Cool stuff

Thursday, November 22, 2007

Jaguar

Of the more recent saloons, the most significant is the XJ (1968-present), still the definitive Jaguar saloon car for many. Since 1968 the Series I XJ has seen major changes in 1973 (to Series II), 1979 (Series III), 1986 Europe / 1987 United States (XJ40), 1995 (X300), 1997 (to the V-8 powered X308), 2003 (the present model, X350). The most luxurious XJ models carry either the Vanden Plas (US) or Daimler (rest of world) nameplates.


Notable models


Sports cars:


XK120 (1948–54)


XK140 (1954–57)


XK150 (1957–60)


Jaguar E-type (1961–75)


XJ-S/XJS (1975–96)


XJ220 (1988–93)


XK8(X100)(1997–2006)


XK (X150) (2007)



Large Saloons


2.5 Litre (1935–48)


3.5 Litre (1937–48)


Mark IV (1945–48)


Mark V (1949–51)


Mark VII(M) (1950–57)


Mark VIII (1957–59)


Mark IX (1958–61)


Mark X/420G (1961–70)


XJ6 (1968–97)


XJ12 (1972–97)


XJ8 (1998 to present)



Small Saloons


1.5 Litre (1935–49)


Mark 1 (1955–59)


Mark 2 (1959–66)


S-type (1963–68)


240/340 (1967–69)


420 (1966–70)


S-type (1999 to 2007/2008)


X-type (2001 to present)


XF (2007) New Model Replacing S-Type




Engines


Jaguar has designed in-house four generations of engines.


Historical engines: Jaguar XK6 engine – inline-6


Jaguar V12 engine – V12


Jaguar AJ6 engine – inline-6


Current engines: Jaguar AJ-V8 engine – V8


Jaguar AJ-V6 engine – V6



Current Models


The current Jaguar line-up includes the following models:


2007 Jaguar Model Line-up



Jaguar XJ


full-size luxury sedan


$64,250 – $116,000



Jaguar S-Type


luxury sport sedan


$46,500 – $66,500


To be replaced by the Jaguar XF


Jaguar X-Type


luxury mid-size sedan and wagon


$33,500 – $37,500



Jaguar XK


sports car/Coupé/Convertible


$75,500 – $93,000




Concept Models


Pirana (1967)


XK180 (1998)


F-type (2000) – Roadster, similar to the XK8 but smaller


R-Coupé (2002) – Luxury four-seater coupé, closest competitor being the Bentley Continental GT.


Fuore XF 10 (2003)


R-D6 (2003) – Compact four-seat coupé


XK-RR – A high-performance version of last generation XK coupé


XK-RS – Another performance-spec version of last generation XK convertible


Concept Eight (2004) – Super-luxury version of the long-wheelbase model of the XJ


C-XF (2007)


Jaguar Racing and Jaguar XJR Sportscars



The company has had major success in sports car racing, particularly in the Le Mans 24 Hours. Victories came in 1951 and 1953 with the C-Type, then in 1955, 1956 and 1957 with the D-Type. The manager of the racing team during this period, Lofty England, later went on to become CEO of Jaguar in the early 1970s. Although the prototype XJ13 was built in the mid-1960s it was never raced, and the famous race was then left for many years, until in the mid-1980s when Tom Walkinshaw's TWR team started designing and preparing Jaguar V12-engined sports prototypes for European sports car races. The team started winning regularly from 1987, and with increased factory backing the team won Le Mans in 1988 and 1990.


In the late 1990s, Ford decided that Jaguar would be the corporation's Formula One entry. Ford bought out the semi-works Stewart Grand Prix team and rebranded it as Jaguar Racing. The Jaguar F1 program was not a success however, achieving only two podium finishes in five seasons of competition between 2000 and 2004. At the end of 2004, with costs mounting and Ford's profits dwindling, the F1 team was sold to Red Bull energy drinks owner Dietrich Mateschitz, and it became Red Bull Racing. Since 2004 Jaguar has not had an official presence in motorsport.


Notable Jaguar sports racers:


Jaguar C-Type (1951–53)


Jaguar D-Type (1954–57)


Jaguar Lightweight E-Type


Jaguar XJR-9 (1988)


XJ220 (1988)


XJR-15 (1990)


1937 Jaguar SS 100


Jaguar 2½-Litre Drophead Coupé 1948


Jaguar Mark V Drophead Coupé


Jaguar Mark V Drophead Coupé 1950


Jaguar Mark V Saloon


Jaguar XK120


Jaguar XK120 Roadster


Jaguar Saloon


Jaguar Saloon


Jaguar Mark VII Saloon 1954


Jaguar Mark VII Saloon 1955


Jaguar XK140 Drophead Coupé 1956


Jaguar XK150 Roadster


1963 Jaguar 3.4 Mark 2


Jaguar Saloon


1966 Jaguar E-Type (a.k.a. XKE)


Jaguar 420G Saloon 1968


Jaguar E-Type Fixed-head Coupé 1971


Jaguar XJ12 Saloon 1974


1991 Jaguar XJR-15


1995 Jaguar XJ6 (Sovereign)


Jaguar XK8