Autoblog

One of the hottest Jags to roll out of Coventry isn't coming to our shores. The highly-tuned 420-hp Jaguar XKR-S sports coupe features stiffer springs, firmer dampers, thicker anti-roll bars, quickened steering, and lighter forged 20-inch alloy wheels wrapped in performance rubber. Aerodynamic changes, including a new rear spoiler, reduce lift up front by 60 percent, and 17 percent at the rear, while overall drag drops by three percent. The supercharged V8 is unchanged. Limited to a run of just 200 cars, Jaguar North America doesn't feel it can run head-to-head with the likes of tuned Porsches and other sports cars in the States so the automaker is limiting sales to just Germany and Britain. What? You don't think we can handle it?

[Source: Autoweek]

Click for a hi-res gallery of the Jaguar XK convertible

When Jaguar launched the current-generation XK in all its feline ferocity, it reportedly promised that the car would only be offered with gasoline engines. But that was a couple of years ago, around the same time that Audi began to dominate Le Mans racing with its R10 TDI, when BMW put the 3-liter turbodiesel into the 6 Series, but more importantly, before the current fuel crunch made consumers reexamine the prospect of driving a diesel sportscar.

That's why reports now suggest that Jaguar is preparing a diesel version of the XK. Based on the 2.7-liter V6 turbodiesel used in its sedans, the XK is tipped to receive a more powerful 3-liter version with 250 hp – still short of the BMW 635d's 290, but still capable of returning over 30 mpg with torque to spare. Whether the diesel XK would make it to the American market remains doubtful, however.

[Source: Autocar]

The 2009 Jaguar XK-R has been spotted and shot doing the rounds in Europe. With so many other pots on the boil, like the XF-R and the new XJ, the XK-R is going the subtle route when it comes to changes. Up front, new intakes will be fitted under the headlights, while out back LED tail lights will be fitted in place of the standard units. One change we are most excited to hear about is the swap from a telescoping aerial to a shark fin on the deck lid. On the convertible, the raised aerial caused all kinds of wind noise, which, frankly, was unacceptable on a $100K car. Inside you'll find, ta-da, Jaguar Drive. The final version of Jaguar's hottest kitten will be revealed at the Paris Motor Show.

[Source: World Car Fans]

The Jaguar XK may have been the subject of the aptly-named "Gorgeous" campaign, but the four-door XF is set to take its turn in the limelight. Since it's due to hit dealer showrooms on March 1, the first TV commercials are invading both our airwaves and YouTube, as evidenced by the :30 spot after the jump. Jaguar's marketing hired guns opted for the typical fast cuts of sex on wheels mixed with good-looking people getting frisky over a soundtrack of "Hush" by Deep Purple. Good stuff. Let's hope it helps folks remember Jaguar's not dead. Thanks for the tip, Chad!

[Source: YouTube]

Scott Ableman says the folks at InPhonic get along great and love playing practical jokes on each other. He says one of his co-workers is "fanatical about his car," going so far as to park it in the "most remote corner of the garage." So, naturally, Scott and his office buddies just had to stick 14,000 Post-It-Notes on the XJ S-Type.

Take note, if you want to pull off a sticky job like this yourself, get several friends to help, raid the office supply room, and plan for it to take a couple of hours.

Scott says the owner of the car took the joke very well and was even able to drive home with most of the blocks on the car for his kids to see. And all you Jaguar fans shouldn't worry. Scott says no cats were harmed in the making of this practical joke.

I wonder, though, if in the ever-escalating InPhonic practical joke war, the Jag owner will come back next week and Wite-Out Scott's Porsche. Or color a co-worker's white Eos with pink highlighters. Scott, keep us updated. We definitely want to know what happens next in the InPhonic garage. Anyone there drive an Enzo, by any chance?

Many more photos after the jump, and even more at Scott's Flickr page.

Thanks to faithful reader, Spluch for the tip!

In case you somehow hadn't noticed(?!), it's not only deer and turkey season, it's also automotive award season. And here's yet another trophy for those keeping track of all of them. CNET.com wants you to help decide their 2006 Tech Car of the Year Award winner. They've done the hard work and weeded out the really big turkeys to give you a list of some real dears.

In early voting, the Lexus LS460 L, with its 19-speaker sound system, live traffic GPS and self-parking system is leading the other nine contenders. So what's it gonna be for you? Acura's RDX with voice commands? Audi's adaptive-suspension-equipped Q7? BMW's 335i with its adaptive cruise control and iDrive? Or are you more a Cadillac guy, voting for the Escalade with OnStar?

See the other five contestants after the jump.

[Source: CNET]

A while back, we had heard that there are a few dedicated car guys within the hallowed halls of Consumer Reports. At the time, we were a bit surprised, but now that they've rated the Porsche 911 as the "Top Ultra-Performance Car," their gear-head cred may have just been confirmed.

The vehicles tested in the performance arena included the Corvette Z06, Dodge Viper and the aforementioned 911. Those coupes, along with a BMW 650i, Cadillac XLR, Jaguar XK, Lexus SC430 and an M-B SL550, made up the magazine's first foray into the world of luxury sports cars.

This inaugural exam of high-end motoring proved to be the most expensive yet for the magazine. As we're sure you're aware, C.R. doesn't accept any press vehicles for evaluation, so they purchase their test subjects on the open market, just as any other car buyer would. The total for all vehicles came in at over $650,000.

The 911 was rated by C.R.'s wonks as "excellent" overall, just barely nudging out the Z06, which also received an "excellent" score. The Viper, brought up the rear with a "very good" rating, although it had the distinction of being the fastest vehicle to sprint to 60 MPH in Consumer Reports' history (4.2 seconds, if you didn't already have it firmly implanted in your cortex).

Interestingly, of all the vehicles rated in the test, only the Lexus SC430 received the 'recommended" designation, due to a lack of reliability information on the rest of the models.

Follow the 'read' link for a synopsis or wait until September 5th, when Consumer Reports hits newsstands everywhere.

[Source: The Auto Channel]