Secret New Cat On The Prowl

This week's magazine has exclusive pictures of the all-new X150 - the replacement for the XK8 - which the company's bosses hope will bring about a reversal in fortunes for the troubled brand.

Auto Express Car Reviews

By Craig Cheetham

22nd September 2004

The mag's spies caught the car leaving the firm's development centre in Coventry, where the chassis is being honed. Although engineers tried to disguise the XK as an XJ, the two doors, shortened wheelbase and cropped roofline give away what's going on.

It will be the first of two significant new models for Jaguar. The second is likely to explore a completely different market for the company. Speaking at a press conference to announce the end of car production at Jaguar's Brown's Lane site, chief executive Joe Greenwell said: "The premium market, especially in the US, has shifted towards SUVs. Jaguar has other models on top of the X150 in planning, but we're not going to discuss them now." This fuelled rumours that an off-road Cat using a Land Rover platform could be on sale by 2007.

Greenwell announced two further diesel models for 2005, with the 2.7-litre twin-turbo V6 from the S-Type being fitted to the XJ from spring. That will be followed by a high-performance derivative of the X-Type diesel, using either a compact version of the V6 or the 2.2-litre 149bhp unit from Ford's Mondeo ST TDCi.

The X150 will make its debut at the 2005 Frankfurt Motor Show and go on sale the following spring, powered eith-er by V8 or V12 petrol engines.