Jaguar's reborn XJ220

Bosses insist it doesn’t exist – but we lift the lid on big cat’s plans for stunning new 200mph Audi beater...

It’s set to be one of the fastest cars ever built, and positive proof that the future of the British motor industry has never been brighter…

Jaguar is getting ready to reinvent its stunning XJ220, Auto Express can sensationally reveal – and it looks likely to make a dramatic appearance at a major international motor show in the next 18 months.

According to our network of spies, the revolutionary sports car is being developed by the firm’s best engineers as a rival to the Audi R8. It’s based on an all-new aluminium chassis, which has been developed using the same know-how behind both the XJ and XK models.

The car will have aluminium panels stretched over an alloy and composite tub, while under the bonnet is likely to be a tuned version of the 503bhp 5.0-litre supercharged V8, set to power the eagerly anticipated XFR. A mildly modified version of this engine has already propelled a near-showroom-spec XFR to an incredible 225mph on the Bonneville salt flats in the US. The new supercar is likely to match this figure, while the sprint from 0-60mph should take less than four seconds.

The two-seater is tipped to be called the XE, and has been styled by a team led by Ian Callum. Our exclusive pictures offer a taste of what drivers can look forward to. Pulling together the very latest in design and combining it with influences from the company’s history, the model evokes the best of Jaguar’s past and present.

At the front, there’s an oval grille – inspired by that on the E-Type – framed by narrow, ultra-efficient LED headlamps. A steeply raked windscreen keeps the car’s overall height as low as possible, while the wide rear end supports buttress C-pillars, similar to those on the new Ferrari 599 GTB. As in the R8 and Ferrari’s F430, the engine will be visible through the rear windscreen.

Wide air intakes dominate the model’s front end, and deep scoops in the flanks help feed cooling air to the supercharged engine. Yet despite the new Jaguar’s huge performance potential, environmental credentials are set to be at the top of the agenda. CO2 emissions will be less than 300g/km, while the powerplant will be capable of running on biofuel-blended petrol – so the newcomer will be one of the cleanest high-performance cars money can buy. Liberal use of lightweight materials, including aluminium and carbon fibre, will further improve the machine’s fuel efficiency and performance.

Despite Auto Express’s scoop, Jaguar is denying this car exists. A spokesperson insisted that it was not in the company’s product plans… Speaking at the Detroit Motor Show, Jaguar managing director Mike O’Driscoll didn’t rule out the potential to add to the line-up, but claimed the company’s focus at present was solidly on the XK, XF and forthcoming XJ.

“I’d love Jaguar to build a sports car one day,” he said. “It would complement our flagship XK coupé. The brand is all about producing great sports cars and sports saloons.”

Mid-engined Jaguar flagship on the way

Big Cat reveals shock plans for a stunning rival to Audi's R8 – and Auto Express has the low-down!

Auto Express has learnt that Jaguar is working on an all-new, mid-engined coupe which is set to make its public debut in just 12 months time.

Aimed at the likes of the Audi R8, the top-secret machine has apparently beaten the long awaited F-Type in the race to be the first new sportscar launched by the company since its acquisition by Indian conglomerate, Tata. It revives plans for a flagship sports car, which were first revealead way back in 2001 with the R-Coupe (pictured).

Based on the current XK, the newcomer will also be the first mid-engined model from the Coventry car builder since the XJ220…launched 18 years ago in 1991.

Tipped to be called the XE, it will first appear as a concept, possibly at the Geneva Motor Show in 2010. Set to combine a dramatic silouhette with an imposing nose, the model is expected to be the most forward looking model the firm has yet produced.

Under the bonnet, the car is likely to use a tuned version of the XF-R's 503bhp 5.0-litre supercharged V8 engine. Jaguar’s managing director Mike O’Driscoll said: “XK is the car that began a revolution for us, but it’s not the end of the story. I firmly believe the best car we could build to compliment this is a flagship coupé.”

For the full story, make sure you buy next week's issue of Auto Express, out January 21st.

Honda scraps plans to build NSX sports car

Honda Motor Co. cancelled plans to build a new Acura NSX sports car as the automaker grapples with the global economic slump.

President Takeo Fukui announced the NSX's demise today as one of several cost-saving cutbacks.

The NSX was expected to have a front-mounted, V-10 engine that made at least 500 hp. It would have been the successor to the first-generation NSX, which had a mid-mounted V-6. That NSX went out of production in late 2005 after 14 years.

Its successor was expected to debut as a 2010 model and was poised to be Acura's answer to the Audi R8 and Nissan GT-R.

The NSX was expected to be outfitted with advanced technologies, including the Super Handling All-Wheel Drive system. It was also likely to get aluminum and carbon-fiber parts to keep weight low.

The program appeared to be on track as late as this summer, when spy shooters caught what looked to be an NSX on Germany's famed Nürburgring circuit.

That car looked similar to the Advanced Sports Car concept unveiled at the Detroit auto show in 2007.

In addition to canceling the NSX, Honda is cutting sales and profit forecasts and executive pay while delaying plant openings. It also scrapped plans to launch the Acura brand in Japan in 2010.

BMW M1 Set For Green Light

German giant is gearing up to take on the Audi R8 and Porsche 911

German giant BMW is poised to hit the road with its stunning M1 supercar. Sources within the company claim that bosses are ready to give the green light to a production version of the recently unveiled M1 Hommage concept. The mid-engined newcomer will rival the Audi R8 and Porsche’s next-generation 911, which is due to hit showrooms in 2011.A range of hi-tech new engines will be fitted under the rakish bodywork, with entry-level cars getting a development of the brand’s 3.0-litre twin-turbo straight-six. Buy-ers looking for more performance may be able to choose the 4.0-litre V8 from the M3, with the model possibly badged M1 CSL. Diesel and hydrogen fuelled variants could also appear. If, as expected, the car gets the go-ahead, the first production models will hit showrooms in 2013.