The 2010 Jaguar XJ has shed its retro skin to set a new course for the company's flagship sedan. The future of the XJ will include a 510 HP supercharged V8, aluminum body, and virtual instruments. Also, it'll look XF-ier!

Starting with the obvious, Design Director Ian Callum has managed to both underwhelm and surprise with this newest Jaguar. At first glance, it's almost indistinguishable from the Jaguar XFR, taking much of the nose and sleek profile from the four-door coupe.

Upon further investigation the new XJ reveals a longer and more muscular profile, with a narrow greenhouse that slopes into an elongated and blacked-out C-pillar. The addition of a full panoramic glass roof adds another new dimension to the car. Whatever you're feelings on the new design, it's clear this is an almost complete departure from the previous XJ.

Mechanically, the Jaguar XJ isn't quite as drastic a step forward. The platform is new, featuring a significant use of aluminum in the structure, but the first batch of engines will be a trio of the 5.0-liter Gen III direct-injection V8. The base XJ and XJL will include the naturally-aspirated version good for 385 HP and a 5.4-second 0-to-60 MPH jaunt. The XJ Supercharged and XJL Supercharged models will be fitted with the same engine supercharged for 470 HP and a 5.2-second time.

The new high performance model, perhaps a stand-in for the XJR or merely a placeholder, is the XJ and XJL Supersport models. This will feature the XFR's supercharged V8 good for 510 HP and a 4.7-second 0-to-60 MPH time. All of these will get Jaguar's six-speed, shift-by-wire transmission with steering wheel-mounted paddles.

The biggest upgrade on the inside, which includes the usual mix of wood, chrome and piano black surfaces, is probably the "virtual instrument" panel, which includes three round hi-def screens and no physical read-out at all. This allows the pods to adjust themselves to the driving conditions. For instance, if you switch into Dynamic mode the dials change to a red hue and bold the gear position indicator -- which turns red as you approach the red line.