Not the biggest scoop of the year – but a nonetheless interesting chance for a second look at the new 2010 Jaguar XJ. Our man in the West Midlands spotted a handful of XJs on the prowl yesterday, including this black long-wheelbase model.
A few months have passed now since the summer 2009 unveiling at the Saatchi Gallery in London. Have those passing weeks softened the XJ’s lines? Has the shock value diluted a little already? Perhaps the new Jag style is mimicking the shock-and-awe tactics of Chris Bangle’s BMWs: immediate controversy, swift design recalibration, eventual reconciliation.
There’s little of news value in this XJ, as far as we can see. It’s a left hooker badged XJ L (earlier cars didn’t wear the L tag; in fact, all long-wheelbase XJs will be badged thus in every market). And it’s another chance to see the black wraparound C-pillars merging into a black metallic car.
So when can I buy the new 2010 Jaguar XJ?
First deliveries have slipped back a little from the initial target of December 2009; the first customer cars will now be ready in time for Britain’s new plate change in March 2010, priced from £52,500 for a 3.0 V6 diesel in short-wheelbase Luxury spec. CAR will be driving the new XJ in February 2010, so stay tuned for our first new Jag XJ review.
If you want a ringside seat in one of the first passenger rides in the new Jaguar XJ, make sure you buy a copy of the new December 2009 issue of CAR Magazine, out on Wednesday 18 November. It’s the print debut for journalist Jethro Bovingdon, who joins CAR’s fleet of writers to passenger engineering chief Mike Cross on a high-speed blast across Wales in the new XJ. Don’t miss it!