New Jaguar XJ revealed - Introduction

This is Jaguar's stunning new XJ.

The high-tech flagship saloon will go on sale at the end of the year. It may be badged XJ like its predecessor, but it is as radical and modern as the current car is traditional and conservative.

'We've moved on two or three generations in one leap,' claims Jaguar's design director, Ian Callum.

Jaguar XJ design
While the front end has clear links with the mid-sized XF, the model that announced the modernisation of Jaguar, the potentially-contentious rear is like nothing we've seen from the company before.

It features upright lamp clusters that stretch onto the wings, flanking a low-level boot lid that meets a curved metal panel beneath the screen. The rear glass curls around the corners and blends into black roof pillars.

The grille is a bigger, more upright version of that on the XF, while the windscreen joins a glass roof that covers three-quarters of the cabin, leaving just a narrow metal panel over the heads of rear passengers. This arrangement, likened by Callum to the flying bridge on luxury yachts, will be standard on the XJ.

There's a long, level waistline running almost the full length of the car. This is higher than in the current XJ, so Callum has stretched the side windows as much as possible to keep the cabin light and airy.

See the new Jaguar XJ on video here