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Jaguar previews XF sedan ahead of New York debut

Jaguar is in the midst of an aggressive product expansion, with the new F-Type taking it back into sports-car territory, the upcoming F-Pace putting it in the crossover market for the first time and the XE renewing Jag's assault on the entry-level luxury-sedan segment. But it hasn't forgotten about its core models. The British automaker has a new flagship XJ under development, and Jag will showcase a brand-new XF at the New York Auto Show next month. But before it does, Jaguar has given us something to chew on with these teaser images: one showing the new sedan from above, and one showing the new cockpit. Now it may be hard discern much from that overhead view – which is not a typical teaser – but it's clear the new XF will feature more sharply creased body lines and a large panoramic sunroof. Meanwhile the interior looks like a modern update of the current model, borrowing some elements from the smaller XE. There's a wider infotainment display, the rotary knob for the transmission has moved toward the center, some (but not all) of the air vents appear to hide away when not in use, and there's a sportier steering wheel – though we do appear to be looking at the more performance-oriented S model. The XF, for those having trouble keeping track, is Jaguar's challenger to the likes of the Mercedes E-Class, BMW 5 Series, Audi A6 and Maserati Ghibli. It was introduced in 2007, and has been available (in certain markets anyway) in sedan and wagon forms, with engines ranging from a 2.0-liter turbo four with 240 horsepower all the way up to a 5.0-liter supercharged V8. With the New York show fast approaching, we won't have to wait much longer for a complete view of the new XF. But even before then, Jaguar promises to reveal the new XF in dramatic fashion in London: on March 24, it will drive the new sedan on two wires barely more than an inch thick suspended high above the river.

The UK votes for Brexit and it will impact automakers

It's the first morning after the United Kingdom voted for what's become known as Brexit – that is, to leave the European Union and its tariff-free internal market. Now begins a two-year process in which the UK will have to negotiate with the rest of the EU trading bloc, which is its largest export market, about many things. One of them may be tariffs, and that could severely impact any automaker that builds cars in the UK. This doesn't just mean companies that you think of as British, like Mini and Jaguar. Both of those automakers are owned by foreign companies, incidentally. Mini and Rolls-Royce are owned by BMW, Jaguar and Land Rover by Tata Motors of India, and Bentley by the VW Group. Many other automakers produce cars in the UK for sale within that country and also export to the EU. Tariffs could damage the profits of each of these companies, and perhaps cause them to shift manufacturing out of the UK, significantly damaging the country's resurgent manufacturing industry. Autonews Europe dug up some interesting numbers on that last point. Nissan, the country's second-largest auto producer, builds 475k or so cars in the UK but the vast majority are sent abroad. Toyota built 190k cars last year in Britain, of which 75 percent went to the EU and just 10 percent were sold in the country. Investors are skittish at the news. The value of the pound sterling has plummeted by 8 percent as of this writing, at one point yesterday reaching levels not seen since 1985. Shares at Tata Motors, which counts Jaguar and Land Rover as bright jewels in its portfolio, were off by nearly 12 percent according to Autonews Europe. So what happens next? No one's terribly sure, although the feeling seems to be that the jilted EU will impost tariffs of up to 10 percent on UK exports. It's likely that the UK will reciprocate, and thus it'll be more expensive to buy a European-made car in the UK. Both situations will likely negatively affect the country, as both production of new cars and sales to UK consumers will both fall. Evercore Automotive Research figures the combined damage will be roughly $9b in lost profits to automakers, and an as-of-yet unquantified impact on auto production jobs. Perhaps the EU's leaders in Brussels will be in a better mood in two years, and the process won't devolve into a trade war. In the immediate wake of the Brexit vote, though, the mood is grim, the EU leadership is angry, and investors are spooked.

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.