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2016 Jaguar F-Type S Coupe Quick Spin [w/video]

The Jaguar F-Type – as either a coupe or a convertible – has proved easy to fall in love with. It's one of the best looking cars in the world, period. And it has been endowed since launch with lovely engine options on either end of the range, athletic rear-drive handling, and a tuneful exhaust that sets one's heart to thumping. So how does Jaguar improve on such a winning formula? The answer that enthusiasts have hoped for is that Jag offer its sports machine with a traditional manual gearbox. And for the 2016 model year, those hopes have been fulfilled. Always wiling to take one for the team, I flew out to New York state to drive the 2016 F-Type S Coupe, fitted with the new manual transmission. (The trip included time in the F-Type R AWD that you'll hear more about later, and a long stint in the Range Rover Sport SVR, so I wasn't exactly shy about requesting the gig.) The short version is that the F and the 6MT get along like special sauce, lettuce, and cheese. But for the detailed blow-by-blow follow along. Driving Notes So, how is the manual? That's the primary force animating this review, after all. The short answers are: great, fine, just dandy. The middleweight clutch (not too light, not too firm) is easy to operate at speed or in heavy traffic. The gearlever offers positive, smooth action, not particularly mechanical, with throws that are of average length. The closest analogous experience I've had is with BMW manuals, though the Jag's clutch is slicker. But the biggest win for the stick shift in the F-Type is spiritual (if you'll excuse my being a bit romantic). This is after all the heir to the E-Type legend, a stirring rear-drive coupe (or convertible) that looks like wet sex and goes like heaving hell. The eight-speed automatic will continue to offer a more modern driving experience, but the manual just feels right with the car. You're going to have to prefer that kind of purity over outright speed to get the manual, too. Jag with sell you a hand-shaker with the base, 340-horsepower F-Type or the 380-horse F-Type S, but not with the V8 or new-for-'16 AWD variants. The supercharged V6 in the S is far from disappointing. Keep the sport exhaust active and you're likely to be the best sounding thing on the road that day, unless you run up on a coffee klatch of Ferraris.

Strong JLR sales in China boost Tata Motors' quarterly profit

BENGALURU, India — Tata Motors Ltd on Friday posted a 67.2% surge in quarterly profit. Sales at its luxury car unit, Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), improved in key market China as the country led a recovery in the global automobile industry from the pandemic. The Indian carmaker had logged losses for three straight quarters as the COVID-19 pandemic dented business in several of its key markets even as it was already dealing with uncertainties around Brexit, weak demand and rising costs. The Brexit trade deal agreed upon in December has avoided the risk of tariffs on automotive parts and finished vehicles, Tata Motors said, adding that JLR remains encouraged by the Brexit trade deal. JLR sales in China jumped 20.2% on-quarter and were 19.1% higher from the year-ago period. Retail sales at the unit, which accounts for most of the company's revenue, were up 13.1% from a quarter ago, but still 9% lower than pre-pandemic levels. The company said it had saved 400 million pounds ($548.96 million) during the December quarter at JLR under Project Charge, taking the total savings to 2.2 billion pounds so far. Tata Motors has set a full-year target of saving 2.5 billion pounds. Consolidated net profit came in at 29.06 billion rupees ($398.52 million) for the third quarter, compared with a profit of 17.38 billion rupees a year earlier. It had reported a loss of 3.14 billion rupees in the previous quarter. The festive season in mid-November, during which Indians typically make big-ticket purchases, also helped overall sales. "Due to a strong festive season and a clear preference for personal mobility, the PV business posted its highest sales in last 33 quarters," Tata Motors Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Guenter Butschek said. Total revenue from operations rose 5.5% to 756.54 billion rupees.

Jaguar sculpture by RCA design students is a minimal beauty

With its well-deserved reputation for high design, it is not particularly surprising to see Jaguar reaching outside of the automotive realm for future inspiration. To that end, the British automaker recently enlisted the talents of students at the Royal College of Art to create a piece of forward-looking, automotive-inspired sculpture.
The result of this project can be seen above; a sculpture created by RCA students Claire Miller and Ewan Gallimore, and unveiled to a small audience to kick off London's Clerkenwell Design Week. The spare and rather elegant form created by the talented pair absolutely harkens back to coupes from Jaguar's past as well as its present (read: F-Type) without aping any one model particularly.
In a press release, the artists had this to say about the work: "Our form relates to the Jaguar brand through its sculptural volumes, bespoke materials and visual lightness. These elements helped us to create a sculpture that aimed to display a seamless transition between interior and exterior space." Get a better look at the Jaguar artwork in the gallery above, or read through the press release, which follows.