Jaguar: Xf Supercharged on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Jay Leno gets reacquainted with the Bertone Pirana

Jay Leno gets all manner of vehicles stopping by his garage – some more rare than others, but this one is an entirely unique creation unearthed from another time. It's the Pirana, a one-off commissioned by a British newspaper in the late Sixties that we actually found listed on eBay a few years back. It was built atop a Jaguar E-Type, but with custom bodywork designed by Marcello Gandini and crafted by Bertone. The result looks like a Maserati Ghibli or Lamborghini Espada of the same era, but actually came out just before either, previewing the Italian exotics that would follow from Gandini's pen and Bertone's carrozzeria. The Pirana is now undergoing a complete restoration to bring it back to the original condition in which it appeared at the 1967 London Motor Show, but before the process is complete, Leno shows us around and takes it out on the open road to relive memories of a relic from a bygone era.

Daily Driver: 2015 Jaguar XJL AWD

Daily Driver videos are micro-reviews of vehicles in the Autoblog press fleet, reviewed by the staffers who drive them every day. Today's Daily Driver features the 2015 Jaguar XJL AWD, reviewed by Seyth Miersma. You can watch the video above or read a transcript below. Watch more Autoblog videos at /videos. VIDEO TRANSCRIPT: [00:00:00] Hey everybody, it's your old pal Seyth here with Autoblog. I am in the 2015 Jaguar XJL. That L is for a long-wheelbase. The engine powering this car is the 3.0-liter supercharged V6. My cameras inside probably didn't pick up a lot of that, but the supercharged 3.0-liter does have a nice little growl to it, especially in sport mode [00:00:30] where I'm staying higher in the rev range. It doesn't have that same big, luxurious, meaty, whoofly V8 sound as the naturally aspirated 5.0-liter used to. At 340 horsepower, 332 lb-ft of torque, this engine has everything that you need. I think that they say the 0 to 60 time is around six seconds. Frankly, the car feels a little bit faster even that that. Again, we're talking about a large long-wheelbase car here. What's particularly interesting and [00:01:00] relevant to the weather that you see behind me right now, is that this car is not rear-wheel drive. It is in fact all-wheel drive. Even going into this, knowing obviously that I was in an all-wheel drive car, the first drive really reveals it to handle a lot like a rear-wheel drive vehicle. That's appropriate. That's what you want in a car of this class. Something very luxurious and that has a reputation built on sporting dynamics as opposed to sort of just comfort and refinement. [00:01:30] Jaguar's goal with an all-wheel drive system like this is to make the car still feel very much like a rear-wheel drive vehicle but give you just enough ability to be able to pull out of a corner smartly when the grip is a little bit lower than you'd expect it to be. Obviously if there's some snow on the ground, that's a helpful thing. Or on a day like today, when I'm coming out of a corner on a slightly slippery road, being able to put the power down is advantageous. To be honest, so far the application has been really seamless. The power seems to be [00:02:00] flowing from the engine just to the rear wheels. I feel like I'm getting a little bit of assist, right now I'm entering a corner at a moderate speed and not really slipping at all. It feels like a rear-wheel drive car. I've always loved this XJ.

This is how we'd spec a Jaguar F-Pace

The configurator hitting the web is an exciting time in a new model's launch. Even if you don't have the cash to buy that sweet new ride, clicking through the options offers a chance to dream. Since we enjoy these stories so much, the Autoblog team is trying out something a little different for the new Jaguar F-Pace. Rather than describing all the stuff you can find on the page, some of our writers are going to show you how they'd spec out Jag's first crossover. Let us know how you like the new format in Comments, below. CHRIS BRUCE: I had an attractive, fairly affordable F-Pace Prestige ready, until the options list tempted me into an extra $5,000 in features. The final price of $56,255 doesn't seem too bad, though. While the diesel engine is probably quite nice, it's extremely hard not to pick the supercharged V6 with its intoxicating sound and 340 hp. Mine also includes the black trim package ($320), deleting the powertrain badge ($0), Adaptive Dynamics Pack ($1,000), Vision Pack ($2,000), and Head-up Display ($990). The British Racing Green paint ($550) and aluminum interior trim ($300) add a little more to the bottom line but are worth it for the extra style. GREG MIGLIORE: I shamelessly loaded mine up with options, let's just get that out of the way. But the F-Pace offers a lot of cool stuff, and the $400 activity security key is worth it for active lifestyles. I went with the silver paint and black 22s because I'd want my grocery-getter to have some attitude, and I think the pairing makes for a sinister yet tasteful appearance. Naturally, I'd want the 380-hp V6. It's a Jag. I want it to purr. SEYTH MIERSMA: If I'm throwing down on an F-Pace, I've already decided that I'm not going the thrifty route for my new crossover. Still, I don't see any particular advantage to the most-sporting version. The 340-hp gas-powered Jag will do just fine. Middle of the road then: F-Pace Prestige has the Xenons, heated seats, and steering wheel, and navigation that'd I'd add to a lesser model. And it looks hilariously disrespectful in this BRG paint with 20-inch black wheels. Jeremy Korzeniewski: The F-Pace is a Jaguar, and that means it can be both sporty and luxurious at the same time. But that doesn't mean it can't also be efficient. To that end, I chose to eschew the powerful gasoline engine options and instead spec my fictional F-Pace with a diesel.