2009 Jaguar XK
Jaguar's 2013 XE marks the return of a true sports car to the marque's lineup. The 2009 Jaguar XK is shown here. See pictures of the 2009 Jaguar XK. 

Consumer Guide’s Impressions of the 2013 Jaguar XE

Jaguar’s next true sports car is finally on the way, with V6 power, lightweight engineering, and a bodacious body. The XE is still subject to changes, but current intel points to a strong new rival for premium two-seaters like the BMW Z4 and Porsche Boxster.

What We Know About the 2013 Jaguar XE

Enthusiasts have been hoping for a new pure-Jaguar sports car ever since the iconic E-Type left the scene more than three decades ago. Now after several disappointments, they’re finally going to get one, though they’ll have to wait three years for it. The likely name? XE.

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Jaguar came very close to a “new E-Type” back in 2001, when then-parent Ford Motor Company bankrolled a sexy concept, the tellingly named F-Type. But though the car looked all but production-ready, the business case for it evaporated once Ford began piling up losses while being drained by Jaguar’s own continuing shortfalls.

Jaguar is still losing money, only now it’s costing India’s Tata Motors, which bought the famed British automaker in early 2008 for a cool $2.3 billion (though the deal also included British SUV specialist Land Rover, which Ford had bundled into a Jaguar Land Rover division.) Fortunately for Jaguar fans, Tata is willing and able to sustain current losses for a while--a superior credit rating helps--and is even leaving the Ford-era team in place so Jaguar can still be Jaguar. Moving from Coventry, England is not an option. Moreover, the new owner is putting big chunks of money toward an ambitious new-model program that stretches to at least 2015, at which point, presumably, the Great Recession will be a fading memory, people will be buying cars again in earnest, and Jaguar will be solidly in the black.

The 2013 Jaguar XE seems a literal labor of love for Tata Group Chairman Ratan Tata, whose father once owned an XK120, the E-Type’s forebear. The new sports car certainly tops his to-do list for ensuring Jaguar’s future. As he recently told Britain’s Autocar magazine, “I don’t believe we can afford to emerge from the recession as we are. We need to emerge with something shiny and new, which is why we are re-prioritizing the roadster...”

The five-year product plan kicked off with the 2009 XF premium-midsize sedan and continues for 2010 with a redesigned flagship XJ premium-large sedan. The XE will be step three--and highly significant, as it will introduce a brand-new aluminum-intensive architecture that will be rescaled to host all new Jaguars that follow. These include a second-generation XF, due in 2014; a redesigned premium-sporty/performance XK coupe and convertible, slated for 2015; the next-generation XJ; and a sporty new premium compact scheduled for launch in 2014 according to Autocar (see “Notable Feature” section).

So there you are: Five future Jaguars, one basic platform. Ambitious, as we said, yet a sensible approach for a company making a strategic U-turn. Where Ford tried (and failed) to grow Jaguar into a BMW rival selling 200,000 cars a year, Tata is moving things the other way to create a “British Porsche.” As Managing Director Mike O’Driscoll recently told Britain’s CAR magazine, “Jaguar isn’t, and won’t be, a big player like Audi, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz,” he said. “The closest analogy is Porsche, making around 120,000 cars a year. In the short term, we see Jaguar making 60,000-75,000 cars a year; in the long term, up to 100,000. That’s a good place to be, focused purely on the luxury marketplace.” Until then, O’Driscoll says, “Jaguar can be profitable at 60,000 units [per year]. Small growth will have a big impact, as will the mix of cars we’re selling...We are focused on managing our cash, cutting costs, and speeding up [new-model] introductions. With a stronger lineup, we’ll be in a better financial position as the market strengthens.” Equally heartening for Jag lovers, “The company feels independent again and has a real entrepreneurial sense, driven by Ratan Tata. He is encouraging us to be bold and to move quickly. And we know he shares our vision of making Jaguar a wonderful, sporting company again.”

So much for background. As for the car itself, the 2013 Jaguar XE will arrive as a classic rear-wheel-drive two-seat convertible with a fabric top and an engine in “front midships” position, behind the front axle line, to help equalize fore/aft weight distribution and aid handling. XE will be smaller than the posh XK, about the same overall size as targeted rivals BMW Z4, Mercedes SLK, and Porsche’s mid-engine Boxster roadster and Cayman coupe. An XE hatchback coupe is reportedly planned for launch in 2014, and there’s talk of a longer-wheelbase 2+2 coupe, again recalling the E-Type line. Our specifications chart on page four estimates two-seat XE dimensions based on what we know of current and proposed competitors. But it’s still very early, so take our numbers with the proverbial grain of sodium chloride.

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