In all honestly, I really struggle to see how the Bertone B99 fits into Jaguar�s past and current design lineage and line-up. The new generation of Jags � the XF and the XJ � are sleek, risqu� and look like nothing else on the market. On the other hand, the B99 could just as easily be badged as a Lincoln, a Rolls-Royce or a Maserati. If you squint at the pictures you�ll see my point. It�s anonymously styled, as if Bertone used a book called, �Luxury Concept Cars 101� as a template. And that grille! It just screams, �Dodge Caliber!�
And apart from the taillights and the A-pillar, can you really see any of Jaguar�s past in the B99? I know I can�t. And isn�t the mere thought a compact Jaguar as bad as Aston Martin rebadging the Toyota iQ as the Cygnet or Porsche selling a SUV?
It devalues the brand, and in the luxury market that�s the worse crime a carmaker can make. Sure, it means more sales, but I�ve never been a fan of the, �profit uber alles!� the eighties left us with.
For me personally, Jaguars have always been either V8/V12-engined coupes and big sedans. The E-Type, the Mk II...even the much derided XJS and XJ6. As if it wasn�t bad enough that BMW�s sells a naturally aspirated (or naturally asthmatic) 4cyl 3-Series, now there�s this on the horizon all in the pursuit of the almighty dollar. To think we�ve gone from, �A Modern Day Successor to the E-Type� to yet another attempt for a �BMW 3-Series competitor� just breaks my heart.
By Tristan Hankins
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