Jaguar has delivered its promised 'wow-factor' car - unveiling the all-new, stunning XJ saloon at London's Saatchi gallery! Taking the wraps of the much-awaited car, the Birmingham-based automaker has revealed a sweeping new change of design direction - aimed at phasing out blatantly retro designs in favor of modern styling.

Giving its traditional flagship a sleeker, yet more muscular look, Jaguar has equipped the new XJ with a bold grille and a bulging hood; along with backing up the look with an assortment of V8 engines nestled in its aluminum frame. With claims that the new XJ is more powerful and more efficient than earlier models, the company has also said that it intends offering an EREV XJ in 2011.

Talking about the XJ, Jaguar's design director, Ian Callum, said: "The all new XJ is a thoroughly modern interpretation of the quintessential Jaguar. It is the most emphatic statement yet of Jaguar's new design direction."

With its fresh look, the XJ reportedly "re-imagines the ultimate sporting luxury car," thereby offering a full range of gorgeous, sporting alternatives to the likes of Mercedes-Benz and BMW.

Going by the comparative statistics, from the Automotive News data center, which show that Jaguar has sold only 810 XJs thus far this year - as against the sales of 2,174 Mercedes S-Class models, and 3,197 BMW 7-Series - Jaguar's design transformation appears to be well in time!