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Xcar drives Jaguar C-X75, other Spectre villains of 007

James Bond returns to US theaters very soon in Spectre, and with the action-packed film wrapped, the producers are lending out the keys to some of the movie's automotive stars. We've already seen Jay Leno behind the wheel of Bond's Aston Martin DB10. Now, Xcar's Alex Goy has taken a turn in some of the flick's villainous rides from Jaguar Land Rover, including a very special Jaguar C-X75. The crew from JLR's Special Vehicle Operations team certainly did an impressive job of giving the movies baddies some appropriately nefarious rides. To challenge Bond, they turned the Land Rover Defender into a beast with chunky, off-road tires and blinding-spot lights. They also made the Range Rover Sport SVR even more diabolical than normal with a blacked-out look and LED lightbar. Of course, the king of Spectre's villain cars is the C-X75. According to Goy, most of the ones in the movie use the company's 5.0-liter, supercharged V8, but two are actually original prototypes with the hybrid setup. He gets to drive one of those special examples in this clip. While limited to some low-speed cruising, the coupe still looks wonderfully menacing on the road. Related Video:

2022 Jaguar F-Type goes V8-only as lineup gets trimmed

The sporty F-Type is the latest subject (victim?) of Jaguar's efforts to slim down and modernize its product offerings. For 2022, the coupe and convertible ditch their previous four- and six-cylinder variants in favor of a simple, all-V8 strategy.  For 2022, the entry-level F-Type will be the new P450 RWD coupe, which packs 444 horsepower and 429 lb-ft of torque from its supercharged 5.0-liter V8. Jaguar says it can hit 60 in just 4.4 seconds (with or without the now-optional R-Dynamic AWD system) on the way to a top speed of 177 mph. The 575-horsepower F-Type R will anchor the top end of the range, carrying over pretty much unchanged. If you're thinking, "Hey, at least you're not telling me Jaguar is ditching the manual transmission," that's because you missed it when they did so going into the 2021 model year overhaul. Sorry.  While the demise of the less-expensive P300 four-cylinder and P380 six-cylinder will leave some hopeful buyers in the lurch, it's not all bad news. The new P450 starts at just $71,050 — nearly $10,000 cheaper than the old P380 despite offering an additional 70 horsepower. Yeah, it's $10,000 more than the P300 was, but you're getting a heck of a lot more engine and some new standard equipment. It may not be cheaper, but it's certainly a better value — provided you care about power, that is. The range-topping F-Type R carries on essentially unchanged at $104,350.  The aforementioned 2021 update was a fairly comprehensive one, so the changes for 2022 on the cosmetic and feature fronts are few and far between, with the only noteworthy differences being the elements unique to the new P450 — badges and wheels, in other words. While options were shuffled around from last year's positioning, there's not really anything strictly new. Unlike the F-Pace and XF, the F-Type still relies on Jaguar's older Touch Pro infotainment system, which is a pretty big step down from the new Pivi Pro suite.  For those who want sweet, sweet V8 noises and sexy Jaguar styling, the 2022 F-Type will do both just fine. We'd like to see some Pivi Pro (and perhaps another SVR, pretty please), but for the time being, we'll take solace in the fact that the F-Type lives to see another model year at all. Not all Jaguars have been so lucky. 

Watch the Chevy Corvette dismiss its Euro rivals at the hands of a Brit magazine

European auto writers, especially the British, have a bit of a reputation for favoring their own domestic cars over foreign rivals in comparison tests. Just think about how many times you've heard Jeremy Clarkson deify the latest product of UK loins while denigrating an American rival as a hopeless "Yank Tank." However, we have to tip our hats to the folks at Autocar because in its latest video comparing the 2014 Corvette Stingray to the Porsche 911, Jaguar F-Type V8 S and Audi R8, it's actually given the Vette a fair shake.
Autocar has put the Stingray through a battery of tests against what it considers to be the three best sports cars on sale in Europe today. And while the tests that it has chosen are somewhat random and subjective, it has concluded that the C7 can stand up against its rivals, even irrespective of its price. It's one thing to hear about how great the Stingray is from American writers, but it's great to know that not all Brits think we've gone crazy for calling the new Chevrolet "exquisite."
Scroll down to see how it all plays out on video.