Dominoes, Marilyn Manson lookalikes, toy ships, eagles and sadistic clowns all feature in Jay Z’s music video ‘Onto The Next One’, along with a strangely alluring car slashed through with his own three-stripe logo – the new Jaguar 2011 XJ. It’s art, and lucrative art at that, with the cinematic close-up lingering long across the booty as the beat starts to swagger.
Yes it’s innovative, but not in the way the Jaguar faithful might expect. Old boys around the country are going to get a jolt when they see this animal on the highways, as much for the uncanny aesthetic as the bhp’s spinning wide off its low, silken torso. Blacking out the d-pillar creates the illusion of a floating roof, one that curves long like the Aston Rapide before coming down to earth like the Jaguar XF – vertical tail lamps and a wider wheelbase giving it a bolder, more sophisticated edge.
If its artistic merits take a while to get used to, the luxury inside and out is pretty quick on the uptake. The interior is all in the British-style, with laser-inlaid wood, leather headliners and high-performance seats that seem to ride on air. The lightweight aluminium, aero-optimised chassis, informed suspension and 350 horsepower 5l engine (standard) harmonise so closely with the terrain and weather conditions that you seem to be driving one of those quick-thrill arcade machines, everything drifting by without quarrel until you realize you’ve arrived and stamp the floor (rigged with lambs wool) spoiling for more.
Visit www.jaguar.com for more information.
