2004 X-type 2.5 Excellent Condition In And Out 5-speed Well Maintained on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Jaguar XF gets performance-look R-Sport trim

If you're looking for all the style of a sports sedan but without the added expense of springing for a full-on performance model (and keeping it fed with fuel and fresh tires), most European automakers will gladly hook you up with an all-show, no-go package. BMW has its M-Sport aero kits, Audi its S-Line, and Mercedes its AMG Sport packs. And now Jaguar is getting in on the action with the launch of the new R-Sport line.
Set to be introduced on the XF at the Geneva Motor Show, the R-Sport trim at least some of the flash of the XFR or XFR-S but with a more economical engine and a relatively accessible price of entry. (This is, after all, still a Jag.) The XF R-Sport is distinguished by a sportier front bumper, side sills, rear spoiler, 17-inch wheels and unique badging to set it apart from any "ordinary" Jaguar XF. The interior is upgraded as well, and there's an optional black styling pack to take things even further.
Jaguar is offering the XF R-Sport in either sedan or wagon form with the 2.2-liter turbodiesel producing 161 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque, fitted with a spot-start system to make it a far more frugal option than the 5.0-liter supercharged V8 in the real deal. Although this version won't be coming to US as you see it here, Jaguar tells Autoblog it's always possible it'll produce a similar aesthetic treatment for the North American market - just don't count on such models arriving under diesel motivation. We'll take a closer look at them in Geneva next week, but for now, you can check out the gallery and press release below for an idea of what to expect.

Child cobalt miners: Automakers pledge ethical minerals sourcing for EVs

BERLIN - Leading carmakers including Volkswagen and Toyota pledged on Wednesday to uphold ethical and socially responsible standards in their purchases of minerals for an expected boom in electric vehicle production. Demand for minerals such as cobalt, graphite and lithium is forecast to soar in the coming years as governments crack down on vehicle pollution and carmakers step up their investments in electric models. To cover its plans for more than 80 new models by 2025, Volkswagen alone is looking for partners in China, Europe and North America to provide battery cells and related technology worth more than 50 billion euros ($59 billion). Talks with major cobalt producers, including Glencore, at VW's Wolfsburg headquarters last week ended without a deal. More than half of the world's cobalt comes from the Democratic Republic of Congo, a country racked by political instability and legal opacity, and where child labor is used in mines. On Wednesday, a group of 10 leading passenger-car and truck manufacturers announced an initiative to jointly identify and address ethical, environmental, human and labor rights issues in raw materials sourcing. The partnership dubbed "Drive Sustainability" consists of VW, Toyota Motor Europe, Ford, Daimler, BMW, Honda, Jaguar Land Rover, Volvo Cars and truckmakers Scania and Volvo. The alliance "will assess the risks posed by the top raw materials (such as mica, cobalt, rubber and leather) in the automotive sector," said Stefan Crets of the CSR Europe business network. "This will allow Drive Sustainability to identify the most impactful activities to pursue" to address issues within the supply chain.Reporting by Andreas Cremer.Related Video: Image Credit: Michael Robinson Chavez/The Washington Post via Getty Images Green BMW Ford Honda Jaguar Land Rover Mercedes-Benz Automakers Toyota Volkswagen Volvo Green Automakers Green Culture Electric Scania ethics mining

2014 Jaguar XFR-S super sedan is 550-HP worth of cool

The 2014 Jaguar XFR-S was considered last year, teased last week and now has been totally let loose. The most powerful sedan the company has ever made and the newest addition to its line of R-S performance cars - following the XKR-S - and we'll be getting even fewer of them than we thought. 200 had been the rumored allotment for the US, but the official word now is that we'll see just 100.
Each XFR-S will use the same 5.0-liter supercharged V8 that powers the XKR-S, meaning a 40-horsepower and 41-pound-foot bump over the XFR for 550 hp and 502 lb-ft in total. Shifting through the adaptive, eight-speed ZF transmission gets it from standstill to 60 mph in 4.4 seconds, but for all that, it gets the same gas mileage as the XFR, aided by its stop/start system, and so doesn't get hit with a gas guzzler tax.
Other XKR-S bits have made the jump, including an upgraded suspension front and rear, the near-straight pipes for the cracking exhaust note we drank up like ambrosia and twenty-inch, six-spoke lightweight wheels that are an inch wider than on the XFR. Lateral stiffness is up 30 percent, the electronic systems have been recalibrated to handle the extra oomph, throttle response has been sharpened and can be made even sharper by going into Dynamic Mode.