From the textbook (can you believe its Cornell, Its kindergarten level)
Whenever we look at a flat surface (a picture, a television screen) and assume we are looking at spaces and objects that have depth, we are accepting a set of visual signals that create an illusion of three dimensional space. 3D cues are so common today that we are almost unaware of them. However, these signals were not always used and understood; even today in some preliterate societies, people may have difficulty understanding 3D illusions.

We have all grown up looking at two dimensional images that purport to show three dimensional space. We take for granted the visual tricks that are used to achieve this illusion. Yet even today in some isolated cultures such images are not easily interpreted or understood.

The engineering concepts of aerodynamics in the 1930's, originally developed in connection with the airplane, were transferred to automotive design as well, particularly as cars became faster, and marketing of cars became more competitive. The result was forms that suggest movement and speed; we have all come to recognize aerodynamic forms as a symbol for speedy movement.

 

Well said, I have stated it may times, love my Jag but it is just a car. I won't be pressured into disliking porsche, Audi, BMW, maserati, or any other brand I might choose in the future!

 

Nearly all based on what Jeremy Clarkson once said; "The acceleration is absolutely BRUTAL....".
And call it my still adolescent brain, but I still think it's about the 'coolest' looking thing out there.

 

Wind tunnel design testing on car bodies actually started in the 1920's. Germany was restricted on airforce development by international treaty, so those working in aerodynamics turned the force of their attentions to automobiles. The application of aeroplane aerodynamics in a way that worked for automobiles came about as the reality of post WWII unemployment for the military aero industry started to set in. This patent by Zeppelin engineer filed in 1922 brought the first very real results.

https://www.google.com/patents/US1631269


Perhaps the second most important discovery for automobile aerodynamics was fleshed out during the 1930's. This laid out that car's did not need a complete taper to a point, but that if the initial profile was correct, you could terminate the body work of the car and still maintain a major part of the efficiency. Previously, car's designed according to that 1922 lay out incurred weight and interior space penalties to achieve the desired shape. The ability to build an aerodynamic and practical multi person passenger car arrived with this.

There are many reasons the German racing cars were so dominate, and an understanding of aerodynamics(Not just cars that looked aerodynamic) was a part of it. WWII intervened, but the Germans had plans for cars using negative air foils to produce down force, increasing the control of the car, and with driver adjusted angle of attack for the wing as well. A car with fixed air foils was built, and is in Mercedes museum. No one really caught on to this idea after the war for quite some time. The generation that had developed it passed away. While the drawings existed, the understanding of what purpose they fulfilled had been lost in the war.

 

There are so many things we take for granted as "natural", when in fact we had to learn them.

Speaking English is one of them. I sometimes tell people it took me several years to learn English, and they do not understand.

While I was initially resistant to the view you have put forth for us, I realize that the translation of real objects into outlines, and outlines into realizations of 3d shapes, is in fact an acquired skill. If it were natural, the need to teach art would not exist.

 

Here is a pristine 2007 XKR for sale in Phoenix

https://phoenix.craigslist.org/nph/cto/6182617506.html

 

I shall make that part of my vocabulary. You have put a succinct edge on a blade that I have been grinding.

While people are generally apprehensive to uncomfortable thoughts, they shutdown even more when they are confronted with the possibility that their lust was indeed engineered.

If you are further interested in the social engineering that is art, Dr. Nigel Spivey of Cambridge has done a brilliant 5 hour documentary titled "How art made the world"

 

Saw one EXACTLY like this at the SNG Barratt USA, Oceanside open house on Saturday. Wonder if this was it? Absolutely gorgeous car.

 

Just saw a very rare 5-speed '89 S4 (no, not a GT) at SNG Barratt USA in Oceanside over the weekend. It is in very nice condition, I had to resist the urge to make an offer on it. Wife would have killed me... She called my last one "the mistress" as I do all my own work & needless to say, I was kept busy. 928's have a rather fanatical following despite Porsche's intention to ignore it. They are fantastic cars for long drives, very comfortable. Interesting how many of the current 911's very much resemble the car in size, weight and appearance, particularly the rear. It was way ahead of its time in many ways, which explains a LOT of the maintenance issues.

 

If I were you I'd spend a little more and get a 2015 XKRS, brand new they were a 160k cars and with the rarity, and being the last XK their bound to appreciate, their a lot of fun to drive, relatively light given the aerospace aluminum construction, feel special, sound amazing andare timeless, also the XKR is one of the ten best cars to buy in terms of resale value along with the G wagon and R8

 

AyyVlogs is spot on.

Ask the same question by the OP on a beemer site and you should expect the same responses in reverse. The big "but" in that for me is when my brother visits in his 650i and he is always more impressed with my XK than his wheels. He says the beemer is nice but the Jag is a sports car! I agree, of course.

 

The newest 6 series is pretty nice looking, but I would lean to a LC500 if looking for a new GT in that price range.

XKR is more special than the BMW.

 

BMW will always have a "yuppie" connotation from my perspective, going back to the 80s. I don't know if that will every pass. Jaguar, on the other hand, has always had a better sense of style than the three-box sedans everyone else makes. I would much rather drive my XKR and hear the occasional "What was that?" than have a car that looks like so many others. There is some value in the exclusivity factor, although that is a personal evaluation.

I did see an entertaining review of a Jaguar, wherein the reviewer commented that users who buy a Porsche are Speed Racer wannabes, Corvettes, well, that's a midlife crisis, and a Mercedes, that's just trying to hard. With the Jaguar, you are making the statement that you have arrived in life. Funny thing - that reviewer never even mentioned a BMW, as if it wasn't even worthy of comparison.

 

MB and BMW have diluted their brand by covering too many price points and use cases. Is there any prestige in owning either? What is the price difference spread between the least expensive BMW/MB to Jaguar? What is the average price of a new BMW/MB to a Jaguar?

I don't know the answers but would be curious. Could be the same...

 

Just in case the OP comes back this way, I found a video on YouTube that compares the Jaguar XKR against the BMW 650i. The chap evaluating the cars is German. I'll leave it to you to ponder on that for a moment, as he preferred the Jag.