Jaguar has revealed a special edition XJ, the XJ75 Platinum Concept, as part of their 75th anniversary celebrations. It was revealed at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.

The car is based on the XJL Supercharged, with a 470 hp V8 under the hood. Changes include a ground-hugging body kit, a special black and white paint scheme, with all exterior chrome pieces repainted in dark chrome or gloss black, and enormously tasteless 22-inch rims.

The interior gets some new bits as well, such as a clock developed and designed in partnership with the Bremont Watch Company, gloss pearlescent white air vents, veneers and diamond stitch suede inserts to the seats and headliner, as well as more tastelessness in the form of various purple parts.

The Jaguar XJ, in my opinion, was already a disgrace. But this is even worse. It’s just so unlike Jaguar. Far too shouty. It’s trying to be cool, and failing for that matter. The old XJ was effortlessly cool. And that made it special. This, meanwhile, is just another luxury car. Hopefully this special edition will remain a concept forever.

Press Release

14 August 2010

JAGUAR XJ75 PLATINUM CONCEPT COMMEMORATES BRAND’S 75th ANNIVERSARY

Pebble Beach, CA, August 14, 2010 – As part of the year long celebration of Jaguar’s 75th anniversary the Jaguar design team has created the XJ75 Platinum Concept, a one-of-a-kind design project on display at the Pebble Beach Concours D’Elegance Concept Car Lawn this weekend .

The XJ75 Platinum Concept is the company’s first demonstration of the design customisation potential of the striking new XJ luxury salon, emphasising the Jaguar’s dramatic interior and exterior styling themes.

“The new Jaguar XJ Platinum Concept celebrates Jaguar’s 75th Anniversary, and highlights the uniqueness of the XJ, and more broadly, the increasingly personal nature of luxury cars in today’s market,” said Mike O’Driscoll, Managing Director of Jaguar Cars. “The XJ is thoroughly modern, and captures the innovative and daring character that our founder Sir William Lyons built into every Jaguar. And the design team clearly had some fun making their first one-of-a-kind XJ design concept in that spirit.”

Dominated by a striking white and black contrast theme that suggests precious platinum metal, the XJ75 Platinum Concept is a high-performance 470-hp 2011 Jaguar XJL Supercharged equipped with new ground-hugging front, rear and side sills. Painted a lustrous Satin Matte Pearlescent White, exterior chrome elements have been revised to either a dark chrome or gloss black. Bespoke 22-inch wheels are black and use a brushed contrast finish.

The contrast theme continues with gloss pearlescent white air vents, veneers and diamond stitch suede inserts to the seats and headliner, all set against the backdrop of a full Jet Softgrain leather interior. Suede and leather accents are seen throughout the interior to further material enhancements.

The XJ75 Platinum Concept centre console houses a bespoke clock developed and designed in partnership with the Bremont Watch Company. An independent British company, Bremont creates beautifully engineered and designed mechanical watches hand assembled in Switzerland.

“From a pure design perspective, the XJ75 Platinum Concept is foremost about emphasising the striking proportion and presence of the new XJ, with a distilled black and white theme, which conjures up the sense of precious platinum,” said Jaguar XJ Chief Designer Giles Taylor. “At the same time, the pure sporting character of XJ is brought to the fore by keeping the car’s clean graphic approach and further lowering its stance.

“On the inside, we played up the XJ’s combination of high-end materials and British flair to really have some fun. The XJ75 Platinum Concept is a design exercise that shows our vision of customization as an inspiration for those enthusiasts who have a taste for strong individuality and visual confidence in their luxury automobiles.”

Performance on the XJ75 Platinum Concept is derived from its 5.0-litre Supercharged direct-injection V8 with 470 horsepower and 424 lb.-ft of torque. Entertainment is provided by a 1,200-watt Bowers & Wilkins surround sound system with 20 speakers powered through 15 channels and state-of-the-art sound processing technology.

Additional information including images and video can be found on http://us.mediajaguar.com or www.interactivejaguar.com.

Source: Jaguar