Failing to woo '90s Jaguar, ItalDesign's XJ concept found a home in Korea

[Hagerty]

Few automakers have been as reluctant to let go of the past as Jaguar. After scoring a major success with the styling of its XJ flagship sedan all the way back in 1968, the British brand spent the next four decades clinging to the same basic shape, maintaining the model's quad-headlight countenance for almost the entire duration of the nameplate.
https://www.hagerty.com/media/car-profiles/failing-to-woo-90s-jaguar-italdesigns-xj-concept-found-a-...

[Snailish]

It looks like a half-effort to lux up a Mercury Sable to me.


I'll posit a theory different than the Kool-aid of new model every year (now every 3-5) that most automotive writers of the past 70 years seem to have fully bought into in aid of the OEM marketing departments:

I don't think a model needs to change its look. As long as it sells, why redesign anything that isn't an improvement in function? [*Ignore planned obsolescence] Look at the VW Beetle's original run all the way through the Super Beetle era, refinement and evolution yes.

Look at what has been done with Mini in the last decade +.

When a model has run its course in sales... discontinue it and make something new. But make it new... Thunderbird is a great example with 11 generations of what probably should have been 4 or 5 different cars.

Such an emphasis is put on the model year of a vehicle.. when they are new. Shift that emphasis to what the vehicle actually is rather than its birthday.

So for Jaguar, make XJ that look like XJ as long as you can. Retire it... but if the time is ever right, bring it back. I think this approach could be very successful (after all, we sort of saw this with the return of the Camaro a while back).

[JeffWeimer]

Isn't the first time an ambitious lower-tier car company did this. The (apocryphal?) story is Isuzu adopted Guigario's 2nd gen Scirocco design almost line for line (wheelbase different to accomodate T-car wheelbase) inside and out for the first generation Impulse when VW decided to take it's designs in house in the 80s.

[JSievers]

Uninspired at best. The back half looks like any recent Maserati, which is not a complement.

[Gary_Bechtold]

I did not know the Lexus GS had a connection in design to this car. The Lexus is the better of the three, the Daewoo is the least successful version.

[markvii1]

Reminds me of a Chrysler Concorde from the side. The tail definitely looks like a lift from Maserati (which would make sense) and the interior screams 90s lounge chairs. Wouldn’t mind teal leather making a comeback personally.

[JerV8Flat4]

I hope teal is never seen again in any application in the automotive world.

[SAG]

are you sure it a Jag?

[SAG]

but anymore
Hang a 'Badge' on it
call it what you want