But what about the ones that sold less welI? In this story, we take a close look at them, and also dig out the pricey sister to the Jaguar XJ - like this one?), and in some cases it was the model as a whole that wasn’t a success.You can count the number of successful Italian executive/luxury saloons on one hand, but the Alfa Romeo Six took the term ‘dismal failure’ to extremes. Built between 1979 and 1986, the Six introduced Alfa’s glorious V6 engine in 2.5-litre form.
A potential that was never fully delivered on, sadly: it wasn't actually all that fast in reality, hindered by a lack of low-end torque. There are only a few left on UK roads - 57If you wanted a top-welly XF from its first generation, the fire-breathing 503hp XFR was the way to go. All of which overshadowed the Super V8 models, which struggled on with a mere 420bhp. As Autocar said at the time, with an XF V8 “it’s hard to think of a better way to cover miles.
Control freaks were dismayed that there was no manual option; all R36s came with a six-speed DSG transmission instead. We loved it though: “behind the running costs this is a talented, likeable car”. There are . Perhaps this fact wasn’t lost on Vauxhall’s product planners when they dreamed up the high-riding Insignia Country Tourer with its body cladding and four-wheel drive.
Launched in 2013, the Insignia CT was axed two years later but that hasn’t stopped Vauxhall coming back for more; the all-new Insignia of 2017 spawned a Country Tourer edition too, but that got the axe along with the estate in September 2019. If you fancy something uber-rare try to find a petrol-powered Country Tourer; there are just 11Using the same injected 1.
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