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

Auto blog

Watch Jaguar build its XJR Rapid Response Vehicle for Bloodhound SSC

Last month, Jaguar revealed an F-Type specially equipped to serve as a Rapid Response Vehicle for the Bloodhound SSC. Now it's rolled out a pair of XJRs kitted out for the same purpose. Set to debut when test pilot Andy Green drives one up the hill at Goodwood later this month, the Jaguar XJR Rapid Response Vehicle has been equipped by Jaguar Land Rover's Special Vehicle Operations division. As you can see, it's got a special livery of blue and orange to mimic the rocket- and jet-powered streamliner's own color scheme, and has been stripped out and fitted with a roll cage and specially crafted tools for the land speed record attempt. Of course, the 5.0-liter supercharged V8 carries over with its 550 horsepower to propel it to 60 in 4.4 seconds and on to a top speed of 174 miles per hour. Alongside the F-Type – which recently undertook a parachute deployment test – the pair of XJR Rapid Response Vehicles will be on hand in South Africa when the Bloodhound attempts to break the land speed record as well as the sound barrier on dry land. Check out the build process in the video. Jaguar Rapid Response Vehicles for Bloodhound SSC to Star at Goodwood Festival of Speed - Bespoke Jaguar XJR Rapid Response Vehicle (RRV) for Bloodhound SSC to make dynamic world debut at Goodwood Festival of Speed - Current world land speed record holder Andy Green to drive the 16MY XJR RRV up the Goodwood hill on Saturday 27 June 2015 - Bloodhound's RRV Fleet now includes two XJRs and an F-TYPE custom-built by Jaguar Land Rover's Special Operations team - Jaguar's history in supporting world land speed records dates back to 1983 with an XJ12 for Richard Noble's record attempt in Thrust 2 Jaguar is to further showcase its commitment as Technical and Innovation Partner to the Bloodhound Project with the world debut of its custom-built XJR Rapid Response Vehicle (RRV) at Goodwood Festival of Speed, alongside the recently unveiled F-TYPE R AWD RRV. One of two XJRs being provided for the record attempts will be on show at the festival and will also take part in the First Glance hill run on Saturday 27 June 2015 with current world land speed record holder and Bloodhound SSC driver Andy Green at the wheel. The two new additions to Bloodhound's fleet are the latest creation of Jaguar Land Rover's Special Vehicle Operations (SVO) division and are wrapped in a bespoke livery created by Jaguar Design incorporating the Bloodhound SSC colours.

Ride like a royal with Queen Elizabeth II's Jaguar X-Type

The British royal family may be best known for more high-end machinery such as Land Rovers, Bentleys or even King Charles' wine-powered Aston Martin. But not everything was quite so flashy, such as this 2009 Jaguar X-Type wagon, which was owned and driven by the late Queen Elizabeth II. And now it could be yours, since it's heading for auction. We heard about it via Robb Report, and it's being sold by Historic Auctioneers in the U.K. It was very clearly owned by the royal family, as evidenced by the photos of her driving the car, and apparently its initial registration was a royal plate number. We also noticed that in photos of her driving, there's a dog barrier in the back, so the queen's corgis may have been onboard at some point, too. It also has a little over 70,000 miles and has a comprehensive service history. Set aside the royal connection, though, and the X-Type is a relatively unexceptional car. Though it features plenty of Jaguar trimmings from the exterior design, to the wood and leather interior and the J-gate shifter, underneath it was based on the front-wheel-drive Ford Mondeo. In America at the time, that was seen as beneath a luxury brand, particularly to be based on a Ford. Jaguar executives later even admitted that they made some major mistakes with the X-Type, which were rectified with the spiritual successor, the rear-drive XE. The queen's example of the X-Type is, unsurprisingly, about the best-equipped version. It has all-wheel drive and the 3.0-liter gas-powered V6. In the U.S., gas V6s were the only engine options, with a 2.5-liter available early on. It made 227 horsepower and 206 pound-feet of torque. In the U.K., though, there were turbodiesel four-cylinder engines available, as well as front-wheel drive. It also has a lovely tan leather interior with the aforementioned wood trimmings. And being a wagon, it's the most practical. According to Historic Auctioneers, the X-Type wagon was also the first Jag that designer Ian Callum worked on, who went on to revitalize the brand with clean, modern designs for the next decade. The car will be auctioned on November 26 in the Mercedes-Benz World auction. No price estimates were given. With its royal connection, it will surely go for more than your average old Jaguar. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Jaguar shows the face of its upcoming XE S sports sedan

Jaguar has a bunch of projects in the hopper, from the replacements for the XJ sedan and XK coupe/convertible to its very first crossover. But arguably the most important among them is the XE - the British automaker's upcoming new sports sedan. Coventry has given us all sorts of peeks at what to expect from the new XE, from a shadowy rendering of the front end to a photo of a camo-wrapped prototype. But this is our best look yet.
As part of an announcement of a planned audio-visual spectacle scheduled to herald the arrival of the XE, Jaguar has released the image you see above, showing the undisguised XE in apparent S specification. From what we can see, it sports a fascia that looks pretty much exactly as we'd expect, though that's no bad thing. The XE is set to introduce the new Ingenium family of 2.0-liter four-cylinder engines. Whether the XE S shown here would carry a version of that (with a potential supercharger) or transplant the 3.0-liter supercharged V6 from the F-Type S remains to be seen, but whatever's under the hood, we'd expect it to hold the top end of the XE range - at least for the car's introduction before a potential R, R-S or SVR version might come along to supplant it.
One way or another, don't be surprised if you see some BMW 3 Series sedans pacing down the street nervously for the next little while. In the meantime, you can scope out all the glorious details of Jaguar's planned collaborations with the likes of Emeli Sandé, Stella McCartney and Idris Elba as part of the FEEL XE campaign in the press release below.