Jaguar working on the comeback of XK lineup

KUALA LUMPUR: Jaguar Land Rover, the giant British automobile manufacturer, is looking to bring back the XK range. This development has been confirmed by Hanno Kirner, the head of product strategy, who said that the company is working on the proposal of building an entire lineup of sports cars.

Quite interestingly, Jaguar Land Rover seems to be very committed to bringing models in the sports car lineup, despite having sporty SUVs, F-Pace and E-Pace, doing considerably well in the market. In fact, two-fifths of Jaguar cars sold in 2017 were F-Pace.

Considering reliable sources, it can be said that the designing team of Jaguar, headed by Ian Callum, had already prepared a concept design of new XK cars even before the discontinuation of the second generation lineup. However, even though the development of this project has advanced quite a lot, the new lineup is expected to be launched only after 2021.

Hanno Kirner has also hinted that there are possibilities of the development of such platforms in the future that would be versatile enough to be worked on different powertrain mechanism. However, it is not yet clear whether this same development would be extended to the next generation sports cars, considering the fact that it is not certain whether the modified platform could host the plug-in hybrid mechanism.

Hybrid sports cars will be catering to both the aspects, that are, the well-being of the environment and also the excitement-seeking owners. And since the engine sound is a very vital part of sports cars, it is quite possible that electric powertrain on such cars may be popular very soon. And with this, Jaguar will remain focused on investing time and resources in sports cars.

If the Jaguar XK range is reborn, it would be getting the same engine family that powers the other Jaguar ranges, including the smaller 2.0-litre turbocharged motor making 300 hp power. However, the current V6 engines, sourced from Ford, may be replaced with straight six engines. The current F-Type SVR trim is powered by a V8, 5.0-litre motor making a humongous power of 580 hp.