Jaguar: tomorrow's models

F-Type

Jaguar bosses are desperate to build this car. They can practically taste the market excitement it would cause, especially in the US and the UK. The popular proposal is for a steel-bodied, XF-based two-seater that uses V6 and V8 engines and starts at under £45,000 (although top-end models would be direct Porsche 911 rivals). It would be 200kg lighter than a similarly engined XF saloon, about 70cm shorter overall and 40cm shorter in the wheelbase. The suspension and running gear would be largely familiar, although engineers reckon there would be a case for modified front suspension with less unsprung weight. Look for a soft-top rather than a design-limiting folding steel roof. All at Jaguar know any sports car will have to live in the shadow of the E-type, and will be expected to look amazing.

XF Coupé

Jaguar could conceivably build four offshoots of the XF: a four-seat convertible, a coupé, a sporty estate and a crossover 4x4.However, a fixed-roof coupé is the most likely because the saloon’s proportions lend themselves to the switch, the engineering is straightforward, the idea suits the Jaguar marque values well, and recent German coupé successes show it could sell. Expect it to stick largely with the saloon’s interior architecture and engine line-up, but to be distinctive enough to sell on exclusivity.

XF Crossover 4x4

Controversial, this one, and only a long-odds possibility. Jaguar marketing men envy booming sales of rival brands in this sector and reckon the XF design values could easily stretch to a sleek, stylish soft-roader. Designers have already produced proposals and full-size models.However, the Jaguar/Land Rover decision makers believe Jaguar must resist becoming a 4x4 company, and leave such vehicles to Land Rover, especially as its associate marque is about to move further into the high-style 4x4 bracket with the new LRX.

XF Convertible

The proposal for a four-seat, open-top version of the XF is not favoured at present by either engineers or accountants. The engineers don’t want it because of the large amount of unique engineering needed to reinforce the chassis and to make such a large fabric roof. The bean counters are hesitant because of the expense, given the modest expected sales. American dealers are predictably keen, but the company calculates they can attract rag-top customers with the coupé.

XF Estate

Another non-starter. Jaguar’s designers have investigated a sporty wagon, but the idea has been shelved for good. Realists at the firm say it lacks estate heritage, and they take lessons from German estates, which work in Europe but sell poorly in America. Jaguar’s future volume will be a fraction of BMW’s or Audi’s; it couldn’t bear the development costs of a wagon knowing that at least 50 per cent of its potential market doesn’t want it.

XKR-R Coupé

The two-tier XK lightweight coupé range that began Jaguar’s fightback hasn’t even reached mid-life yet, but two eye-catching new developments are on the blocks. Closest by far is an ‘unrestricted’ XKR version capable of around 180mph. The precise spec is still being fleshed out, but expect a low-volume model (say 300 a year, at a £10,000-£15,000 premium) with more supercharged power from engine management tweaks – or perhaps even the adoption of the forthcoming 500bhp 5.0-litre, direct-injection V8 – plus ultra-sporty tweaks to décor and chassis. Jaguar admires the progress and profit potential of the AMG brand at Mercedes, and believes it has customers that would like the idea.