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Jaguar planning two bodystyles for next XJ

As we alluded to in today's F-Type first drive, Jaguar hasn't been selling its wares in China for very long, and as a result, buyers there usually don't have the same appreciation for the brand's history. So you might reasonably think that the company's recent radical styling shift (kicked off by the 2008 XF) wouldn't be as jarring to the nation's buying populace since they really didn't have the automaker's more traditionally styled models from years past to compare them against.
Yet while Jaguar and its sister marque, Land Rover, continue to pick up steam in China's developing market, that apparently isn't necessarily the case. Local buyers there tend to have more conservative tastes when it comes to styling, preferring more upright dimensions, big back seats and larger quantities of traditional luxury materials (think: chrome and wood) than other markets currently find desirable. Thus, the very bold current-generation XJ sedan may be leaving some sales on the table.
According to Edmunds, Jag doesn't want to risk that, and as such, it is preparing two bodystyles for the next-generation XJ - one with the rakish coupe-like styling of the current model, and a more "old-school" three-box sedan designed to appeal to a wider swath of Chinese buyers.

Next Jaguar F-Type rumored to get BMW M-sourced 4.4-liter twin-turbo V8

Unless we're discussing the Porsche 911 or Chevrolet Corvette, trying to predict the future of any sports car out there would stump even Miss Cleo. Reportage takes a walking dead theme, as with the next-generation Audi R8. Or it delves a succession of intel from "reliable sources" on every possibility, each one wilder than and incompatible with the last. The newest turn in the rumor cycle for the next-gen Jaguar F-Type says Jaguar's coupe will be fitted with a BMW-sourced 4.4-liter twin-turbo V8. The gossip comes courtesy of Georg Kacher writing in Car magazine. It closes the loop Kacher opened in 2016 when, writing in Automobile, he said BMW was hammering out a deal to provide V8 engines for the top-end Jaguar and Land Rover products. The deal would put more money in BMW's pockets for an engine that's expensive to develop but doesn't sell in large numbers, while weaning Jaguar off the thunderous and thirsty Ford-sourced 5.0-liter supercharged V8. We haven't heard anything else about that deal in the meantime. Since Kacher says the next F-Type will come in 2020, it seems the coupe would be the first car in the JLR range to get BMW power — specifically, BMW M Power. The 4.4-liter V8 codenamed S63 by BMW, but supposedly codenamed Project Jennifer inside JLR, makes 560 hp in standard form, or 625 hp in the M division's Competition vehicles. The current F-Type R Coupe puts out 550 hp, the SVR Coupe puts out 575 hp. However, the cloud of F-Type rumors is wide and nebulous. The head of JLR North America said last year that every product launched after 2020 will have some form of electrification, and we haven't heard of any hybrid plans for the 4.4-liter S63 V8. The next BMW M3 is said to get some sort of hybridization, but that sedan uses an inline-six. When Road & Track spoke to Jaguar design head Ian Callum earlier this month at the Paris Motor Show, the mag asked about a hybrid F-Type. Callum said electrification "is not necessarily the plan," adding, "There's not a plan, to be honest with you." He said what he'd like to do is "a mid-engine-style electric car." When Auto Express reported on Callum's wish, the mag called the product "a hybrid mid-engine supercar" with " dreams of taking on the McLaren 570S and Audi R8," using a V6 engine and powertrain components from the I-Pace. As a pure electric or a hybrid vehicle, this could be a way to get a C-X75-inspired sports car on the road, but it's not an F-Type replacement in either soul or price.

2016 Jaguar XJR meets 1988 XJR9-LM at Silverstone

The current Jaguar XJR is not the first Jaguar XJR. Not by a long shot. In fact there's a long and distinguished history of Jaguar production and racing models that have worn those letters over the years. So to highlight its lineage, Jaguar brought the 2016 model together with its nearly 30-year-old racing namesake to Silverstone. And it brought Andy Wallace along for the ride. Wallace won at Le Mans in 1988 driving the XJR9-LM. Designed for the race track and adorned with iconic Silk Cut livery, the XJR9 looks entirely different from the XJR luxury sedan you can buy today. And with a 7.0-liter V12 mounted amidships instead of the modern sedan's 5.0-liter supercharged V8 placed up front, they're mechanically different beasts as well. But it's not the difference in design, powertrain, or performance that Jaguar is highlighting in this video encounter. Instead, Wallace is impressed by the advancement of the lighting technology from the Le Mans racer he drove in the late 1980s to the sedan sold today. To hear him talk about how they used to use the headlights in the nighttime hours of the famously grueling endurance race is harrowing enough all on its own. Hear his story in the video above. NEW JAGUAR XJR MEETS XJR9-LM AT SILVERSTONE WITH LE MANS WINNER ANDY WALLACE AT THE WHEEL - Andy Wallace drives new Jaguar XJR and Le Mans-winning XJ-R9 LM at Silverstone - XJR9-LM – one of one million XJs now built – back on track at night for the first time since it won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1988 - Track session presents benefits of new Jaguar XJ LED headlights in day and night driving conditions - Wallace discusses new XJR headlight technology, which offers drivers more confidence, safety and performance at night - New short film captures all the action https://youtu.be/IgMxSkJb058 (Whitley, Coventry - 16 November 2015): Legendary racing driver and 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Andy Wallace relived his 1988 victory by taking to the Silverstone circuit to drive the Jaguar XJR9-LM during day and night back-to-back with the new 550PS, 5.0-litre Supercharged V8 Jaguar XJR. Wallace discusses his experiences in the XJR9-LM and the new XJR in an exciting new film available to view and share at https://youtu.be/IgMxSkJb058 Driving at night on the Silverstone circuit gave Wallace the opportunity to test the new LED headlights on the new XJ, which are a first for Jaguar. "Driving at Le Mans back in 1988, it was so hard to see at night," said Wallace.