So id like to get your guys opinion on the variants i mocked up. I am thinking of doing very slight modifications to make it look unique but not ugly. Options are do something or leave it alone. The work will be done with simple car wrap which is very easy to do yourself.

From the left:
1. Full pillar color match wrap with blacked out top/blacked out mirrors/black grill
(I am a firm believer of a roof being black with no color breaks. New range rovers have entire top section black on roof and it looks best. Also same as with M6 etc. Mirrors look great also black ( or carbon fiber ) to blend with the tinted mirrors/roof line, of course the grill looks best black because it creates a lot of contrast in that area where needed, think maserati etc)
2. Only blacked out top/blacked out mirrors
( looks a bit odd in my opinion and unfinished blend with the pillars)
2. Stock
( looks okay just not sure I dig it and its stock)

 

Only because you ask, I have the Rhodium Silver and I like the car just the way it is. It's your car and your decision but the car is awesome just the way it is. I know you want to make it look unique but I would leave the body alone.

 

Very good color you have, one of the best choices

 

Personally I'm not adverse to a bit of wrap, after all it is easily reversed, and I have a bit to my XKR, some of which I left on and some which I thought better of after a while.


I like the first and the third, but with the first I think you will struggle to get wrap in an exact match to your paint colour. And if it isn't an exact match, it will look pretty awful. So then you have to get a custom job done and that can be exey.


It would be interesting to see the pics more in the side profile. Jag obviously made the D pillar black for a reason, maybe having it match the duco might make the proportions not as nice?

 

Luckily, my car is white so finding the wrap is no issue. But i am curious to see the pillars matched while blacking out the top portion. The reason why i want to do this is because from the back of the car it looks like the roof is not all black. That extra piece thats not painted really dulls the all black roof design. I will take before and after pics. But from top view of course the look is much more evident. Only issue i have is that i must also get the grill black and that involves removing the bumper $$$ and getting the chrome painted gloss black in a way that wont chip etc.

 

#3 Looks the best from that view. Personally I don't like black mirrors on any car. They remind me of 20 years ago when the cheap rough plastic mirror on base cars was black and you had to get higher trim levels to get smooth color matched mirrors. Now it's the other way around, you have to get a special model trim to get black mirrors on a lot of cars.

 

Similar to MHT, my car is Liquid Silver and I love it the way it is. However, I see why you may want to go the route above, and I can't fault you...I think it will certainly make your car stand out.


Btw, have you considered Option 4, in that you Black out the top, and Black out the elliptical-shaped roof line, extending the Blacked-out pillar, along with also blacking out the mirror and grill? That way the top of the car above the doors would look like a black car, and the rest of it like a white one, similar to the Land Rover LR4 (which I love!).


Otherwise, I think Option 1 looks better than Option 2.

 

I almost did #1 but then decided to leave stock, but here are some photos of a 2012 XJ that had the top painted ("D" pillar White and Top above rear window gloss blak to match glass) and they added larger wheels, but the paint was what I was looking at.

 

Yes i have considered option 4 but for the following reasons decided against it:
1.The pillars starts off too far where if you start blacking it out the line doesn't look even with the fender and the hood.
2.The shape of the car is not boxy, its a more back swooping design so the all black roof doesn't fit the shape well.On the rover of course it fits perfectly. In my opinion I think the design they went with while looks good from the top, doesn't really do well on eye level and it really looks like from the back
3. The mirrors can be blacked out no issues, but i rarely see any modern day cars with blacked out mirror caps, even the sportiest versions leave the mirror caps alone. So unsure on the need for this one.
4. Of course the grill should be black on this white car but as far as i know it will be a pain in the *** and its not easy to do. Bumper must come off and etc and i dont want anyone to do that.

 

That's look is actually quiet spot on! The extended white pillar fills in the car swooping line where you can see the mirror shape etc. I don't really know where they went by deleting the rear pillar line color and making it black. Like i said i think it looks great from above stock, but in person it looks off and confusing.

 

I belive I read some where why they made the rear pillar line black but I can't remember the reason for doing so. Personally I think it gives the car a sportier look and IMO the car does not appear to be as long.
I am glad for the pictures as I was curious at to how the car would look if the rear pillar was the same color as the car.

 

It was quite controversial when first released, I believe the reason Ian Callum gave was a desire to maintain a continuous line from the side windows to the rear one. One of the only things I dislike about having a black XJ is that this unique feature becomes invisible, it really sets the car apart on other colors.

To respond to OP: The black roof and grill make sense and should look great. Mirror covers never do, in my opinion - why call attention to something that breaks up the lines of the car? I'd also consider having the window trim blacked out, that looks great on lighter colored cars.

 

The XJ looks far better without the coded roof panel in my opinion. To have one solid piece of black along the roof makes the car appear to have a full pano glass option. To break up the line with that painted plastic panel was a distraction. I also code painted my rear side panels giving the rear of the car some body definition. The reason you're even considering this modification tells me you have the 'eye' and have noticed how the XJ can improve.

The other things you should do to this car is de-chrome the car and code the mirrors and grill surround and blacken the grill.

The XJ looks 100 times better when you do these improvements. Don't listen to the nay-sayers who insist that Jog knows best. In fact if you take a look at the 75th anniversary XJ (Google it) you will see that Jag did all the very things I suggested to you. Why the XJR comes with extra chrome, as opposed to more coded parts has baffled me for years.

 

Did you wrap or paint your window trim? Mind sharing how much you paid?

Thanks.

 

How did they do the rear bumper on it? Is it just a wrap ?
Also if you do the exhaust, how do you paint that? Plastidip will work on exhaust or no?

 

yes, i hear you the black blends the whole thing and you cant see the design : (

 

I had the trim removed and painted.

My rear valance was also painted as well as my exhaust tips in a flat hi temp paint.

Bout $800. Best money I ever spent, worth every penny. It's all time and materials, don't let any shop ream you because you have a fancy car. The work is basic and straightforward.

 

Yes you are right about the C/D pillars. I just read online and everyone has complained about where they went with it. Too bad the C/D pillars are not freaking one piece and have this stupid plastic covers on it, but yes for a non black car to wrap those pillars and black out the top is a must.

I dont want to over black everything on it however, door sills etc that looks a bit like too much custom work. If anything grill thats it

 

There may have been some complaint about the C Pillars but it looks like Jag will continue them on the 2016. As OCD as I am, I have no problem with the C Pillars and see what Jag was trying to do. It really makes the rear glass look as though it wraps around the car which In my opinion is not a bad effect but to each his or hers own.
Right mow I am toying with having a remote start installed that will allow me to start, lock and unlock my doors with my phone. I will also be able to use a single key fob that will allow me to performs these function. In that the 2016 Jag XJ will have this feature it would be nice if jag would offer the parts needed through parts to convert the present cars to this type of operation. I would prefer to pay the cost to have it done through Jag than an after market deal.
If any one has an opinion or suggestions or if you have had a remote start installed on you car please feel free to chime in. I am on the fence about this as the car is doing so well I do not want to have something done that might upset the apple cart.

 

Im thinking the mirror should be the same color as the car, not chrome or black