Early Look: 2012 Jaguar XE

This isn't a sports car - it's a GT and it can't compete against a 911 because it isn't in the same class. Jaguar really hasn't made a sports car since the '60s.

By looks alone this can only compete with Chrysler Sebring, I'm afraid.

I can't pass judgment on a photoshop.

hard to believe but still hopeful. Like all recent Jaguar models, lets hope that it looks better in person than in the pictures.

That's a really poor rear end for a photochop. Looks circa 1995.

How do you post a post without clearly telling people you're posting photochops?
only one of the commenters noted these aren't pictures of any real car. It's drawn by some asian dude who does ugly photochops.

I have faith in Jag that they could do a 911 competitor, the XF-R is proof enough they can built a pretty good sport sedan so why not a coupe! I'd have to guess that like the XF-R you'd never suspect the XE to be anything more then a luxury car...but it should go...fast.

It looks very Merc SL 500 to me from the back. That's not entirely bad...but at the same time, not entire original either..

Lets make this clear that the above "photos" are not real at all.

The XE will not just have the same front/back as the XJ or XF, look at the XF , XJ , XK in isolation.
Unlike Audi and BMW, each car has quite a different stlye with the only similarity being the grill on the XF and XJ, thats it.

This looks good but:
The roof come right from MB...not so original, the tail lights don't fit in the Jag lineup.

In no ways this is against the 911, the SL yes but not the 911, it is a proper GT not a sport car.

I like the slim front grill, but the rest is not so original. Thankfully this is just a Photospoh not the real thing Callum will certainly surprise us with a stunning sport coupe and convertible!

does anybody remember the other rendering of this car? it was much sexier. this just looks like an awkward rendering of a jag version of the Merc SLK

here is the link: http://blogs.insideline.com/straightline/jaguar_f34_ns_11210_1600.jpg

here is the link: http://blogs.insideline.com/straightline/jaguar_f34_ns_11210_1600.jpg

This is not very attractive: a bloated SLK-wannabe. Please, Jaguar, reach into the past and bring the F-Type into production. Some of us have been waiting a decade.

http://www.conceptcarz.com/vehicle/default.aspx?carID=508&i=4#menu

That is a hideous render.

I think it is a pretty thing, but no, this will not compete with the 911. Just as has been said by others here, it will compete with other GTs (SL, 6-series). It isn't, and won't ever be, a true sports car.

I can't believe so many responses here actually think these are official Jaguar photos. THESE ARE SPECULATIVE PHOTOSHOPS!!!! Geesh..

Anyway, Since the car won't look ANYTHING like this, I'm not even going to comment on appearances. From a technological standpoint, Jaguar has been clearly demonstrating their ability to produce class leading levels of performance with the XF-R, XK-R and XJ Supercharged. It doesn't take too much of a leap (pun intended) to see that they are perfectly capable of producing a 911 type car. Sorry everyone, Porsche has been asleep at the wheel for far to long and now its going to bite them in the arse.

Looks horrible, like a mish mash of a bunch of cars.

I'm with the other more logical posters......if you really can't tell that the photos are a chop job of an XJ and an SL mashed together in Photoshop, you are REALLLLLY freakin' slow. You must not read either as that's been posted a few times, and yet people are still commenting on the photos afterward as though they are real images sent out by Jaguar.

As for the potential for the XE, I can see Jaguar making a superb car to compete with the 911, though I think Jag would do better going lower, and aiming for the Boxster, SLK, and Z4. Of course, I'm sure the press will still gush over how amazing the 911 is and will like it more, as they usually do, unless Jaguar does some sort of crazy twist of the norm and put out a mid-engine car. I haven't driven a 911, so I can't say that it really isn't that amazing, but it just gets a bit boring when you know what the result will be. I'm actually surprised Porsche has been able to make such an odd design last for so long. Who'd a thunk having the engine hanging way out over the rear axle could be massaged so many ways so many times.

But I digress. The XE should prove to be another very capable, very stunning modern Jaguar, and a car worthy of the sports car legacy left behind by the XKE.

Just make it unique. Jaguar doesn't need to worry about design, they're the only company without an ugly car.

Ha, bad chop job. You can tell the artist put the XJ front and wheels on a MB SL-class, and the back was a last minute job. But I think the real finished product will be a genuine 9-11 competitor.

Bring it on. I would love to see a new Jag droptop with the new Jag styling theme. The current one looks too much like an Aston Martin clone with a grill from a 99' Ford Taurus.

Terrible photoshop. Blech. Taillights look like they were plucked from a Bentley or a Maserati.

looks like a mercedes sl? huh. imagine that. probably because all this is is a picture of a mercedes sl from the a pillar back, pasted to the front end of a jag sedan.

this IS NOT journalism. although i give you all too much credit by considering you to be something in the ballpark of journalists.

if there is nothing to report... don't report anything!

i'm sick of your posts about how a hypothetical car might drive, or look, or how i should follow inside line on facebook or twitter, or "everything about brand x for the next 50 years: model a-unchanged, model b-unchanged, model c-doesn't exist, never will, but wouldn't it be cool if it did? here's a link to a bad photoshop of what we think it might look like if it did..."

this is one reader who's shopping for a new car site.

All these companies say they can compete with the 911 but when they're released they can't. I remember when the E92 M3 was debuting and BMW was like "yea it will be able to compete with the 911". Ummm wrong! Sure it's a great car but it sure can' hold up against a 911 that's for sure.

Should Jag opt for a hardtop convertible I hope that they at least choose to follow Mazda's lead rather than BMW's and make one that doesn't compromise trunk room when the top is down.

" nuieve says:

09:49 PM, 08/ 3/10

By looks alone this can only compete with Chrysler Sebring, I'm afraid."

EXACTLY!

What a horrific Photoshop job. Maybe Jaguar/Tata *could* build a competitor to the 911. Maybe. This sure isn't it though.

What is this s$%t? A chicks' car???

those tail lights remind me of the dodge neon

ok heres the thing... jag already has a GT car you know the XK. this new model is smaller according to the article and made of light weight metals. hopefully this car can at least compete with the v8 vantage from aston and maby but most likely not the 911 (how can you match a 911 aston tried it didnt work) so if the new model isnt 911 fast its a GT car and all sencible people will go for the larger XK for a GT car right.... all im saying is if this thing isnt fast it has no use in jags line up and will be a failure i hope it isnt tho caus jag can make a preety car... except for the XJ which has the most stupid c pilllars that are blacked out to make them look like a single peice of glass but then have a crome ring around the rear window..

1. This obviously needs to be posted again for everyone commenting on the pictures above:

http://blogs.insideline.com/straightline/jaguar_f34_ns_11210_1600.jpg

2. Jaguar can make stylish cars. Very stylish cars. Can they make a car to compete with the honed abilities of a 911? We'll see. Its taken Porsche what...100 years... to iterate, and reiterate the 911.

I6, that's sharp man.

Much more coherent. Very nice.

i think maybe it will compete with the aston martin v8 vantage

true convertibles should be ragtops!

I hope Jaguar does not make the same mistakes they did with the new XJ on this "new" model.
They are cheaping the brand by trying to play catch up, instead of blazing their own path.
I agree with "Sproketboy" about reaching into the past. This is something they failed to do with the new XJ which is why it will looked boring next year once we have seen it enough times. Jaguar should look elegant and sporty all at once. I PRAY they dont hire Ian for this new one...when will they get some YOUNG minds that understand that keeping the history of a brand, mixed in with futuristic lines is the answer.
The younger buyers will love the sleekness while the older buyers will adore the classic lines.
Why is this so hard for Jaguar to do??
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/3833771/2

Here is the what the new Jag DNA should include...cues from the 1952 C- type..
bring this into the 21st century and they may have a winner.
Copy everyone else...they will fall flat like the new XJ's boring design.
http://www.fotos.org/galeria/data/504/1952-Jaguar-C-Type-brg-fVr4.jpg

For Jaguar to try to compete with Porsche is pure folly. Jaguar needs to compete with its natural competitors, Mercedes-Benz, Lexus, Audi, and BMW.

Jaguar could certainly err on the sportier side, a la BMW, but trying to make a 911-killer? NO WAY.
Attempting to compete against the 911 goes completely against the brand's mission, which is "grace and pace," to be a line of luxury GTs, not street-legal race cars. This is stupid to the Nth degree.

You guys surely only know how to criticize. I'd like to see any one of you to come up with a better photo-shop.

Sniperruff....I DID.
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/3833771/2

the back of the car looks awesome but the profile looks awkward, too much like an SLK, hopefully there will be a dedicated coupe version, this car will probably not be better than the 911(nothing seems to be) but is a great alternative to an aston martin v8 vantage and a more upscale version of a corvette, I waiting for the day when these supercharged jags get on the CPO market they have horrendous depreciation

It's photoshop people! The image was not created by Jaguar, so could look completely different when it's launched. Spy pics will give a better indication of what it's going to look like, but the key, if they want to compete against the 911, will be the 'ring times.

This is nothing more tan a photoshop of a 500SL looking car with Jag emblems and styling elements.

I would much more prefer an update of the original 61 XKE Coupe in the style of 2012 .

K55 is right.Based on Jaguar design prowess over the last couple of years with Ian Callum I find it almost impossible to believe that Jaguar would come up with such an
unimaginative design as this. I don't buy this photoshop at all. First off this design
is ulta conservative. If Jaguar is going to compete against the 911 AND Cayman,(note this car's price point is between the 2)it would have to be a much more aggressive and
exotic design.I'm almost certain there will be a lot more E Type curves in their final design.I do not think it's folley at all to compete against Porsche at all. Jaguar proof is the XK75 that has just come out.It has gotten incredibly good reviews and shows
Jaguar suspension engineering capability. That is a from a large coupe.Imagine what they could do with a smaller lighter platform.Further look how the large XJ compares in driving characteristics with BMW 7 series,Mercedes S class,Audi A8,and Porsche's own Panamera. The XJ drives the closest to the Panamera. It has also compared very favorably to Aston's Rapid. I believe Jaguar will have a platform chassis that will be able to go
toe to toe with a 911 and or Cayman even in front engine guise.All these yrs under Ford ownership they have been constrained from developing their products because to not step on Aston Martin toes. As soon as Ford sold off Aston Jaguar was free to grow and develope. The proof is the XK75 and the XJR prototype at Pebble Beach. You wait and see. mark my words Jaguar will be a major contender in the Luxury sport segment within 2 yrs.

So...what was holding Jaguar back?

The one thing Jaguar cannot do or should not do is do a retro body style.Jaguar has already gone through that and it's sales were flat. A prime example were the old XJ and S
sedan. They both looked elegant and old world and didn't sell. Jaguar is not only trying to sell to Jaguar enthusiasts. It is trying to sell to Audi,BMW,Mercedes, and Porsche buyers.Making a car look like an XK150 or a Mark 3 sedan only interest an extremely limited audience these days. Big mistake. This is why the XJ and XF look the way they do.
Plain and simple if you are going to sell 50 plus thousand cars retro does not work!This photoshop cannot be accurate. I'm sure we will see somthing a lot more exiting from Ian Callum soon.