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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.

New Audi RS6 to get 572bhp V8

The 2013 Audi RS6 looks set to swap its V10 for the new Audi V8 with the wick turned up to 572bhp – the same as the old V10. Most of the new A6 range has now arrived in showrooms – including the S6 and Avant – but what’s still missing is a new RS6, the Audi that used to have the heart of a Lamborghini. But as we reported in April, the 2013 RS6 is well on the way but it will be losing its Lamborghini V10 with its 5.2 litres and 572bhp and will instead get the Audi/Bentley twin-turbo 4.0 litre V8.

BMW, Daimler experiment with upscale rent-by-the-ride

Two European luxury brands are tiptoeing into car sharing, a radical move for carmakers whose business for the past 100 years has been selling to individuals. German archrivals Daimler AG and BMW AG have launched sharing programs. The automakers say the move was prompted by changing attitudes about car ownership, especially among young buyers, and increased urban congestion.