Jaguar F-Type Could Launch 2+2 Variant On Revised Platform
Jaguar is apparently considering bringing the XK out of retirement. Discontinued for the 2015 model year, the automaker didn’t see much reason to keep it around with the F-Type being such a success.
Hanno Kirner, Jaguar Land Rover’s director of corporate strategy, now claims the time has come to commence work on a 2+2 F-Type. However, the brand wants to further re-establish itself as a sports car manufacturer. The F-Type was a good start, and the spiritual successor to the XK will further that goal. But Kirner, along with design head Ian Callum, wants to see a whole family of new sporting vehicles populating Jaguar’s stable within the next decade.
“The F-Type has been a huge success,” Kirner told Autocar in a recent interview. “We love sports cars — and I use the plural quite deliberately. Whether that is delivered by a body variant or something else remains to be seen, but for now let’s just say that the body type is very important for us … I want a two-seater and a 2+2. We’re working on something now. There’s nothing approved, but we instigate in design.”
Jaguar was believed to had been working on the design of a third-generation XK before the model was discontinued. However, that isn’t going to quicken the four-seater’s development phase. The new model is supposedly an entirely new design and unlikely to see the light of day before 2021. Jag’s new sports car family is also supposed to ride on a new platform — not the modified (shortened) XK architecture the F-Type currently uses.
That’s good news, as we can’t imagine the current model becoming a 2+2 without convulsing from fits of laughter. But you don’t want to turn the F-Type into a pig so you can sell it with more seats, either. Apparently, the new platform will be flexible enough to size up or down without much trouble and could even take a wide variety of powertrains.
“There is an argument that says hybrid sports cars might cater for both the environment and the excitement such cars deliver,” Kirner said. “A lot of people like the sound of an engine. That’s a fact, and it is a defining part of a sports car. I absolutely believe that there will be electric sports cars one day, but I also believe there may be a different step of combining the battery and an engine. At Jaguar, all I can say for now is that we will continue to invest in sports cars.”
[Image: Jaguar Land Rover]
A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.
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Makes sense for Jaguar to offer a grand tourer to compete with BMW 8 series and Benz S class coupe.
The XK is my favourite/dream car...I've been debating buying an 2012+ or waiting for a new one. Looks like now I'll be waiting for a new one.