Jaguar XE Confirmed as Jag's New Sports Sedan Badge

Jaguar confirmed today that its upcoming BMW 3 Series fighter will be called the XE and that U.S. customers will be able to buy it in 2016, following a global launch this year.

Built on a new scalable aluminum architecture, the XE is the first of many more products that will be underpinned by the same platform. Originally, the company previewed it with the C-X17 SUV concept.

Details about if and when that vehicle will come to be are still murky, but the brand said today that its new sedan will be powered by a variety of engines including a new 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder unit that is part of a new engine line the company is calling “Ingenium.” Globally, the XE will also be offered with a diesel engine although it is unlikely to reach the U.S. market, especially at launch.

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Jaguar said today that it will be able to use the new 2.0-liter gasoline engine in both transverse and longitudinal engine setups and for both all-wheel and rear-wheel drive applications. While that news doesn’t necessarily say very much about the XE, it’s a thinly veiled announcement that JLR plans to stop using the Ford-sourced engine in its Range Rover Evoque model. You can also expect the same change in the XF mid-size model, which is offered with the Dearborn-sourced 2.0T.

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Unfortunately, further details about the new XE were left behind closed doors during today’s announcement. Specifics about transmission plans, pricing and other information is still cloaked in typical secrecy. The company promises that it will unveil the car in production form sometime later this year without specifying a date. That could mean a New York Auto Show debut, but the Paris Motor Show is a more likely candidate given the plans for sales to start in other markets first.

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