Jaguar, to a good percentage of the world’s car-savvy folk, is still among the marques associated with sports cars. However, the corporate shuffle they began about a decade ago under new owners Tata means that, right now, Jaguar only offers one car with less than four doors - the F-Type.
In fact, due to the current automotive climate, the British automaker is planning a serious push to capture the burgeoning EV market with the ongoing development of at least two fully electric saloons. The first being a large luxury limousine that will replace the current XJ that would rival the Tesla Model S, codenamed X590.
A report by Automobile Magazine says that, EV comparisons aside, this Jaguar X590 will be build on the know-how gained from current car but take the fight to a segment dominated by the Mercedes-Benz S-Class and BMW 7 Series in a way that X351 XJ just hasn’t been able to yet.
Ian Callum, Jaguar’s head of design, proposed a bold new two-door grand tourer coupe to replace the XK which ceased production in 2014. However, this clashed with the direction Jaguar Land-Rover boss Ralf Speth. In the end, a compromise was met with Callum’s coupe shape to be moulded around a four-door luxury saloon.
This focus on building more volume sellers such as the XF, XJ and now with the newer XE and F-Pace, meaning that projects such as the futuristic mid-engine CX-75 supercar and legitimate XK replacement have either been pushed to the wayside or axed outright.
Perhaps this will set the stage for a much better product if and when Jaguar chooses to pursue more exciting models, but for some years now Jaguar’s performance division have been mainly occupied with creating faster versions of quite sedate cars.
The report details the new technology Jaguar is leveraging to realise the X590, using their new architecture that can be easily adapted to incorporating hardware and software for autonomous driving tech as well as hybrid and electric drive systems, being developed under the watch of ex-BMW engineer Wolfgang Ziebart. However, the batteries that JLR will have to source most likely will have to come from a third-party supplier.
JLR’s plan for the X590 launch in 2018 is rather ambitious, expecting to beat the Germans premium manufacturers to their fully electric competitor by around a year. Apparently, 2019 will also see the introduction of Jaguar’s next EV, but this time an SUV aimed squarely at the North American market.
Along with the success of their new F-Pace, the fastest-selling Jaguar in history so far, their all-electric SUV should only help to bolster their place within the market as a leader of sporty high-riders. Sadly, though, this comes at the expense of the rather amazing two-door sports cars that many of us have associated the Jaguar brand with.
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