The XJ8 has been around in various incarnations for a number of years, but in 2002 Jaguar launched what was arguably the most significant development of its flagship model: an aluminium body.
The powerful yet restrained design of the Jaguar saloon marks it as an elegant, luxurious car in the tradition of previous XJ models. But alongside this were the technology and advanced technical design that made the body construction possible. The XJ body was manufactured almost entirely from aluminium, a material that has a strong place in Jaguar's history. Using the same lightweight but ultra-strong techniques that feature in aircraft, the body was an advance on all fronts.
The body shell was some 40 per cent lighter than that of an equivalent steel body. Equally important, the aluminium body was 60 per cent stiffer than its predecessor.
Jaguar's design director is Ian Callum, the man previously responsible for the best-selling Aston Martin DB7 and the Vanquish. 'The XJ had to be competitive, but it still had to be a Jaguar,' he said at its launch.
His predecessor, the late Geoff Lawson, began the preliminary design study shortly before his sudden death, but it was left to Callum to execute the final lines of the new car.
The aluminium space frame construction brought about its own problems, he claimed. 'Aluminium brings certain constraints, particularly in respect to radiuses and rolled edges. The Vanquish was easy by comparison because it uses superform, a simple but limited form of production. This was a much bigger challenge - a learning curve, if you like. Some things we wanted to produce could not be done. We had to reach a compromise.'
