2007 Jaguar X-type Base Sedan 4-door Awd on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Weekly Recap: The divergent paths of Tesla and Fisker

There's no doubt that Tesla is downshifting while Fisker has been grinding its gears. But it wasn't always that way.
In the wake of Tesla's recent success, it's easy to forget that there were once two California electric carmakers with bright futures.

Land Rover could build a baby Defender on a platform sourced from BMW

The collaboration between BMW and Jaguar-Land Rover started out small, it was originally limited to motors for electric cars, but it might not stay that way for long. The Tata-owned British sister companies will allegedly rummage through Munich's sizable parts bin to build nearly half a dozen cars scheduled to come out during the 2020s. According to a report by British magazine Autocar, Jaguar has started designing two small cars that will join its growing family of Pace-badged soft-roaders. They'll be new additions to the firm's portfolio, not replacements for existing cars. One will be a regular crossover, while the other will be a swoopier, form-over-function four-door model ostensibly marketed as a coupe. Both will slot at the very bottom of the Jaguar portfolio, below the already pretty small E-Pace, in a growing market segment where the competition is fierce, and profit margins are thinner than an i3's tires. Here's where BMW apparently comes in. Instead of developing a platform from scratch, the two crossovers could ride on the hybrid-ready, front-wheel drive FAAR architecture found under the third-generation 1 Series hatchback and the upcoming 2 Series Gran Coupe. If we believe an earlier report claiming Jaguar and BMW will also share engines, most of the hardware found under the sheet metal will have German genes. All-wheel drive will certainly be available, and it could also come from BMW. The same platform -- and, presumably, the same engines -- would provide the basis for a Land Rover-badged model positioned in the same segment. Autocar learned it will be to the next-generation Defender (pictured) what the Mercedes-Benz GLB is to the G-Class. Some key design cues will carry over, but the two models will share absolutely nothing under the sheet metal. The soft-roader could resurrect the Freelander nameplate when it goes on sale during the 2020s. Looking even further ahead, the front-wheel-drive platform the next Mini Countryman and X1 will utilize could find its way under the replacements for the next Range Rover Evoque and Discovery Sport. These plans could very well change; the Evoque and the Disco Sport barely entered their second generation, so they're not due for a replacement until the second half of the coming decade. While neither company has confirmed or denied the report, the partnership makes sense from a business standpoint.

Jaguar is ready for the future, and its cars look the part thanks to Ian Callum

There are few living legends in the car business. Jaguar design director Ian Callum is one of them. The longtime stylist announced Tuesday he's stepping down after a decorated career that's seen the resurgence of Jaguar and its again superlative design. Callum, who turns 65 in July, has overseen Jaguar design for 20 years and shepherded it from an era of mediocrity and uncertainty to success with its current lineup of eye-catching products. The brand's 1990s and 2000s cars, led by the haggard X-Type, were too-often forgettable. But in the last decade, Callum has completely flipped the script, returning Jaguar to its sports-car roots with the F-Type while embracing the new period of electric vehicles and crossovers. "Yesterday I told my team I was leaving as Design Director for Jaguar after 20 years. I've done what I set out to do. Time for a new adventure. I pass the baton onto my good friend and great designer Julian Thomson...." Callum tweeted Tuesday. Thompson, a 19-year veteran of Jaguar takes the reins from Callum, who is staying on as a consultant. The move takes effect July 1. As Callum notes, it's not a retirement, though he didn't elaborate. "Given the strength of both our products and the design team I feel that now is the right time to move on, both personally and professionally, and explore other design projects," he said in a statement. The Scottish-born designer studied at the Royal College of Art and was steeped in the tradition of Jaguar and British cars. He had every reason to resist change. He didn't, instead evolving his dream job into an instrument of evolution, and today Jaguar has the most well-rounded portfolio in its history. With EVs like the I-Pace the brand has an elegant and efficient car capable of taking down Tesla, while the F-Pace and E-Pace crossovers are bringing Jaguar to a new kind of customer. "In my view, the World Car Design of the Year winning F-Type, F-Pace and I-Pace – true game changers – are perhaps his greatest achievements. I believe they will be future icons," Jaguar Land Rover chief executive Ralf Speth said in a statement. Through it all, Callum never lost focus on Jaguar's sense of purpose. Along with Aston Martin, McLaren and Rolls-Royce, Jaguar holds a place in Britain's car culture and broader identity. He recognized when Jaguar rolled out a sports car openly tapped as the successor to the E-type – and then called it the F-Type – it carried the weight of history on its aluminum chassis.