Bertone’s Baby Jaguar Sports Sedan: Not My Cup of Tea

In all honestly, I really struggle to see how the Bertone B99 fits into Jaguar’s past and current design lineage and line-up. The new generation of Jags – the XF and the XJ – are sleek, risqué and look like nothing else on the market. On the other hand, the B99 could just as easily be badged as a Lincoln, a Rolls-Royce or a Maserati. If you squint at the pictures you’ll see my point. It’s anonymously styled, as if Bertone used a book called, “Luxury Concept Cars 101” as a template. And that grille! It just screams, “Dodge Caliber!”
And apart from the taillights and the A-pillar, can you really see any of Jaguar’s past in the B99? I know I can’t. And isn’t the mere thought a compact Jaguar as bad as Aston Martin rebadging the Toyota iQ as the Cygnet or Porsche selling a SUV?
It devalues the brand, and in the luxury market that’s the worse crime a carmaker can make. Sure, it means more sales, but I’ve never been a fan of the, “profit uber alles!” the eighties left us with.
For me personally, Jaguars have always been either V8/V12-engined coupes and big sedans. The E-Type, the Mk II...even the much derided XJS and XJ6. As if it wasn’t bad enough that BMW’s sells a naturally aspirated (or naturally asthmatic) 4cyl 3-Series, now there’s this on the horizon all in the pursuit of the almighty dollar. To think we’ve gone from, “A Modern Day Successor to the E-Type” to yet another attempt for a “BMW 3-Series competitor” just breaks my heart.
By Tristan Hankins


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Geneva Preshow: New Hardcore Jaguar XKR-S with 550HP V8

Exactly one year after the introduction of the updated XKR, Jaguar is returning to the Geneva Motor Show with its most potent mass production car ever, the new XKR-S which comes with an uprated supercharged V8 engine, overhauled suspension and new aerodynamic enhancements. The XKR-S is fitted with modified version of Jahuar's 5.0-liter supercharged V8 producing 550-horses and 680Nm (501 lb-ft) of peak torque, an increase of 40HP and 70Nm over the standard car. That's enough power to offer the XKR-S a top speed of 186mph (300km/h) and a 0-60mph (96 km/h) sprint time of 4.2 seconds, with 0-100mph dismissed in just 8.6 seconds. According to Jaguar, the new XKR-S is also the only car in its class that emits less than 300g/km CO2. Alongside the engine upgrades, the British firm's engineers also made changes to the suspension and reprogrammed the Adaptive Dynamics system, while the XKR-S rides on a new set of lightweight alloy wheels shod in performance tires. As you can see from the pictures, the XKR-S is distinguished by a new aerodynamics package with a more aggressive looking front bumper, re-profiled side skirts, additional air vents on the hood and bumpers, a large rear wing and a redesigned rear bumper housing a diffuser and quad tail pipes. “The XKR-S is a bold and exciting new model for Jaguar,” said Adrian Hallmark, Jaguar’s new Global Brand Director. “We expect to attract both loyal and new Jaguar driving enthusiasts who still want the comfort, opulence and class only a Jaguar can offer, combined with inspirational performance.” Jaguar said it will release full details and images the XKR-S at the Geneva Show on March 1.
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Jaguar Celebrates E-Type's 50th Birthday

At the 1961 Geneva Auto Show, Jaguar stunned the automotive world with a timeless design that is still regarded as one of the finest in history. That car was none other than the E-Type. The company said it will mark the E-Type's 50th birthday at this year's Geneva Motor Show and at other events such as the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, Goodwood's Revival and Goodwood's Festival of Speed, without going into any more details. “Half a century of progress has not diminished the significance of the E-Type,” says Mike O’Driscoll, Managing Director Jaguar Cars. “It was a sensation when it was launched, and remains Jaguar's most enduring and iconic symbol. The E-Type is simply one of the most exciting cars ever created and a legacy to the genius of Jaguar's founder, Sir William Lyons.” After all, what other car is a permanent exhibit in New York's Museum of Modern Art? Even the proud Enzo Ferrari said about the E-Type that it was “the most beautiful car in the world.” If one was asked to portray the sixties in the form of a car, the E-Type would be the obvious choice. It was an even more impressive car considering the E-Type's performance managed to match its looks. Its straight-six 3.8-liter engine produced 265 horsepower and 260 lb-ft of torque, so the car was capable of doing 150 mph, earning it the title of the fastest production car of its time. On top of that, it only cost a fraction of the price of rivals with similar performance (in today's money $60,000). It remained on the market for 14 years, selling more than 70,000 units. By Dan Mihalascu
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Bertone's Baby-Jaguar B99 Concept Looks Surprisingly Good

[Updated with high-res pictures] After the teaser image we showed you earlier today, the first three images of Bertone's design study for a compact Jaguar, hit the web. Dubbed B99 (for the 99th anniversary of Bertone) the eye-catching concept car has a sleek coupe profile, even though it's a four-door sedan. The suicide doors give it a distinctive appearance, but if Jaguar were to build a production model, it's unlikely that they would remain. While it might look like a long limousine, the Italian design house's B99 concept is just 4.5 meters long. Combine this with the very low height (1.35 meters) and the pretty wide body (1.95 meters) and you have a small sedan looking like a much bigger and more luxurious model, whose profile brings to mind the classic Jaguar XJ. The very thin A-pillars, the narrow windows and the short front overhang give the car a dynamic yet classy look, while the front and the rear mirror each other, with very thin headlights/taillights and an oval grille whose form is replicated in the back. Inside, the B99 appears to offer a classy environment, mixing brushed aluminium with leather and polished African walnut trim. Under the hood, the concept sports sedan is said to feature a newly developed full-hybrid drive, but further details remain unknown. By Dan Mihalascu Via Autobild
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Bertone to Debut B99 Jaguar Concept for a BMW 3-Series Rival in Geneva

Whispers of a new design study for a Jaguar model from Bertone have been going around lately, but today, a teaser image surfaced online providing us with our first peek at the car, which is named B99 (Bertone 99) and is set to premiere at next month's Geneva Motor Show. The B99 is a conceptual proposal for a 'baby' Jaguar model targeting the likes of the BMW 3-Series and Mercedes C-Class saloons. The concept will feature a traditional four-door sedan body with more classic proportions and styling cues than the XJ and XF. If the reviews for the B99 are positive, the concept could form the base for the creation of a production model that will sit right under the XF, providing Jaguar with a new entry-level model. Just recently, the British automaker's new global director, Adrian Hallmark, confirmed that Jaguar is indeed considering a smaller model to increase the company's sales. Photo via es.Autoblog & Autoblog.it

Hofele Design Turns its Attention on the First-Generation Jaguar XK / XKR

Perhaps best known for its work with models from the Volkswagen Group, Germany's Hofele Design has now revealed a new styling program for the first generation of Jaguar's XK coupe and convertible series built between 1996 and 2005. The tuner's proposal includes an assortment of body pieces such as the very Aston Marton-like shaped front bumper, optional side skirts, a new rear bumper, a discreet boot lid spoiler, and a pair of round tail lamps with LED units. Also including in the package for the XK are a four-pipe exhaust system and 20-inch "Villa RSV" alloy wheels plus a full leather interior. You can take a better look at Hofele Design's Jaguar Xk in our gallery below.
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