This is the car we have all been waiting for – it's Jaguar's much-rumoured small two-seater roadster. And we've caught the first prototype testing near to the Big Cat's Coventry home.
The new model, codenamed XE, will sit beneath the current XK in the firm's line-up and is thought of as a spiritual successor to the legendary E-Type. Aimed at stealing sales from Porsche, it will carry a price tag somewhere between the Boxster and 911, boasting a compact body, two seats and a folding canvas roof. It will be one of Jaguar's biggest sellers in Europe, the US and the Far East.
Underneath the skin lies a modified rear-wheel drive aluminium chassis from the XK, with a much shorter wheelbase – something that is obvious from the XK-based prototype caught in these pictures near to Jaguar's Whitley engineering centre.
Details surrounding engines are limited, but it's expected that the XE will feature a range of new V6 units, hooked up to the company's six-speed automatic gearbox. As well as high performance supercharged R versions, there's a very definite possibility that diesels will feature too.
Insiders have revealed that Jaguar is set to take the wraps off a concept for the new XE in early 2012 – potentially at the Geneva Motor Show – while sales of the new model will start in 2013 with a price tag between £40,000 and £50,000.
Follow Sam Hardy on Twitter @samhardyAE
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Works for the Panda, 500, the Beetle, Scirocco etc. This car will blitz Porsche, if great and named E type, it will be the must have sports car in a couple of years time!
The JAG was a great car once up until the day it was owned by Ford, but now it seems to be trying too hard, by looking to the past to find what was great and try to remanufacture it like other car manufactures takes design talent to enhance the greatness of old design, problem is the new owners of JAG have missed the boat and this car should have been made years a go because the competition now is too great JAG has had it's day and only the die hards keep it going, save your time and go buy an Audi RS 5 Cab you won't be sorry but you will if you buy a JAG and become a die hard JAG owner!
If Jaguar intend suceeding with the XE the price needs to be cheaper than the equivalent Porsche Boxster/Mercedes SLK.
Audi is supposed to compare with a Jaguar, you must be kidding. Audi is probably the most overrated of all the German "luxury" cars. Overpriced, with stodgy steering and going by our corporate A4 an interior with all the bits below the dash top made of rather nasty hard plastics. Keep you RS5 I'll stick with a real car.
Dude, no offense, but with a username like QuattroABT nobody is going to take your word without a pinch of salt. Also, you're trying to flog an Audi that hasn't really got many shiny reviews under its belt.
i just hope it looks like that gorgeous F-type concept they came out with. it should be a sculptured piece of art with flowing beautiful lines and curves, don't want it to be a mini XK copy like the audi's but completely different. There is no harm in taking bit of inspiration from the past. The XK has certain traits of the e-type and so does the XF of the mark 2 Jag and it works very. however, i would prefer an oval grill, don't like this squarish grill on a coupe, just not look that good looking.
WTF? The XF has been the Executive car of the year for 3 years running, has more kit, class and style than any VW (sorry Audi, or is it a Skoda, or maybe a Seat, hard to tell aside a few panels and badges!) apparently more reliable too.
Two years from now, with the new X type and with this 'E' type all Jags will be uber cool, no one looks twice at an Audi, as it's a bland Eurobox. with all the style of A4 ringbinder, perhaps that's why they called it the A4!
Virtually everything you have said is factually incorrect. Over the last few years looking to the past is exactly what Jaguar have NOT done. It was their looking to the past - in the past with cars like theS type that was their downfall. No one wanted the retro styling and I speak as an S type R owner! You talk about diehards and Jaguar having it's day. Well, they nearly 'had' thier day just as little as a few years ago with massive debts. This years they've made a billion pounds profit. Even Audi's MD said Audi's were over rated and overpriced
I'm sorry but jag have had there day. The most prestige cars don't turn away from there routes. Bentley, Aston martin, Merc, Range rover etc.
The new jag designs are odd, if they concentrated on making a car like the E type or a car that atleast resembled a jag, they would be heading in a better direction.
As for the audi comments i don't think jag have a car like the R8 or the TT do they? Or the fact Audi own Bentley, Lambourghini, a part of porsche and Ettore Bugatti.
Then shares the same engineering with there own cars. Not bad for an over rated car!
Then you have the Jag, owned by tata steel in india. Really classy!!
I certainly hope that by the tiime it is a fully fledged concept the lines from the front fenders to to the door to the rear match. Right now the left door doesn't even fit into the rear panel that follows the door.
A bit racist to think that being owned by an Indian company somehow downgrades the brand. Despite the fact that they make satellites and rockets as well.
If you think Jaguars are rubbish you obviously haven't driven one. As for the TT....give me a break
By the fact there is no disguise whirly paint or vinyl panels, I would guess this is just an early mule car. The final car, other than the basic proportions, will bear little relation to this car or I certainly hope so. The final design will need to be a lot braver than this, for it to be a sales success. Few would want to buy a warmed over, cut and shut XK cabrio.
As for the final version looking like a latter day E Type, you can only go to the well so many times before it runs dry. Aston Martin don't appear to have learnt this, hence their production figures are down by close to 50% and unless they come up with a new design language, will continue to fall.
AUDI are owned by the peoples car maker VW... they own lambourghini, bentley, porsche etc NOT Audi... Audi is just an identikit VW hashed together from parts of Skodas and SEATs. Dont get me wrong Jaguars are currently made up of old Ford parts, Land Rover parts etc but at least they arent peddling cars that are designed without soul or passion or winning awards for years on end (XF), Jaguar can succeed and I love my XK to bits...rather have a car with heart than a car with no soul
It's not the door that doesn't fit ,,it's the rear quarter panel which even a blind man could see is part of the disguise.
Jaguar may be owned by an Indian company but the cars are still mainly designed and built here in the UK
It is the very fact that Audi, own Bentley, Lambourghini, a part of porsche and Bugatti that makes Audi such an over rated car, they are using the prestige of these other manufacturers to make the Audi look better which is clearly NOT the case.
Audi R8 and the A8 cool looking cars,,,,, Audi TT, a poor mans Porche, and the A6 well that was just a joke with more gearbox failures than i don't know what, if this is all Audi can produce on the back of all this "PRESIGE",,, then carry on Jaguar, the manufacturers of some of the fastest and most gorgeous looking and quality built cars in the world today.
I have owned a Jaguar from the age of 21, I am now 58,
my first Jaguar was a 3.8 Mk2 my second was a 2.8 XJ6, I have also owned an XJ12 and a Vanden Plas Double 6, (not strictly a Jaguar but the body was the same) an XJR-R (my life it was bloody quick)
and my present day car is an S-Type R V8 bloody quick too
I have not been "Lucky" with my car purchases, i have just bought quality, reliability and outstanding engineering ,,alas not something that can be said of Audi.
Why do you think there are so many Audi Agents in the UK??
So customers don't have to take them too far for repair.
The only reason Audi won the Le Mans GP was because Jaguar wasn't there, if they spent as much money on developing their road going cars as the do the LMP1
Audi's would be much more relyable cars.
Nice comment Paramore1...lol
Soapbox broken now with so much jumping up and down...lol
Merlin
What is it about Audi owners and fans, can't they spell?
Does this say something about the brand of cars they choose?
The Audi model you mention is nothing special - merely for dudes that need that extra coffee bar image.
Bear in mind Audi comes as indeed many of the others mentioned by others here out of the VW parts bins! And certain parts sourced from Asia like the Denso a/c compressors etc.
Even certain Bentleys are being built with Phaeton parts - some even in Dresden - simply because the Phaeton is a poor seller and loss maker here in Germany - its does have limited sales but with huge discounts and with 1 days registrations so they can be sold as works demos through selected VW dealers at 50% of new price etc!
And yes Jaguar is indeed part of the Tata Group - and yes they also amongst other things successfully make a lot of steel and other special alloys and metals - here in Europe also - and this steel is bought in large quantities by? Yes - Messrs Piech / Winterkorn and their Volkswagen Group AG and their OEM suppliers like Bosch etc.
This Jaguar will - as the other new models - be extremely successful with discerning buyers!
Thank you Jaguar!
The recent products from Jaguar are now standing on their own 2 feet when compared to BMW, Audi and M-B. The styling is strong and the engines are impressive. Family member has XF-S diesel - impressive. Having had many Audis (TT, RS4 RS6) IMHO Audi are now almost making a car for every niche possible. RS5 is about the only Audi I can differentiate.All others morph eg S series into Sportline into A5, A7 etc etc. Other VW group brands ie SEAT and Skoda etc use alot of Group parts and previous generation, smart for costs but does nothing for brand differentiation. You may as well go buy a new SKODA, knowing its Audi technology and save some serious bucks. Re this E-Type - not impressed with the rear styling and the front is just XK - needs something innovative maybe with design cues from the Eagle E-type
Apart from the looks and performance, the thing which blew away the opposition when the original E Type was launched was the price. At £2000 it was a third of the price of the Ferraris and Maseratis it competed with. It beat both on looks and performance as well.
If Jaguar can't keep the price down then the new car will not be the commercial success it deserves to be.
The recent products from Jaguar are now standing on their own 2 feet when compared to BMW, Audi and M-B. The styling is strong and the engines are impressive. Family member has XF-S diesel - impressive. Having had many Audis (TT, RS4 RS6) IMHO Audi are now almost making a car for every niche possible. RS5 is about the only Audi I can differentiate.All others morph eg S series into Sportline into A5, A7 etc etc. Other VW group brands ie SEAT and Skoda etc use alot of Group parts and previous generation, smart for costs but does nothing for brand differentiation. You may as well go buy a new SKODA, knowing its Audi technology and save some serious bucks. Re this E-Type - not impressed with the rear styling and the front is just XK - needs something innovative maybe with design cues from the Eagle E-type
It looks shocking. Like a cut and shut of two XK's. If you're going to resurrect the e Type badge do it with a car worthy of it.
It really looks like they've cobbled this together on the cheap.
That's because it is cobbled together. It's a test mule and apart from confirming that jag are showing interest in a small sports car, irrelevant.
There are several contributors to this forum who need to get their facts straight before commenting.
1.The car in the pictures is an engineering mule created from current vehicles and is used for the testing of components, it bears NO resemblance to the finished vehicle.
2. TATA is a far bigger international company than VW who own Audi and has pumped billions of dollars into Jaguar Land Rover and it is now showing.
3. Jaguar has a far richer heritage than Audi and has the design and engineering expertise to blow the German rivals away....a fact not lost on the boards of Audi, BMW etc.
Audi TT has been mentioned, o.k but not in the same league as Jag
4. Aluminium body shells....Jag did it first!!
I think QuattroABT man might just get a kicking from this jag stable, the cars they are putting into production are right up there for performance,and value. As for audi being the Dogs#~@¬, they are a pimple on jags backside, in terms of heritage and experiance in making cars.Get a life.
Flogging a dead horse indeed. Audi whats that not in the same league. Audi common. XK best selling mid range exec. XJ best selling luxury car. XE likely to be best selling small luxury sports car.
Inidan owners yes, British engineers and build help balance of payments deficit to boot.
And Ford did ok with Jaguar too.
When I was going to change my modest and much maligned X Type I only ever looked elsewhere because I had no choice - I kept it rather than buy German. Now that choice is coming back to us I will gladly join the huge queues that will form to buy a small Jag again. When the XE appears in it final clothes it will be a winner without a doubt because its got class.
Another boring Jag that lacks style.
Still looks like a Ford interpretation of a classic British brand.
Even the XJ is trying so hard to be different, but failing miserably.
You are being very cruel to eachother here - I had been driving Jags for many years up to 2 years ago, when, due to rock band commitments, I needed a good quality reliable estate to ship my gear.
I px'd my beautiful S Type 4.2 v 8 for a brand new A6 AllRoad and even though I miss my Jag like crazy, i have to say the Audi is amazing..
Hopefully though, one day Jag will produce an equivalent estate / sportwagon model and then I will return... but no rush..
No Jag lacks style. What car do you drive? Jag has class many cannot match and a proper heritage. Ok Audi have the famous Quattro but everything they make now LACKS STYLE and you can't tell one from the other, sorry, its true.
Let me see I buy a skoda and pay £80.00/ hr service cost I buy a seat and pay £80.00/hr vw and pay £90.00/ hr and a audi and pay £140.00/hr when all the cars are basically the same just badge engineering. Perhaps with some luck they might go the way leyland did who did just this many years ago. I feel Jag have missed the boat here just look at the sucess of the mazda almost a copy of the Elan. This needs to look a bit more like the old car at the front and priced very competitively to be a sucess. Still it has to be better than an over rated overpriced eurobox. Oh and another thing the Jag will have indicators that work not like the Audi's Merc's and BMW's of these days. Lets hope it is a sucess and help our balance of payments with good exports and home sales and hit the euroboxes where it hurts. All it needs is a good review from JC (top gear) and it should be a winner. I would love one if I could afford it.
What I look for from Jag is the breath-taking style that the old XK120, and E-types had in their day. What you picture here doesn't have it. Too bad.
My God, why do people bother to comment if they are too damned lazy to read the other posts...
Of course the new E-type won't look like this, the only people who have any idea at the moment are the Jag designers and the board I suspect.
I'll admit to being a huge Jag fan, but I want to balance the books here:
Audi DO have a heritage going back many years and its a very successful one. Heard of Auto Union? Google it and be amazed. The reason mainstream VAG Group cars look the way they do these days is purely financial in origin. Equip a parts bin with quality components, create a parent design and engineering policy which can be easily adapted at minimal cost to differentiate the groups marques and models, then push the Big Green Button and watch the vehicles roll off the production line. Why do you think VAG can offer so many marques and models in every sector?
The danger? As one perceptive poster notes, VAG are doing a British Leyland albeit with quality at the fore. As can be read in this very column, people are beginning to see through the smokes & mirrors to the truth. Most VAG cars are the same chassis wearing slightly different clothes and as long as the buyer is aware of this and accepts that fact, they shouldn't be disappointed.
The reason VAG will eventually come unstuck will be down to this policy too. For example, the clever punters already realize that they can buy a Skoda Superb instead of an Audi A6 or VW Passat and get what is essentially the same car with better resale, running and servicing costs. An Audi driver who wants to be a bit different (does such an animal exist?), can buy a Seat Exeo and be the proud owner of the previous generation A4 with all the prestige and quality without the excess costs.
Don't get me wrong Audi's are nice and have a good history and have got better over the years............but lets face it. Your driving a car which is shared with a VW / Skoda / Seat.
People say BMW drivers are rude and have no friends and can't indicate, but i'd say Audi drivers are now the t***ers and usually most people who drive them are salesman who are also t***ers.
Would i like to own one.........no
The Jag, of course it's an XK shunted at the rear, but with a few design tweeks, i think this is going to be a massive hit and i seriously hope i'm not wrong. The XF massive hit / new XJ massive hit. Jag need this car to get more punters through the doors, this will look great in their line up.
One concern.......Estate Agents / Hairdressers
If this happen then i'll buy a VW
it does beg the question why buy all these car companies when the cheaper car is basically identical undernweath to the eqv expensive prestige model but cheaper to buy and maintain? one day this could only cut into sales and that really doesn't help. that's why i wonder why skoda haven't come out with a golf rival car and i think reason is VW know it will sell really well and undercut the Golf sales, kind of shooting themselves in the foot - nein nein nein!!! Audi are good cars, engineering and fittings are spotless but i maintain that they are just business machines designed to rack up the miles, other than that they are bland heartless cars. I always said jag will one day make it there and they are. all i want is jag to maintain this exclusive appeal, no 1 series sized rubbish or these silly hatchback BM's and hopefully one day they will design a Daimler car to take on the R-R Ghost and that dreadful maybach.
Great argument going on here guys. I got rid of a 3.2 Audi TT just 18 months ago and miss it like hell and recently went to look at an A1 to replace my wifes mini, but have to say that I find the current crop of Audis' about as exciting to look at as an old jelly mould. I have to side with the Jag fraternity here as I think their cars look more exciting and seem technically more advanced. Oh, and my wife went for a Mini Cooper Countryman as it has the character the Audis so sadly lack.
The new jag in production form should be brilliant but maybe too expensive though. Have to agree that for that sort of money there is lots of well proven competition.
Forget Audi we are talking Jag here. Clearly a prototype so some rough edges to be expected.
Great promise, the right engines and transmissions and fair pricing versus the competition could spell a winner. I for one wish it every success.
This, clearly, isn't what the car will look like. The original E-type is a LOT to live up to. And even it the proportions are what we see here, it will not be a success.
Sounds good, but a mid-engined jag? I know that the XJ220 was mid-engined but that wasn't developed by Jag, it was developed by TWR.
Who owns who? Have I missed something that says a car company must be judged by its owners or should it be judged on the cars it produces?
The car you see here is a pre production mule. Before you start slating it remember Jaguar are using a shortened XK chassis to test out charactoristics, components, engine and gearbox configurations. In 6 months, or so, we'll (maybe) see a car covered in spy shot camoflage. Until then all the posters that can't be bothered to read others posts properly are missing the point. Wait and see then judge!
And as for those, usually the same people comparing Jaguars and Audi's.. they are not in the same league. Jaguars lower end products compete with Lexus, Volvo and Mercedes. It's high end products compete with Aston Martin, higher end Mercedes, Masserati and Porsche. Audi's are rivals for Ford, Vauxhall, Toyota and Nissan, it's siblings in different clothes; VW, Seat and Skoda.
Do any or many Audi owners even know or care about what Audi stands for? Well: Auto Union Deutschlander Industry or in English: German Industrial Car Union - Not very sexy is it, not like a big growling predator!
got to laugh just checked it on Wikipedia, which everyone knows is a crock of shit when pertaining to facts: The founder of Audi was called Horch, which means to hear in German, or in latin becomes Audi! Really lol...
So why was it called AU beforehand? Auto Union... then added Deutschlander Industrie. Nothing to do with listening or Hearing, makes them feel better driving a car with a latin derived name, rather than the real meaning!
Right back to Jaguars: mmm they are really cool, I love the recent design language. Can't wait to see the X type and E type replacements. But can you please make a 4x4 now you are join conjoined with Land Rover?!
Ok they are owned by Tata an Indian industrial giant, but who cares who owns them, all Jaguars are designed, engineered and built in England. Tata just pays the bills.
But don't be so fast to make fun of the Indians, their ecconomy will sail past ours and Germany's in the next 5 yrs, it's all ready knocking on France's back door, now the worlds 8th largest economy and by next year the 7th! They make; trains, cars, space rockets, chemicals, pharmacuticals, largest producers of steel... oh and tea bags!