Ferrari are rather good at making good-looking cars, but they’ve gone a step further and made the stunning F12 TRS for a special customer.  The one-off car is rumoured to have cost around $4.2 million, and for that you get the same 6.3-litre V12 producing 740hp and 690Nm of torque as in the F12 Berlinetta, allowing it to get from 0-100km/h in 3.1 sec and from 0-200km/h in 8.1 sec.  You also get one of the rarest cars ever, and a car that will be very sought after by collectors.

The Ford Focus ST has received a few updates, the biggest of which is the availability of a diesel engine.  The turbocharged 2.0-litre EcoBoost with 250hp is carried over from the previous version, but it now comes with a stop-start function – improving fuel efficiency by a claimed six percent.  As mentioned before, a new diesel engine is available – a 2.0-litre TDCi unit producing 185hp and 400Nm of torque, with CO2 emissions being 114g/km.  Acceleration from 0-100km/h is 6.5 sec for the petrol option and 8.1 sec for the diesel option.   Other updates include new chassis control technologies, tuned suspension and steering, and bespoke tyre specification.  The exterior gets new headlamps, grille, bumper design, and 19-inch wheels.  The interior now gets a new SYNC 2 connectivity system with a high definition 8-inch touch screen. 

To celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Le Mans winning D-type, Jaguar will be building a special edition F-TYPE called the Project 7.  The car will come with a 5.0-litre supercharged V8 engine producing 575hp and 680Nm, propelling the 1,585kg roadster from 0-100km/h in 3.9 sec and on to an electronically limited top speed of 300km/h.  The Project 7 name pays homage to Jaguar’s seven Le Mans titles, and will be limited to 250 examples.  An eight-speed Quickshift automatic transmission is standard, as well as an Electronic Active Differential, Carbon Ceramic Matrix (CCM) brakes, and Torque Vectoring by Braking (TVbB).  Other items found on the Project 7 are carbon-fibre aerodynamic aids and a different suspension set-up to the standard F-TYPE.

Jaguar have released a teaser photo of their upcoming F-Type Coupé, set for a public debut at the LA Auto Show on November 19.

Jaguar have stated that the all-aluminium coupe will borrow heavily from the C-X16 concept car, and that it will “complement the existing 2013 ‘World Car Design of the Year’ award-winning F-Type Convertible range.”  No word on engine details yet, but we can expect the same supercharged V6 and V8 engines found in the F-Type Convertible.

Full technical details and images will be made available soon after its reveal, so be sure to come back!

The Geneva Motor Show closed its doors yesterday, and like many who end up going to car shows, SOC has prepared a wish list if ever one was to win the lottery.  Do you have a wish list of your own? Go ahead and share it in the comments section.

After several months of teaser pics, Jaguar has finally taken the wraps of its Mercedes S Class and BMW 7 series fighter, the XJ.  From what we can see from the pictures, Jaguar is continuing with its modern approach towards design.  The front end of the car looks very similar to that of the XF model, but as a whole the car looks very fresh and contemporary. Gone are the round headlamps and retro design, that were among the dinstinctive features of previous generation XJ models.

The interior is also blessed with a brand new design.  It seems a combination of a spacious cabin, high quality leather, good old-fashioned wood, and a modern layout of instruments dominates the interior of the new XJ.  Also included in the new XJ is the brilliant rotating gear selector for the six speed automatic transmission.

Prices for the new XJ range from £52500 all the way to £88000, depending on the powerplant, options, and wheelbase (Long and standard wheelbases are available).  The new XJ can be had with either a 3.0l V6 twin-turbo diesel, a naturally aspirated 5.0l petrol V8, or two supercharged versions of the petrol V8. Important figures for the engines are; 275 hp for the twin-turbo diesel, enabling a 6.0 sec sprint from 0-60 mph, while also returning a respectable fuel economy figure of 40.1 mpg and a Co2 output of 184 g/km.  The 385 hp naturally aspirated petrol gets the XJ from 0-60mph 5.4 secs, while a more powerful supercharged version with 470 hp will do it in 4.9 secs.  The most powerful engine, though, is the other supercharged 510 hp engine that can also be found in the XFR and XKR. Acceleration to 60 mph takes 4.7 secs.

When the XJ goes on sale early in 2010, it will face stiff competition from  rivals that dominate the luxury sedan market such as the S-class Mercedes, BMW 7 series, Audi A8, not to mention the gorgeous looking Maserati Quattroporte, and the newly introduced but not so gorgeous Porsche Panamera.  But Jaguar brings a good weapon to the game, namely an all aluminium construction.  The use of this technology means that the XJ can weigh as little as 1650 kg, which is significantly lighter than its rivals (which also means that it's about 50kg lighter than the smaller steel-bodied XF). 

A fresh design, being more lightweight than its competitors in combination with Jaguar's skill of making great-handling and fine-riding luxury vehicles, means that people will think long and hard about getting an XJ before going for the default Mercedes or BMW.