1998 Jaguar Xj8 Luxurious Car on 2040-cars

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The Jaguar E-Type Lightweight is back on the prowl after a few decades away

Sometimes procrastination has its benefits. Jaguar originally planned to build a run of 18 E-Type Lightweights for racing in the '60s. However, it was only ever to complete 12 of them. It has taken all of the intervening decades to finally get back to the project and build the final run of new Lightweights. While Jag announced the plan recently, the first continuation model was unveiled during the Pebble Beach weekend.
Coming from Jaguar Land Rover's Special Operations unit, these cars are identical to the way they left the factory in the '60s. Jag is even using the same grade of aluminum for the bodies, and the cars are fully compliant for FIA historic racing. Power comes from an aluminum, 3.8-liter inline-six with about 300 horsepower and 280 pound-feet of torque routed through a four-speed manual gearbox. Who could guess that in 2014 someone could buy a brand new vehicle from a major manufacturer that comes with Weber carbs? Though, Lucas mechanical fuel injection is an option.
While they look old, these new E-types are also a wonder of modern technology. To get things just right, the company laser scanned an original car to create the new bodies. Check out the gallery from the unveiling to see this old cat on the prowl again.

Jaguar gets to work on next-gen XF sedan

With the XE now out in the open, Jaguar can begin to focus on what comes next. That means a new crossover, but also replacements for some of its aging current models - chief among them, the XF. Introduced back in 2007, Jaguar's mid-range sedan is growing a little long in the tooth. But from these latest spy shots, we can see that the British automaker is hard at work developing its successor.
Expected to be based on the same iQ A1 platform that underpins the new XE, the new XF promises to be lighter in weight and more advanced than the model it replaces. Look for most of the same engines to carry over, including gasoline and diesel options ranging from four cylinders to eight, with and without forced induction, with a potential plug-in hybrid version to follow. The current model is available in rear- and all-wheel-drive configurations and in sedan and wagon body styles, and we'd expect its replacement to follow suit.
The low-profile wheels and dual exhaust pipes on one of the prototypes spotted suggests it would lie somewhere near the top of the range, while the second prototype packs taller sidewalls and a trailer hitch. It's hard to discern much esle from the spy shots, heavily camouflaged as they are, but as with the technology underneath, we'd expect styling to takes some cues from the smaller XE as well. Jaguar will, of course, need to tread the line between distinctive and understated if it's going to fend off the Maserati Ghibli and take a bigger slice of the pie away from the likes of the Audi A6, BMW 5 Series and Mercedes-Benz E-Class, the Lexus GS and Infiniti Q70, the Cadillac CTS and the upcoming new Volvo S90.

Latest Jaguar XJ snaps show old versus new

It is a rare day when automakers line up their current models and test cars right next to each other and allow us to compare them directly. However, Jaguar ending up doing just that during cold weather testing of the face lifted XJ, providing the perfect chance to see just what the company is changing.
We spotted the refreshed XJ testing last year, and it hasn't evolved much since then. The updated model sports clear turn signals and a slightly revised front air dam. The modifications are similarly minor at the rear. The bumper appears to dip down slightly further on the new sedan. Thankfully, those gorgeous taillights are still draped over the back of the car. The exhaust outlets have switched to oval shapes rather than the current parallelograms. This alteration could just be chalked up to it being a test car, but the previous tester we saw had a similar design. It's possible that the camouflage could be hiding other revisions, but don't expect anything radical from the facelift.
Our previous report indicated that Jaguar is also planning some interior upgrades with new infotainment and ambient lighting. The company seems to feel that there isn't a point in messing with the XJ's design just yet, since all of the changes we see here are very subtle. No problems, here - to our eyes, the big Jag is still one of the prettier sedans on the road today.