Car Moon

With the E-Type of 1961, Jaguar was back in a big way. Essentially a spiritual successor to the legendary XK120 of the 1940s and ‘50s, the E-Type had everything going for it: looks, performance and price.

Since then, much has changed for the brand. The malaise of the 1970s, the reliability woes of the ‘80s and the reheated design language of the ‘90s all placed a burden on the Big Cat.

Then, at the 2000 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS), Jaguar unveiled the F-Type Concept to the world. And by God was it a stunner. The lines were simple yet provocative; the interior refreshingly Spartan and functional for a concept car.

Swayed by recent media reports from Britain, Carscoop reader L il-k Amaru returned to his virtual drawing board and photoshoped a convertible version of the hardcore Jaguar XKR-S, which was unwrapped in coupe format at the 2011 Geneva Salon this past March.

If the rumors about the XKR-S Convertible turn out to be true, expect the open top model to feature the same styling and performance modifications as the coupe.

Jaguar’s revised for the 2012 model year XK series in Coupe and Convertible form made its world premiere alongside the refreshed XF and XFR sedans at this week’s 2011 New York International Auto Show. The changes on the XK are more subtle than on the XF and are purely cosmetic.

The mild redesign shares many elements with the flagship 550-horsepower XKR-S revealed at the Geneva Motor Show in March.

The most significant changes are found at the front of the XK that gains new and slimmer by 15mm headlamps that incorporate LED signal functions and running lights. There’s also a larger oval grille and new bumper design, while the XKR is distinguished by a black mesh grille.

In 2010, Indian-owned British car maker Jaguar introduced the XKR Speed Pack: the fastest XK yet built. Twelve months later and the Big Cat is back in the form of the XKR-S with even more power and a slicker, more track-focused profile. Carscoop has all the pics and details on the brand’s 550 hp behemoth.

With a top speed of 186 mph (300 km/h) and a 0 to 60 mph (96 km/h) time of just 4.2 seconds, the XKR-S is the most powerful mass production vehicle Jaguar has ever built. It’s expected to carry a price tag of £97,000 (US$157,926 / €114,265) when it launches in September of this year.

Exactly one year after the introduction of the updated XKR, Jaguar is returning to the Geneva Motor Show with its most potent mass production car ever, the new XKR-S which comes with an uprated supercharged V8 engine, overhauled suspension and new aerodynamic enhancements.

Perhaps best known for its work with models from the Volkswagen Group, Germany's Hofele Design has now revealed a new styling program for the first generation of Jaguar's XK coupe and convertible series built between 1996 and 2005.

The XK series of 'grand tourers' is a successor to Jaguar's original XK sports cars. Resurrected in 1996, the XK replaced the aged XJS luxury coupe with a car more fitting of the XK nameplate: a pretty coupe or convertible with (optional) big engines driving the rear wheels.

Ten years after its revival, Jaguar brought fans of the XK8 and XKR a new, high-tech take on the XK, proving that they can keep a good thing going.

Jaguar announced today that it will unveil the 2011 model year XKR Coupe that benefits from the introduction of two new optional styling and performance packages at the Geneva Motor Show in the beginning of March. The new Speed and Black packages allow customers to further personalize the XKR and also raise maximum speed.

Starting with the Speed Pack, a new ECU and transmission recalibration extends the coupe's top speed from the standard model's 155mph or 250km/h to a still electronically limited 174mph or 280km/h, making this XKR the fastest ever production model of the series.

Marking its 75th anniversary of Le Mans competition, Jaguar confirmed today that it is returning to the famed 24 hour endurance race this year with the factory sponsored XKR GT2 run by JaguarRSR, an independent racing team from the U.S.

The British automaker has a total of seven wins at Le Mans between 1951 and 1990, the first win being with the C-type and the last with the Jaguar XJR-12.

Never satisfied with the factory Jaguars, German tuner Arden has introduced its take on the revised 2010 Jaguar XKR Convertible. Arden starts by hiking the performance of the new 5.0-liter supercharged V8 that gains 30 horsepower and 50 Nm of torque for a total output of 540 horsepower and 675 Nm (498 lb-ft). A sport suspension with new shocks and the removal of the electronic speed limiter complete the changes under the skin.

If you made it to this weekend's Goodwood Festival of Speed (July 3-5), there's no way you could have not noticed Jaguar's special edition XKR. The one-off performance model that was purposely built for the event was painted in an extremely distinct lime-green color while the coupe also featured special exterior graphics in gray and orange.

The lime green Jaguar you see going slideways above is the 'Goodwood Special XKR', a one-off model that it will make its world debut at this weekend's Goodwood Festival of Speed. It is based on the facelifted 2010 XKR that exits the factory with a supercharged 5.0-liter V8 producing 510HP and 625Nm of torque that propels the coupe to 60mph (96km/h) from standstill in 4.6 seconds. Jaguar said that the one-off model features an array of performance enhancements and a louder exhaust, but did not disclose any specific details.

Now here's something we don't see very often. Back at the 1999 Frankfurt motor show, German tuner Arden presented the special edition A-Type AJ18 based on the Jaguar XK (1997-2005 model) that was produced in a limited run of 13 units. Ten years later and Arden has decided to reissue the A-Type AJ18 and build another five vehicles bringing the total to 18 pieces.

So what do you do when you have a salvageable Jaguar XK8 Convertible wreck in your hands? Well, you can either try to restore it to its previous condition as most people would or alternatively, create a whole different type of car like this eBay owner did. Thanks to the extended use of fiberglass, the XK8 denounces its wild-cat heritage and enters the 'fantastic' world of Aston Martin replicas with styling elements from the lone-gone Vanquish. Love the glued on steering wheel badge but think we'll pass on this one.