Behind the Wheel: 2007 Jaguar XK: A Low-Fat Cat June 4, 2006
The new XK is expected to do nothing less than pull the revered English automaker out of its doldrums and give its parent, Ford, an overdue return on a very large investment.
IAN CALLUM, who designed the new Jaguar XK, has a framed letter on the wall of his office in England. “Whoops!” the letter begins. “I am SO sorry!”
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Emotion is more likely than pricing to seal a deal in the premium sports class. In that regard, the XK would seem to have an edge.
The apology came from Mr. Callum’s younger brother, Moray, who is also an auto designer. (Moray recently became design director for Ford, Lincoln and Mercury cars in North America, after serving as head of styling for Mazda.)
In 1995, Moray Callum had just started to restyle the Ford Taurus. To add what he considered a sporting touch to the otherwise staid family sedan, he borrowed the elliptical grille opening of some classic Jaguars. He set Ford’s blue oval emblem in the middle of it, atop a stripe of chrome.
That decision by Moray, now 48, loomed large when it came time for his brother Ian, who is 51 and Jaguar’s director of design, to restyle the British automaker’s 10-year-old sporty coupe and convertible.
“Everyone wants to know why the new XK has a ‘Taurus nose,’ ” Ian lamented in an interview. “Done in by my own brother!”
Whatever the geneology of its nose, the new XK has arrived, like the eagerly anticipated scion of fading aristocrats, with the burden of great expectations. The car is expected to do nothing less than pull the revered English automaker out of its doldrums; give its parent, the Ford Motor Company, an overdue return on a very large investment; and put Jaguar back on the short list of great European luxury marques.
The new XK is elegant to behold, but it seems to lack the swagger and rakish charm of progenitors like the XK 120, XK SS, XKE and XJ 220.
The XK’s teardrop-shape headlamps and taillights are one departure. “I looked at the old E-Type elliptical headlights and said, ‘It’s been done,’ ” the designer said. “Too obvious. Let’s do something different.”
The coupe’s liftback, however, is pure E-Type. The convertible’s rear haunches look a bit swollen, but that is because the trunk had to be big enough to hold the retracted softtop and some luggage.
The Jag does not have a retracting hardtop, like rivals from Cadillac, Lexus and Mercedes-Benz. “There’s more power and presence in having two cars ? a convertible and a coupe,” Mr. Callum said. “It’s not just a choice; it’s to challenge which one to buy.”
The rear wing seems a little too large ? it houses the mandatory center brake light. As a result, the spoiler provides more rear downforce than desired, and can cause the nose to lift at speeds over 130 miles an hour. That, happily, is not an everyday worry.
The hood line is not as low as Mr. Callum would have liked it to be; he is also not fond of the lower air dam, which gives the new XK a shovel-nose look. These touches were mandated by new European rules governing front-end design, intended to reduce injuries to pedestrians. “The dimensions are set by regulations,” Mr. Callum said of the front end.
There are “gills,” or side vents, behind the front wheels that augment the car’s catfish face. These recall Mr. Callum’s early career designing cars like the Interceptor for the British automaker Jensen.
And then there is that snout. “I believe the grille will continue to be a signature Jaguar styling cue long after the Taurus is gone,” Mr. Callum said emphatically.
The Scottish-born designer said he deliberately sought a controversial look with a bit of “discord ? and a sense of edge.” If his goal was to do more than recycle well-established Jaguar themes and designs ? taking the easy, noncontroversial path ? it would seem he has been successful. “I wouldn’t dumb the car down, just because it’s a Jaguar,” he said.
The XK’s interior styling is less contentious. The champagne-color convertible that I tested featured a sublime mix of real walnut burl veneer and creamy caramel leather ? meeting the traditional expectations of Jaguar shoppers.
The contoured front seats cocoon the driver and passenger, though the tiny rear seats are suitable only for very small children or leprechauns. The driver looks over the long hood like an airline pilot surveying the curvature of the Earth.
The remote keyfob doesn’t fit into an ignition switch; it merely needs to be in the car. A starter button lights up the 300-horsepower, 4.2-liter V-8. The restrained rumble of that engine won’t disturb the neighbors, but it will warm the long-neglected cockles of an Anglophile’s heart.
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- Author : arnold
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