TG’s guide to concepts: the Jaguar R-D6

The early 2000s were a tricky time for Jaguar. Back then, it didn’t have a 200mph sports car, a cash-generating SUV, and the dosh to recreate its classic Sixties superstars. What it had, in late 2003, was the S-Type and the X-Type. These are not cars Jaguar will likely be resurrecting in decades to come.

While they were competitive on price and performance with the contemporary Germans, S and X’s bulbous, thatched cottage styling and ultra-traditional image hurt Jaguar. They appeared a bit staid and fusty, lacking the caddish, devil-may-care charm that makes a Jag all raffish and loveable. 

Ahead of the 2003 Frankfurt motor show, Jaguar decided the best course of action was to catapult its retro styling into the 21st or even 22nd Century, and aim a poke in the eye of the Mazda RX-8 and Audi A3. A low-slung, premium hatch-cum-coupe was drummed up, and it emerged as the radical Jaguar R-D6. 

Still looks sharp, doesn’t it? The four headlight rings and oval grille obviously nod to the S-Type, but we’re starting to see the very first ingredients that’d one day lead to the XF saloon being sprinkled into the mix. As you’d expect, since both were designed under the stewardship of Ian Callum.

Pop your head inside and it’s obvious how much Jaguar was straining at the leash to come over all modern. No mock wood in here. No beige leather. It’s all cool, crisp metal surfacing and the ambience of a battleship. You imagine that if the R-D6 had a radio, it wouldn’t pick up Classic FM. 

Funny how the powertrain choice dates a concept car. Nowadays almost every motor show reveal is powered in part by electricity, either as a full EV, a hybrid or perhaps a hydrogen fuel cell.

Back in 2003, low CO2-emitting diesel was getting into its stride as a market force, so the slinky R-D6 packed a 2.7-litre twin-turbodiesel V6, developing 230bhp and capable of reaching 62mph in under six seconds. It’s the motor that’d one day find its way into the S-Type.

The R-D6 didn’t make production as an entry-level Jag sports hatch. It was never supposed to. But it did give us some of the first clues that Jaguar was going to come back fighting into the competitive force we know it as today.

A good template for a sub-XE model to take the fight to the Audi A3, BMW 1-Series and Mercedes A-Class now, though?