2009 Jaguar Xj Series on 2040-cars

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Jaguar's EV future starts with three 'sports crossovers' in 2025

Who'd have thought Cadillac and Jaguar would have so much in common? Once paramount luxury brands that lost their respective ways around the same time, floundered with one not-good-enough product after another, and have several failed reboots on their resumes. Given one last chance by their parent companies to get it together, both committed to all-electric lineups. And both have made it clear they're targeting the super-luxe demo, with Bentley the marque that always comes up as the hare in the distance. Cadillac appears to have made an outstanding shot off the line, its Lyriq bringing home reviews worthy of long-ago Cadillac, the Celestiq promising everything we screamed for from Cadillac concepts like the Escala and Ciel. We have two more years to wait for what Jaguar's bringing, the English automaker not expected to show near-production concepts of it coming lineup until a "globally significant" auto show that year. Autocar calims to have a few more details out of Jaguar HQ about what's to come. The product lineup has been guesswork to now. Autocar says it's going to be "a trio of ... electric sports crossovers." If that's the case, that means the F-Type puts an end to Jaguar's run of sporty, luxurious coupes — for a spell, at least. According to the report, the new range starts with a model around the size of the Porsche Taycan Sport Turismo wagon, which is an inch shorter than a Cadillac Lyriq. Two- and four-door variants will offer single- and dual-motor powertrains. Pricing is expected to begin in the GBP80,000 ($96,406 U.S.) to GBP90,000 ($108,457 U.S.) bracket, which would make this EV the highest starting price for any entry-level production Jaguar in maybe ever. Right now, the I-Pace starts at GBP66,350 ($79,957 U.S.), the F-Pace at GBP46,250. The most expensive model among the range is the F-Pace SVR at GBP81,150 ($97,792 U.S.). It's thought the upper end of the lower-end EV could "push prices to GBP120,000" ($144,610 U.S.) before getting to the SVR trims.     There's no info on the middle sibling. The flagship is anticipated to start around GBP120,000. Two motors and all-wheel-drive would be the default powertrain, prices hitting GBP200,000 ($241,016 U.S.) for SVR models.  The aim is to earn comfortable profit selling no more than 60,000 vehicles globally per year.

Jaguar Classic heading to Le Mans with vintage racers

A grid full of vintage Jaguars will rumble into France in July to race in the Jaguar Classic Challenge during the Le Mans Classic. The event should give motorsport fans plenty to watch with a bevy of pre-1966 Jags on the famous circuit, including E-Types, XKs, C-Types, D-Types, and even the company's sedans. Jaguar launched the vintage racing series last year to build on the success of the popular E-type Challenge. It continues with a five-event calendar this season but swaps out a meeting at Brands Hatch to go to Le Mans – hard to argue with that change. The drivers also get to lap Donington Park, Silverstone, the Nurburgring, and Oulton Park. Le Mans is practically a home track for these classic Jags. The British automaker dominated the 24-hour race there in the 1950s, including overall victories in '51, '53, '55, '56, and '57. "Watching a diverse array of pre-1966 Jaguars racing on the iconic circuit, some of which even raced there in period, will surely be a sight not to be missed," Tim Hannig, Jaguar Land Rover Classic Director, said in the season announcement. Again, we find it hard to argue with that sentiment. Related Video: Iconic Jaguar sportscars will return to the Le Mans circuit as the Jaguar Classic Challenge confirms Le Mans Classic in revised 2016 calendar Race series is part of Jaguar Land Rover Classic business specialising in cars, services, parts and experiences First race commences at the Donington Historic Festival on 30 April - 2 May Drivers wishing to take part in the true spirit of classic racing in 2016 can visit the dedicated web page at http://www.hscc.org.uk/jaguar-classic-challenge for full details Whitley, Coventry - 01 February, 2016: Excitement levels are building for the second season of the Jaguar Classic Challenge as the Le Mans Classic is confirmed for inclusion in the all-new race calendar for 2016. The Le Mans Classic will be one of the major highlights of the forthcoming season that will see a diverse field of pre-1966 Jaguars going wheel-to-wheel in the competitive single-marque series. Jaguar has a long and successful history at Le Mans, with the marque first winning there back in 1951 with Peter Walker and Peter Whitehead driving the C-type - affectionately known as XKC 003. A one-two finish followed this in 1953 with the duo of Tony Rolt and Duncan Hamilton taking overall honours. Jaguar dominated Le Mans for three consecutive years in 1955, 1956 and 1957 in the D-type.

Jaguar's next-generation XJ will be electric, but it won't bend design rules

Jaguar's next-generation XJ won't roar like a lion or purr like a kitten. It will ditch gasoline-powered six- and eight-cylinder engines in favor of electric power, the British company confirmed, but that's not an excuse to completely change its proportions. It will still be recognizable as a member of the decades-old XJ family. "We're there to make the best-looking cars we possibly can, so the new XJ, it does have a [hood] on it. It's a very, very elegant shape; it's probably a little bit more traditional than the I-Pace," explained Julian Thomson, the man who replaced Ian Callum as Jaguar's head of design, in an interview with magazine Auto Express. The aforementioned I-Pace is a segment-bending crossover with short overhangs and an unusually spacious cabin; it takes full advantage of the possibilities offered by compact electric technology, and it looks like nothing else on the road. Thomson confirmed his team won't take the XJ in this direction, and spy shots (pictured) taken far north of the Arctic Circle illustrate his point while keeping finer details under a swirly black and white wrap. Although it's built on a massive lithium-ion battery pack, the next-generation XJ seemingly wears the typical long front, short back proportions that have characterized the model for generations. The most dramatic change is the presence of a hatch instead of a trunk lid. It was added to give the sedan a more fastback-like appearance than its predecessor; it has nothing to do with what's under the sheet metal. The XJ has been the segment's underdog for many years so keeping the classic three-box silhouette would have been marketing suicide. "It's going to be a very, very luxurious, very, very calm, tranquil piece of transportation. But, it's not overtly flashy, it's not overtly expensive," summed up Thomson. His comments suggest it will be a better match for the Mercedes-Benz EQS, which is being designed around comfort the firm is known for globally, than for the Porsche Taycan, which stays true to the badge on its nose by putting a greater focus on performance. The electric version of the seventh-generation BMW 7 Series due out in the early 2020s will split the difference. Jaguar is putting the final touches on the next-generation XJ, and it plans to introduce the model before the end of 2020. It's too early to tell if the big, silent cat will make its debut at one of the few auto shows left on the calendar, at a standalone event, or online.