NEW 2010 Jaguar XJ: A 4 door sports coupe? This is how you do it!
We just critiqued Porsche’s Panamera for the way Porsche had manage to get the interpretation of its brand image into a 4 door sports coupe wrong, and immediately we are confronted with the introduction of the new Jaguar XJ, a 4 door sports coupe that show how a brand image can properly be translated in this type of vehicle. In contrast to the Panamera we don’t see a problem with neither the center line section nor with the visual side view. It is just not that hard to get right. Jaguar Design Director Ian Callum describes the new XJ as “a thoroughly modern interpretation of the quintessential Jaguar. Its visual impact stems from the elongated teardrop shape of the car’s side windows, a powerful stance and wide track. It is the most emphatic statement yet of Jaguar’s new design direction. OK, we know, a lot of puffed up words, but if you look at the video and the pictures, wou will have to admit that this is quite a homogeneous interpretation of the new Jaguar design language in a car that was very much a traditional 3 box sedan. Having a set design language, a set brand image, is not necessarily a bad thing, if you know how to use it and how to reach new dimensions with it. Ian Callum obviously is and has been comfortable with the Jaguar image for quite some time.
