Battle of the executive lightweights - European Report - aluminum bodies

Relevant technology is a phrase that Jaguar has rolled out at regular intervals aver the last couple of years. It is supposed to apply not just to what's in the cars--voice recognition, for example--but to how they are made.

The true test of the U.K. carmaker's maxim will come next spring with the launch of the aluminum-bodied XJ for which Jaguar is claiming a number of industry firsts, notably the way in which the bodyshell is riveted and bonded.

And Jaguar has been careful to steer away from what David Scholes, chief program engineer, calls "gratuitous technology." He promises that you won't have to be a computer expert to operate the new car and there will be no unwanted features intruding on the driving experience.

The new XJ was due to make its world debut at the Paris auto show on September 26, exactly 34 years after the launch of the original XJ6. The XJ designation, by the way, comes from X (as in experimental) Jaguar.

it's no secret that Jaguar has had problems with the construction of this, the seventh and most advanced XJ, recruiting engineers from the aerospace industry to help sort out the lack of stiffness In the aluminum monocoque.

The suspicion--denied by Jaguar but nonetheless lingering--must be that the public debut and the on-sale date were originally going to be somewhat closer than the fail of '02 and the spring of '03 for the U.K. with the rest of Europe following. No date has yet been fixed for the start of North American sales.

Whatever the problems, the new XJ is now well on its launch pad. It will share its Paris debut with the new Audi A8 which uses an aluminum space-frame while the XJ's aluminum body is primarily a conventional monocoque construction.

The XJ uses self-pierce rivets and aerospace-sourced epoxy adhesive to join the aluminum stampings, castings and extrusions. A magnesium cross-car beam--30 percent lighter than aluminum--supports the fascia and instrument panel and is combined with aluminum to produce a lightweight steering column. Magnesium castings are also used for the seat frames.

All this weight saving has lead to Jaguar claiming that the new XJ is up to 440 lb. lighter than the lightest outgoing XJ--the 3.2L Executive which has a curb weight of 3,760 lb. That puts the new XJ into the 3,300 lb. bracket which means it cruises in at about the same weight as the considerably smaller X-Type.

It also means that Audi will have to reconsider its claims for the new AS that it is "lightest in class (at) 3.916 lb. curb weight, (creating) a feeling of agility rarely achievable in a luxury car."

The New XJ is longer, taller and wider than the outgoing XJ with dimensions very similar to that of the AS. It is 200 in. long (AS is 199 in.); width is 73.5 in. (74.5 in.); height 57 in. (56.8 in.); wheelbase 119.4 in. (115.9 in.).

Both use air suspension--the first time for Jaguar--and both use 4.2L V-8 engines at the top of the range.

The range-topping XJR will be powered by a supercharged V-S delivering 400 hp, while the naturally aspirated 4.2 offers 300 hp, There's a new 3.5L V-S with 262 hp making its debut in the XJ while the entry-level model will see a return of the XJ6 badge with a 3.0L V-6 engine and 240 hp.

With diesel sales still soaring in Europe, Audi will have the advantage of a full range of oil burners for its AS, while Jaguar is still the best part of a year away from introducing its first diesel engine. Hardly a worry with half the company s sales in the U.S., but an increasing concern in the markets of Germany France and Italy where diesel sales account for up to half the market. Even the U.K. has seen diesel sales rise up 48.6 percent in the first eight months of this year to take a 22.8 percent share, against 16.4 percent last year.

Despite the lack of a diesel, and the X-Type selling less than predicted, Jaguar is doing rather well--by far the best performer of the Ford Group. Sales across Western Europe this year to the end of August are up 48.6 percent to 34,068.

COPYRIGHT 2002 Reed Business Information
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