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Here’s an original concept: a desirable Jaguar

First comes a Bond film that is bearable to watch. Then arrives a Jaguar that you might conceivably want to buy. Whatever next?

The Jaguar C-XF concept that makes its first appearance this week at the Detroit Auto Show is the kind of car that Jaguar should have been making 10 years ago.

The C-XF - a four-door coupe that looks like a two-door - is the first dramatically original Jaguar to appear since the 1968 XJ6. The unbroken shoulder line that runs beneath the windows and round the tail may evoke the style of past Jaguars but (unlike every other new model that has appeared for the last 30 years) the C-XF doesn't look as if it was conjured up by a committee appointed by Harold Wilson.

Designed by the same team that brought out last year's ineffably depressing Jaguar XK grand tourer,
With the newly unveiled C-XF, Jaguar
has finally lived up to expectations, says
neil lyndon

the C-XF coupe even incorporates an entirely new and entirely desirable interior design. At last, this car might mark the final expurgation of Jaguar's dreary instrument panel and horrible J-gate gear selector that, even 20 years ago, felt like a device to help aged country gentlemen find their shooting sticks.

The grille might look too much like a Bentley and the chin may carry a touch too much Audi. Pedants might jib at the degree to which this shape suggests Aston Martin (or even, heaven forbid, a Buick concept).

But we should all celebrate the moment when Jaguar returns to its birthright as a source of inspiration for contemporary car construction.

The only uneasy reservations must be to ask: does it come too late? And will this British-made car that depends on US sales be torpedoed by the 50p dollar?

FIRST POSTED JANUARY 9, 2007

Life: Motoring