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Sorry, but I don't see that. Do you mean because it has a long bonnet? The E-type is altimate example of fluid lines. It's Art Nouveau vs Bauhaus.
It does, and they put it out there, so the first thing people are going to do is see if you actually didn't copy anything. It's a line that belongs to the history books and fitted the e-type. But it this world we live in now every design language has been tried already. This concept does look a bit like the Spectre. Hence the 'copy nothing' doesn't really hold up.
I personally love the line-up they held on to until last month. The F-type (allthough I preferred the one before the latest facelift), the XF, XE, I-Pace and E-pace are all good looking cars. And the XF (the only one I drove) was a blast to drive. Power at hand, sharp steering, luxurious, responsive. A car you can enjoy AND drive long distance in. That, coupled with it's understated beauty, makes it highly desirable to me.
The concept here, well, doesn't tick those boxes. Obviously I don't know what it drives like but the outside isn't understated at all. And beautiful, no. Impressive, yes. The interior isn't luxurious, isn't nice to look at and doesn't look comfortable. Sitting in your hallway for a long time isn't nice, not even when it's a villa.
The logo is more fit for a fragrance (nobody has yet talked about what the car smells like), and that JR logo on the wheels just looks cheap to me.
Now if what Harry says is right, and Jaguar is aiming fir the US and Chinese markets, I'm afraid they're probably 10 years too late. It seems to me they're gambling on a new design language, new markets and new public all in one go. That's bold if it goes well, or plain foolish when it goes wrong.
I don't see the E-Type as nouveau at all, but there are plenty of references in the profile, the curve of the back of the car (in elevation and plan view), the long bonnet profile and, most clearly of all, the two vertical shutlines between the front wheel and door is a clear nod to the E Type. They've even brought in the straight line slash across the bonnet from the E.
We've been here before where you say you can't see design details which have followed from one car to another.
Just the briefest google shows I'm not exactly the only person to have noticed it:
https://jalopnik.com/the-haters-wont-admit-jaguars-new-type-00-concept-looks-1851711674
I do think they've confused their messaging slightly by going in so strong on the 'copy nothing' idea when they have a produced a car which nods back to the E Type as this one does. They've also mentioned E Type a lot in their promotion of this right down to using two cars to launch it, one of them blue; I dunno, either you're all about your history or you're not.
They clearly are trying to redirect their brand to some extent, I don't think it's really worth complaining that this car doesn't do exactly what the old ones did, because it's not trying to be the old ones (apart from harking back to the E Type, which gives confusing messages, as I said). I think as Harry said, they're aiming to go a bit more into that luxury market, more where the Range Rover is I guess; because RR works for them and Jag doesn't, really. Like a sort of fresher, younger Rolls Royce.
I wouldn't pay too much attention to the interior- that's the bit of a concept car which rarely makes it.
It is like a fragrance, yes; it's trying to move into the fashion brand arena. I don't mind that idea, I guess we'll see if it works or not.
Honestly I do get the complaints that they've seemingly been trying to piss off their current customers, and some of the things they've said in response to the response to their brand film have been a bit like that, which seems a bit unwise when you're trying to sell cars to anyone; and there's no point in being picky when you're trying to sell cars.
Equally I think I've heard that a lot of people in the US and China don't have much of an opinion on the Jaguar brand- they've heard of it, and that's about it. So maybe it doesn't matter.
Not sure what you mean; these markets are going? I guess the Trump tariff thing and potential trade war he'll start does make it look possible it's going to be trickier from here in, but JLR know their customer base I'm sure.
If I'm honest I've never been a huge fan of the E Type: it looks a bit too much like its weight is up high to me, there's something ungainly about the high roof and glasshouse, and those thin wheels. But I do like the lightweight versions, the design really works then I think.
It's not the first time Jaguar have shocked people with a slabby design: the XJ-S did that too in the 70s- I actually prefer that to the E.
Oh I get it they take design cues form the E-type, or at least, that's what they claim. And I have no reason to believe they didn't, but it doesn't mean the casual observer still picks up on it. It's like with modern art. Most people are not interested mainly because they're not busy with the subject ans aren't willing to invest time to learn about what might be the idea of the artist. They just like a lovely landscape or something like that. I know plent of long-bonnetted cars that could've been referenced, the only obvious reason why they wouldn't reference, say, the Merc SLS is because it belongs to the competition.
Indeed, China was a hughe market for European car makers up util about two years ago, when the Chinese economy wouldn't recover and the Chinese themselves started building 'high end' cars. They're quite nationalistic there as well, beeing prepped for war with Taiwan. It's a geopolitical situation that could, within days, completely destroy your market. Do they know what they're doing? Well, they wouldn't be the first big brand completely getting things wrong, so it remains to be seen. They've got guts for doing this, that's for sure.
Same goes for the US, except that I think most companies wouldn't have guessed Trump to win, or get both the senate and house Republican majorities, basically giving Trump a free card for at least 2 years. YOu can't blame them for not foreseeing this, but it makes their choice a huge gamble. That, combined with kicking the existing customer base. Well, we'll see. I'm still hoping this all was just a huge marketing ploy and the next model still has the qualities of the last Jag line-up. We'll have to wait and see.
I run my own company, so I know what it's like to take risks. And with the bigger companies, the risks are even greater. Hence most companies making only small alterations, trying to limit the risks. Examples of companies that went all in are a plenty, and many are now lost to history. SOme, obviously, aren't. Like Tesla or Apple. They both had a strong vision and, when it comes to the former, it's just still there because of it's then-new owner going all in and beeing saved last minute. It came down to a day or to for Tesla either to succeed or dissapear in the mists of time. The fact that they got through is no solid evidence you always win.
So, all in all, it seems a hughe gamble that's been made a bigger gamble due to recent geopolitics.
Still, we'll have to wait and see, but I wouldn't be surprised they would have to alter their strategy next year when the first car comes out.
I mean, it leapt out to me straight away, it's not like it's hidden.
I'm not aware if they even have claimed it has E-Types cues, it's just obvious. You say it like you don't believe the ones I've pointed out to you are there. Show me another car with all of those elements I mentioned.
I dunno, I was there a couple of months ago and in terms of luxury cars there were plenty of Euopean things there, and the aesthetics of this I can see going down very well there. They don't really do 'old' styled things.
Same goes for the US, except that I think most companies wouldn't have guessed Trump to win, or get both the senate and house Republican majorities, basically giving Trump a free card for at least 2 years. YOu can't blame them for not foreseeing this, but it makes their choice a huge gamble. That, combined with kicking the existing customer base. Well, we'll see. I'm still hoping this all was just a huge marketing ploy and the next model still has the qualities of the last Jag line-up. We'll have to wait and see.
It's all a gamble, but they had to do something.
And while I don't expect E-Type size wheels on a new car these days, those 23-inch steamroller wheels are just awful and really suited for showing off only. And they even look cheap - apart from their size they could be on an ID-3 or some very average family car these days. This is just an exercise in brutalist design, trying to hide from the obvious backlash from people with taste in cars by referring to a few details they roughly recycled from a 60-plus-year old icon. Besides, isn't their claim to copy nothing?
Though I'm not a Porsche fan, the current 911, after decades of mutations, has much, much more in common with its original forebear from 1963 (initially called the 901) or even with the 356, than this aesthetic wreck has with the E-Type.
The E Type references are clearly intentional, not random: as I said above, find me another car with all of those I mention.
As for the window slits, it's a concept car: also- ever sat in an XJ-S? :)
Better looking than the current Astons.
Allthough it's still a good looking car, I prefer the pre-facelift version as well.
Possibly the greatest advert for the SD-1 (which happened to cease production a year previously).
I have a soft spot for Rovers, since my grandparents used to buy them when I was a wee lad.
The first one they had I am still quite fond of, love that little "depth-line" down the middle:
Their second one, though also quite good-looking, was actually basically a Honda with a Rover badge:
Always liked that little badge on the side, btw.
Then they were in for the market for the 75, which I love:
That one was unfortunately too long for their garage, so they went for a BMW 3-series instead.
The 75 was also Rover's last hoorah. It's been twenty years now since MG Rover filed for bankruptcy.
While MG has since been revived as something not remotely similar, I suppose the Rover marque won't be making a comeback anytime soon.
For me though the longship logo will always be associated with autumn trips to the Belgian seaside, reading comics about knights and swordfights in the back.
My dad had a 75, and he loved it. It had all of the toys and was a very comfortable car. I have a 45 saloon, which is most unusual, as you don't see many of them in that body style. It's the only one I have seen. An early model from 2000 (pre-Project Drive*), so it has the Rover badges on the C pillar, that you mentioned. What they did to Rover in the end, was criminal. Penny pinching, if they couldn't remove it, then they downgraded the quality of material. And the facelift made the 45 look like a cheap Chinese knockoff of itself.
Mine is a darker shade of green.
*Worth reading up on, if you're unfamiliar, but I would put a trigger warning.
The Rover 800 (your first car shown) was also developed with Honda and shared a lot with the Honda Legend.
I really like it, it's indeed much better-looking than the one after the facelift.
Ah, really? I didn't know, thanks for enlightning me. I still quite like it though :p
Is it just my nostalgia, or does the Rover look classier?
Tbh I don't see to many differences. The 75 I remember really well, as my mother's second husband used to drive one. It looked like a very classy car. Sadly, he decided to adjust the radio whilst driving faster then the tractor in front of him, got himself airborne on those huge wheels and landed in a ditch. Thankfully he was unharmed, but the car was a total write-off.
The best looking Alfa ever ?
No Alfa's were harmed during the making of these videos.......🍻
No, it's not just you, the Rover equivalent does look better. Japanese cars, though well made, are lacking in the looks department, imo.
I'm not sure one can generalize this. For instance, I think Mazdas are mostly looking quite nice (and my only connection to them is having had a 1992 MX-5 aka Miata for 16 years), but Toyotas mostly don't, Hondas are a mixed bag, and Nissans mostly ugly. But the same diversity goes for, say, German cars. It seems to me that BMW and Mercedes are changing roles every few years as to who builds the uglier cars. Right now, to me, it's BMW. (And the Rover 75, IIRC, was basically the same as a 5-series BMW technically after the Bavarians bought the Brits.)
Gorgeous! I have an OP replica of the GTV6 in my living room, in plain sight.