Jaguar could be a force to be reckoned with during the next decade, with plans underway to bring a volume-selling small car to market. The prestige manufacturer has a larger budget to play with since being sold off by Ford to Tata, so the new model is shaping up to be a tour de force.
Expected to be roughly the same size as the BMW 3 Series and Mercedes-Benz C-Class, the rumoured XE model has all but been confirmed by Jaguar's design director, Ian Callum. Talking to the Carsales Network, the British design guru said, "We're considering doing something smaller for a number of reasons. The world is generally moving to a certain size of car which is a smaller size of car, so we need to accommodate that and think hard about it, and how we do it."
Like the upcoming crossover model from Jaguar, the new small car isn't expected to be on sale for at least another three or four years, but would certainly bolster Jaguar's sales by offering an affordable entry-level price point for younger customers.
Jaguar's rival to the Audi A4 and Lexus IS Series is likely to launch a new powertrain when it arrives, around 2014, as the company has hinted at several new engine options in the works. However Jaguar's design chief said the new car would not be an heir to the X-Type (pictured), a vehicle that was considered a failure in some markets -- although not Australia.
"I wouldn't call it a spiritual successor to the X-Type, not in my mind. When we design something I tend to think from a set of first principles, what's this car need to be, what size its needs to be. You set up the package, you push the limitations perhaps and some dimensions as opposed to others, to give it the character of a Jaguar. What comes out of it is from first principles really."
Callum explained that the design of the smaller Jaguar sedan would not be influenced by its potential German rivals, and revealed that the challenge of creating different sized vehicles was an exciting prospect.
"I'm not consciously influenced from anything outside, subconsciously maybe? People say 'something looks like this, a bit like that'; it's purely by coincidence. It's not deliberate. I'm very excited by the idea that we have more challenges in the future in terms of packages and sizes."
Callum talked candidly about the future plans for the E-Type /news/2011/prestige-and-luxury/there-will-not-be-a-new-jaguar-etype-23856 , or lack thereof, citing the car's purity as a reason for avoiding its reinvention. But he gave a strong indication that a new sports car is under consideration: "If you say would we be able to do a two seater sports car again, I would say yes, because that's a natural place for Jaguar to be, but to try and replicate something with all the purity and simplicity of the E-Type, it would be very difficult to do these things given all the restraints we have got.
"And I wouldn't consciously try to replicate the E-Type, there is no point. But a two seater sports car, yeah we'd like to do that!"
The new sports car could take its inspiration from Jaguar's XC-75 concept car /news/2010/prestige-and-luxury/jaguar/cx75-a-template-for-jaguars-small-car-21984.
And here's some food for thought -- the Jaguar hatchback. BMW has done it, Audi has several of them and Mercedes has just released its new A-Class. Though Callum revealed that a compact hatch is not something Jaguar is looking at, he did let slip his love of compact cars.
"I love small cars by the way. I have a Mini at home. An old mini, what I'd call a proper Mini [laughs]. I'm not suggesting we ever make a car that small, but I just love the challenge and efficiencies of a small car, it's something I enjoy."
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