Jaguar XJ News

Three newcomers a week is way beyond the normal rate, even in a car world where 100-plus newcomers - everything from a facelift tweak to a full body change - hit showrooms each year.  Things were a bit quiet through March and April, but when the calendar flicked across to May the ships started landing with fresh new metal to tantalise anyone with a taste for something new in the driveway.Everyone in the car business knows fresh metal is the best way to lure buyers into showrooms and, with demand running at near-record levels, the conversion rate right now is massive.Hyundai is doing huge business and this week it has the successor to the Sonata - now with a trendoid i45 badge on the boot to try and break the dowdy Sonata pattern - with the tiny Euro-focus i20 in June.  We are also getting a first serious look at the Toyota Rukus, the first move in a plan to win Gen-Y buyers to the world's biggest brand, and Skoda has the station wagon stretch on its latest Superb.  Did I mention we're also having a first fang in the Porsche 911 GT3 RS at Phillip Island this week?The real problem with so much new stuff is finding the space inside a weekly Carsguide. In today's edition we still have to clear the impressive new Suzuki Kizashi and the classy BMW 5 Series before we can move on to the next round.  The other good news is that the cars we are seeing are all potential contenders for the Carsguide Car of the Year award.The Volkswagen Polo has already set the bar but the Kizashi will make the finals and so should the 5 Series. Later in the year we know Holden will have a VE Series II with star potential, Benz is about to uncork its Gullwing SLS, and the Jaguar XJ will arrive to take the British brand in a new direction.And that 911 RS? Not a COTY contender, but only because it is far too narrow focussed with a scorecard that reads 100 per cent for thrills and pace but closer to zero for value and people carrying potential.Follow Paul Gover on Twitter!

He was such a big, big man, and it took a disgusting cancer to finally end his drive.  But there is no sign of Polites' decline as I drive his last car, the   wonderful Jaguar XJ.We have many reasons to thank Polites - from his incredible ability to force the Ford Territory through the blue oval boardroom in Detroit to a renewed commitment to V8 Supercar racing in Australia. The Territory is struggling a bit now, and it has taken new boss Marin Burela to get the race program back on the Polites track, but he did wonderful work in his time in the corner office at Broadmeadows.When Polites was pulled upstairs in Europe he also did a lot of good stuff for Jaguar Land Rover that is credited to other people. "I'm happy to sit in the background. They need British heroes, not some Aussie know-it-all," Polites once told me in his office in the UK. He figured his job was to find the money, and provide the inspiration, then let the experts get on with the job.Besides, he still had to keep track of the Australian cricket team - his dog, The Don, was named after Bradman - and finding things to read during interminable chemotherapy sessions. Polites ram-rodded the make-or-break XF Jaguar through the Ford system, even forcing chief designer Ian Callum to go harder on the motor show tease created to get people ready for the radical new Jaguar look.The production car is good, but Polites knew the show car needed more. And that was the thing about Geoff Polites - he just knew. He knew JLR needed new owners and he was the one behind the deal with India's Ratan Tata. One of the things Polites knew was that Jaguar's flagship XJ had to change radically for the 21st century. He pushed Callum again, and the rest of the team, and this week I can see and feel and enjoy the work he put into the XJ.In a quiet moment, I ask Callum - a friend since the days when he did bodywork and wheels for Holden Special Vehicles as part of Tom Walkinshaw's team - about the car. He is happy to give credit where it   belongs, with Polites. "Yes, it's Geoff's car. It would not have happened without him," Callum says. "He bullied it through. I think he would have liked it." I know he would.Follow Paul Gover on Twitter!

It's an XJ luxury limousine that uses the same sort of power pack as the Chevrolet Volt.  A tiny three-cylinder petrol engine is used to charge an onboard battery pack, which then sparks the electric engines which move the car.The system has been developed by Lotus Engineering in Britain and, although full details are not yet public, Jaguar is the first confirmed customer.  "It's a series hybrid. Like the Volt," says Ian Callum, a director at Jaguar Cars in Britain.  "We have a prototype running at the moment. I've driven it. It goes quite quick.  "It's quite funny to drive. Almost bizarre with the sound and the way it goes. Electric cars are quick."Callum is the design chief at Jaguar but has a deep interest in mechanical motivation. His own garage houses a classic 1956 Chevrolet and a hotrod and he chooses a high-performance XF-R as his company ride.  He says the 'series' hybrid is a step on from the petrol-electric systems fitted to the Toyota Prius and Honda Insight, although he says Jaguar — like a number of its rivals, including Porsche with the Panamera — will also use those to cut its carbon footprint.  "It's all part of the voyage of discovery. We're taking it very seriously," Callum says.He believes every carmaker will need a spread of green-power cars to get it through coming decades but admits Jaguar has not settled on a single electric track. And he rules out, for now, a full-on commitment to plug-in electric power.  "It's not the silver bullet. It's just one answer to a series of questions," Callum says.He admits the XJ hybrid is a firm program but has few details.  "We don't know, yet, how many we will build. We're going to build a limited number," he says.  "And we'll have a generation of hybrids as well."Callum defends Jaguar's position and the way the motor industry, as a whole, has been attacked over emissions. "Farming creates far more emissions than the motor industry. It's all about perceptions," he says.  "What I would like to see ... is a fairness in the distribution of effort to help the environment. The car industry has been hit very hard.  "It's an easy target. And it's way ahead of the game.  "Let's not pretend that making everything a hybrid is the answer. It may not be. Let's look at the physics and get away from the guilt." 

Since cars all deliver on the same basic promise of personal mobility, and many vehicles do it with incredible value and panache, good design can often make the difference between buying and losing.Ian Callum knows it and, after more than four decades of top-class design work on everything from HSV Holdens to Volvos, Aston Martins and now Jaguars, he is the right man to be talking. "This is a time of car design. It's not just styling any more. You really have to understand design, and the elements that make up a good design," Callum says. "We're also seeing a lot of change in the automotive world. The make-up of cars is changing. Designers are going to have an incredible influence."Callum has revolutionised Jaguar design over the past 10 years and just visited Australia to showcase his all-new XJ flagship, which steps right away from anything which has previously worn the brand's leaper mascot. "I didn't want to be a slave to heritage," he says simply.Callum believes good design is simple but incredibly difficult, elegant and timeless, but also challenging and filled with tiny little details. He is rare among designers because he backs his promises with commitment and talent, and is also happy to give an opinion.So, then, how does he judge the work from some of his rivals? Surprisingly, Callum is happy to go on the record with a simple tick-or-cross verdict on the latest designs in showrooms.Here are his ratings: Aston Martin Rapide - tickAudi A5 - tickBMW GT - two crossesBMW X6 - crossFerrari F458 Italia - tickHSV EII Commodore - tickLexus LFA - tickMercedes E-Class - crossMercedes SLS Gullwing - crossNissan GT-R - crossPorsche Panamera - crossRolls-Royce Ghost - tickToyota Prius - tickVolkswagen Golf - tick 

The top-down shot of the car was made public this week at Auto Shanghai 2009 as the head of Jaguar Cars, Mike O'Driscoll, revealed the first solid facts about the company's new flagship. The XJ is the second car in an all-new design direction developed by the ultra-talented Ian Callum, who broke the mould on Jaguar design with the mid-sized XF. His work is revealed with the heavy contoured creasing on the bonnet and the short tail of the XJ in the Jaguar picture. The nose, when it is revealed, will also take the XJ well away from previous cars and create a major point of difference against the latest BMW 7 Series and the just-facelifted Mercedes S Class. O'Driscoll confirmed in Shanghai that the XJ would go full-scale public on July 9 in London. It will be in showrooms in the UK and Europe before the end of the year. He also said the car will be the first with Jaguar's next-generation aluminium body system, inspired from the aerospace industry, and would be available in both regular and long-wheelbase models with a range of engines from a V6 diesel to a supercharged V8 with 380 kiloWatts. The engines will be shared with Land Rover — which, like Jaguar, is now owned by India's Tata group — and were revealed in the UK a fortnight ago at the preview of the 2010-model Land Rover models. The only luxury feature confirmed for the new XJ is a panoramic glass roof, although O'Driscoll says the car will have "the highest standards of personal luxury and specification". The Australian plan for the XJ is still being finalised but it will not arrive until 2010. "The car will be launched here in March, 2010. We will have a reveal event for customers and media and dealers sometime in quarter four," says Tim Krieger of Jaguar Australia. He is vague on details beyond the size and refuses to discuss prices or specifications. "We'll get both the long and short-wheelbase cars. It's all too early for that sort of stuff." He also says that, despite slow sales, the last of the current XJ cars will be cleared before the new ones hit Australia. "We're in the final stages of run-out. We've got minimal levels of stock. We should have enough cars to get us through, and we're in a good position to start pre-sale activity."

The upcoming XJ limousine will be as much of a departure from today's staid old XJ as the mid-sized XF, which has become a global star for the brand, was from the unloved S-Type it replaced.

First it was 600 new staff. Now it's a new vision for the future.Things are changing, and changing fast, for Jaguar Land Rover under its new ownership by Tata of India.It is recruiting 600 engineering specialists across the two brands and has opened a Virtual Reality Centre in Britain to help design the cars of the future.Such a huge financial commitment points to a solid future, perhaps even including the go-ahead for a born-again E-Type Jaguar to sell alongside the forthcoming baby Land Rover LRX city car.JLR is now divorced from Ford, which sold it to Tata when the late Geoff Polites was running the operation and leading it back into significant profit for the first time in 10 years.“There is a fair bit of liberation there. Our senior people are walking around with their chests thrust out,” says the head of JLR Australia, David Blackall, who has just returned from head office in Britain.“It's a big recruitment drive. Most of the emphasis is on new technology and sustainable energy. We've basically been given the brief that . . . we're trying to build for the future. It's about as upbeat and positive as I've seen it for a long time.“It's all about sustainable technologies. When you make fairly large, off-road-capable vehicles, you need a way forward in a reduced-carbon world.”Blackall reports strong sales in Australia since the arrival of the latest Jaguar XF, the make-or-break model for the brand.“XF on the Jaguar side has begun brilliantly. We sold our program in June for the best month for Jaguar in about four years,” he says.“We have a little more supply and will sell 400 to 450 Jaguars to the end of the year.”In Britain, the Virtual Reality Centre is the key to the cars, which will follow the XF, the forthcoming XJ flagship and the LRX.The centre cost more than $5 million and is intended to cut new-model development times. JLR claims it is the most advanced of its type in the world and allows designers and engineers to interact with life-size, three-dimensional models.The system reduces the need for physical prototypes, saving time and money. It uses eight Sony high-resolution projectors to produce 3D images for staff, who wear special glasses that give them a picture four times as clear as a high-definition television. 

But a new 3.5-litre V8 has been added to the fleet in an attempt to bolster sales.Jaguar Australia marketing communications manager Tim Krieger confirmed the 3-litre V6 was “uncompetitive in the segment”.“The key player in this segment is the 7 Series (BMW) and to be taken seriously you clearly need a V8 in the petrol derivatives,” he said.“With the size of the vehicle it really needs a V8 and that's the thinking in putting in the 3.5-litre.”The new V8 engine produces 190kW power and 335 Nm of torque.The 2.7-litre twin-turbo diesel remains the only six-cylinder engine in the XJ range.“The diesel is going fine and is very competitive, but in the petrol segment for that size vehicle we need a V8,” Krieger said.The 3-litre XJ6 started at $149,900, so with it gone, the new entry level is the XJ6 diesel at $154,900.The XJ8 3.5-litre V8 comes in at $159,900, joining the short-wheelbase 4.2-litre XJ8 at $174,900 and the long-wheelbase XJ8 at $179,900, the XJR at $219,900 and the short- and long-wheelbase Super V8s ($229,900 and $234,900) completing the range.The 2008 model XJ also gets some exterior styling updates around the front, side power vents, rear spoiler and full-width chrome signature blade and new rear bumper. They now sit on 19-inch Polaris alloy wheels.The XJR and Super V8s get 20-inch alloys.XJR also now comes with aluminium-finish power vents and black painted brake calipers.Inside, there are new seats, increased rear leg and foot room thanks to redesigned front seat backs and the latest Bluetooth connectivity which allows up to five approved phones to be paired to the in-car telephone system.Krieger said Jaguar sales were “on track” for this year's budget.But the October figures show Jaguar has sold 763 cars this year, which is down 153 or 18.5 per cent on last year, while the whole market is up 8.6 per cent.The biggest loser is the S-Type, which is down 22 per cent but is in run-out mode to make way for the new XK, arriving in May.Krieger said they would be out of S-Type stock by early next year and that they already had about 80 orders for the XF.“That's doing a little bit better than where we thought we'd be at this stage,” he said.Four different XF models will be available: 2.7-litre V6 turbodiesel, 3-litre petrol V6, 4.2-litre petrol V8 and 4.2-litre supercharged petrol V8 (SV8).Meanwhile, Ford Motor Company is believed to have attracted six offers to buy Jaguar and Land Rover which they are keen to sell in an effort to bolster a faltering bottom line.Leading bidder is said to be India's largest car manufacturer, Tata Motors.

The Geneva Motor Show is known as the stylist's exhibition. It's the chance for high-end European brands to display their latest creations. So it was appropriate Jaguar chose the classy Swiss city in which to unwrap its revised XJ sedan. The XJ, with many visual changes, will reach local showrooms late this year. The engines carry over from the 2.7-litre twin-turbo TDVi V6 diesel to a 3.0-litre petrol V6 and up to the 4.2-litre supercharged and naturally aspirated V8s. For next year there is a new Jaguar Growler badge, revised front bumper and air intakes, XK-style vents in the front mudguards, lower body sills, new alloys, subtle rear bootlid spoiler and new mirrors with integrated indicators. Inside, the leather and wood cabin gets heated front seats and rear legroom has been improved, thanks to more scalloped front seatbacks. Bluetooth connectivity pairs with up to five mobile phone choices and hands-free activation. In Europe, the entry-level Executive (2.7 and 3.0) gets 19-inch, 10-spoke Carelia wheels from the XK and a heated windscreen. The diesel-only XJ Sport Premium adds "R" seats with leather seat facings, aluminium veneer, satellite-navigation, black side window surrounds and 20-inch Cremona wheels. Executive-based XJ Sovereign models (2.7, 3.0 and 4.2) add 16-way electric front seats, satellite navigation, bi-xenon headlights and five-spoke, 19-inch Polaris wheels. The range-topping XJR has alloy-look mudguard vents, an R-badged gearshift, black brake calipers and front-seat cooling. The XJ is something of a slow-burner on the sales charts for cars worth more than $100,000. Last year Jaguar sold only 59 XJ sedans compared with 578 S-Classes and 293 7-Series.