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2019 Jaguar XJ to be reborn as high-tech electric flagship
Luxury flagship will use cutting-edge tech to steal a march on S-Class and 7 Series



The Jaguar XJ will be reinvented as an electric car for its next generation, which will go on sale in 2019 after a launch at the end of 2018, the 50th anniversary of the first XJ.

The XJ is Jaguar’s flagship model and debate has raged within the company over exactly what sort of vehicle the XJ should be in the future, and even if it should exist at all.

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Autocar has learned that the decision has been taken to replace it, despite the tougher market for luxury saloons in the face of the rising popularity of luxury SUVs. However, it is being replaced not with a like-for-like model but with one that reinvents the very idea of a luxury saloon as an electric car and can act as a high-tech flagship for Jaguar.

As well as aiming for the success Tesla enjoys with its larger models, the new XJ will be pitched as a cutting-edge alternative to luxury saloons such as the BMW 7 Series and Mercedes-Benz S-Class.



A virtue will be made of its alternative positioning, similar to how buyers may shop between an S-Class and a Range Rover when buying a luxury model, despite the different body styles.

Turning the XJ into an electric car is a bold move, but the model has always been an innovative one for Jaguar, not least its two most recent iterations. The X350-generation XJ, launched in 2003, was the first aluminium car from Jaguar and the X351, introduced in 2009 and still on sale now, completely broke away from the design themes that had largely followed the XJ since its 1968 launch. Reinventing the model as an EV, Jaguar argues, is the best way of keeping it relevant as the industry experiences an unprecedented level of change related to electrification.

The all-new XJ is being developed alongside a new, more car-like Range Rover model, dubbed ‘Road Rover’ internally. It will not use that name for production but will be a Range Rover due to the huge cachet of that brand.

Despite its close relationship to a model from Jaguar’s sister company Land Rover, the XJ will retain a sleek saloon profile, albeit with a switch from a four-door layout to a five-door.

Design work on the car has now been completed by design boss Ian Callum and his team. The design is understood to have been well received inside the company and united it in the belief that this reinvented XJ will be a true flagship for the firm, ushering in a new design language for the brand.

Callum told Autocar in September that there was “consensus” within the company that the XJ, a car he considers very personal to him, should remain Jaguar’s flagship in preference to a large SUV, such as the rumoured J-Pace.

Without referencing the XJ directly, he added that the very idea of the saloon needed to be reinvented in the face of electrification, the rise of the SUV and the unexpected acceptance of hatchbacks in the US due to Tesla.

Jaguar will launch its first electric car, the I-Pace, in March. That model will have a significant technology transfer with the XJ. The I-Pace will help position Jaguar as an electric car maker in the eyes of the world and the firm will be keen to maintain that momentum.

To that end, the electric XJ’s arrival couldn’t be better timed. If the I-Pace reaches showrooms next summer as planned, it will be the first premium electric car with a credibly large driving range on sale without a Tesla badge, and the XJ will quickly turn that into a range of Jaguar electric cars.

The XJ has always found favour in the UK without ever mounting a serious challenge to the S-Class globally, but the next-generation car will be tasked with making huge strides in China and the US, particularly California. That’s because Jaguar senses a once- in-a-generation opportunity to reinvent both the brand and the technology that underpins it, exploiting the company’s smaller size and creative design and engineering base to steal a march on bigger rivals.

The versatile architecture used for the XJ and its Land Rover sibling will be a new aluminium one that will not only underpin electric cars but also traditional piston engines to support more hybrid models. It is understood the XJ will not go down the hybrid route initially – if ever – to avoid diluting the impact around its reinvention.

The electric technology will support twin motors and all-wheel drive. It will be backed with the chassis technology needed to create a supremely luxurious drive and also a sporty one, Jaguar being keen to keep the XJ’s role as the sportiest car in its segment.

To that end, the electric drivetrain will enable strong performance figures and torque vectoring. A range well in excess of 300 miles is expected. 

 

Via Autocar.co.uk
 

Modificato 15 Febbraio 20214 anni fa da Cole_90

Interessante in se, ma la scelta esclusivamente elettrica trovo che sia un rischio ...dovrebbe essere affiancata da una ibrida. Comunque è un'auto che deve fare numeri e Jaguar non è tesla. Oltretutto fanno auto già pesantissime... speriamo bene, anche perché Jaguar ha sempre un posto nel mio cuore. 

Avrei capito una versione full electric di una nuova XJ, ma così mi chiedo se abbia senso. Non si era detto che sull' elettrico il margine era ancora molto risicato, se non addirittura nullo? E come si giustifica allora l' investimento?

 

Non parlo poi dell' opportunità di snaturare un icona come l' XJ, perchè chiaramente io sono un dinosauro e vorrei ancora una 4 porte V8,  anche per la storia del marchio, ma a quanto pare sono in netta minoranza.

Teaser!

Teaser della futura XJ che dovrebbe essere presentata l’anno prossima ma sarà in produzione nel 2021. Nuovo pianale MLA con motori sia termici che ibridi ed elettrici. Il nuovo pianale manderà in pensione definitivamente il vecchio D2/D7. 

Mi sembra molto attivo il gruppo JLR, peccato navighino in brutte acque.

D'altronde stanno seguendo la tattica opposta ad FCA, investono un botto in perdita.

Spero che questa XJ sia normalizzata rispetto alla stramba progenitrice.

Modificato 11 Settembre 20196 anni fa da Dodicicilindri

11 minuti fa, Dodicicilindri scrive:

Mi sembra molto attivo il gruppo JLR, peccato navighino in brutte acque.

D'altronde stanno seguendo la tattica opposta ad FCA, investono un botto in perdita.

Spero che questa XJ sia normalizzata rispetto alla stramba progenitrice.

Veramente hanno tutte SUV e due berline ? e navigano in cattive acque.

 

E ora con la Brexit sicuro mungeranno il governo inglese x avere soldi... 

Oh non avevo visto questa discussione... se quella creata da me si può cancellare per favore

Hanno ridotto R&D sui powertrain acquistando tutto in blocco da BMW

17 minuti fa, KimKardashian scrive:

Veramente hanno tutte SUV e due berline ? e navigano in cattive acque.

 

E ora con la Brexit sicuro mungeranno il governo inglese x avere soldi... 

Diciamo 3 berline (XE, XF, XJ)

Probabile mungano

13 minuti fa, mmaaxx scrive:

Hanno ridotto R&D sui powertrain acquistando tutto in blocco da BMW

Dopo aver speso centinaia di milioni o piu' per i motori Ingenium.

Comunque se il futuro e' elettrico, tutto sommato mi sembra una strategia corretta considerando i loro numeri comprare i powertrain da quello che e' il N.1 al mondo per i motori "di grande serie".