Berkeley Jet Drive Forward/reverse Nozzle on 2040-parts.com

New Jaguar XJR will see the end of the XJ SuperSport

The launch of the new 2013 Jaguar XJR at the New York Auto Show this week heralds the end of the line for Jaguar’s other Supercharged V8 XJ – the SuperSport. With a much more fulsome 542bhp, some very ‘Jaguar’ go-faster bits, some proper fettling to make the steering, gearbox and suspension focus more on the drive without making a mess of the ride and altogether more dynamism in prospect than the SuperSport, we’d assumed Jaguar were making the XJR the performance pinnacle of the XJ range and leaving the SuperSport in place as the ‘luxury’ alternative. With that thought in mind we’d expected to see Jaguar push the price of the new XJR up towards the XJ Ultimate (which costs £121,000), so count us gobsmacked when Jaguar revealed the new XJR will cost from £92,335 – just £500 more than the SuperSport.

Smart For-US

Smart has announced the For-US concept, which will debut at the 2012 NAIAS. The For-US is a two seat 'urban pick-up' that adopts a 'tongue-in-cheek' demeanor and is aimed at youth and the young-at-heart. The pint-sized pick-up is a zero-emission vehicle with a 55kW magneto-electric motor at its core.

Lexus plans small crossover

Lexus plans to show a production-ready compact SUV to rival the Audi Q3 and BMW X1 at the 2014 Geneva motor show, a company source said. The hybrid model, which will be based on the redesigned Toyota RAV4, will slot below the Lexus RX 450h. It was unclear if or when the vehicle would come to North America.