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VIDEO: Jaguar unveils the all new XJ

Posted by Hootan Mahallati | July 09, 2009 | In jaguar news videos

A few weeks ago, we showed you renderings of the hotly-anticipated Jaguar XJ. Today, Jaguar launched the car in London amidst much fanfare and we can now say that the renderings were pretty dead on.

As is immediately visible, the new XJ resembles a combination of its siblings the XF and the XK up front, but it is at the rear that things get, well, strange. I personally cannot stop thinking about the Lancia Thesis when I see the rear lights and find the overall design to be a little incongruous, but I will reserve final judgement until I have seen the car in person.

The interior of the car, on the other hand, looks exquisitely crafted if somewhat busy. What immediately caught my eye was the sound system, provided by Bowers & Wilkins, makers of some of the finest speaker systems in the world. Overall, the interior of the new XJ stands out when compared to the more staid interiors of its German rivals, namely the Audi A8, BMW 7-Series and the Mercedes-Benz S-Class. These comparisons are fitting for the first time because this new Jaguar is significantly larger than its more old-school predecessor.

In the US, buyers will have a choice between three engines offered in two wheelbase configurations, the larger XJL adding 5 inches of leg space:

XJ / XJL: 385 hp V8 base engine
XJ / XJL Supercharged: 470 hp supercharged V8
XJ / XJL Supersport: 510 hp supercharged V8

The engines will be mated to a six-speed automatic transmission driving the rear wheels. 0-60 times for the base car is said to be 5.4 seconds, while the 510 hp version will sprint to 60 mph in 4.7 seconds.

Jaguar USA is taking orders now, base price starts at $72,500.

We would love to hear what you think of the new XJ, leave your comments below.

[Source: Road & Track]

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