Jaguar's Back in the Hunt

The British luxury carmaker, known for sleek lines and peak performance, releases a powerful new sports car. But will this quick cat capture strong sales?

Paul A. Eisenstein
From the Print Edition:
William Shatner, Sept/Oct 2006

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THE NEW XK
When a thinly disguised version of the XK sedan was revealed at the much-watched Detroit auto show, in 2004, it generated nearly as many headlines as the original E-Type. The coupe Callum rolled out carried much of the car's classic look: the long, powerful hood line, the sweeping lines and the aggressive haunch, which made it seem like captured motion. Where the '61 E-Type was all soft and sensual curves, the '04 show car was more angular and aggressive. Callum and his design team had learned their lessons and aimed to introduce a decidedly modern car.

The production-version XK recently began rolling into Jaguar showrooms around the world. It stays true to the show car, though it is arguably even better looking on the road than on the show stand.

Like the big XJ, the new sports car is technically elegant, with an aluminum chassis and body that is phenomenally lightweight—the whole car, in coupe form, weighs in at just 3,671 pounds, about 600 less than either the BMW 650 or Mercedes SL550. (The convertible tips the scales at 3,759 pounds.) Weight means a lot with a car like this, significantly contributing to both performance and handling. Despite its lightness, aluminum is, pound for pound, substantially stronger than steel. For the engineers among our readers, torsional stiffness increases 48 percent over the prior-generation XK convertible, even though the body weighs 19 percent less. The layman can best discover what that means behind the wheel of the XK convertible.

The outgoing model was, to be polite, ponderous. Hit a bump or cross a railroad track and you'd feel the car flex from front to back. The new XK is absolutely rigid. Pull the top down, put your hand on the top of the windshield and aim for some potholes, and you'll feel no flex at all. On smoother pavement, the payoff is in the sports car's sleekness, its firm grip on the road. It is simply a blast to drive, with Jaguar's excellent 4.2-liter V-8 turning out 300 horsepower and 310 pound-feet of torque. It gently purrs as you cruise along the highway, but tip in the throttle and the V-8 responds with a menacing roar and vibrant acceleration that sinks you deep into the driver's seat. You'll sprint from 0 to 60 in about six seconds in either the coupe or convertible.

While incorporating retro touches, such as the classic J-pattern auto gearshift, Jaguar's new entry boasts a modern cabin. For example, well-placed paddle shifters help take manual control of the smooth-as-silk gearbox. The interior is still lavished with the rich wood that has long defined Jaguar interiors, but here it's offset by brushed aluminum accents. The center video display is decidedly modern and, best of all, there's no computer-derived control system to force you through 14 steps just to tune the radio. It is, if you will, anti-Teutonic. And that's just fine. Jaguar needn't position itself with German entries. The brand has been most successful when it's found its own niche. The new XK suggests that after some missteps, Jaguar is finding its center.

The new car won't right the automaker's balance sheet, at least not on its own. It was never meant to deliver serious sales numbers. But it does define the brand, and is likely to lure potential customers for the XJ and other deserving Jaguar products. The big test comes a little more than a year from now, when the next-generation S-Type hits the market. In that relatively high-volume segment, it is critical to the revitalization of the marque. With the launch of the 2007 XK, there's finally reason to believe that Jaguar will get it right.

Paul A. Eisenstein, a Cigar Aficionado contributing editor, also publishes the Internet magazine www.TheCarConnection.com.

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