Right now, the cheapest Jaguar you can buy anywhere in the world is the XF, the basic SE costing £30,000 in Britain. It's not a lot for bi-Xenon, LED daytime runners and a 163 hp from a 2.2-liter diesel, but it's still not as cheap as the basic Audi sedan, for example.
Currently, Jaguar isn't even the biggest premium maker in its home market, taking 4th place in British sales after all the big Germans. But they are planning an answer, their own entry-level model to slot under the XF.
It will be built on Jaguar's new aluminum architecture and will come with newly developed engines, likely all turbocharged 4-bangers, which is why this prototype is being tested at the famous Nurburgring track in Germany.
The XS, or whatever they decide to call it, will most likely enter production in 2014 as a 2016MY car. By that time, Mercedes will have launched the new C-Class, Audi the new A4 and BMW should have a facelift for the current 3 Series.
Update: One of our readers have correctly pointed out that this could be a test mule for the next XF. The mule looks just like the one for the XS, but we can't know for sure. The wheelbase isn't that short, nor is the track. It could just be that Jaguar is using this platform for the development of new engines.
It will be built on Jaguar's new aluminum architecture and will come with newly developed engines, likely all turbocharged 4-bangers, which is why this prototype is being tested at the famous Nurburgring track in Germany.
The XS, or whatever they decide to call it, will most likely enter production in 2014 as a 2016MY car. By that time, Mercedes will have launched the new C-Class, Audi the new A4 and BMW should have a facelift for the current 3 Series.
Update: One of our readers have correctly pointed out that this could be a test mule for the next XF. The mule looks just like the one for the XS, but we can't know for sure. The wheelbase isn't that short, nor is the track. It could just be that Jaguar is using this platform for the development of new engines.