What a royal treat!! Tag teaming it with www.cardesignfetish.com’s, Dustin Shedlarski, DM had the pristine opportunity to interview Jag’s design director, Ian Callum, about the new Jaguar XJ! We had an unprecedented amount of time to discuss the design in full detail for almost 40 mins!
[veoh width=”490″ height=”438″]http://www.veoh.com/browse/videos/category/autos_and_vehicles/watch/v19689252y4WdeqsT[/veoh]
Ian was a complete gentleman, answering numerous questions about the new XJ! Frankly, I cannot remember any design director giving us that much time to discuss their new design. A true night to remember. Don’t miss watching this rare opportunity!
Some of the key points from the interview:
- Jaguar’s new design direction for the XJ – Yesshh….Shaken….not stirred!
- Lessons learned from previous model years
- Widening the demographic
- Compromising with engineers
- Staying true to the Jaguar brand
Here are a few pics from the Jaguar XJ interview. I must admit that I wish I had better lighting to capture and read the shape of the vehicle. Callum had mentioned the best color for this car was white. Silver would have done it justice as well. Check out the full cardesignfetish’s review of the XJ. http://www.cardesignfetish.com/2009/11/10/cdf-podcast-17-ian-callum-and-the-xj.
A beautiful, rich interior, stacked to the max with high end technology and premium grade materials aimed to retain their customer base with deep pockets and high tastes. The navigation screen at the center of the console is operated by textured chrome dial for optimal grip and feel. Interestingly enough, Jaguar chose to go with “virtual” instrument cluster display which can be customized to the drivers personal needs depending on the information they deem a priority. In addition to this, the display sports a reddish hue when enabling sport mode! I was not sure what to think when I first saw the virtual display as I believe that classic automobiles of this character, should stick to a more tangible approach of real clusters outfitted with chrome accents. However, it is all about building an overall “experience” and making the owner feel that they have something special and out of the ordinary.
The vents were large exuding a powerful character with a turbine look. Size of the vents were mainly due to the required airflow for the larger interior volume of the vehicle. An analog clock grounds the vehicle with a touch of nostalgia. Soft upper padding beautifully crafted around the vents and clusters were well executed.
Outfitted with monitors at the back of the head restraints, Jaguar chose to go with Bowers and Wilkins speakers to maximize anyone’s miniature home theater experience, classical concerts, and keeping those snobby brats in the back pre-occupied! If anyone knows anything about B&W speakers, these are quite simply one of the baddest set of speakers to the durable ear! Jaguar spared no expense to incorporate one of the best!
In conclusion, Jaguar brings elegance, power, drama, boldness, dynamics, and a sort of youthfulness back into the brand of Jaguar! Guaranteed to impress and turn heads, Ian brings pride back into the somewhat forgotten brand we loved so much in the passed. Well done!