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GM, Audi, Jaguar halt Russian sales amidst ruble's collapse

The value of Russia's ruble currency has sunk like a stone tossed in the Volga for much of the year, losing over 40 percent of its worth since June. The change is having bizarre effects on the auto industry there and leaving some automakers scrambling to adjust. According to Bloomberg, Russians are buying up luxury goods including automobiles at the moment to have a physical investment in case the ruble sinks further. However, with the money worth so little, the companies aren't making much from these transactions. Things are so dire that several automakers are temporarily ending deliveries until the situation stabilizes. According to Bloomberg, General Motors stopped sales on December 16 with no set date to start again. Audi did the same thing but with the intention to resume once it has adjusted model pricing. Jaguar Land Rover terminated business until December 19 to see how things changed. Toyota is increasing its pricing, as well, but keeping business open at the same time. Some automakers have subtly been reacting to the slumping Russian auto market all year. The moves have included Volkswagen cutting production by 30,000 units from its factory in Kaluga. Ford also got rid of 950 workers from two plants due to low demand. Some analysts have even speculated that the contracting industry and possibility of lower import duties into the country could cause companies to end their manufacturing in Russia completely.

Jaguar readying a pop-top F-Type Coupe? [w/poll]

Typically convertibles are spun off of coupes, but sometimes it goes the other way. Like the Porsche Cayman that was based on the Boxster, the Lotus Exige spun off of the Elise, and the Jaguar F-Type, which arrived as a roadster before the coupe debuted. But if the latest reports are to be believed, Jaguar could be planning something in between.
According to Auto Express (which has, mind you, been known to stretch the rumors out some), Jaguar is toying with the idea of offering a partial convertible version of the F-Type - something Porsche would call a Targa (and which we would too if Stuttgart weren't so litigiously protective of the name). The additional roof configuration would give the F-Type three body-styles, giving its customers more choices.
It wouldn't be the only sports car to offer three roof options: There's the Porsche 911, of course. Ferrari once offered GTB, GTS and Spider versions of the 348 and 355. The Chevy Corvette has been offered in all three forms, as was the Pontiac Solstice many moons ago. But that kind of variety in roof configurations has become scarce. Jaguar's decision reportedly depends on whether it can make the business case or not. Do you think there'd be enough demand for a lift-roof F-Type?

Jaguar spotted testing hardcore F-Type SVR

Jaguar keeps churning out more and more potent versions of the F-Type. And if these latest spy shots are anything to go by, it's got an even more powerful version in the works. Spotted undergoing testing near the Nurburgring is what appears to be a more hardcore variant of Coventry's shapely sports car. Beneath the usual swirly camouflage we can make out a reshaped front end with a deeper splitter and bigger air vents, along with a giant rear wing affixed to the tail atop an enlarged diffuser and quad exhaust tips. The wheels look like they're mounted to a lowered suspension and pack bigger carbon-ceramic brakes as well. Following the Range Rover Sport SVR, Jaguar is likely to label the new F-Type performance flagship as an SVR as well. Jaguar spokesman Richard Agnew confirmed to Autoblog that the R-S badge that previously adorned the most potent Jags is being phased out. That leaves the SVR badge as the most likely to appear on the back of this beast once it reaches production, although that much has yet to be confirmed: "As we stated when Jaguar Land Rover Special Operations was formed," says Agnew, "it is our intention to create a high-performance Jaguar SVR and we are currently evaluating what product to launch first." Nameplates aside, we're more interested in what this amped-up F-Type is packing underneath. We'll likely be looking at an even further enhanced version of the company's signature 5.0-liter supercharged V8 pumping out a good 600 horsepower, which would eclipse both the 550 hp in the F-Type R and the 575 in the Project 7 speedster – potentially driving all four wheels. We'll just have to sit tight to find out, but in the meantime you can scope out the spy shots in the gallery above for a closer look at what Jaguar's Special Vehicle Operations division has got in the cooker. Related Video: