Upon driving Jaguar’s new XE, we found ourselves utterly smitten. Citing its blend of Cadillac ATS sharpness with Mercedes C-class comfort, we proclaimed, “The XE is proof that there’s at least one automaker still looking out for enthusiasts.” The question now becomes one of variants. Mercedes-Benz and BMW both offer sedans, coupes, wagons, and convertibles in the segment. Mercedes, sadly, refuses to offer the C-class wagon here in the States, though AMG head Tobias Moers did recently suggest that it’s a possibility. But the XE’s future forms have yet to be confirmed. Which doesn’t stop us from speculating as to what they could be and what they might look like.
A Wagon: Everybody knows Americans don’t buy wagons, which is a major reason Jaguar is developing the F-PACE crossover. But an XE Sportbrake isn’t necessarily off the table (especially since the company already makes an XF Sportbrake). We’ve heard wishy-washy rumors on the subject. Jaguar refuses to confirm. Then they deny. Then they refuse to confirm the denial. Or deny the possible confirmation. All we can say is, if an XE wagon does come down the pike, it’ll be a few years. Which, to our minds, is a damn shame.
An RS: At this point, Jag’s R-S formula is well known: stonking engine, outré aero. The XE was designed to accommodate Jaguar’s beefy, swell, supercharged AJ V-8, one of the funnest mills this side of SRT’s Hellbeasts. With the C63 AMG S-Model set to churn out 503 horsepower, we wouldn’t be shocked if a V-8 XE packed a fulsome 550. We’ll also apologize for typing “funnest mill” before the commenters unleash a fusillade of quips about us being unliterate dum-dums.
A Coupe/Convertible: Remember when having four doors was hopelessly uncool? If you were Nicolae Ceaușescu in a Benz 600 Presidential Landaulet, you likely didn’t flinch at such accusations. (More likely, you’d just trundle your detractors off for a lifetime of hard labor.) But sometime in the past two decades, the coupe lost its grip on cool-guy luster. Automakers even started despoiling the sacred term by adding additional doors to “coupe” models. In the early ‘80s, GM went to the trouble of building coupe versions of its FWD A-platform cars. If you wanted pass for hip among fellow employees at the bank in 1984, you drove a Cutlass Ciera Coupe. Just fifteen years later, it was perfectly acceptable to roll up in a four-door Achieva. Though you could, of course, buy an Achieva coupe.
So it pleases us to see some automakers keep the two-portal faith. And in the days since the dual-cowl phaeton has gone by the wayside as a viable bodystyle, coupes and convertibles have tended to share much of the same engineering. If Jag judges an XE cabriolet to be a viable thing, expect it to be accompanied by a two-door hardtop.
- Jaguar Crossover Confirmed, Will Go By Odd “F-Pace” Moniker
- Jaguar XE: First Drive Review
- Jaguar XE Full Coverage: News, Photos, Specs, Reviews, and More
We don’t have a rendering of a coupe or a convertible, nor do we have an illustrated vision of one last possible variant—Jaguar design boss Ian Callum has posited that there could be an extended-wheelbase version of the XE as well. Given how the Chinese love roomy rears, a LWB variant seems like a given if Jag wants to play big in the Middle Kingdom. Considering the weight Chinese tastes now carry in the auto industry, perhaps a shift of aesthetic winds in Guangzhou could result in an XE R-S Phaeton.
from Car and Driver Blog http://ift.tt/1EtksvK
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