This is the new Jaguar XK60, a limited-edition model designed to mark the 60th anniversary of the XK sports car, which started with the iconic XK120 in 1948.
Jaguar won’t release any further official details until the car makes its debut at the British motor show, but these pictures show that the XK60 will get a unique bodykit and traditional green paintwork to mark its heritage.
The XK60 will be unveiled at the motor show alongside the new Jaguar XKR-S, and the recently launched XF saloon.
Keep watching Autocar.co.uk for live news on all the hottest show cars from 22 July.
Test date 25 September 2006 Price as tested £70,995
Ever since its introduction in 1998, the XKR has been Jaguar’s flagship, mating supercharged V8 power with its most sensuous of coupe and convertible bodies. Following the widely acclaimed launch of the new XK, the Coventry concern is bullish about its new supercharged sports car.
It uses the same basic ingredients from the regular car. So there’s all-aluminium construction with a riveted and bonded joining method (though, as with the XK, our weighing proved disappointing), V8 power with rear wheel drive and an automatic gearbox. But there’s also a dash of aggression to the styling and the promise of a more keenly focused drive.
Most of all, the XKR has the potential to address the one major criticism we had of the new XK – a lack of poke. It wasn’t that we expected the naturally aspirated XK to be a leather-lined dragster, just that a luxury sports-GT should accelerate past the hoi polloi with demure authority, and at times, the rather uncouth V8 – only lightly fettled from the XK version - seemed to be making a meal of it. In short, it appeared as if Jaguar, forced to count pennies carefully, had spent the money on the advanced aluminium chassis rather than the engine.
Not that the engine in the supercharged XKR appears to be much changed from the previous XKR's, either. There’s now an extra 20bhp, taking the peak power to 420bhp, and a slight increase in torque to 413lb ft. Most of these gains are achieved through new twin air inlets and a variable timing system fitted to the inlet cams of the 90-degree V8.
Overall engine capacity stays at 4196cc, with an Eaton-type supercharger continuing to provide the forced induction into the cylinders. But, as with the XK, the XKR proved disappointing on our scales, despite its aluminium construction. Weighing in at 1780kg (with options), our test car was 100kg heavier than Jaguar’s claim.
It takes a keen eye to spot an XKR, but the differences are there. The frontal area is considerably more aggressive, with deeper mesh grilles and separate mesh-filled side intakes. The bonnet also features slightly crass air intakes. On the flanks, the side strakes are now alloy-effect plastic, while a quartet of no-nonsense tailpipes exits at the rear. Overall, it’s a successful tone-up.
Now the big cat surges past other traffic with ease, making it arguably the more relaxed car during everyday driving. When you start to really use the performance, there’s a delicious, diamond-hard cackle from the exhausts above 4000rpm.
Our test car had a glitch that prevented us from fully disabling the traction control, so we failed to match Jag’s acceleration claims. But there’s no doubting the storming pace on offer: the 30-70mph sprint vanishes in 4.3sec. Cruising is a forte too, with effortless punch at high speeds before an electronic limiter at 155mph eventually reins the XKR in.
The gearbox, however, is superb. The shift programmes have been massaged for the ‘R’ and it’s hard to fault. Larger brakes, now 355mm at the front, successfully complete a compelling package.
To make the ‘R’ a sharper drivers’ tool, Jaguar has uprated the front (38% stiffer) and rear springs (24% stiffer) and retuned the CATS dampers over the XK. It has also fettled the steering both mechanically and electronically through the power steering maps.
Apart from a low speed ride that’s mildly hobbled by the fitment of optional, though spectacular, 20inch wheels, the XKR is cosseting and comfortable.
As speeds rise, it never fights the road, choosing instead to work with the contours of the asphalt in what Jaguar engineers call ‘breathing’. It’s a trait shared by all current Jaguars, and a mightily effective one on our pockmarked roads.
Grip levels are superb, and the XKR will indulge in a healthy dose of power oversteer. The steering slightly disappoints, however: a better instrument for fast driving than the regular car’s rack, but there’s still too much dead-zone around the straight ahead. Whilst you’re in this trough, it’s too easily affected by bumps in the road and a faux self-centering action. Once turned in, it’s nicely weighted with fair feedback, even if there’s occasionally a pronounced kickback over the worst potholes.
Inside, the XKR is very similar to its lesser brethren, which means a monumental improvement in ergonomics and functionality over the old car, but which also means it’s simply not special enough for a flagship GT costing nearly 70 grand. The odd logo here and there, a unique alloy trim strip and wide but curiously unsupportive sports seats are not enough.
Other flaws remain: the rear seats are next to useless and the boot stingy, whilst the 71 litre fuel tank is just enough to provide adequate touring range (we achieved 23.9mpg) but drains quickly if you’re pressing on. Nevertheless, at £67,495, the XKR feels like an awful lot of car for the money.
This is a superb effort from Jaguar, blending enormous pace with a comfortable vibe that makes it a compelling car either for everyday use, or as an occasional treat. It's not perfect, but it proves Jaguar can make truly world-class cars, a fact that should make enthusiasts everywhere very glad.
Edition Price
Jaguar XK Series 4.2 XK £60,995
Jaguar XK Series 4.2 XKR £70,995
Jaguar XK Series 4.2 XKR Portfolio £75,597
Jaguar XK Series 4.2 XKR-S £70,097
Jaguar XK Series 4.2 XK60 £60,995
Monday
Jaguar XK60 revealed
2008 Jaguar XJ Super V8
The Automobile Magazine editorial offices are abuzz with the recent arrival of the new Jaguar XF in our test fleet, but last weekend I enjoyed a long road trip in a car that, for many Americans, remains the quintessential Jaguar: a long-wheelbase XJ sedan.
My friend Mike D., who is also an automotive journalist, and I drove a silver XJ Super V8, the XJ with the mostest, from Ann Arbor to Washington, D.C., for a fun early-spring weekend. In truth, I had Mike drive most of the time so that I could be a swell in the back seat, burying my feet in the lambswool rugs and working comfortably on my laptop.
The right rear seat, the preferred location when one is being chauffeured, features a seat control lever that moves the front seat forward to create maximum leg room for one's fabulous chauffeured self. This is definitely not a car you'd want to drive your kids around in---they would amuse themselves nonstop by moving the seat forward on unsuspecting front-seat passengers. The rear seat also reclines slightly. The seatbacks of the front seats present fold-down picnic tables to rear-seat occupants, but the excitement you feel when you first see them in their wood-veneered elegance dissipates quickly once you fold them down and discover that they are not half as useful as the trays in your average tired Boeing 737, and the undersides are lined in hard plastic, not wood veneers, and they don't even fold down flat. Other gripes? The huge front-seat headrests accommodate screens for watching DVDs, but they also severely block your forward view. I did not watch any movies, as I had plenty to do writing a story on my computer, chatting with my chauffeur, and reading my book.
Five years after the current-generation XJ debuted, this car is still a pleasure to drive and to be driven in. It received a light freshening last year, with a revised front end, new side vents, and a few other tweaks. The all-aluminum body structure and aluminum body panels give it a decided weight advantage over other big luxo sedans, so it handles really well for its size. Ride comfort, long a Jaguar strength, is supreme, and the miles melt away. We reached Washington in an easy 8.5 hours, completely refreshed, rarely exceeding the speed limits by more than 5 mph. You learn to keep the XJ's radar cruise control at its highest tolerance setting, meaning it will maintain the shortest possible distance between you and other cars in front of you before it brakes automatically, which can be a bit jarring. But when you want to dispense with some traffic, the supercharged 400-hp 4.2-liter V-8 makes quick work of most other cars on the road.
On Saturday morning, I delivered my friend Charley S. to the boathouse on the Potomac near the George Washington University, where he would be coaching the University of Michigan Mens Rowing team in a regatta. As I pulled in, a group of Navy rowers who were unloading one of their boats stopped in their tracks to gape at the big silver Jag. Jeez, if college athletes are into this car, why isn't anyone buying it?
I was afraid that our long-wheelbase XJ would be a liability in the crowded streets of our nation's capital, but it wasn't. Dashing through late-afternoon traffic in Georgetown, I found it easiest to move the J-gate lever to third or even second gear; in that position, I could squirt through holes in traffic easily.
Everywhere we went, the XJ Super V8 was warmly received, and there was lots of finger-pointing and waving. I saw only one other XJ the whole weekend, a short-wheelbase black one idling at the curb on M Street, the main drag through the chi-chi Georgetown neighborhood. It seems that everyone admires the Jaguar XJ, but no one wants to buy it. For Jaguar's sake, let's hope things are a bit different for the new, mid-size XF.
An all-new Jaguar XJ with modern styling will make its debut this September at the 2008 Paris Motor Show and go on sale here sometime in 2009 as a 2010 model. That car will seek to bring the flagship sedan into the 21st century with modern styling and cutting-edge performance, and I look forward to driving it. But having made a relaxing journey in the current XJ, I dare say I'll miss the old girl once she is gone.
Source : automobilemag
Friday
European Jaguar XJ updated
More features for the same money, Jaguar has announced that the 2009 Jaguar XJ will be revised, the British company looking for ways to increase their sales through these tough times. There are no new features available for the Jag, instead what they did was try and attract new customers by offering more equipment for the same amount of money. The update is available for the 2.7 liter diesel versions and it includes satellite navigation, front and rear parking aids, Bi-xenon headlamps, bright mes lower grille and side vents, plus Jaguar tread plates, which will all come as standard for the Executive version, priced at £44,599 in the UK. The Sovereign version will also be updated, with 20 inch Takoba wheels, 16/16 soft grain leather seats with embossed front headrests, leather for the instrument panel and grab handles and Jaguar tread plates. The XJ Sovereign will be priced at £50,472.
Source: Carscoop
Monday
Jaguar XK to get Diesel
With rising gas prices concerning virtually every consumer, Jaguar is reportedly working on offering a diesel motor in the XK coupe and cabriolet.
Although the automaker had said that the XK would be gas-powered only, the success of BMW's diesel-powered 635d coupe has Jaguar hoping the oil-burning sports cars will increase sales.
The new engine may be a twin-turbocharged version of the 2.7-liter VD turbodiesel V-6, currently used in the European-spec XF and XJ sedans. The revised diesel could produce over 250 hp (an increase of 46 hp) and return more than 30 mpg. The new variant would be offered only in Europe.
Jaguar engineers are currently hard at work on a diesel-powered XK.
Despite saying at launch that the coupe and cabriolet would only have petrol power, senior engineering sources have revealed that the economic situation has forced a rethink. So has the success of the BMW 635d.
Power for the diesel Jag will come from the uprated twin-turbo 3.0-litre version of the 2.7 V6 TD currently used in the company's saloons. It is likely to have over 250bhp on tap and should ensure that the XK is easily capable of over 30mpg in normal driving conditions.
Source: Autocar
