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2016 Jaguar XF Unveiled With a High-Wire Act Over London

2016 Jaguar XF Unveiled With a High-Wire Act Over London

Most new car models only have to drive a few feet to their introduction, but the 2016 Jaguar XF's first public drive was more of a high-wire act — literally.

To demonstrate its new, lighter chassis, Jaguar rigged a new XF with special wheels to handle a 787-foot drive on a pair of 1.3-inch wide cables some 59 feet above London's Canary Wharf. The stunt, weeks in the making, took about three minutes to complete as stuntman Jim Dowdell eased the big cat over the water.

The big Jaguar sedan that competes against the Mercedes-Benz E-Class, BMW 5-Series and Audi A6 has been overshadowed in recent years by the British luxury brand's more sporting models like the F-Type. The new XF arrives up to 265 lbs. lighter than the outgoing version thanks to an all-aluminum chassis, a change that Jaguar claims should pay huge dividends in handling and fuel efficiency.

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Power will come from a 3-liter supercharged V-6, tuned to either 340 hp or 380 hp, paired to an eight-speed transmission and optionally a new AWD set-up that will eventually be shared with the upcoming Jaguar F-Pace SUV. On the inside, Jaguar promises more luxury accoutrements; the wheelbase has been stretched two inches for rear seat comfort, while the front gets a 10.2-inch touchscreen for all entertainment functions.

Jaguar says it will have more details at next week's New York auto show, with the XF set to hit the U.S. market late this year. We'll see if it's as balanced on the ground as it is on a trapeze.