 |
Friday, May 16, 2008 |
|
|
|||
|
| Next Jaguar XJ | |
| Jaguar is putting the finishing touches to what could become the most dramatic and innovative new model the company will ever build - the replacement for the Jaguar XJ limousine. Autocar has spoken to insiders who have seen the design and have revealed that when the crucial vehicle, codenamed X351, begins production in late 2009, it will rock the luxury market. With years of massive losses and what’s widely regarded as a series of major product planning blunders behind them, Jaguar and Ford executives will throw caution to the wind with project Jaguar X351. Destined to be even more radical than the Jaguar XF, which replaces the Jaguar S-Type later this year, Jaguar X351 is being |
|
| pitched against some of the most glamorous and desirable cars on the planet. Jaguar's marketing specialists are already showing a full-size model of the car — accurate inside and out — to potential customers, and our artists impression is informed by the very latest information available on the car. According to sources, Jaguar thinks the new Jaguar XJ could be pitched against rivals as |
|
| wide-ranging as the Mercedes CLS, Maserati Quattroporte and even the Bentley Flying Spur. Pricing for the top-end model could break through the £85k barrier. The design blueprint Although the lightweight aluminium chassis of the current Jaguar XJ will be carried over, the car’s upper structure has been redesigned. This has allowed Jaguar’s design team to design a car with a coupe-like flowing roofline. One source who has seen the new Jaguar XJ |
 |
| described it as "looking like the C-XF’s features had been draped over an Aston Martin Rapide". The windscreen is also said to extend back into the roof panel. Aside from a low roof and high tail combination, the new car is said to have a narrower nose than the Jaguar C-XF, with narrower headlights (likely to be LED units), although it retains the large, square grille that made its debut on the Jaguar C-XF. One proposal is for the grille’s mesh to be made up of hundreds of tiny Jaguar 'leaper' cutouts. |
|
| At the rear, the car is said to have tail-lights similar to those on the Bentley Continental GT but which wrap over onto the rear deck. Between the rear lights is a distinctive flat panel, which features a prominent Jaguar 'leaper' badge. On the inside Autocar’s sources reserved their greatest praise for the Jaguar XJ's interior, which one eyewitness described as "space age". According to our information, the car's interior design theme is close to that seen in the Jaguar C-XF concept, but with addition of some hi-tech fixtures and fittings. |
|
| One of the cabin's most radical ideas are 'proximity switches'. Also due to appear on a future version of the iPod, proximity switches do not require physical contact between the driver and the electrical switching mechanism. Sources say much of the Jaguar XJ’s switchgear is nothing more than symbols etched onto glass sheets suspended clear of the dashboard architecture. Touching the symbol activates the switch, and the glass sheets are elegantly back-lit at night, so interior lighting can be activated by the occupant simply moving his hand in the vicinity of the lighting units. On the centre console, the Jaguar XJ gets the retracting transmission selector knob (unlikely to make it to the production Jaguar XF) and should also get a 'terrain response' selector similar to those used in Land Rovers. The Jaguar C-XF concept also hinted at this with switches grouped around the transmission selector marked 'Dynamic', 'Track' and 'Launch'. Under the skin Jaguar X351's chassis and running gear are updates of today’s first-rate set-up, although it’s likely that the rear air springs will be dropped for the option of magnetic dampers, whose characteristics can be altered much more quickly. The need to re-engineer the Jaguar XJ's upper structure means PAG’s new straight six engine can be fitted. A 300bhp light-pressure turbo is a possibility; Jaguar’s all-new 5.0-litre V8 and supercharged V8 are racing certainties. Four-wheel drive isn't though; Jaguar's engineers have come up with a suitable system. A vision becoming real Jaguar X351 is the culmination of a frustrating period for Jaguar’s design team. With the retro-styled Jaguar X-Type, Jaguar S-Type and Jaguar XJ already signed off, Ian Callum was forced to play a long game. He described the radical 2002 RD-6 concept as a conversation between him and the Jaguar management about the need to take a completely different design direction. However, he had clearly mapped out his future vision for Jaguar some time ago. In an interview in spring 2003 he said, "In my view, by 2010 Jaguar will have the reputation as the most modern car on the road." Back then, few industry observers would have believed him. But with Ford willing to back Jaguar for another crucial few years, it looks like Callum’s vision could be vindicated. Whether drivers can finally be persuaded to buy Jaguars in sustainable volumes remains to be seen. |
|
BOOKMARK WITH : 
Del.icio.us
Facebook
StumbleUpon
Reddit
| |
 Discuss this article Print this Page Add this page to your favourites Link to this article : http://www.zercustoms.com/news/Next-Jaguar-XJ.html |
|
RELATED ARTICLES: |
|
| 2009 Jaguar XJ | |
| 2009 Jaguar XJ Portfolio | |
| JNothelle Jaguar JN CK425 | |
| 2008 Jaguar XK and XKR | |
| 2008 Jaguar X Type | |
| Jaguar XK 3.5 V8 Coupe | |
| Jaguar XKR Video Review | |
| 2008 Jaguar XKR Portfolio | |
| 2009 Jaguar XF | |
| 2009 Jaguar XF Price | |
| 2009 Jaguar XF part 2 | |
| Arden Jaguar XKR AJ20 | |
| 2009 Jaguar X Type | |
| Jaguar and Land Rover alliance with Young Presidents Organization | |
| First Jaguar XF | |
| Jaguar XF iPhone Magazine | |
| JAGUAR XF Car of 2008 | |
| Jaguar XF Video Ad | |
| 2009 Jaguar XKR Portfolio Details | |
| Jaguar XKR S | |
| Jaguar XF Price for Australia | |
| Arden Jaguar XF AJ 21 | |
| HR Jaguar XF | |
| Jaguar XF is 2008 Best Diesel | |
| Loder1899 Jaguar XF | |
| Jaguar Land Rover Government Funding | |
| GM Daewoo Next Generation Vehicle Preview | |
| Aston Martin DBS in James Bond 22 | |
| Jaguar Land Rover Virtual Reality Center | |
| BMW NGTP Next Generation Telematics Protocol | |
Date : 22 Feb 2007 12:28:34 |
|
|
|||||
|
|||||
| - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - |
| - - - - - |
| - - - - - |
| Copyright © 2007 ZerCustoms.com. All rights reserved. |