Autoblog

The Jaguar XF will soon be upon us, and if we're to believe Inside Line executive editor Michael Jordan's "First Drive" report, this is indeed a good thing. He speaks of an attractive car that's inviting, engaging to drive, and downright fast when you get to the bottom of it. The XF runs to 60 in 5.1 seconds when equipped with the raucous 4.2L supercharged V8. Frankly, it sounds like it's as fun to drive as either the XJR or XKR, but it does its thing in a more modern-looking package than the big XJ and a more practical one than the admittedly breathtaking XK. We won't steal Jordan's thunder by rehashing his review here. Read it in full over at Inside Line. What we can say is that after reading it, we're eager to get our mitts on Jaguar's new four-door feline as soon as possible. We can feel the shift paddles at our fingertips already. S-Type? What's that?

[Source: Inside Line]

We didn't bother to attend Jaguar's press conference today at the 2007 LA Auto Show, mainly because the only car it had to show off was the North American debut of the 2009 Jaguar XF. Yeah, been there, done that in Frankfurt last September. But Jaguar did announce a nice nugget of news at its presser, which is that the '09 Jaguar XF will start at $49,975 when it goes on sale March 1, 2008 in the U.S. That's for the "standard" XF with the naturally-aspirated 4.2L V8. An uplevel version of the NA V8 model called the V8 Premium Luxury will base at $55,975. Finally, the Supercharged XF with the 420-horsepower supercharged 4.2L V8 will start at a mighty $62,975. While all prices include a $775 charge for destination and delivery, that's a heady brew to swallow. Will Americans go for such an expensive Jaguar sedan considering the brand's performance in recent years? That's the make-it-or-break-it question we can't wait see answered.

Check out Jaguar's official press release after the jump.

[Source: Jaguar]

click above image for more live, high-res shots of the Jaguar XF

Immediately after images of the Jaguar XF appeared on the web a few weeks ago, debate began over whether this new sedan will save or sink Ford's feline brand. We've now seen the car in person at the 2007 Frankfurt Motor Show, and we can at least say it earns this year's honor of being the most difficult car to shoot with a camera. We did our best though, despite Jaguar's horrendous lighting. First of all, the surfacing of the Jaguar is very complex, switching between concave and convex frequently, especially up front. The poor lighting did show that the XF loves to play with light, so now we're even more interested in seeing one out in the sun. The rear is still derivative of an Aston Martin, but at least there's good trunk space back there. We sat in the back seat to take pics of the dash, and found leg room to be adequate while the seats were comfy. The dash itself, however, is still one of the best features of the XF, with design purportedly influenced by Apple hardware. It's simple, the buttons are extremely logical and the materials are at least as good as in the more expensive XK. Power for the XF comes from Jaguar's line of 4.2L V8 engines, one naturally aspirated at 300 HP and the other supercharged for 420 HP. No weak V6s here.

Check out our live shots of the Jaguar XF in the gallery below, and take in the official press release from Jaguar after the jump.

click image above for high-res gallery

Despite unveiling the 2009 XF just yesterday, Jaguar has announced that it's new saloon will start at £33,900 in the U.K. For those who think conversions can be helpful, that's $68,267 USD. That kind of poundage will get the Brits their choice of either the 2.7L V6 diesel or 3.0L V6 engines, neither of which will be available in the U.S. Stepping up to the naturally aspirated 4.2L AJ V8 that produces 300 hp will raise the price to £44,500, or $89,614 USD. The top of the line SV8 model with the supercharged 4.2L V8 producing 420 hp will start at £54,900, or $110,557 USD. Keep in mind that these conversion to USD don't necessarily indicate what the 2009 Jaguar XF will be priced at in the U.S. The car hasn't been given an MSRP in the States, but we expect some fiscal clarity on this matter by November.

[Source: Jaguar via Jalopnik]

click above image to view 43 high-resolution pics of the 2009 Jaguar XF

Last December, the Jaguar C-XF Concept received an early debut ahead of the Detroit Auto Show thanks to some memorable embargo breaks by established media outlets. The 2009 Jaguar XF, the production car inspired by the concept, was supposed to be unveiled tonight at midnight, but again things did not go as planned. We colluded with our friends over at Jalopnik to wait and see how things played out, as well as remained in communication with Jaguar to help identify embargo breakers, but the cat (hahaha) is out of the bag. You can read more about the meta circumstances surrounding the leakage over at Jalopnik.

Meet the 2009 Jaguar XF, the car that could save the automaker from Coventry. The new saloon's styling is polarizing, as evident by the split Autoblog crew that's either deriding or drooling over it. The CX-F Concept's influence is clear, but it's wrapped around a more conventional shape that meets pesky things like safety standards. Those cat eyes remain, as well as more aggressive details in the front bumper, and Jaguar's now signature air vents are present, as well. The rear end from Aston has remained virtually untouched, which is a bit of a distraction, but overall the 2009 Jaguar XF is a looker to the Nth degree.

Check out more info after the jump, including the full press release and technical specs from Jaguar, as well as our complete gallery of high-res pics below.

[Source: Jaguar]

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