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Nearly-ready electric Jaguar XJ gets scrapped even as JLR announces its EV push

A smattering of news from Jaguar Land Rover landed this morning concerning the brands’ electric futures. One sentence partway through JaguarÂ’s long press release caught our eye, though, and it has to do with the Jaguar XJ. “Although the nameplate may be retained, the planned Jaguar XJ replacement will not form part of the lineup, as the brand looks to realize its unique potential,” the press release states. If youÂ’ve been following Jaguar XJ news, youÂ’d know that Jaguar planned on making the next-generation XJ a fully electric car. ItÂ’s been in development for several years. Jaguar has been talking it up pre-reveal, and weÂ’ve even spied the car out testing a couple times. We were expecting a debut event for this new electric XJ to happen any time now. Theoretically, it should fit in perfectly with JaguarÂ’s vision to sell 100% electric cars by 2030, right? Apparently not, because itÂ’s dead. We contacted Jaguar to get a better explanation for what is going on here. Jaguar XJ 1 View 10 Photos When queried, a spokesperson sent us this in response: “Following a thorough technology review against the exponential change in the automotive industry, we concluded that the planned XJ replacement does not fit with our vision for a re-imaged Jaguar brand. We have made the tough decision that it will not form part of the lineup, as the brand looks to realize its unique potential. However, the nameplate may be retained.” To make doubly sure that Jaguar is indeed throwing out a nearly-ready EV the same day it announces an all-EV future, we asked again, and Jaguar confirmed. “We were working on an XJ EV, but have moved on to a different approach for the entire Jaguar EV lineup vision based around a new unique Jaguar EV dedicated platform, all due in 2025,” a spokesperson sent us. So there you have it. The electric XJ was said to be built on the Modular Longitudinal Architecture (MLA) platform, and Jaguar touted it as "the world's first, full-electric luxury sports saloon.” Now that thereÂ’s a new Jaguar-dedicated EV platform in the works, the XJ on the MLA platform is canned. We asked Jaguar for more details about the why of this situation, and the above, quoted explanation hints at it. Maybe the “technology review” found that the car Jag was putting together just didnÂ’t measure up to the competition? The new platform will certainly offer much better performance and range than JaguarÂ’s current technology is capable of.

Jaguar celebrates 60 years of the E-Type with six pairs of restomod cars

Jaguar is celebrating 60 years of the E-Type — which was known as the XK-E in the United States — by giving 12 cars a full in-house restoration that includes a handful of 21st-century updates. Sold exclusively in pairs, the six coupes and six convertibles are inspired by the cars shown in Geneva during the model's introduction in 1961. Developed to replace the XK150, the E-Type was presented to the public and the press on March 15, 1961, at the Geneva auto show. Two examples made the trek from England to Switzerland: a gray coupe wearing registration number 9600 HP and driven by publicist Bob Perry, and a green roadster registered 77 RW put in the hands of official Jaguar test driver Norman Dewis. Both cars were driven to the event; the coupe arrived in Switzerland minutes before it was scheduled to make its debut, and the roadster was rushed to Geneva the following day. Jaguar chose not to re-release either car. Instead, it will paint the six coupes in a special shade called Flat-Out Grey, and it will give the six convertibles a coat of Drop Everything Green. It pointed out that both colors were created specifically for the 60 Edition models, and that neither will be used on another car. Edition-specific emblems created by Jaguar's design department appear on the hood and on the fuel cap, among other parts. Jaguar E-Type 60 Edition View 11 Photos Sitting in the cabin is like traveling to the 1960s. The driver faces a wood-rimmed steering wheel with drilled spokes (and a non-original 24-carat gold horn button), analog gauges, and an array of switches on the dashboard. Coupes receive Smooth Black leather upholstery, while convertibles get Suede Green leather. Don't look for power windows or automatic headlights. You'll need to manually roll down the windows and turn on the headlights. There's tech if you look, however. Jaguar concealed a modern infotainment system with satellite navigation and Bluetooth connectivity, for example. While that's available on any of the resto-modded E-Types the firm builds, the 60 Edition cars stand out from with an engraving of the route from Jaguar's headquarters in Coventry to Geneva, Switzerland, on the center console. It's created by hand in 100 hours by Johnny Dowell, who also goes by the name King Nerd. On the coupe, the engraving reads "I thought you'd never get here," words spoken to Perry by Jaguar founder Sir William Lyons after he arrived in Geneva.

Jaguar XJ facelift suggests that if it ain't broke...

Jaguar is preparing what looks to be a very modest upgrade for its long-serving XJ, now heading into its fifth year in production. The fullsize luxury sedan's changes are so limited it seems like a stretch to even refer to these changes as a proper update. New front and rear lights represent the big changes, although the XJ's front grille looks to get a tiny bit of tweaking. Beyond that, though, we can't see too much changing for Jag's flagship luxury car. That said, there could be some tweaks below the sheetmetal and within the cabin that these images don't really show. Take a look at our gallery of spy photos, at the top of the page, and let us know what you think Jag is up to with this particular XJ.