See here:
https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/n...s-22-gt-return
Looks to me to be very much a 2+2 F-Type.
Also yet another mention of the Ingenium I6 replacing the AJ126 V6.

 

That article is 6 months old.

In the meantime JLR already showed the new 2-door 2+2 grand tourer at the Geneva motor show this year.

The Range Rover SV Coupe!

 

Whoops, I didn't see the date!

 

A friggin' truck? Give me a break.


Sorry, I'll go back on my meds again!

 

Ian is a great designer, and I have the highest respect for his products and designs, BUT he is forever putting out this BS about what might happen. It is just positively silly. Let's get real. A four place F-Type would sell about 6 cars. Trying to make a four place performance car is an exercise in futility, if Ferrari can't do it, Jaguar can't even come close. He has been peddling the idea of a new XK for as long as I can remember. Now that makes some sense. A four place GT/Cabrio has the possibility of actually selling a few cars. The sad truth here is that the F was supposed to be a halo car, and it didn't quite make it. Fine. Let's move on. Keep the F for its few sales and future development, and introduce a GT that can actually make a mark in the market place.

 

There is actually an updated article in April's magazine.

 

Porsche have managed it with their Panamera so not that futile

 

Right and the key for them was making it actually large enough to fit 4 adults comfortably and yet still keeping it to a relatively high performance spec. It still has the "Porsche DNA" which is one of the strengths of their brand. If JLR could take something around the size of the XJ but make it much more aggressive looking and give it the SVR treatment then that would probably sell a few cars.

 

Jaguar would never build something as ugly as the Panamera. It's DNA wouldn't include the ugly gene.

 

 

I think of the Panamera as a luxury sedan with sporting characteristics. It just doesn't appeal to me starting with its lumpen appearance, and cosseting interior. But the newest ones have addressed those issues to some extent (which I think means Porsche recognized there was room for improvement). I have liked very few Porsche models, the 356C from when I was in school, and the very un-Porsche 928.

The Ferrari 2+2s were always delectable, they were not true four passenger cars and were somewhat less aggressive/performance oriented than the "regular" models. But the top of the heap as far as I am concerned. A new XK would be a reasonably priced alternative until the lottery winnings come in.

An XJ is simply too big for a performance car.

For my money the answer is a new XK, a nice boulevardier. Good looking, fun, reasonably practical. And with some straight line performance available. And of course keep the F for image and those who want performance above all.

Lastly, Ian keeps saying he want a new XK. I have a hard time seeing JLR with its limited resources doing both a F-Type 2+2 and a new XK.

 

How hideous does the Range Rover Coupe look?? Definitely not my kind of style. Coupe should be held to sports cars, maybe that is why the Evoque coupe was discontinued by Land Rover. What on earth they thinking honestly, but then again with something like this you have people crazing / drooling over it.

 

 

An FJ40 is like a Defender. There is something elementally basic about it.

 

 

BMW is having some success with the 4-series (2+2) and 2-series (also 2+2). And of course there is the M4.

Since the 4-series is the exact same chassis as the 3-series 4 door models, I don't see why JLR couldn't do the same and turn the XE into a 2-door coupe and call it an XK.

However I doubt the numbers are there to justify doing that. Remember this? https://www.autoevolution.com/news/j...vr-105889.html

 

Al, thank you for the link. I wonder if the thinking at JLR is as chaotic as what is reported. With the German marques you know what the plan is, which I think helps inspire consumer confidence. I thought the two most humorous thoughts in the linked article were "there is a sweet spot between 35 and 125K." A 4X range of 90K is hardly a "spot." Then the idea of a "huge coupe" doesn't even pass the straight face test. Not that any one at JLR cares what my opinion is, but I think the XF needs to be the home base. Build a XF sedan (done), coupe, wagon (done) and convertible. Then bracket it with an entry level model, the XE, and a aspirational model, the XJ. I think the F-Type is evolving nicely and will fill the sports car slot. The cross-overs are obviously doing well. After the volume is adequately high, JLR can think about the car for every niche idea.

 

hmmm, nice thought but really the XF is a dead duck long term. I had two of them (2008 and 2012) and loved them but as nice as the new ones are they are just a biggish sedan that no-one seems to want to buy these days.

At least the superseded ones looked like a coupe, the new ones are more generic and it takes a keen eye to pick the difference between them and the much cheaper XE. So then if you need the extra space over the XE because you have kids, the F Pace is a better proposition - what it loses in handling it makes up for in practicality and (some say) looks.

My guess (completely uninformed) is that the days of the XF are numbered.

 

B the Q - Sedans are not very hot in the overall market today, agreed. I presume you saw Ford is exiting the sedan market in the US for all practical purposes. BUT, (1) I think at the MB E, Audi A6, Jag XF, BMW 5 price point things are somewhat different from the market as a whole. Older, more money, less kids etc so there may be more demand for a sedan than in other market segments, (2) the sedan is the base for a line of four models, an XF coupe would be very lovely (and an XK substitute), a convertible a great choice in SOCAL etc (3) the Germans seem to be holding in there. The E, 6, and 5 are the bases of their business.

JLR needs to execute better if my XF theory is going to work. You can't bring out a new generation and have it visually indistinguishable from the previous generation. You have to be able to say this is equal in tech and development to the Germans. It needs to be a finished polished product.

With JLR volume numbers getting to respectable levels this should be possible. My worry is the skill set in Coventry.

 

an XK replacement is long overdue