2001 Jaguar Xkr Base Convertible 2-door 4.0l on 2040-cars

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Xcar focuses on famed Jaguar test driver Norman Dewis

If you have any interest at all in motoring history, especially when it comes to European sports car racing from the '50s and '60s, do absolutely whatever you can to set aside 38 minutes for this interview with former Jaguar test driver Norman Dewis from XCar. Dewis had a hand in developing the British brand's vehicles from 1952 to 1985, and as expected over that time, he amassed some fantastic stories. Xcar did a great job of teasing a few of those great tales out of him here. From the very beginning, Dewis was gifted with a natural talent to read a car as a test driver. When he was just 16, he was taken out on his first chance to evaluate a vehicle and picked out even more intricacies than his instructor. Dewis eventually wound up at Jaguar, and that's where his career really took off. Among his many accomplishments there, he had a role in developing disc brakes both for racing and the road, set multiple world top speed records, and helped bring the E-Type to the world. Dewis even made the famous overnight drive in an XKE convertible from England to display it at the Geneva Motor Show. Dewis tells a first-hand account of being in the Jaguar paddock during the tragic accident during the 1955 24 Hours of Le Mans that took the lives of dozens of spectators. It's a story that we usually can only read about or watch in black-and-white films. Hearing Dewis' side really brings this history to life.

Jaguar XE spied flying over London

We only have a few hours to wait before Jaguar finally, and fully, unveils its oft-teased XE sedan. But the Internet is no respecter of secrets, as these very last-minute spy shots make clear.
Presumably being airlifted to its spectacular debut location near Earl's Court in London, the BMW 3-Series-fighting XE was captured mid-flight, and completely undisguised.
The images are understandably a bit blurry, but they do confirm that DNA from the current Jag lineup is transitioning nicely to the new small luxury sedan. The XE shows a stance typical of the brand, with a relatively short rear overhang, and big, boldly styled wheels. The bluff front end is reminiscent of if the XF and XJ, and, as we know from earlier teasers, will wear a "growler" logo over a black grille.

2016 Jaguar XF to hit 60 mph in 5 seconds, lead with cutting-edge infotainment

Since the second-gen XF's unveiling last week in an epic publicity stunt over London's Canary Wharf, the details on the new four-door have been rather scarce. That changes now, with the Jaguar revealing just about everything we could hope to know... aside from the price and fuel economy. As we covered in our original post, Jaguar has trimmed the weight for both rear- and all-wheel-drive variants by 132 pounds and 265 lbs, respectively. That means that, regardless of engine output, the two-wheel-drive model tips the scales at just 3,770 lbs, while the AWD XF slips in at 3,880. This was mainly done by way of aluminum construction – the 13th element constitutes 75 percent of the XF's structure – although ultra-high-strength steel also plays a role. Jag claims these elements not only reduce weight – which is almost perfectly distributed, with a "near" fifty-fifty ratio – but increases torsional rigidity by 28 percent. The new XF should be just as agile as the brand's namesake, thanks not only to the reduced weight and stiffer structure, but also to a new chain-driven all-wheel-drive system that's both lighter and more efficient than a traditional version. Impressive though that may be, the brand's Intelligent Driveline Dynamics system is the standout here. IDD manages the torque split, diverting power to the rear axle until it predicts, through factors like yaw rate, steering angle and lateral acceleration, when torque should be shifted to the front wheels. Moreover, the AWD system features Adaptive Surface Response, which takes the place of the old XF's winter driving mode. It monitors road conditions, modifying the behavior of the sedan's systems as needed. The second-gen sedan comes to the US in 340-horsepower and 380-hp variants – torque remains fixed at 332 pound-feet – courtesy of Jaguar Land Rover's familiar 3.0-liter, supercharged V6. The new XF's straight-line performance should be just as entertaining as it sounds, too. The rear-drive, 340-hp XF will hit 60 in 5.2 seconds, while the rest of the range can get there in 5.0. That marks a significant reduction compared to the first-gen V6 models, which used their 340 hp to sprint to 60 in a more leisurely 5.7 to 6.1 seconds. Regardless of output, the rear-drive XF will outrun both the BMW 535i and Mercedes-Benz E350 (we're still waiting on performance figures for the 329-hp E400, so Jag's RWD dominance may not last), which take 5.5 seconds and 6.5 seconds, respectively.