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Jaguar Shocks the World with the R Coupe!
by Alex Michalas  Following some of the latest "Jaguar developments", like the unveiling of the F-Type, the S-Type R, the XKR-R, and their entry to F1, there was no denying that the Big Cat really meant business.
(We actually analysed most of the above in our article: "Jaguar's Future in the 21st Century".)
Prepare for a serious further shock now, though, as
Jaguar has just unveiled the first official pics of the R Coupe concept car that is set to make its world debut in the Frankfurt MotorShow next week! (which reminds me to tell you that, of course,
FantasyCars.com will have all the reports from Frankfurt)  What is the R Coupe? It's
Jaguar's way of showing Mercedes, that has just unveiled the new SL, what it can really do. It is the car that celebrates Jaguar's
centenary! And, it is also the car that (according to Jaguar people themselves) shows Jag's new design philosophy, so let's see what they have to say:
"We challenged our designers to show how the Jaguar 'look' could advance in the years ahead, to reflect the company's transformation from niche manufacturer to major player in the premium car sector," says Jonathan Browning, Jaguar's managing director. "This represents a long-term vision though,
rather than anything that we will see tomorrow. The R-Coupe provides an insight into Jaguar's long term future design philosophy, reaffirming our commitment to create cars that stir people's emotions."  "With the R-Coupe we have the ability both to explore and to display our future design philosophy
for Jaguar," says Ian Callum, Jaguar's design director. "Concept cars like this provide an incomparable opportunity for us to try out new ideas and to experience them in a full-size, three-dimensional format.
We're looking forward to learning a great deal from the reactions of the public too."
An amazing design from Jaguar then, but is it much more than just a concept? Jaguar officials say no: "A
prestige, four-seater performance coupe was chosen to embody the new design thinking because such a model does not figure in Jaguar's future vehicle plans. So the R-Coupe can be shown in
public without revealing hints of any specific vehicles in the pipeline." read the press release that reached us earlier today...
Well done Jaguar is all we can say! We will be looking forward to next year's, new generation XJ8 saloon for styling cues from the R Coupe (they are certainly going to be there) but what we will really be
looking forward to is seeing the R Coupe itself on the road. Who knows, perhaps if the reaction in Frankfurt is as hot as we expect it to be, Jag bosses will change their minds.
Look out for our next report on the R Coupe from the Frankfurt MotorShow (along with many reports on a very good number of new FantasyCars and FantasyConceptCars that are expected there). In the meantime click here to take a look at the R Coupe topic in the FantasyCars.com MessageBoard and
voice your opinion: "Should Jaguar put the R Coupe into production or not?" |
