BEIJING, April 27 — To mark 50 years of its flagship XJ luxury saloon, Jaguar is launching a new special edition of the car that’s been the choice of business leaders, celebrities, politicians and royalty for five decades.

Unveiled at the Beijing Motor Show this week, the obviously named XJ50 pays homage to eight generations of the XJ in standard and long-wheelbase formats that will come with more than their fair share of horsepower.

As well as there being two wheelbase formats, there will also be three different engine options, although it appears only the diesel of the three powerplants will be made available in Jaguar’s UK homeland. That unit is 3.0-litre diesel, but elsewhere buyers will be able to choose between a 340 horsepower supercharged V-6 and a stupendous 470 horsepower V-8. The V-6 variants will be offered in rear and all-wheel drive formats, but the V-8 will be a strictly rear-wheel drive model.

Perhaps a little unusually for a Jaguar or Land Rover special edition, the XJ50 will be available in four different colours which will be Rosello Red, Santorini Black, Fuji White and Loire Blue. Inexplicably, British Racing Green somehow didn’t make the cut.

Exterior styling cues will include autobiography-style front and rear bumpers, some new 20-inch Venom wheels, a black front grille and unique badging to the rear and side vents.

The interior also gets special edition treatment, with an overtly luxurious cabin featuring soft-grain diamond-quilted seats with an embossed leaper on the headrests and a subtle XJ50 logo on the centre armrest. Unique intaglio branding and XJ50-badged illuminated tread plates will also differentiate this anniversary edition from regular XJ models, and anodized gearshift paddles and bright metal pedals will complete the look.

Ian Callum, Jaguar’s Director of Design, says of the special edition XJ: "Spanning half a century, the Jaguar XJ remains true to its heritage with a wonderful balance of beautiful design, intelligent performance and indulgent luxury that ensures it stands out from the crowd. This is a car worth celebrating and the XJ50 pays homage to a giant within the Jaguar brand that we believe is one of the world’s most stylish sporting saloons.”

Orders in the UK are being taken now, where the car will cost from £74,280 (RM405,013.48), but pricing and specifications for other markets will come in a further press release later this year. — AFP-Relaxnews