Friday, 13 February 2015 00:00

2014’s most beautiful car

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Jaguar XE Jaguar XE

The Jaguar XE has been named ‘Most Beautiful Car of 2014’ at Festival Automobile International in Paris.

The Jaguar XE was first shown at the Paris Motor Show in October 2014 and will arrive in New Zealand in the second half of 2015.

The award is decided by a public vote, with 100,000 votes cast in 59 countries. Beating competition from the Mazda MX-5, Mercedes C-Class Estate and Fiat 500X, the Jaguar XE won with 28% of the votes.

This is the XE’s second French award since the Paris Motor Show in October 2014, where it was named ‘Best Production Car’ by Auto Plus magazine and the listeners of French radio station, RTL.

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‘Formidable’ coupe

JAGUAR'S COUPE, the XK, has a higher luxury specification for 2012 and includes a new top-of-the-range XKR-S with performance described as "formidable" for a Grand Tourer coupe and convertible.

In Portfolio specification the XKR-S has new soft-grain leather upholstery, heated and cooled seats, heated steering wheel, a suede headlining and an 8-speaker Bowers and Wilkins 525 watts sound system as standard.

The latest XK, in all its derivations, is recognisable by its thinner Xenon headlights and LED running lights and turn signals. There is a larger grille and new front bumper.

There are five new paints in the 17 colour range and the choice of 11 different alloy wheels from 19 to 20 inches diameter.

The Portfolio coupe and convertible models are available for $175,000 and $190,000 respectively. Apart from the new features detailed above, these have adaptive dynamic suspension, sequential shift with steering column paddles for the 6-speed automatic transmission behind the 283 kWs five litre V8.

The XKR comes with a supercharged version of the V8 motor producing 375kW and 625Nm torque. Added features include an active differential, 'R' performance brakes, quad tail pipes and the 'R' exterior. These will sell for $195,000 and $210,000 for coupe and convertible respectively.

The range topping XKR-S has been awarded '2011 Sports Car of the Year' by the respected German motoring magazine, Auto Bild Sportscars, following a poll of 70,000 readers.

Its 5L supercharged V8 engine produces 412kW and 680Nm, giving it 0-100km/h in 4.4 seconds. Top speed is 300km/h.

The cars have aluminium body shells for better economy, agility and performance.

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