So, Jaguar has understood that there are a lot of volumes in the luxury small car segment. Their smallest-yet XE, after a lot of hullabaloo, has started production at their Solihull plant and is expected to come to India in 2016. And next up may be something that can challenge the BMW 1 series and Mercedes A Class.
The rumors of an A-Class smaller-than-XE stem from Ian Cullum, their Design Director’s, recent statements to Motoring where he said that he does not get scandalized by the idea of a smaller front wheel drive Jaguar. He added…
“There’s always space to go smaller — the world is changing very quickly.” He further added, “My personal belief, and I must emphasise that, is that there is space to go smaller for Jaguar. I’m a great lover of small cars, I even own a Mini, a proper Mini that is.”
Being a small car, the Jag’s A-Class rival can be expected to be a front-wheel drive vehicle and may be an all-new product based on a new platform with probably some underpinnings of the XE.
However, Cullum believes that Jaguar needs to grow first before aiming to build something of that sort. A smaller car will obviously command over larger volumes which would mean more production strain. He believes, “too small to think about taking on that sense of volume and competitive pricing.”
The report further adds that he is not the only one in the company with this idea. Apart from a general consensus in the company, even their Global Engineering Chief Nick Rogers is fascinated with the concept of a smaller Jaguar. Noted automotive rendering specialist Theophiluschin has even made renderings of how the car might turn out to be and the pics you see are his imagination of the small Jag! However, do not expect the car to hit the market anytime soon…
