There have been that many stories about a potential small Jag since the X-Type's demise that it's been hard to keep track. But
the XE
has now been launched, sales will begin soon and it will be surely be clogging up your nearest motorway in due course. Generally the reaction to Jaguar's latest saloon has been positive too. We'll await an XE R very eagerly...
Elsewhere this week we've driven the latest Audi TT and the Lexus RC F plus got every last nitty gritty detail on the AMG GT. And it's Revival weekend too. Plenty to pack in!
That other significant car launch this week
wild fanfare
of the Jaguar XE launch, a far more sober affair for the
Mercedes-AMG GT
. But then a new V8 sports car from the makers of the SLS with 500hp doesn't need much introduction. There's much excitement around the GT; can it live up to the expectation?
At the opposite end of the sports car spectrum Lotus confirmed an Elise S Cup, a roadgoing version of the Cup R racer. Stripped even by Lotus standards it should be exceptional, and a timely riposte to the imminent Zenos threat. And if c.£40K for a new Elise is too much, don't forget the Lotus-derived Vauxhall VX220. At £17K for the rarest, fastest VXR220 they look fantastic value.
Though less well regarded round these parts, the Audi TT probably sits with the Elise as one of the most significant sports cars of the 1990s. Now in its third generation, Audi is promising greater dynamism from its coupe. Read the PH verdict here.
Click the link for the Harris verdict!
Lexus RC F
is a car that's been hotly anticipated for a while now and a hugely important car for Lexus. See here for Harris's verdict. Appropriately enough, just as the Lexus's weight was being discussed a stripped and caged
BMW M4
was seen testing. Make your own guesses on that one.
Ferrari has been in the news this week without doing anything to a car. The news that Luca di Montezemolo has left Maranello was huge news even if not entirely unexpected. It will be fascinating to watch Ferrari's progress from this point.
Other car news since Monday? The Aston Lagonda is one step nearer production, the full story on the Porsche 918 'recall' was heard and there's a BMW 2 Series convertible also.
Writer by week, racer by weekend. Or something
Another weekend and more racing for the PH team. OK, so the annual Mazda MX-5 four-hour
at Tsukuba
is rather more special than 15 minutes in a
Caterham at Croft
but they're slightly similar. And there was success to glean for Dan and Matt from each event also.
For those unable to attend this year's Revival, we have a live stream running from the Goodwood Motor Circuit all weekend. If that doesn't distract you enough, we have a new Dream Drive, two more £100K Garages (see Wednesday here and Friday here) plus a fast Volvo favourite as SOTW.
- Audi R8 buying guide
- All the news from Goodwood
- McLaren 650S Sprint drive - exclusive!
- Paris show
- Mercedes-AMG GT drive