Next-gen Jaguar XJ leaks in first spy pics

Jaguar has waved the old generation of its XJ flagship saloon goodbye last year with the XJ Collection Edition (see video). Now, the new generation has come out for its first road tests.

Unfortunately, the spy shots provided cannot be used to judge the design of the new XJ, because the test vehicle is a mule based on XF chassis. Tech information is likewise scarce: Jaguar says the XJ will make use of its latest Modular Longitudinal Architecture (MLA), which all future Jaguar and Land Rover-branded cars will be based on. The MLA chassis supports all kinds of powertrains. EVs based on it will ship with a 90.2-kWh battery on board for 470 kilometers (292 miles) of range. Plug-in hybrids will get smaller 13.1-kWh batteries for 50 km (31 miles) of all-electric driving. Mild hybrids will also be introduced, based on the Ingenium I-6 engine of the Range Rover Sport. The new XJ will get the mild-hybrid version, too, but it will first debut as a pure EV.

Even though Jaguar did reveal the exterior of the next-gen XJ saloon to the jury of the World Car of the Year – along with the other upcoming Jaguar J-Pace, XE, F-Type and Range Rover vehicles – the company still hasn’t released a single teaser pic for the masses.

JLR also mentioned last year that it was going to expand its SUV lineup to include new A-Pace and B-Pace models, both likely to be based on a FWD chassis provided by BMW.