Plans for a second Jaguar sports car appear to have picked up steam internally. Jaguar product boss Hanno Kirner has hinted the brand has plans for a potential family of sports cars.
He told Autocar in a Monday report that the F-Type has been a major success and that Jaguar loves sports cars. "I use the plural quite deliberately," he said, hinting at a future sports car to come.
Kirner's comments follow lead Jaguar designer, Ian Callum, who just last year proposed the return of the XK. The last XK exited production in 2014, though a design was drawn up for a next-generation car. The brand ultimately decided at the time that a new XK wasn't in the company's best interest, and the F-Type would serve as its halo sports car.
It's very possible a new Jaguar sports car could come by the way of an XK revival, but Kirner was careful to only use the term "sports car." He added, "Whether that is delivered by a body variant or something else remains to be seen, but for now let’s just say that the body type is very important for us."
We could also imagine a sport sedan like the AMG GT 4-door coupe that would fit the product chief's calls for another sports car. However, any future sports car family weighs on Jaguar-Land Rover's decision over future platforms. Today's F-Type features heavily modified underpinnings from the XK, while Autocar speculated the next-generation car will feature a flexible architecture that could support a 2+2 vehicle, like a reborn XK.
The future platforms will likely accept a range of powertrains, including hybrids. It's unclear if the strategy will fit into future sports car plans, however. Kirner didn't dismiss the idea of a hybrid sports car but also assured a defining characteristic of them is the engine itself.
"At Jaguar, all I can say for now is that we will continue to invest in sports cars," he said.