The ill-fated electric Jaguar XJ, previously understood to employ exclusively battery-electric powertrains, could have used a combustion engine.
Speaking at a live recording of the Autocar My Week in Cars podcast, XJ designer Ian Callum said the saloon “was packaged to take a six-cylinder engine, if need be”.
That would have given Jaguar crucial flexibility to respond to fluctuating demand for electric cars. That could have proven a boon for the brand, given the growth of the EV market has fallen short of forecasts made when it was cancelled in 2021.
Several of Jaguar’s former rivals have been stung by the shortfall, with Mercedes among the most notable. Autocar recently reported the German brand plans to end production of the EQE and EQS saloons early, in favour of launching a new S-Class with the choice of either internal-combustion or battery-electric powertrains.
Callum did not elaborate on what specifically would have powered the XJ. It would likely have used the same straight-sixes offered in the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport, based on the MLA architecture that would also have underpinned the XJ.
Callum also revealed that the XJ would have broken from tradition in not offering a choice of short- and long-wheelbase bodies. “We didn't want to get into this ramble about two wheelbases, which seemed quite traditional, so we created something in the middle in terms of size,” he said.
He added that the new XJ’s design was “more stately” – something he “fought against”.
Callum revealed that alongside the XJ and the J-Pace SUV, he also designed a new F-Pace – ”which doubled up as a new I-Pace” – as well as a “new Jaguar sports car” that would likely have replaced the F-Type.
Callum left Jaguar in June 2019 to co-found his own design consultancy, Callum Design, with former colleague David Fairbairn. The XJ was cancelled in February 2021 as JLR enacted its Reimagine strategy, which has manifested Jaguar’s complete reinvention as a brand.
Callum did not explicitly provide his thoughts on Jaguar’s new look, nor on its Type 00 concept car, but said: “I look at all these new electric cars and they look like they were designed 20 years ago. I don't understand why they got long bonnets on them. Why would you build an electric car with a long bonnet on it? It's not got a V12 in there. I can't think of any in particular, mind you.”
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I should listen to the pod, but on the face of this story it's a bit snarky of IC and DF to be publicly bad-mouthing their former employer. The Jaguar brand has been consistently badly managed by different owners in different ways over the years (we're looking mostly at you, FoMoCo) and the brief glimpses of positivity and some really good product opportunities were never capitalised on, again for different reasons. IC's conservatism in design of the mainstream Jaguar products didn't help at times it's true, but then he also created CX-75 and the F-type which could & should have moved Jaguar on. Instead they chased volumes with SUVs (F-Pace was a good product, and IMHO LR should never have made the Velar version of that platform as it cannibalised sales without offering enough commonality to give economy of scale to either car) but against the Germans they were never going to win at scale. Jaguar absolutely needed a ground-up reset, I'm genuinely interested to see what happens with the new strategy. There was nothing left to lose, after all. The traditional 'Jaguar customer' is mostly dead now, and nothing to date brought new younger customers in convincingly.
Sounds like BS to me, its funny not a single image has ever been revealed of the cancelled XJ, even though it was apparently days away from being revealed and put into production, Callum effectivelly ruined Jaguar with the XE and mk2 XF which were abject failures, the excuse that no one bought saloons didnt seem to bother the sales of BMW, Mercedes or Audi, they should designed coupes and estates of both vehicles to capitalise on sales just like other companies do.
Only an idiot is going to buy an electric Jaguar for £100k, they will be dead before the end of the decade.
There were pictures of the new XJ published in preproduction form in one of the motoring magazines.
Seemingly one of the problems was that it wasn't competitive in terms of range compared with other EV's due to be launched.
Incidentally Ive owned, what a Jaguar salesman said, was the car Jaguar should have been selling - a Genesis Electrified G80, for over three years and have yet to struggle with range issues.