Jaguar Confirms Development of New Entry-Level Sedan and All-Wheel Drive XJ

Jaguar has admitted that it is currently working on a new sedan that will be the entry-level model of the range. Smaller than the XF, the new model is expected to have a starting price of around £28,000 (€31,850/$45,685). According to Adrian Hallmark, Jaguar's global brand director, the sub-£30,000 premium car market is four times larger than that of sedans priced above £30,000 (€34,120), so developing a cheaper, smaller Jaguar makes a solid business case.

British car magazine Autocar quotes company insiders that say the new car will be smaller than the XF, but without sacrificing interior room, which will still be spacious enough for five passengers. So far, there is no information on whether the car will use an aluminum platform, as the next generation XF will do. According to the same sources, the successor of the XF will also be bigger and will move further upmarket.

Another important move for Jaguar is the all-wheel drive XJ, a more advanced project currently under development. Jaguar's 4WD flagship sedan will be launched within the next two years possibly at the same time with the car's facelift. The all-wheel drive system is necessary for the XJ since the company has strong sales in the US, where 20 percent of all road cars sold are equipped with an all-wheel drive system. In the Northern States, where Jaguar has its strongest sales, the proportion increases to an impressive 70 percent (according to the report at least).

Jaguar also recently announced the upcoming introduction of a 4-cylinder diesel engine on the XF, since 49 percent of sales in the large premium segment are made up of four cylinder models. The company is trying to enter all these new niches in order to increase sales, as it has just five percent of the US luxury market, two percent in the EU and just one percent in China.

By Dan Mihalascu

Via Autocar

PHOTO GALLERY

Jaguar Releases First Running Footage of its Hardcore XKR-S Sports Coupe

According to Jaguar, the new XKR-S is the most powerful and fastest mass production sports car the company has ever built. The hardest-looking version of the XK series gets an uprated supercharged V8 direct-injection engine churning out 550-ponies and 680Nm of torque, good enough to propel the sports coupe from 0 to 60 (96km/h) in 4.2 seconds and on to a top speed of 186mph (300km/h).

Following last week’s reveal at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show, the Indian-owned British carmaker released the first footage of the sports coupe being put through its paces on the road as well as on the track. Unfortunately, Jaguar also covered the supercharged V8 engine’s howls with some annoying music beats… Watch the video for yourself right after the break.

VIDEO

Jaguar Dismisses Bertone's B99 Sports Sedan Concept

One of the highlights of this year's Geneva Motor Show was the B99 design study for an entry-level Jaguar sedan by Bertone. The concept car was created independently by the Italian design house, without the involvement of Jaguar. Therefore, the B99 does not preview the design of the future X-Type, as confirmed by a top Jaguar executive.

“It is not our concept. We appreciate the fact that Jaguar is interesting enough for people to do a concept around. It's not that we are offended by it, or against it - it is just not for us," Adrian Hallmark, Jaguar's global brand director, told Automotive News at the Geneva Motor Show.

However, according to Hallmark, a future entry-level Jaguar is in the cards for a 2013 or 2014 launch but the design of the small sedan has not been yet finalized. The B99 is simply a display of Bertone's capability.

Jaguar's current design language, as seen on the XF and more recently on the bolder XJ, is modern and has little to do with the past, whereas the B99 Concept is retro from most angles.

By Dan Mihalascu

Source: Automotive News

PHOTO GALLERY