Grippy kitty: Jaguar confirms all-wheel drive F-TYPE R Coupe for 2014 LA Auto Show

By Stephen Edelstein Published November 6, 2014

Jaguar is serious about making its F-TYPE into a Porsche 911 competitor, and that means dialing up the number of variants, starting with the addition of all-wheel drive to the lineup.

The company revealed its first all-wheel drive F-TYPE ahead of a planned formal debut at the 2014 Los Angeles Auto Show. It’s just one of several upgrades the F-TYPE will get for the 2016 model year, Jaguar says.

Jaguar is showing the top F-TYPE R Coupe first, but all-wheel drive will probably be available on other models as well. The only external difference appears to be an “AWD” badge on the trunk lid.

The specifics of what Jaguar calls its “Instinctive All-Wheel Drive” system will be revealed in L.A., but the carmaker did say that the extra traction knocks the R Coupe’s 0 to 60 mph time down from 4.0 seconds to 3.9. The electronically-limited top speed is unchanged at 186 mph.

Related: 2015 Jaguar F-TYPE Coupe first drive

Carmakers often choose out-of-the-way locations to reveal their all-wheel drive vehicles, and Jaguar was no different. For the preview, the all-wheel drive F-TYPE was brought to South Africa’s Hakskeen Pan, where the Bloodhound SSC team hope to break the world land speed record.

Jaguar is partnering with Bloodhound, which hopes to build the first car to travel 1,000 mph. That car will be driven by Royal Air Force pilot Andy Green, who holds the current land speed record of 763.03 mph.

The F-TYPE isn’t that fast, but it was driven across the Pan’s soft surface while using radio equipment from the Bloodhound to communicate with a jet flying overhead. So it should be able to handle a snowy parking lot.

Topics

Stephen Edelstein

Contributing Editor

Stephen is a freelance automotive journalist covering all things cars. He likes anything with four wheels, from classic cars…

Cars

Trade group says EV tax incentive helps U.S. industry compete versus China

ev group support tax incentive 201 seer credit eligibility

The Zero Emission Transportation Association (ZETA), a trade group with members including the likes of Tesla, Waymo, Rivian, and Uber, is coming out in support of tax incentives for both the production and sale of electric vehicles (EVs).

Domestic manufacturers of EVs and their components, such as batteries, have received tax incentives that have driven job opportunities in states like Ohio, Kentucky, Michigan, and Georgia, the group says.

Cars

Ford boosts year-end discounts on 2024 Lightning, Mach-E Models

ford discounts lightning mach e 24 frd mch 51368 ao3a1676 edit 14a676

We’re officially into the traditional year-end sales period for automakers. That means big discounts are on the way, as both manufacturers and dealerships want to get rid of unsold inventory to make room for next year’s models.

This season, Ford has decided to boost incentives on its bestselling electric vehicles, the 2024 F-150 Lightning and Mustang Mach-E models.

Cars

Eaton, Treehouse to boost home capacity for EV charging, energy storage

eaton treehouse ev charging news releases

Power-management firm Eaton likes to point out that when it launched in 1911, it invested in a new idea -- the very first gear-driven truck axle -- just at a time when both transportation and power management were on the cusp of dramatic change.
More than 113 years later, Eaton is again seeking to lead innovation in the current energy transition.
The power-management firm just signed a deal with Treehouse, an AI, software-enabled installation platform for electrification projects. The end goal: accelerating the electrification of homes for electric-vehicle (EV) charging, energy storage, or heat pumps, while seeking more efficiency and cost savings.
“At Eaton, we’re all-in on the energy transition and we’re making it happen at scale by delivering breakout technologies and industry collaborations needed to delight customers and make it more accessible and affordable,” says Paul Ryan, general manager of Connected Solutions and EV Charging at Eaton.
The partnership will ensure consumers are provided with accurate and fast pricing, as well as access to licensed electricians to deliver code-compliant installations, the companies say.
The collaboration also integrates into Eaton’s “Home as a Grid” approach, which supports the two-way flow of electricity, enabling homeowners to produce and consume renewable energy when they need it, Eaton says.
“For more than a century, power has flowed in one direction—from centralized power plants into homes,” the company says. “Today, there’s a new reality thanks to solar, electric-vehicle charging, energy storage, digitalization, and more.”
Projects to change homes and EVs into energy hubs have multiplied recently.
Last month, Nissan joined ChargeScape, a vehicle-to-grid (V2G) venture that is already backed by BMW, Ford, and Honda. ChargeScape’s software wirelessly connects EVs to power grids and utility companies, enabling consumers to receive financial incentives for temporarily pausing charging during periods of high demand. Eventually, consumers should also be able to sell the energy stored in their EVs’ battery back to the power grid.
In August, GM announced that V2G technology will become standard in all its model year 2026 models. And Tesla CEO Elon Musk has hinted that Tesla could introduce V2G technology for its vehicles in 2025.