new exhaust. I drove the car in Monterey, California, where there's this tunnel right in the middle of town. You see where I'm going with this. The pipes attached to the "normal" F-Type R's supercharged 5.0-liter V8 is a flatulent riot, one of the most flamboyant wind sections in modern exhaust-dom. And then Jaguar's Special Vehicle Operations, the group of madmen responsible for the Project 7, comes along and rips it all out for the SVR. The room is needed for a rear diffuser, see. So a new system is fabbed using two fancy lightweight alloys, Inconel and titanium. A pair of mufflers sprout where one used to be. More. Better. Louder. Yes, all of that. Geez it's loud. And there's this tunnel, remember. Enter it and lift from the throttle, and it sounds as though there are some kids stowed away in the trunk tossing handfuls of M-80s out the back. "Big report" is what it'd say on the box if the F-Type SVR were a firework. It's dramatic, perhaps excessive. Scratch that – it's definitely excessive. This F-Type is only the second full-production effort from Jaguar Land Rover's SVO, the first being the Range Rover Sport SVR, and so it's also the first Jaguar SVR ever. Whereas that Range Rover combines quickness with surprising cross-country abilities, the F-Type SVR has a singular mission: Go faster. And so, with a tweak of the electronic limiter and some other fiddling, voila!, suddenly the coupe can reach a top speed of 200 mph. The convertible is not far behind at 195. Although there aren't many places in the world where you'll actually want to probe those max velocities, the engine's 575 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque are plenty to risk your license. The SVR adopts many of the engine improvements that hoisted the Project 7 to the same power level but bests that very special car's torque figure thanks mostly to new intercoolers. Remember, the regular F-Type R is only good for 550 hp. Only. What a world we live in. Aside from the added power, this is much more of a range-topping special trim than it is a significantly different model. Like the R, the SVR comes only with all-wheel drive and an eight-speed automatic transmission. Operating it in manual mode is more pleasant, in part because the paddle shifters behind the wheel are made out of aluminum instead of plastic like on other automatic F-Types.