Giugiaro aimed to move away from Jaguar’s traditional “three-box” design. The Kensington featured a sleeker, more rounded profile with an ellipse-shaped window line and a “power pyramid” hood.
It was built on a Series 3 Jaguar XJ12 chassis and powered by Jaguar’s legendary 5.3L V12 engine, producing 295 hp.
Jaguar ultimately rejected the design, opting for more conservative, evolutionary styling for the X300 generation.
After Jaguar passed on the project, Italdesign adapted the design for the South Korean market, where it became the Daewoo Leganza.
Some automotive historians note similarities between the Kensington and the first-generation Lexus GS, though Italdesign has stated the GS was developed earlier.
