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2013 Jaguar XJ AWD

Even though this year's winter has gotten off to an abnormally slow start for most of North America, Jaguar has shown the world it means business by launching its all-new Instinctive All Wheel Drive system in Montreal, Canada. Designed primarily for consumers in the Northern US and Canada, Jaguar put us on the same snowy, slushy and icy roads that many of its buyers will have to deal with. Rather than making declawed versions of the XJ and XF, Jag says this system enhances the performance abilities of its sedans when desired while still making them as fun to drive as their rear-wheel-drive counterparts. We had a chance to test out both the XF AWD and XJ AWD, but we spent most of our time behind the wheel of the flagship XJ, driving it on the open roads as well as a few closed courses.
Considering the lengthy and convoluted history of the Jaguar brand - including a stint as a member of Ford's defunct Premier Automotive Group alongside Volvo and Aston Martin - it is rather surprising that the automaker is just now getting around to introducing an all-wheel-drive system intended for widespread use, but the new Instinctive AWD will finally allow the XF, XJ and other future products to better compete against the likes of Mercedes-Benz 4Matic, BMW xDrive and Audi Quattro. In the XJ, Jaguar expects the AWD models to account for around 40 percent of the product mix nationwide and a little bit more (50 percent) for the XF, but in the northern states, it expects around 80 percent of XF sales to be AWD variants.
Instinctive AWD is rear-biased and operates as full rear-wheel drive in good weather, but when the road conditions turn slick, the system can split engine power 50:50 between front and rear axles using a center transfer case.

2014 Jaguar XFR-S Sportbrake is one hot hauler

Oh look, another super-hot wagon that won't be making its way to the US. Awesome.
Actually, in all honesty, it really is awesome. Meet the Jaguar XFR-S Sportbrake, a red-hot (or blue-hot?) version of the rakish XF wagon that originally bowed at the Geneva Motor Show back in 2012. The formula here is pretty much plug-and-play: take the 5.0-liter supercharged V8 from the XFR-S and shove it in the wagon body, and add all of the necessary visual flair fitting of a properly powerful Jag. The end result is an estate that packs 542 horsepower, 502 pound-feet of torque, and the ability to sprint to 60 miles per hour in a scant 4.6 seconds. Meow.
This Jaguar joins a growing segment of ultra-hot wagons in Europe, rounded out by offerings like the Audi RS6 Avant and the Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG longroof - the latter of which you can actually buy in North America. Sounds like the sort of comparison test we'd love to facilitate. Guess we'll have to leave that to our friends at Autocar, though.

Jaguar C-X17 Concept teased before Frankfurt

Just ahead of the Frankfurt Motor Show, which begins September 10, Jaguar is teasing the reveal of a design study to introduce its new advanced vehicle architecture. Dubbed the C-X17, the mysterious concept "illustrates the diversity of vehicles that could be produced using this architecture, which underpins the innovative future of the Jaguar brand."
While it's not entirely clear what this architecture involves or what type of vehicle the C-X17 may be, this reveal is reminiscent of Jaguar's decision to unveil the C-X16 concept, a hybrid electric sports car, in Frankfurt in 2011. From the looks of the teaser image Jaguar released (click above to enlarge), we're guessing the C-X17 will be something between a low-slung crossover and a sporty wagon. But we won't have to wait too long to find out - Jaguar is streaming the live pre-show reveal to invited guests on its Facebook page on Monday, Sept. 9.
In addition to the C-X17, Jaguar be showing off the performance-oriented XJR and XFR-S, and, of course, the F-Type convertible. Scroll down for the official press release.