2009 Jaguar XJ Limo-Green Concept leak

2009 Jaguar XJ Limo-Green Concept leak

2009 Jaguar XJ Limo-Green Concept leak

2009 Jaguar XJ Limo-Green Concept leak

The luxury green legion is soon to grow one larger, as the culmination Jaguar's efforts to develop hybrid drive systems is nearing fruition. Having worked on projects like the Limo-Green joint effort with Lotus Engineering, Jaguar could be less than three years away from offering hybrid variants of its XF and XJ sedans.

The latest word is that Jaguar will have the cars on the streets by 2013-2014, with the XJ to get the hybrid system first. Jag's hybrids could even be diesel-electric, as demonstrated by current prototype cars. Whether it ends up being diesel-electric or gasoline-electric in the U.S., though, it's likely to start as a conventional hybrid, moving to a plug-in hybrid system around 2015.

The lithium-ion battery pack in the plug-in is expected to deliver up to 20 miles of electric-only driving, pushing CO2 emissions below 160 grams per mile. The move parallels plans at sister company Land Rover, where the big luxury SUVs will get similar systems.

For more on the Limo-Green project, check out our previous coverage, as well as coverage at GreenCarReports.

[CAR]