7. It will blood new Intel infotainment system
Jaguar-Land Rover have begun a collaboration with technology giant Intel to help develop the next-generation infotainment systems. The goal is to fully connect the car, occupants’ mobile devices and The Cloud to unlock new in-car entertainment capabilities and driver-assistance features, and encourage third-party developers to create open-source apps. J-LR will open their first dedicated R&D software facility in Oregon this year, close to their partner Intel and the Seattle and Silicon Valley computing heartlands. It’s not clear how many of these features will be ready for the XE’s commercial launch, but Jaguar will future-proof the electronic platform. Today’s basic, slow touchscreen system will be ditched for the XE: the C-X17 concept previews the new screen and dashboard architecture.
‘Future vehicles will be differentiated by their electronics; we need the latest chaps who will be able to predict what’s needed in three to five years and beyond,’ J-LR CEO Ralf Speth said to us, explaining the appointment of ex-BMW, Continental and Infineon executive Dr Wolfgang Ziebart to the role of group engineering director.
8. It will launch Jag’s first SUV – and a new Range Rover
The X760 won’t be going it alone: it’ll be joined by the X761: the smaller, production version of the C-X17 shown at the 2013 Paris Motor Show. The SUV is expected to be officially confirmed for production in early 2015 before going on sale in 2016. The C-X17 proved that Jaguar’s design language could successfully translate into a five-door SUV. Naturally, the crossover SUV uses the same underpinnings as the saloon: for this vehicle, the architecture’s all-wheel-drive capability and space for V6 and V8 engines in the nose will make it suitable for Middle Eastern, US and other SUV-hungry markets.
Land Rover sources hint that a new Range Rover model will be twinned with Jaguar’s crossover, a development revealed by analyst Max Warburton of Bernstein Research. The precise nature of this Range Rover, codenamed L560, is still to be decided: Warburton says it sits between the Evoque and the Range Rover Sport, other sources suggest there’s more space to attack below the Evoque. With up to 80,000 units of this car planned, Warburton believes it could be the biggest-selling and most profitable variant in the programme. J-LR sources aren’t denying a Range Rover could be part of the family. ‘Nobody ever said we couldn’t build a Jaguar and a Land Rover on the same line,’ said one source.
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