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542-HP Jaguar XJR to debut at New York Auto Show

Jaguar has just announced that a higher-than-ever performance version of its XJ flagship will be coming to this year's New York Auto Show next week. Joining the company's R lineup is this XJR, which will boast a stonking 542 horsepower from its supercharged 5.0-liter V8 engine.
Though details about the new XJ are pretty slim - you can read Jag's teaser of a press release - we are told that the car will ride on a "bespoke chassis" and that some aerodynamics work has been done, as well. The one sultry image we have of the car shows a set of trim-specific wheels, lower sills and unique badging on the front grille.
The new XJR would seem to slot above the current top-dog XJ, the XJ Supersport. With a bump up of 32 hp versus the Supersport, performance should get a meaningful shot in the arm, as well. As for pricing, we'll have to wait for the NYC show to be sure. But other Jaguar models show an increase of between 15- and 20-percent between the R model and the next one down; that would indicate a price tag in the $130k range for a standard wheelbase XJR is in order.

Watch this Jaguar XJ220 perform a fiery burnout

We like to think that at least some supercar owners drive their exotic machinery the way they're meant to be driven. The reality is more likely that most pamper them in climate-controlled environments and rarely actually drive them. But Tax The Rich seems dedicated to balancing them all out by hooning the heck out of some of the most expensive and desirable supercars the world has ever seen - whether it's a Ferrari Enzo rallying along dirt roads or a pair of F50s playing tug of war.
The YouTube channel has even played around with a Jaguar XJ220 before, but not quite like this. In its latest clip, Tax The Rich goes a step or two beyond the usual smokey burnout, lighting up the rear wheels of a super-rare Jag, all for our viewing pleasure. And take pleasure we do in the video below, even as part of us cringes at the thought of potentially reducing one of the fastest Jaguars in history to a smoldering hulk.

Autocar compares new Maserati Quattroporte to Jaguar XJ

Autocar's Steve Sutcliffe took the 2014 Maserati Quattroporte on a spin along snowy mountain roads to test it for a specific brief: as a limousine for the chauffeured class. It's sporting credentials are impressive: Twin-turbocharged 3.8-liter V8, 532 horsepower, 475 pound-feet of torque in casual circumstances that rises to 532 lb-ft in overboost, a 0-to-60 mile-per-hour sprint of 4.7 seconds and a top speed of 191 mph.
However, citing Maserati's desire to not just increase its sales to 50,000-per-annum by 2015, but to sell many more of its cars in China, Sutcliffe wanted to find out if the livery side of the Quattroporte could match its sport sedan side. So after taking the pilot's seat and trying out the sport settings, Sutcliffe hops in back to test out the CEO's seat.
Then he compares the Quattroporte against the long-wheelbase Jaguar XJ with its supercharged V8, a sedan that's 15,000 pounds less expensive than the Maserati. It doesn't take long for him to find that one of them is a clear winner when it comes to transporting VIPs. To find out which one, enjoy the video below.