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Jaguar says F-Type sales off to flying start

As we noted in our recent first drive, Jaguar's luscious new F-Type roadster is a bit of a tweener in both size and cost, lining up in between rival Porsche's Boxster and 911. That one-for-two-segment strategy is showing early signs of paying off, with Automotive News reporting that half of the car's 2014 production allotment is already sold. We're not talking huge numbers - sports cars in this segment only "have a global annual volume of about 75,000 units and a market share of 0.1 percent," notes Jaguar brand director Adrian Hallmark. Yet the company figures the F-Type will work out to about 15 to 20 percent of its total volume of around 60,000 units.
From where we sit, this is all very encouraging news, but it's way too early to call the F-Type a smash hit. The sports car segment is known for its fickleness and its front-loaded sales curve, so the real measure of success will be how it fares over the next few years after early adopters get their cars. Jaguar will have to work to keep the F-Type fresh with new variants, and we hear it's prepared to do just that. The British luxury marque hasn't confirmed a hardtop coupe variant yet, but patent images and spy shots suggest one is on the way shortly, and it ought to extend the model's appeal greatly. A four-cylinder option and a manual transmission have also been rumored, and presumably Jaguar will eventually launch higher-performance R and R-S variants as it has done with various model lines, including its other sporty two door, the XK grand tourer.

Junkyard Gem: 1995 Jaguar Vanden Plas

Sold in Europe as the Daimler Six, the 1995 Jaguar Vanden Plas had all the luxury bling that mid-1990s high-rollers needed. This one now resides in the imports section of a self-service wrecking yard near Denver, just like any ordinary Jetta or Lanos. The Vanden Plas name started out in Belgium in 1870, eventually ending up as a British Leyland brand via the Austin Motor Company. 2009 was the last year that luxo-Jags were slugged with the Vanden Plas name. Ford owned Jaguar by this time, of course, but the engine in the XJ6 series remained a traditional Jaguar straight-six. This one is a 4.0-liter rated at 245 horsepower. After 1997, the Jaguar sixes were gone from the XJs, replaced by V8s. The MSRP on this car was $62,200, which amounts to about $102,000 in inflation-adjusted 2017 dollars. It costs real money to keep a car like this running correctly, and once maintenance corners start getting cut... well, the end is near. You should feel fear when you see this. This car is battered and many parts have been yanked by junkyard shoppers, but try to imagine it when it had that new Jag smell. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Built in the proud new spirit of Jaguar.

Jaguar XF Sportbrake is the cure for the common F-Pace

Before Jaguar introduced the F-Pace crossover, the only way an American could get their hands on a long-roof leaper was to either move to Europe and buy an XF Sportbrake or pick up the rare X-Type Sportwagon on the used market. But now that the F-Pace is on sale, there's no need for a Jag wagon (henceforth known as the Jagon), right? Wrong. Spotted lapping the Nurburgring, the second-generation XF sedan transitions to wagon duty as naturally as the first-gen car did, promising a boost in cargo capacity without sacrificing the good looks of Jaguar's middle child. But the sloping roofline won't do the XF's versatility too many favors – as our spies rightly state, it looks like Jag's designers are favoring style over outright cargo space. Beyond the roofline, expect the new Sportbrake to follow its predecessor's example and adhere very closely to the XF sedan. Don't expect any changes from the firewall forward, with most of the changes above the beltline and at the tail, where Jag's designers obviously need to rethink the look to accommodate the rear hatch. The overall taillight shape should stay the same, while the lower bumper will carry over with only modest adjustments. Under hood, our spies report the car shown here is Jaguar's potent S trim, with a 380-horsepower, 3.0-liter, supercharged V6. While it's a safe bet that Jaguar will sell the Sportbrake in Europe with all the lesser XF engines – not to mention R and RS variants – it's unlikely all three mainstream engines will arrive in the US. Oh yeah, our spies claim there's a chance the long-roof XF will hit the US market. We're calling it a very slim chance, though. Audi and BMW deported their A6/5 Series wagons years ago, leaving the segment to the Mercedes-Benz E-Class. The Volvo V90 will add some Swedish flair to the segment, but the bottom line is that importing and federalizing a new model to compete in a segment responsible for just 20,000 units per year isn't good business. Here's hoping Jaguar makes a bad business decision. Related Video: Featured Gallery Jaguar XF Sportbrake: Spy Shots View 11 Photos Image Credit: CarPix Spy Photos Jaguar Wagon Luxury jaguar xf sportbrake