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This is Jaguar's new XJ, revealed this morning as images leaked out in advance of its official unveiling tonight.

Styled by Ian Callum, the new XJ marks a radical departure from styling cues that have featured on Jaguar's flagship since it first appeared in 1968. The front end treatment sticks closely to the successful XF's appearance, but Callum has been braver still with the rear end.

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This new XJ may win Jaguar some new friends. But it will lose them some old friends.

The rear end looks Japanese. Maybe with some Italian and American thrown in.

Not nice.

Front - good.

Back - baaaad.

I think the rear lights are sexy as hell (cross between a Bentley and a Lancia) and the front is everything the XF should have been but wasn't. I have a real issue with that blacked out C pillar though- it looks like the sort of cheap trick a design student would use to jazz up a sketch for a course project. It looks stupid. Rest of it looks fantastic.

I think the front is Ok. The rear is poor though. Shame. I cant see this winning many sales from the germans

 Is the rear pillar blacked out or is it a glass section I wonder (or high level brake lighting?!?).  I think it looks great: prestigious, distinctive yet MODERN and desirable.  Hints of Italian in the design, especially at the rear which is a bit 1st gen Maserati GT and alson a bit Lancia Thesis - but I really like it.  Looking forward to seeing one on the road. 

I'm getting strong hints of Audi A6 and Citroen C6 with an underlying whiff of Skoda Superb.

Whereas the best angle of the XF was from the rear, this one looks best from the front.

Although the car in general is fantastic, I wasn't sure about the back.  However, it's growing on me more and more everytime I look at it.  I think the whole design is amazing, and wipes the floor with the german offerings...I particularly like the wheel arches, and creases running from the windows down to the lights, they really hark back to the original XK and other classics. 

The front of the car is good, nicely designed but the back is awful. The blacked out rear pillars make it look a bit cheap and the boot lid looks somehow under developed - or are we too used to Bangle-like surfacing ?

I think this car will be a grower in terms of styling.  I hate the black c pillar, I like the glass roof but for me .... make the c pillar body colour please!

As for the tail lights ..... let me think, which brand has had vertically stacked tail lights as a design feature for .... only 30 years!!!  Lancia, japanese brands .... er no chaps, Cadillac.  The back end looks quite similar to the DeVille / DTS.  Not sure whether that is a good thing or not! 

At least it is different, and lets be honest .... if this thing had a BMW badge on the nose journo's and people with little taste would be furiously masterbating themselves over this car!

I love the front and I love the side profile (very sexy), but the back I am not sure! the boot lid reminds me of the CLS Merc with an overall Bentley feel to it.....the lights do remind me of the C6.....I would like to actually see one.

Having gone back and had another look, the the back has grown on me, I will have another look later today, but I think a job really well done! the back is really quite distinctively subtle......I think a very difficult job very well done!!

I hope they can take some design references from this and the XF and create a new X Type.....with an estate version!

 

I hope it is a grower, I like the rest of it but the rear hasn't grown on me yet. I keep looking to see if my opinion changes - but not yet.

The rear looks like a Quattroporte design study that got rejected. Or a Maybach! I think the problem is it just doesn't look like a Jaguar from the back.