Jaguar's New Flagship XJ Returns in Modern Style

The 2010 Jaguar XJ no longer uses a retro style. The XJ will include a 510 HP supercharged V8, aluminum body, and virtual instruments. From the front, it's almost identical to the Jaguar XFR, with the simular nose and sleek profile of the four-door coupe.

XJ is longer and more muscular than the XFR with a narrow greenhouse that slopes into an elongated and blacked-out C-pillar. A full panoramic glass roof adds a new style to the car.

The car uses a new aluminum structure. The first engins will be a trio of the 5.0-liter Gen III direct-injection V8. The base XJ and XJL will include the naturally-aspirated version good for 385 HP and a 5.4-second 0-to-60 MPH. The XJ Supercharged and XJL Supercharged models will be fitted with the same engine supercharged for 470 HP and a 5.2-second time.

The new high performance model, perhaps a stand-in for the XJR or merely a placeholder, is the XJ and XJL Supersport models. This will feature the XFR's supercharged V8 good for 510 HP and a 4.7-second 0-to-60 MPH time. All of these will get Jaguar's six-speed, shift-by-wire transmission with steering wheel-mounted paddles.

New interior which includes the mix of wood, chrome and piano black surfaces, which includes three round hi-def screens and no physical read-out at all. This allows the pods to adjust themselves to the driving conditions. For instance, if you switch into Dynamic mode the dials change to a red hue and bold the gear position indicator -- which turns red as you approach the red line.