Stacy94PGT

By BRADFORD WERNLE | Automotive News Europe

ANNECY, France -- It took Jaguar more than seven decades to build its first production station wagon. But the X-type probably won't be Jaguar's last wagon.

Chief Designer Ian Callum said Jaguar has no plans to build a wagon version of the current S-type, but he wouldn't rule out doing so in the future. Wagons can fit Jaguar's definition of sportiness, he said.

"They have become an alternative lifestyle vehicle," he said. "They're more glamorous than they used to be."

The X-type has a more radically curved tailgate than most wagons because Callum believed it needed it to fit Jaguar's image. The more upright look of conventional wagons would not work on a Jaguar, Callum said. The tailgate is split. The window can be opened by itself or as part of the entire tailgate.

Callum said he wanted the new car to look like a comprehensive design rather than a converted sedan. So every panel behind the B pillar is new, including the doors for rear-seat passengers.

"I couldn't do something completely alien to the front of the car," he said.

The X-type wagon is the first Jaguar that Callum has been solely responsible for, even though his primary duty was from the B pillar back. Since taking the top design job in 1999, Callum has mostly refined the designs of his predecessor Geoff Lawson, who died suddenly that year.

Callum did work on a prototype design of an XJR wagon while at TWR engineering. He came to Jaguar from TRW.

Callum said future Jaguars will be less conservative than recent models. "The original XJ6 was revolutionary for a saloon," he said. "That's the last car [Jaguar founder] Sir William Lyons did. He was never beholden to his own heritage. That's the thought pattern we need to pick up."

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Stacy94PGT
My first car was a 67 Mustang Coupe, 2nd one was a 67 Cougar XR-7, 3rd one was a 66 Mustang Coupe. Why did I get rid of these cars for ? I know why, because I'm stupid, stupid, stupid.

My next Ford.....