Jaguar turns to Lotus for development of new XE

Jaguar turns to Lotus for development of new XE

Filed under: Sports/GTs, Jaguar, Lotus

Click above to view the 2000 Jaguar F-Type concept in high resolution

According to recent reports, Lotus has its hands filled with more than just Kia. Jaguar is supposedly outsourcing some of the initial development of its anticipated upcoming sportscar to Lotus Engineering. The two British marques, both owned by Asian automakers based just across the Bay of Bengal from each other, recently collaborated on the suspension tuning for the latest Jaguar XKR. But Lotus' involvement in the project, tentatively known as the XE, may be more involved, with Jaguar entrusting Lotus to assess production feasibility before the go-ahead is given and possibly producing the car at its Hethel plant if approved.

If Jaguar and Lotus undertake the partnership to produce the XE, sources suggest a potential debut at the 2011 Geneva show, but it's far too early to tell at this point. Adding another level of intrigue to the debate over what form Jaguar's new sportscar could take, the report suggests that outsourcing the production of a mid-engine supercar was also considered. The plot thickens.

[Source: Autocar]Jaguar turns to Lotus for development of new XE originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 09 Feb 2009 08:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.



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