Jag snubs Bertone X-Type

GOOD.

By chickenfeed on 10 March, 2011, 1:09am

The first gorgeous Jag since Callum took the design reigns and they reject it. Can Callum not stand being shown up?

Same as when Callum first "uglified" the original Geoff Lawson F-Type, then killed it.

Memo to Jaguar:
Fire Callum, save lots of money.
Hire Bertone, build gorgeous cars again, make lots of money.

Alternative:
Keep Callum, build horrid ugly cars, go out of business.

By FastMac on 10 March, 2011, 6:55am

Fantastic looking vehicle

This is a fantastic looking vehicle. Please give it the green light. Give me 4x4 Diesel generator hybrid with a motor in each wheel and no messy geeabox, drive axles etc Just a peak use battery and some wires to each wheel. An estate body is a must have option as well. I'll have one....

By agf30 on 10 March, 2011, 7:11am

Looks too dated

Sorry to be a dissenting voice, but suicide doors aside, the concept looks very dated with a side profile and front totally out of the seventies and eighties. I understand the concept of 'retro' , but I believe Jaguar themselves have the right mix of old and new styling cues in their current design department.

By electricblue on 10 March, 2011, 7:47am

In the great tradition of BMC / BMH, British Leyland etc

In the late 60's BMC turned down the Farina 1800 and instead gave us the Maxi. In the early 70's British Leyland turned down the Innocenti Mini and then took another decade to give us the Metro. Also lets not forget how long it took then to give us the four door Range Rover. So they are continuing the tradition of their previous owners.

However in truth I think it is too backwards looking for a Jaguar.

But base it on the XJ, stick a Daimler Badge on it, get a softly tuned V12 from the technical partners division that paints its cars red, and you have the new Daimler Double Six to take on Bentley and Rolls Royce.

By T26OMG on 10 March, 2011, 8:00am

it seems Jag will follow in the footsteps of those german rascals Audi and BMW in coming out with a smaller looking version of a bigger car, just a nip and tuck here and there. Guess Jag needs a new design to move forward but not in the same direction as their competitors do, each car needs to look and feel distinctive, not just because the price tag allows someone to afford to buy a smaller jag but other reasons too otherwise you are better off buying a 2nd hand XF for the price of this car brand new. but its an interesting car to make as a bigger Daimler

By corsamani on 10 March, 2011, 8:11am

Also i agree with T26OMG, Jag needs a V12 in limited numbers. It should have access to the drawings plans from those clever engineers from Coventry Climax Mr Hassan who designed the V12. Understandably it needs some work on it to make it modern and firey but if they could find some local engineering firm who can cast the blocks and get it compliant to the pesky stupid Euro emissions then we have a winner. Just make sure the engine does not have a plastic engine cover but is a thorough master peice to look at like the car itself.

By corsamani on 10 March, 2011, 8:16am

Universally- acclaimed beauty is so difficult to achieve

I thought this concept was so good I emailed Jaguar about it offering to buy one. But one can't avoid the fact that it is a retro design and a majority of younger people than me (ie under 55 ) have criticised it on other forums.

It's incredibly difficult to come up with a design to please everyone : I can only think of a handful of cars that are universally liked : E Type, Muira, 250GT and maybe the Daytona spring immediately to mind.

You might even include the pretty Peugeot Pininfarina-designed 405 coupe. It sold far better than expected because the design could just as easily have been a Ferrari !

Callum's team are doing a good job with a very difficult brand that inspires great loyalty yet to survive has to appeal to a younger generation.

Although the shape is too much like a Lexus, I think the XF is OK and I particularly like the XJ but the common front end doesn't quite have the elegance I would like to see.

There has to be room in the Jaguar range for a well priced 2 door coupe to compete with the Passat CC and the Mercedes banana.

Bertone has come up with a fantastic design which fits that need perfectly.

Perhaps it's just too good looking for the current design team to compete with !

By HFEVO2 on 10 March, 2011, 8:26am

Build it and I'll Buy It

I absolutely love the car.
Build it and I'll buy it. I"ll write the check in cash in advance, making it my fourth jaguar.

As for design: the 'teardrop' or 'modern' design that others here are advocating is unattractive for a high end automobile. Teardrop designs scream 'midmarket', and force the car to have inelegant rear density. The "saloon' or 'sedan' is timeless. And this jaguar design is something I simply would want to drive.

By CurtD59 on 10 March, 2011, 10:52am

X-Type Replacement

I'll be looking to replace my current X Type 3.0 Sport in a couple of years. Without doubt this new one would be my first choice, if they don't make it then I'm off to buy one of the Germans again :(

By billylabonga on 10 March, 2011, 11:03am

Jaguar remember what happened a couple of years ago when you about to go bust well that time may come again if you don't listen to what people want and with rising fuel cost, well lets put it this way jaguar are not renowned for being the most environmentally friendly cars hence put them direct in-line to the guillotine if you get my drift. Like every other car company your plans means notthing if your current designs are not overly impressed by the clientele - have a look at vizualtech and Bertone - by the sounds of it i think they have already made their mind up. Up to you Jaguar

By charliecrocker on 10 March, 2011, 12:48pm

Not the way forward

Yes, The show car looks good - but take away the massive wheels and some of the touches that could never make it in to production due to cost, safety, practicality etc and you are left with a retro car.

Jaguar have been there before and look where it got them. The last XJ was the most advanced car technically but a sales flop.

The new XJ is a breath of fresh air. Sure, they could do better (as they could have done with the XF) , but they have been constrained by using the previous car and re skinning and not working from scratch.

But that is the way forward and, although the Bertone concept looks the part - although somewhat dated in certain respects, too - this is not the way forward.

By simon9350 on 10 March, 2011, 5:41pm

A Jag in my book

Theres no denying that there are a lot of factors unbeknown to the
the public that determine weather a concept/design study reaches
the showroom. But to my mind one thing is blatantly obvious.
Know one can resist a beautiful car. Ferrari, Alfa and Jaguar to name
a few understood this simple idea.
So jaguar may have bought their new range "up to date" but then so
what! New XJ, XF all look good but as my man said earlier, Jaguar
had the F Type looking good then along came Mr Callum and the
F Type was as good as dead. No disrespect to the man(love the
Aston works) but not to sure about his stint at Jaguar.
As far as I am concerned, a Jag should look like a Jag. To me that
means anything they did up until early to mid 80's. Understated,
low riding and most definitely feline in caractor. After that they killed
it dead.
Last decade or so all I hear is Jag to retro, to old school, get
out the pipe and slippers granddad! Jags problems boil down to them
not being able to bring those successful designs from yesterday bang up
to date. The XJ6 series 3 had fantastic proportions then the models that
came after turned people away from Jag in droves because they messed
up those beautiful proportions. Too much over hang, square head lights(?)
instead of those tasteful double eyes from the previous models- real
cack-handed stuff.
Then we have this new design from the italian crew(forgive pun!).
If I died 20 years ago then woke up now and was asked to go and find
the modern day Jag then unless I came across this design I would be
lost. One of my fav Jag designs along with the E-type is the XJ6/12
coupe from the 70's and this new design is it- bought bang up to date.

I'll end by saying that if I was a millionaire I would have one of these
made regardless. And when one of the many admirers of the car ask's
if it is a Jag? I would tell them yes it is except the people at Jaguar are
too stupid to know it!

By Spaceshift on 11 March, 2011, 7:00am

To all the nay-sayers, including Fastmac ("fire Callum, save lots of money"), I say wake up and smell the coffee. Callum is the man who has had to breach several generations of design because Jags became staid pastiches of Sir William Lyons' classic designs from way-back-when. And remember this please before you put the boot in: they didnt sell, certainly not in sufficient numbers to secure Jaguar a future on its own.
Jaguar had to change or die. It did change and is now in profit and has a future, though I do accept that the world (and buyers) are fickle and subject to change. I like the new designs and so do more people than liked the old ones, though I think as with everyone always one should always take care not to chase modernity so much that one loses touch with the bloodline so to speak. And also Jag must make sure that their cars remain beautiful.
I do think Bertone's B99 X-type concept replacement is very lovely to look at, but it is also clearly a modern take on the old (very old!) XJ style and also I suspect impractical if it were made. There are simply not enough people who would buy the darn thing. We saw that with the now-replaced XJ, S-type and defunct X-type.
So Fastmac, I think your comments are actually rather outrageous and unrealistic, not to mention ungrateful for the man and his team (including management) who have set out to secure a long-term future for the brand, not just pander to a relatively small number of people and in so doing take Jaguar to the knackers yard.

By sirsidneyruffdiamond on 11 March, 2011, 12:44pm

Stunner

It certainly is a stunner, well from front and rear on. The side profile reminds me of some nasty 70/80's american cars and that is never a good thing!

As for who ever said the current XJ and XF are ugly cars, you seriosuly need to open your eyes and go take a proper look. Jaguar are making some stunning cars at the moment, probably the best imo since the e-type came along! Its no wonder the XF wins award after award is it. There is very few car firms around who actually make cars pleasing to the eye, Jaguar are one of them.

By AndyG on 11 March, 2011, 12:49pm

Good - it's grotesque

By jcrowley012 on 13 March, 2011, 8:26am

Definately Daimler

This should definately be the shape of the next Daimler.

By Madsteve7 on 14 March, 2011, 1:06pm

Good for Jaguar,this concept is 20 years out of date and extremely ugly at that.Keep up the good work Jag.

By christophergeek on 14 March, 2011, 5:18pm

The Growler E 2011 is a very worhy E Type Tribute to its great style

The Growler E 2011 is one of the most elegant Jaguar E Type style cars to be presented to the public in the last years! It has had great acclaim in Switzerland and Germany by real Jaguar fans and affecianados!

Pity it was not designed in Browns Lane or supported by Jaguar. It would be a very worthwhile premium model for the Jaguar marque and its international sales as an eye catcher! Well done Growler!

Great car! Great style!

By vandenplas4litre on 15 March, 2011, 12:55pm