Jaguar XE 2013

Jaguar is working up a new coupé and roadster pair tentatively badged XE – to tackle the Porsche Cayman/Boxster duopoly in the premium sports car market. The new Jag XE is revealed in full in the latest September 2009 issue of CAR Magazine, but we've held one artist's impression back to show online.

The two-seater is part of an ambitious strategy to turn Jaguar into the British Porsche (minus the VW family political spats that seem increasingly to distract from Stuttgart's mostly sensational road cars). The XE is part of an outline product plan that stretches to 2015, and CAR magazine lays bare the key cars in the new issue. If successful, Jaguar could soon be making more than 100,000 cars a year as a profitable independent under Tata Motors' wing.

Jaguar XE: here in 2013, you say?

That's the plan. This is a progressive sports car, designed to slot beneath the XK coupé and convertible pair starting at £60k. Think a starting price pitched around £40-50,000 in today's money, and you won't be too wide of the mark, slotting in neatly between the Boxster/Cayman and 911.

The XE is made possible by sharing a new lightweight alloy architecture that would – in the long term – form the basis for the replacement XK, XF and XJ models. It'll be a common aluminium matrix, housing the engine up front and driving the rear wheels. Incidentally, that spells the end of front-drive, Ford-derived Jaguars, ushered in through the back door in the shape of the X-type.

What's under the bonnet of the Jag XE?
Jaguar's current plan is to use exclusively V6 power, turning out 275bhp in naturally aspirated form and around 350bhp with a supercharger fitted to crank up the fun factor.

First up is the Jag XE roadster, perhaps as early as 2013 if the scheme passes the bean counter test. Coupé (pictured) and R versions would follow within two years. CAR understands that the design direction is very progressive, in line with the latest 2010 XJ and XF, sporting crisp, modern surfacing and a long nose for styling panache and a mid-front mounted layout.

For the full story on Jaguar's future, be sure to read the new September 2009 issue of CAR Magazine on sale now – be quick to buy one before the new October 2009 issue goes on sale on 19 August. We reveal the full details of:

• The radical new 2010 XJ
• An interview with Jag MD Mike O'Driscoll
• Details of every new Jag in the six-year plan, including...
• 2010 hybrid Jag supercar
• 2011 XF facelift
• 2012 classic Jags reincarnated with modern running gear
• 2013 XE roadster
• 2014 new XF
• 2015 new XK

Jaguar's new baby sports car, dubbed XE, is taking its first steps out on the public roads. CAR's scoop photographers have caught the new XE cabrio on the highways around Jag's engineering headquarters in the Midlands.
Although this engineering mule is a cut-and-shut Jag XK, it's clear to see the shrunken wheelbase planned for the XE.
Jaguar XE: due in 2013
The XE is a key part of Jaguar's expansion plans. Due in 2013, the compact sports car will be offered as both a coupe and convertible.
Tellingly, CAR said back in September 2009 that the XE roadster would come ahead of the coupe. That news is supported by today's new spy photos of the XE convertible test hack.
This is no mere pie-in-the-sky dream – the project has a codename, X152, and these engineering mules are concrete proof the baby sports car is proceeding towards launch.
How expensive will the Jag XE be?
Jag insiders talk of it being priced above the Porsche Boxster but below the 911.
It's a two-seater and will be powered by V6 engines mounted way back in the engine bay for a front-mid layout to improve handling. To keep costs in check, the XE will be closely related to the bigger XK, which will move up a notch in class and price to make space for the new XE.
How quick will the Jaguar XE be?
We're still some way from knowing the precise figures for the new XE sports cars, but naturally aspirated V6s would develop around 275bhp, according to our sources, rising to nearer 350bhp with supercharger in situ.
Faster R versions are a dead cert, following in the footsteps of the XK-R and XF-R. Once the full range of XE sports cars is launched, Jaguar product planners talk of volumes as high as 40,000 a year.

Posted in: Jaguar