The prototype car shown here is destined to be one of the most important British cars ever developed. The new Jaguar S-Type has to do what its forebears have failed to pull-off: become a no-excuses global showroom hit.
If the new S-Type family fails to make substantial inroads into the vital and highly lucrative executive car market, Jaguar could be drawn into a serious crisis.
Although the new XK sports car is likely to be the best Jaguar yet, it won't deliver the volumes needed to make Jaguar a self-sustaining brand. That's the job of this S-Type, caught here emerging near Jaguar's German engineering centre close to the Nürburgring circuit.
This car is what's known as a "cooling mule" where the front of the new car is grafted on to the current model. Under the bonnet will be a prototype set-up of the new engine and cooling system.
Examining the pictures gives clues to the look of the car, which is rumoured to be Jaguar's long-awaited break with saloon tradition. The new bonnet is cut away sharply over the headlights and the grille looks as if it will be cut further down into the front bumper. If these clues are anything to go by, the new S-Type will have a much more aggressive look than today's retro look. We also understand that the car will be the first Jaguar to adopt a modern nose-down, tail-up stance.
The new S-Type won't be derived from the same aluminium platform as the XK and XJ models, but would instead be based on a revamped version of today's steel chassis. The new S-type should arrive in early 2007, with the freshened XJ expected to follow in 2008. There is no concrete news on how the S-Type family will shape up, but an estate variant is a certainty.
There are also rumours that the F-type roadster could finally be launched, based on the S-Type's front-engine rear-drive chassis, but it's unlikely to appear before late 2007.
- Automedia