You can tell a lot about a car company by the related design and engineering concepts it rolls out. Honda has Asimo, GM has its Motorama Futurliner bus, and now Jaguar is unveiling its Concept Speedboat. The boat concept, conceived in conjunction with Britain’s Seventy Seven Design and Ivan Erdevicki Naval Architecture & Yacht Design, is all about showcasing the design DNA of Jaguar alongside the international driving debut of the brand’s XF Sportbrake. With the possible exceptions of the BMW 3-series, the Cadillac CTS and CTS-V, and the Mercedes-Benz E-class, luxury sportwagons are an endangered species, having given way to crossovers here in the States. But across the pond, wagons are alive and well, and you could actually visualize the svelte XF Sportbrake towing something like Jaguar’s Concept Speedboat to an upper-crusty yachting party.
Unless the Concept Speedboat is powered by wind, we’re pretty sure it hasn’t seen water yet, as no details about its engine have been released. But Jaguar’s design identity is reflected in the warm natural teak decking, the original XJ–inspired fuel-filler cap, and the polished aluminum propeller contrasting with the new-tech asymmetrical carbon-fiber shark fin and seamless flow of the nose into the laid-back windscreen.
Available overseas with a range of engines including a 271-hp, 3.0-liter twin-turbo diesel V-6, the XF Sportbrake cuts a stylish profile for a tow vehicle. But don’t get your hopes up for a Jaguar-branded speedboat any time soon. Unlike the $1.2-million, 2700-hp, Mercedes SLS AMG–inspired Cigarette boat, Jaguar emphasizes that it has no plans to build or commercialize a floating vessel of any kind.
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Alan Jones Tom Jones Juan Jover Oswald Karch Narain Karthikeyan
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