Jaguar leaves the wrapping on its new XE

Jaguar is getting closer and closer to the full unveiling of its new challenger to the BMW 3 Series, the XE. The faux x-ray view (above) is part of both the prototype development and the beginnings of Jaguar's marketing campaign for the car. While we will have to wait until October, and the Paris Motor Show, for a full look at Jaguar's new compact saloon, this is the first glimpse we've had of a full-bodied XE.

Instead of the conventional bin-bag or zig-zag tape camouflage common to prototype cars, this XE actually wears a wrap featuring a stylised mechanical cutaway image of the car, showing off its aluminium architecture. It shows a long-nose, short-rear-deck layout that has more in common with the coupe styling of the Audi A5 Sportback than the more conventional 3 Series saloon.

The all-alloy construction of the car will be one of Jaguar's main sales tentpoles and, the Anglo-Indian car maker hopes, a major point of differentiation between it and its all-conquering German rivals.

Jaguar is treading very carefully as it approaches the launch of the new XE, mindful that its last compact 3 Series rival, the X-Type, was such an unmitigated disaster that it almost sunk the company entirely. To ward off such comparisons, Jaguar is already trumpeting the technological advantages of the new model, saying that its lightweight aluminium construction allows it to have a range that can span the gap from sub-100g/km diesel model to 300kmh performance car, all from a family of twinned turbocharged four-cylinder diesel and petrol engines, which are just now entering production.

For now, it seems likely that the XE will compete head-on in terms of price and performance with the BMW 320d, but won’t dip down to take on the cheaper 318d and 316d.