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2021 Jaguar F-Type convertible and coupe spied at the Nurburgring

We got our first look at the 2021 Jaguar F-Type back in May this year, and we were impressed with the edits Jag has in store. The F-Type hasn’t changed a whole lot since it went on sale in 2013, and this redesign looks like the most comprehensive update itÂ’s ever received. These latest shots show the British sports car running around the Nurburgring in both coupe and convertible body styles. We havenÂ’t seen the drop-top yet, so this marks our first look at this version of the new F-Type. Of course, the black soft top is up on this one, but it looks just how weÂ’d expect the convertible to appear. Both the convertible and coupe spied here appear to be high-performance V8 models with quad exhaust tips protruding aggressively beyond the rear bumper. Both these models are making use of their differing active rear wings on the track. The lit-up taillights in back draw our eyes with a shallow U-shaped design. One difference we note among the two is the rear valance/diffuser design. The coupe looks like itÂ’s rocking the design derived from the current SVR, while the convertible looks like an R. However, the tiny wing on the coupe looks nothing like the large one used on the current SVR. What might Jaguar be planning? What we do know is that this Jaguar is most likely still going to look stunning. The shape and silhouette of the car will stay the same, but the sheetmetal and styling elements are definitely going through a significant evolution. The big grille and thin headlights are in line to give the face an entirely new look. Even though Ian Callum has decided to step away from Jaguar Land Rover, he was undoubtedly involved with the design process of this F-Type.  We hope to see even more of this stylish British rocket as Jaguar presses on with development. Expect powertrain upgrades aplenty when itÂ’s finally revealed. These few prototypes weÂ’ve seen out driving spell good news for fans of V8 engines, too.

Geely poaches Jaguar designer Wayne Burgess

The fact is simple: Chinese automaker Geely just poached designer Wayne Burgess from Jaguar. Burgess will oversee a team of 100 designers and staff, in charge of projects encompassing all of Geely's brands, and report to Peter Horbury, Geely's EVP of design. Burgess, who started at Jaguar in 1997, was lately the production studio director for Jaguar Land Rover's Special Vehicle Operations, and the head of Jaguar's production cars. His credits include the F-Type, F-Pace, I-Pace, and current XJ, as well as being an Ian Callum stand-in at events. The implications of this personnel move carry the easy-to-ignore weight of another domino falling in what could be a monumental Chinese long game. Geely owns an eponymous car brand in China, as well the Chinese-Swedish Lynk & Co, Sweden's Volvo, England's Lotus and London Electric Vehicle Company (makers of electric black cabs), Malaysia's Proton, and U.S. flying car startup Terrafugia. Burgess won't need to leave home, because Geely's opening a design center in Coventry, England, to go along with its other centers in Barcelona, Gothenburg, Los Angeles and Shanghai. If you're keeping track, Burgess' flight maintains the quickening pace of talent headed to Chinese automakers that we give scant attention. After Geely bought Volvo in 2010, it moved longtime Volvo designer Peter Horbury, now Burgess' boss, to Shanghai. At the time, the news evoked a chortle. Compare that to last week, when GAC Motor designer David Hilton said, "There are now more auto designers in Shanghai than in any other city in the world, including Detroit and L.A." Hilton, by the way, was Bentley's head of exterior design until September last year. The same month, ex-Rolls Royce pen Giles Taylor, who brought us the Cullinan, jetted to Munich to lead FAW's Hongqi luxury brand. One month before that, ex- Land Rover designer Phil Simmons had taken over at Great Wall brand Haval. One month after that, ex- Mazda and BMW designer Kevin Rice became VP of design at Chery. Ex- Audi man Wolfgang Egger took over at BYD in 2017. Oh yeah, Hilton's comments came in a Wall Street Journal article about this very migration. Mass distribution is nearing the developed world in the Northern Hemisphere, too. Lynk & Co wants to get its papers for Europe this year. Zotye just named its first batch of U.S. dealers in advance of a planned launch here in 2020. Guangzhou Auto was at the same U.S. dealer meetings at Zotye, aiming for a U.S. rollout in early 2020.

Jaguar design boss admits X-Type was a mistake

History has a way of repeating itself, especially in the auto industry. When Jaguar was owned by Ford, the British brand attempted to field a competitor for the BMW 3 Series, called the X-Type. Based on the bones of a Ford Mondeo, it aped the styling of Jaguar's flagship model, the XJ, while borrowing liberally from the Ford parts bin. That was 2001.
Now, in 2013, Jaguar is planning a new 3 Series challenger based on the platform previewed by the C-X17 Concept, while Ford is attempting to take the latest Mondeo upmarket. The moves have both brands recognizing where, why, and how the X-Type failed. "It didn't look mature or powerful or anything. It was just a car," Jaguar's current head of advanced design, Julian Thomson, told PistonHeads. Basing the X-Type on a front-drive car while giving it styling that was meant for a rear-driver lead to proportions that "were plainly wrong," Thomson told PH. Ford's European head of quality, Gunnar Herrmann, added that the X-Type was "a fake Jaguar, because every piece I touch is Ford."
For what it's worth, the X-Type's successor in the segment will sport rear-drive, with plenty of input from Ian Callum. Thomson described the new model, which would challenge the 3 Series as having, "Big wheels right to the ends of the car, low bonnet, short overhangs, very low cabins." Sounds good to us.