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Four-Door Coupe Set to Replace S-Type
At the 2007 North American International Auto Show, those attending the media days got a strong hint as to the look of a Jaguar S-Type replacement. Unfortunately for consumers, the show car was pulled before they got there. It is being shown to dealers before being shipped back to Europe for display at the 2007 Geneva auto show this March. By the end of this year, we expect to see the production car shown.
Expect to see the launch of the Jaguar XF production version in 2008 as a 2009 model year product.

Just before the Detroit show, Jaguar acknowledged that S-Type replacement will be renamed XF, to move it in line with the XK and XJ. Those creative types at Jag then named the 2007 concept C-XF. Naming aside, this is one terrific-looking concept with looks enough to get Jaguar’s mid-level entry back on the map.


Styling is by Ian Callum’s team and is revolutionary in the way that the Mercedes-Benz CLS is revolutionary. Sticking with Jag’s hereditary low-roof design, the C-XF sports a fastback look more like the XK coupe than XJ sedan. The C-XF tells us that the XF will take sportier look than the S-Type ever did. The C-XF concept has a lower roof than the production car will wear, but the new style still will compromise rear seat headroom when the car reaches production. This is a clear sacrifice, one that has hampered prior Jaguar models and, for some buyers, has ruled out the Mercedes-Benz CLS.
For other buyers, however, style is the object and poor headroom for occasional rear passengers is a sacrifice they’re perfectly willing to make. After all, the driver is seldom riding in the rear seat. Compromise or no, the fastback roof looks great on the concept and contributes to its stylish profile.

The C-XF has a new squarish grille instead of the vertical oval found on the present S-Type. There are thin, wedge-shaped headlights; a nice adaptation of the XJ’s side vents; and an overstyled, busy face. The new grille shape is tall and narrow. The hood has four lines, a power bulge, and scoops, and there is a chrome strip bisecting the lower front air intakes. The concept, however, is not quite the production car. The production car will be toned down to some degree, but the C-XF tells us in no uncertain terms that the XF will still be significantly more stylish and elegant that the S-Type.

No technical details were released on size or engine, other than to say there was a 4.2L supercharged V8 under the hood. The engine range for the production XF will follow a similar pattern as the current S-Type, with a base six-cylinder and possibly two optional V8s. One will create an XF-R model and the other slot between the six and the performance model.