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2016 Jaguar XF mule spied in Germany

From our best guess, the Jaguar test mule shown in these spy shots could very well be our first glimpse at the next-generation Jaguar XF, due out around the 2016 model year. The current XF has been around for five years already (launched in 2008), and this mule is likely testing powertrain or chassis components for a new version of the midsize Jaguar sedan.
With what seems to be a stretched wheelbase and wider track, this is almost certainly not a mule for the 3 Series-fighting Jaguar XS. That being said, though, there is also the outside chance that this could be a mule for other future Jaguar Land Rover products including a production version of the Jaguar C-X17 crossover or the Jaguar-based Range Rover Grand Evoque. Only time will tell what these images truly foretell, but if nothing else, it proves that Jaguar is definitely staying busy these days.

Jaguar could still revive XK as luxury grand tourer

With the F-Type taking the lion's – or Jaguar's – share of attention lately, it would be all too easy to forget all about a Jag once known as the XK. But it existed, and it could once again. First introduced in 1996 as the XK8 to replace the old XJS, the XK survived for two generations. It was available as a 2+2 coupe or convertible and was powered by Jaguar's signature AJ-V8 engine. By the time it was discontinued just this past summer, the ultimate XKR-S packed as much as 542 horsepower. But though it had two more seats, the XK was rendered largely obsolete by the arrival of the nimbler, newer and arguably more stylish F-Type. According to Autocar, however, the XK could be reinstated with a more GT-like approach. The XK as we've known it, said Jaguar's Ross Varney to the British weekly, "straddled the GT and sports car segment, with more of an emphasis on the GT side but probably not enough." Varney was in charge of the F-Type project and was also responsible for a new project to replace the XK until it was shut down earlier this year. "We have plans to do lots more with the F-Type," said Varney, "but there will still be other areas we want to cover. We need to find the right way to deliver on them, and the XK could be one way of doing that." What Varney is saying, essentially, is that while the XK project may not be moving forward just yet, it could be revived in the near future. If it did, we'd be looking at a more accommodating and luxurious grand tourer, different from the F-Type that's more of a focused sports car. Think of it, then, as more of a Bentley Continental GT, but probably less expensive - or put another way, if the F-Type is a junior Aston Martin V8 Vantage, the new XK would be a (relatively) more accessible DB9. The intel sounds similar to what we heard when the most recent XK was being put out to pasture, but tells us that hope is still alive for those interested in a two-door Jag with room for the kids in the back.

Jaguar Land Rover to cut $6.8 billion in costs

Jaguar Land Rover reduce costs by $6.8 billion and will push annual production volume to 1 million vehicles under a secret project called Leap 4.5, according to Reuters. The British automaker wants to achieve these ambitious goals by the end of the decade to compensate for the changing market in China and to counteract the price of meeting stricter emissions standards around the world. Leap 4.5 won't mean firing workers or cutting the automaker's $4.5 billion annual research budget. JLR will instead find savings by underpinning more models with modular platforms and by adjusting its supply chain. Future factories like the one in Brazil and the proposed plant in Slovakia also won't be affected by the new strategy. Globally, JLR continues to grow, and deliveries are up two percent through October 2015 to 390,965 vehicles. Business just last month was up 24 percent year-over-year to 41,553 units. However, the auto market's downturn in China has taken a bite out the automaker's success because volume dropped there 32 percent in the third quarter, Reuters reported. A global volume of 1 million vehicles will mean more than doubling 2014's 462,678 deliveries, but JLR has made significant investments to boost production recently. In addition to the future factories, it opened its first plant in China last year and an engine assembly site in the UK. The company also signed a deal with Magna Steyr in 2015 to build an upcoming model in Austria. Related Video: