2010 Jaguar XJ Official

The all-new Jaguar XJ made its official debut at the Saatchi Gallery in Chelsea, London. The car is now available for order and prices for UK starts from £52,500 for the standard wheelbase 3.0-liter V6 diesel luxury.

The 2010 XJ is the first Jaguar model built on Jaguar’s aerospace-inspired aluminum body technology. It will be available with a choice of new ultra-efficient Gen III petrol and diesel engines: 3.0-liter V6 diesel, 5.0-liter naturally aspirated V8 and 5.0-liter supercharged V8.

Jaguar will offer both standard and long-wheelbase versions, the last one adding an extra 125mm of legroom. Also all the latest Jaguar technologies will make their way into the new model: air suspension, Adaptive Dynamics (continuously variable damping), Active Differential Control and quick-ratio power steering.

The XJ's rear graphic is completely unlike any Jaguar we can recall, with a simple, sheer dropoff in the trunklid (under which you'll find a vast 18.4 cubic-foot trunk), a pair of tapering vertical LED taillamps, a sizable metal leaper and nicely integrated exhaust outlets. In person, if anything, the rear end feels a bit Gallic or Italian, reminding alternatively of the Citroen C6 or perhaps the Lancia Thesis. Of minor note for American customers, the car's license cutout was clearly designed with Europe's longer, thinner number plates in mind, and we suspect that their U.S. counterparts will protrude unflatteringly below the bottom edge of the bumper (we suspect our plates are going to look a bit awkward up front, too). Perhaps more than any other view, the XJ's rear aspect is the one that translates least well to photographs, but it fits well in person, even if it will take a bit of time to get used to. Either way, with a .29 cD, officials reckon it's the most aerodynamic Jaguar ever built.

At the background event, we were given the chance to see the XJ in several different shades of paint, and the design has real presence. It looks particularly sensational in black, where it could pass for Bruce Wayne's limo in some Anglicized futurethink Gotham City. Lighter colors bring out the surface detailing more, but in that ebony shade, the darkened rear pillar ceases to become a controversial detail, the panoramic roof blends in, and the whole car looks at once fantastically menacing and impossibly upscale. Democratize this.

While we'll have to wait to get behind the wheel to assure that the driving experience and everyday usability of the technology is there, our first impressions left us mightily impressed. Far from representing "the democratization of luxury," not only does this XJ appear to be the measure of its German competitors, it may well play as a strong foil for higher-end offerings like the Maserati Quattroporte and perhaps even more overtly sporting propositions like the Porsche Panamera. And while we haven't entirely stopped worrying about our friends in Coventry, there's more reason than ever to think that the Leaping Cat's claws are sharp once again.