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By
EWAN KENNEDY
3 September 2007
New Jaguars are few and far between so there has been a huge amount of
anticipation over the upcoming XF Jag. Not just from lovers of the
iconic British marque, but also from car enthusiasts from all
backgrounds.
Bigger than the S-Type Jaguar that it replaces, the new XF will
complement the XJ which remains on sale.
We have spoken to Jaguar's Scottish car designer, Ian Callum,
on several occasions over the last few years and he couldn’t
restrain his enthusiasm for the shape of what he has called the
most beautiful car in the world. OK, it’s easy to put that down
to biased enthusiasm, but there is no doubt this car is something
special.
While the XF looks ultra modern, the shape that has plenty of
cues to Jaguar's traditional styling. That was important because
this car has to live up to its heritage, but not appear old
fashioned – and certainly not look like everything else on the
road.
The car is aimed at the sports saloon buyer and has a very
coupe-like roofline at the rear. The closest competitor in the
styling stakes is probably the Mercedes CLS-Class, a car the
German designers call a four-door coupe. At this stage we haven’t
had a chance to sit in an XF so can’t comment on what looks to
be marginal headroom.
Interestingly, the new XF Jaguar won’t be shown at the Sydney
motor show in October, instead the company will have a special
preview for the media and selected guests the day before the show
opens.
When it arrives in Australia in June 2008, the Jaguar XF is
likely to have the full range of engines of the European models;
3.0-litre petrol V6, 4.2-litre petrol V8, 4.2-litre petrol V8 with
supercharger, and 2.7-litre turbo-diesel. Prices and full
specifications will be announced closer to launch.
© Copyright
Marque Publishing Company
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