Ta ta to Ford and hello Jaguar

At least three new Jaguars are on the drawing board, in addition to the replacement for the XJ saloon.

An edgy new coupe based on the coming XF sedan is an open secret. So is an XF station wagon.

And British sources point to a four-door version of the current XK coupe to go up against the Mercedes CLS and the coming BMW CS and Porsche Panamera. As well, a smaller F-Type sports car would rival the Porsche Boxster and BMW's Z4.

News of the coming Jaguars surfaced in the Financial Times. It says executives have produced plans for investment approval after the company is sold by Ford.

David Blackhall, who heads Jaguar Australia, has hinted in the past that the crucial XF — which will be on sale here midyear — could be developed with extra body styles.

Jaguar design boss Ian Callum says Tata has responded well to the company's design direction.

“We have shown Tata our new model lines and the planned product cycle,” Callum says. “Tata is very respectful about what we are doing.”

Callum also suggests the relationship with Ford has often been subject to tensions over design, revealing that the compact X-Type model based on the Ford Mondeo was actually designed in Detroit.

It was forced on the team at Jaguar's design centre at Whitley, in Britain's industrial heartland.

But he says Jaguar deserves some blame because it had not kept pace with its rivals.

Models of the XF coupe are rumoured to have already been built at Whitley and are understood to share the bulk of their design with the XF sedan, though the coupe has a lower roofline.

Ford chief executive Alan Mullaly told carsguide at the Detroit Motor Show last month that Tata is the final bidder for Jaguar and Land Rover. The deal is expected to be finalised next month, for an expected $2.5 billion.