Jaguar recalling nearly 6,500 XJs due to defective windshield wipers

Jaguar has issued a recall covering 6,475 2010-11 XJ sedans built between July 28, 2009 and November 3, 2010 due to defective windshield wipers. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration details the exact problem with these XJs, saying:

“The front wiper arms to spindle fixings were not torqued to specification during manufacturing. As a result, the securing nuts could fail to perform as intended, resulting in a loss of wiper arm synchronization and a clash of the wiper arms.”

Clashing wiper arms mean they could detach from the vehicle altogether, which is perhaps the last thing any driver would want to have to deal with on a rainy (or snowy) day. The full recall is expected to commence on or before December 13, and dealers will ensure that the wiper arms are securely fitted to the spindle. To read the full details, follow the jump for NHTSA’s release.

Of Course They Are: Jaguar reportedly investigating C-X75 production

Remember the Jaguar C-X75 Concept at the Paris Motor Show? Of course you do. The company repeatedly said it was “a pure concept” that wouldn’t ever learn what the word “production” meant. Well, along with Galileo, Jaguar is reportedly joining the list of those who took it all back – well, almost – by admitting it’s studying the production feasibility of what would become the X-75.

The stats again: Two 96-horsepower micro gas turbines powering batteries which in turn feed a quartet of 195-hp electric motors at the wheels for a shuddering 780 hp and 1,187 pound-feet, a 3.4-second run to 62 miles per hour, a top speed of 205 mph, an electric range of 68 miles and a range-extended blast of 560 miles. Autocar says that although Jag is studying only making 1,000 or 2,000 per year and could charge a fortune for every one of them, it’s those turbines that could decide – or more likely, terminate – the car’s fate.

See, Jag doesn’t want to stick a plain old combustion engine in it. Otherwise it would have to be redesigned because the turbines’ small footprint don’t allow room for what would need to be a very powerful V8 or a large V12. 

Even though the company says developing the turbines for production would cost less than doing so for an ICE, it will take up to eight years to get them ready – for even a low-volume item. Of course, we can’t imagine Jaguar is going to stand up at the 2016 Paris Auto Show and declare “The six-year-old concept car you loved in 2010 will be here in two more years! Get ready!” As far as we’re concerned, we’re happy to imagine gas turbines coming in some kind of Jaguar at some kind of date, whenever it is.

Paris 2010: Jaguar C-X75 Concept

 

Yesterday’s big surprise at the Paris Motor Show was the range-extended electric supercar from Jaguar, theC-X75 Concept. Built to celebrate the marque’s 75th anniversary, the concept looks forward to the future while honoring Jaguar’s heritage and design. 

Featuring four electric motors producing 195 horsepower at eachwheel, along with two micro-gas turbines that – in theory – charge the batteries, the C-X75 can top 205 mph and has a projected combined range of 560 miles. Jaguar says it has no plans to produce the car, although it would be more than a worthy successor to the notorious XJ220.

From our vantage point, we’re split on the looks. While most of us think it’s stunning – especially in person – there’s a vocal minority that doesn’t think it looks “Jaguar” enough. Truth be told, it doesn’t necessarily look like any Jaguar road car ever built, but it’s easy to see that inspiration was taken from the 1966 Jaguar XJ13 race car.

You can see all of our photos from the live debut in the gallery below, or for full details on the car hit the jump for the press release.

Review: 2011 Jaguar XJL

There’s a sect of motoring nihilists out there who would have us all believe there isn’t a single thing in the automotive universe that hasn’t been done before. It’s the “Simpsons did it” meme on methamphetamines, though instead of a yellow animated family, our cast is populated by the likes of Plymouth, Cord, Studebaker, Hudson and any number of other equally innovative yet forgotten brands.

Think adaptive headlights are a trick piece of tech? Think again – Willys-Knight employed a third directional headlight as early as 1928 on its 70A, and Citroën made use of similar methodology on cars like the DS and SM way back when.

Few segments seem to have accepted this grim reality quite like the luxury sedan world. Automakers that once strove to create unique products now seem to be operating from the same design template. Line up the profiles of the BMW 7 Series, Audi A8 and the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, and the vast majority of the car-buying public would have no idea which car was which. Each vehicle is attractive in its own right, but we wouldn’t accuse any of them possessing the same kind of gravitas as, say, a ’38 Mercedes-Benz 770.

Monterey 2010: Pebble gathers a dozen Jaguar XK-SS roadsters for Jag’s 75th

Okay, full disclosure – We have to tell you that we have a conflict of interest on this one. The Jaguar XK-SS is one of this author’s top ten sports car designs of all time. This partially-civilized, D-Type-derived, semi-comp car is just plain awesome. Seeing one of them at a museum or event is like glimpsing the Pietà as you enter the Vatican – Its beauty can overwhelm you if you’re not prepared to see it. Imagine our delight, then, when we learned that the organizers of the 2010 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance had put together a small gathering of XK-SS roadsters to celebrate Jaguar’s 75th birthday. It’s their birthday, and we get the presents.

Just 25 of these incredible machines were built during their short run – a tragic fire at the factory took nine of them and halted development of not just the XK-SS, but of the D-Type as a whole. Try as they might, the Pebble Beach folks simply couldn’t get all 16 of the survivors together for this occasion…but how does a full dozen sound? Any event that has one SS in the field is pretty remarkable in our books. Having more than one is almost unheard of. Having a dozen on hand, all in one place at one time… in an almost perfect line on the Pebble Beach golf links with nothing behind them but the course and bay? Sublime.

Why does the XK-SS draw such admiration? Well, all you need do is look at it and you have your answer, but there is much more to the story. When Jaguar withdrew from racing at the end of 1955, they had a few spare D-Type chassis on hand. They also had something of a budget crisis at the time. Why not make a few changes for road use and offer the unfinished cars to the public? Jaguar added an extra seat, another door, a full-width windshield, luggage rack and folding top and the SS was born. It weighed but 2,000 pounds and had the D-Type’s 250-horsepower 3.4-liter straight-six under its shapely bonnet. It only weighed about 100 pounds more than the full-on racer and was sold at a 30 percent discount over the D.

Report: Engine shortages holding back Jaguar Land Rover sales

The turnaround at Jaguar/Land Rover is happening even faster than the company’s owner, Tata, had planned. A year ago, JLR posted a net loss of £64 million ($101M U.S.) in Q2; compare that to this year’s second quarter and its £233.8 million ($369M U.S.) net profit on 57,135 vehicles sold.

While we’re sure they aren’t complaining, the boost has left JLR in bit of a lurch: production has bottlenecked because it needs more engines from Ford, after already buying “considerably more” than it expected. Ford hasn’t offered any comment, but it is reported that the two companies are working together to figure out how to get Jaguar the powerplants it needs.

Review: 2010 Jaguar XFR is still the Papa Bear

When our man Lieberman drove the 2010 Jaguar XF Supercharged earlier this year, he came to the conclusion that of all the models in the XF range, the mid-grade Supercharged with its 470-horsepower V8 was the one to have, if you’re buying. 

After all, at a relatively modest $68,000, it’s a sexy sleeper with enough high-powered thrills to keep you happy while still being everyday-drivable and easily tamed. We wholeheartedly agree with our dear Jonny in this conclusion, and if we had never experienced this top-rung XFR, we’d be perfectly thrilled with our purchase.

But we have driven the XFR – once in France and now again in America – and asking us to overlook either experience when considering the XF range simply isn’t going to happen. The R makes too much of an impression.

Yes, the Supercharged may be the “just right” Goldilocks model in the XF lineup, but the XFR is Papa Bear. That ‘R’ badge will cost you an extra $12,000, which is undoubtedly a hefty sum to pay when you consider that it only produces 40 more horsepower than the Supercharged. Thus, it’s easy to write off the XFR as unnecessary or overzealous, but its sharper set of chops are able to handle so much more than lukewarm porridge. This car is a real honey, finances be damned! Follow the jump to find out why.

Cadillac CTS-V Challenge Final Lap Times Plus Video Presentation of the Cars and Drivers

The Cadillac CTS-V Challenge at the Monticello Motor Club race circuit is over and done. The fastest man on the track was former GM Performance Division Executive, John Heinricy with a lap time of 2 minutes and 46.56 seconds. 

The top three places were occupied by CTS-V cars while Michael Cooper with a private BMW M3 Sedan came in fourth with a lap time of 2 minutes 50.424 seconds. GM’s own Bob Lutz was seventh overall with a fastest lap time of 2 minutes and 56.321 seconds. Hit the jump to check out the list with the final lap times (updated) as well as a video presentation of the drivers and cars that participated.

Lap times via: Cadillac’s Twitter Feed and Autoblog.com

2011 Bugatti Veyron Super Sport

“It is not possible,” was the answer from Jens Schulenburg, Bugatti vehicle engineering chief. He was answering the question as to whether a standard Veyron could be modified to be as fast as the 2011 Super Sport edition. “It is like a domino effect,” he explained, “To get more horsepower, you need more cooling. To get more cooling, you need more airflow through more and bigger radiators. 

To accomplish this, you need to redesign the front end. When you do that, you change the aerodynamic balance of the car at speed. To rebalance the car, you need to change the roof and rear fascia.” Schulenburg could have kept going. For an hour.

We got the picture: The $2.58 million Super Sport is not a standard Veyron with a chip. Shame on you for even thinking that. Consider the Super Sport a Veyron 2.0 release; a significant re-engineering of the 1001-horsepower, sixteen-cylinder, quad-turbo, all-wheel-drive supercar.

But given the Veyron’s sales success – they’ve sold approximately 260 since the vehicle’s debut in 2005 – why go to all the trouble for a maximum of 40 cars? (Bugatti will cease Veyron coupe production at 300 units.) “Current Veyron owners wanted a more dynamic, exciting driving experience,” said Julius Kruta, Bugatti’s Head of Tradition. “Most of the orders booked for the Super Sport are from current Veyron owners. They asked us for a car that felt more extreme.” Is that even possible? We flew to Spain to find out.

Report: Bugatti Veyron priced from $3.6M in India thanks to 110% taxation

If you live in India, your list of available supercars to purchase just grew by one very fast model. Bugatti has announced it will begin selling its Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport there. Undeterred by the nation’s 110-percent import tax, Bugatti is taking orders for the topless two-door, which will cost about 160 million rupees or $3.6 million USD. For reference, the same model would cost you about $2.24 million here in the United States or €1.6 million in places dealing with Euros. After receiving the orders, the cars will take six to eight months to be delivered

India is a blooming market for luxury goods manufacturers, and Ferrari plans to follow Bugatti by shipping over its California hardtop convertible sportscar. Rolls-Royce, Jaguar and Land Rover are already selling in India… and selling quite well, as the number of Indian millionaires continues to grow.

If you do live in India, are in fact a multi-millionaire and are on the fence as to whether a Veyron belongs in your garage, we think you should re-read our First Drive of the Grand Sport. Case closed.

James May explains why supercars are ‘pointless’ – do you agree? [w/poll]

Here we go again. Dante should have made the question ‘Do Supercars Make any Sense?’ one of his levels of hell near Sisyphus, since so many people love to wail and moan and gnash their teeth on it in circular fashion. James May, a.k.a. Top Gear’s Captain Slow, has taken up the query and come to the conclusion that the speedy little devils are pointless.

He intends to make his point by asking, “what benefit has accrued to Italy, principal arbour of the mechanism of the Renaissance, by their existence?”, and then by comparing the effect that supercars have have on the world to the effects produced by Gore-Tex and penicillin and the radio and the Maxim gun. Mr. May, you have us there – we’d rather our doctor prescribed us antibiotics and not a Ferrari if we had a staph infection. That is, unless we had at least seven days to live, in which case we’d take the Ferrari and trade a ride in it for a prescription.

Most supercars are as useful and as pointless as marshmallows, with little technology actually trickling down to more affordable machinery – at least on a consistent basis. In fact, we’re mildly surprised there’s any debate left in this issue – even in jest. If May wants to talk about pointless things, let’s start with the Salad Shooter or anything else sold by infomercial.

Bugatti Veyron vs. BMW S1000 RR – Which is fastest?

Car guys insist that their four-wheeled machines are as fun as any motorcycle. The two-wheeled, leather-clad bike folks laugh at this notion, then scream off into the twisties at 9,000 rpm. The discussion can go back and forth until both parties are blue in the face. 

Inside Line decided it would be fun to put two powerful examples, one car and one motorcycle, to the test. These aren’t just run-of-the-mill vehicles, either: In one corner is a 2010 Bugatti Veyron while in the other sits a 2010 BMW S 1000 RR. The battleground? Forest roads around Molsheim, France

The Veyron obviously has the power advantage, thanks to its quad-turbo 8.0-liter W16 engine that produces 1,001 horsepower. The 190-horsepower BMW, however, has a huge weight advantage and the agile bike can get around any Citroën-shaped obstacles that it might come across.

The staff at Inside Line give the nod to the bike, for a number of valid reasons. It makes more sense in a day-to-day atmosphere, can slip through traffic, and when the luggage rack is applied it has more cargo capacity. The S 1000 RR also gains an edge when comparing maintenance costs. 

Changing a tire on a bike isn’t too much of a hit to the wallet, but to change the full set of rubber on the Bugatti costs $90,000. Furthermore, there are only two machines in the world capable of handling that job — one in France and another here in the US.

The 1936 Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic at the Mullin Museum

My first time going to the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance was back in 2003. There were some incredible classic cars on the 18th fairway, with Ford celebrating its 100th anniversary and Bugatti as the featured marque. 

In the multitude of millions of dollars worth of cars, though, there was one car that stood out from all the others – Peter Williamson’s 1936 Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic. Despite my complete lack of knowledge of pre-war cars at the time, even I could recognize that the car had a presence about it that no other vehicle at the show could boast. My intuition was right, and the Bugatti eventually went on to win the coveted Best of Show award that year.

The Bugatti made the news again earlier this year when Gooding & Company announced it had sold the car to an unnamed buyer in the range of a record $30-$40 million. Soon after, it was announced that the car would be on display at the recently-opened Mullin Automotive Museum in Oxnard, CA. Since I’m always looking for an excuse for the museum to let me look at their incredible collection of cars, I called them up and convinced them to let me have a look.

Bugatti Files Trademarks for 16C Galibier Sport Sedan

The bean counters over at the Volkswagen Group are still gauging customer reactions to the Bugatti 16C Galibier concept to see if there’s enough interest to build a production version, but just to be on the safe side – we all remember the Chinese Rolls Royce Phantom clone – they decided to trademark the design of the sports saloon at the World Intellectual Property Organization.

The trademark was applied for the concept model, so there’s new to be seen in the design sketches.

If the 16C Galibier receives the ‘green light’, it will most likely go on sale after Bugatti ends production of the Veyron production in 2012.

The almost production-ready concept model features a 16-cylinder, 8.0-litre flex-fuel engine with two-stage supercharging that is believed to produce somewhere in the neighborhood of 800 horsepower.

Power is channeled to all-four wheels through an eight-speed automatic transmission while Bugatti also developed a unique suspension and special ceramic brakes for the sports saloon.

Bugatti Renaissance Design Concept: Veyron Supercar Reinterpreted

We’re not sure when or if Bugatti will present a direct successor to the 1,001-horsepower Veyron, but if the VW Group-owned company does, John Mark Vicente, a Canadian graduate of the Communication Design program at the Emily Carr University, would like to believe that it may look something like this. Named the Bugatti Renaissance, the conceptual proposal builds on the qualities of the 16-cylinder supercar. Hit the jump to check out the rest of the photos.

Bugatti Veyron Lake Crash: The Aftermath in Pictures

In what could be described as one of the most well documented exotic car incidents on the net, following the actual crash footage of the Bugatti Veyron and video of the vehicle as it was being pulled out of the saltwater pond in Texas, our friends from ‘Jalopnik’ have now secured photos of the 1,001 horsepower supercar in all its soggy glory. Click through to see how a Veyron looks like after taking an accidental dip into a lake.

Bugatti Veyron Super Sport’s top speed will be 10 mph less than record

Oh what teases those Bugatti folks are. They brought the new Veyron Super Sport to Laguna Seca during classic car week here in Monterey… and did a parade lap at a pace about one-tenth of the car’s record-breaking 268-mile per hour top speed. We never expected it to take to the track in anger, but getting out of first gear would’ve been nice. Despite the slow speeds, we captured a bit of video that we think you might like.

Bugatti also announced a few details about the Super Sport that we hadn’t heard before. First, the SS will account for the final 40 Veyrons built in the car’s 300-unit run. Second, owners of the Super Sport might be saddened to learn that the car is going to be limited to just 258 miles per hour, 10 mph short of the terminal velocity it reached to set the land speed record for a production car back in early July. Bugatti was a bit tight-lipped on why, so we’re speculating it might be the tires. Actually it could be that the gas tank will now empty in 30 seconds while traveling at the car’s top speed, but who knows.

Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Super Sport sets land speed record at 267.81 mph!

As production of the Bugatti Veyron winds toward its eventual conclusion, Bugatti has created what is likely to be the ultimate version of its world-beating hypercar: the Super Sports. Bugatti sent its official test driver Pierre Henri Raphanel out on Volkswagen’s Ehra-Lessian high-speed oval with the first Super Sports to see just what it could do. With representatives of the Guinness book of records and German Technical Inspection Agency (TÜV) on hand, Raphanel made passes around the big oval in both directions.

With output bumped up from 1,001 horsepower to 1,200 horsepower, torque swelling to 1,106 pound-feet and a revised aerodynamic kit, Raphanel managed runs of 265.9 and 269.8 mph for an average terminal velocity of 267.81 mph and a new world record for a production car.

The first five production Super Sports will sport the same black and orange finish as the record car and all production models will be electronically limited to 257.9 mph to protect the tires. The Veyron Super Sports will be publicly shown for the first time at the Pebble Beach in August. Click past the break for the full details