Saturday, February 20, 2010

Jaguar's newest XJ coupé. Thanks, Tata.

C H O P — Jaguar XJ coupe. This is a seemingly simple coupe-from-sedan chop, made from the elegant and exceedingly odd new XJ saloon. The overall shape of the new 4 door is gorgeous, the detailing, inside and out, almost obsessively delivered, yet the strange black plastic C pillar trim is beyond odd. I also find the shutline for the trunk very awkward on the saloon, and the taillights too large! : )

There were a lot of detailed yet small photoshop changes I had to work into this chop. I've 'corrected' the trunk shutlines, removed the C pillar trim, and added a band of chrome on the trunk below the Jaguar leaper logo. I did this not only to break up the large flat panel of trunk lid, but to give a handhold other than the edge of the trunk. Of course, the trunk would be powered, so there might not be too many hands used on it, but i like the look of if anyway, almost plinth-like even though the license tag is in the bumper.  I also shortened the top of the taillights, stopping their climb towards the rear window. The roofline was lowered ever-so-slightly.

I'd like my new coupe hybrid-powered as well, an advancement I read that Tata is well along with for the sedan. I feel great things are coming for Tata's new brands, Jaguar and Land Rover.

3 comments:

  1. I blast from the past !
    EVERYTHING you did to this Jaguar XJ is an improvement. That ridiculous black C-pillar trim had to go. GREAT JOB !

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  2. personally, i found that it wasn't so much the trim itself, rather that it clashes with the class-standard chrome-brightwork. A better change would have been to alter the shapes of the trim and brightwork.

    Taking away the C-pillar brightwork and moving it across the top and bottom of the rear-window would probably maintain individuality in a tidier fashion.

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  3. Since I made this coupe a year ago, i've come to terms with the C pillar black trim. I wonder why Jaguar didn't just make the rear window wider and black tint it at the edges. Carmakers embed glass over metal pillars often. They used that black piece to simulate glass, it follows the rear window contours, so they should have just wrapped the glass itself. I absolutely love the new XJ.

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