Can a car outrun a drone? It’s a question that probably doesn’t have much relevance for the average driver, but Jaguar decided to find out anyway.
The company staged a “cat-and-mouse” chase between an XJ sedan and a camera-equipped DJI Inspire 1 drone at the Zhuhai International Circuit racetrack in China. Movie stunt driver Mark Higgins was behind the wheel of the Jag, while drone pilot JaeHong Li had his fingers on the DJI’s controls.
The stunt took place both on the track itself and in some industrial areas nearby. The XJ had to maneuver through rows of shipping containers and up an abandoned parking structure as the drone gave chase. The confined space gave the tiny aircraft an advantage, although the XJ appears pretty nimble for a big sedan. Of course, out in the open, the faster Jag was able to pull away from the drone and escape.
Jaguar says these shenanigans were a demonstration of how drones can be used to film movie car chases, something directors are likely already aware of. It also shows that the XJ might be a good option for celebrities looking to evade the drone-wielding paparazzi of the future.
In the U.S., the XJ is offered with a 3.0-liter supercharged V6 that produces 340 horsepower and 332 pound-feet of torque. There’s also an XJR, with a 5.0-liter supercharged V8 good for 470 hp and 424 pound-feet of torque. Both engines are coupled to an eight-speed automatic transmission, and either one should provide enough grunt for a good car chase.
The XJ is Jaguar’s flagship sedan, and was once set apart by its aluminum-intensive construction. But the smaller XE and XF sedans are now mostly aluminum as well, as Jag looks to improve fuel economy across its lineup by shedding weight. The current XJ is also fairly old compared to competitive models like the Mercedes-Benz S-Class and BMW 7 Series, but its rakish design seems to be holding up well.
