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Jaguar XF 2008
Why it's one of our most significant: Each day, Jaguar is costing parent company Ford some obscene amount of money to operate. The XJ is modern in every aspect but appearance, and the front of the XK may or may not look like a Taurus. Early spy photos are showing a more modern and unquestionably unique front end for the production XF, and the rest of the car will follow suit. But can it outperform the BMW 5-series, the Audi A6, and the Mercedes E-class? Read our full story below.
For Jaguar sedan design, time stopped in the 1960s. Today's X-type and XJ sedans both follow in the tire tracks of the first XJ, which debuted in 1968, while the S-type apes the even older, early-'60s Jaguar Mark II. Design chief Ian Callum is determined to drive Jaguar styling out of its cul-de-sac, and the Concept XF is the first indication of where he plans to go.
Interiors will use wood as both a structural and a decorative element. Jaguar cabins will be styled so as to emphasize their width, and technology will be discreet. The RD-6 and R-coupe concepts--as well as the new XK--follow this philosophy, but the C-XF is the first Jaguar sedan to do so.
Jaguar has announced that the S-type will be replaced in spring 2008 with a car called the XF, so the C-XF clearly points the way toward that production model. How close is the C-XF to the XF? "It's that styling direction, but it's not that car," says Callum, adding that "it's a less radical version of that shape." He characterizes the concept's design as "twenty percent exaggerated"--particularly in its low roofline, its wide track, and its pumped-up details.
The C-XF's 114-inch wheelbase is virtually identical to the current S-type's, and the concept is an inch longer overall. But the C-XF is significantly taller than an S-type and wider than an XJ. A supercharged, 420-hp, 4.2-liter V-8 mates to a six-speed manu-matic in the C-XF, but the production XF surely will be offered with a V-6 and Jag's normally aspirated V-8 as well. We'll find out how closely the production XF mirrors the C-XF concept this fall, when the XF will be unveiled, perhaps at the Frankfurt auto show.
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