The new Jaguar XJ features a strong and light aluminium bodyshell
To be entirely fair to Jaguar, it isn’t actually tease #973 – it just feels like it. But as Jaguar have told us that this is the next to last tease before the launch of the new XJ on 9th July, we may as well see the tease through to the end.
This time we’re on sustainability. Yipee! But actually, it’s not as boring as it sounds. We expected Jaguar to be banging on about how there’ll be more fluffy bunnies in the woods because the new XJ is so environmentally friendly. And yes, that is a part of the message (and who could resist, as all things Eco are flavour of the moment), but it’s more about how the new XJ’s build and construction make it so good.
This time we have a pair of talking heads – Mark White and Mick Moran – telling us that the aluminium bodyshell makes the new XJ lighter and therefore more fuel efficient. That of course means it also emits less CO2. Good for CAFE targets in the US (as for the environment, well that depends on your point of view). But the lightness of the structure also means the power to weight ratio is better, ergo more performance. Sounds good to me.
They also claim that these benefits lead to a car that feels light and nimble, which should be a huge plus in what will, by any definition, be a big car. Throw in the claimed stiffness of the new XJ, and everything else we know (which frankly isn’t enough), and the XJ is stacking up to be an even better bet than the Jaguar XF. Which should have the Germans twitching quite badly any time now.
I must be going soft. This was a half-decent tease. At least it had more to do with the new XJ as a car than the last XJ tease on the Bowes and Wilkins Sound system. Still, I’m sure the next one will be about the hides for the seats coming from free-range cows that emit no methane and live on a barbed-wire -free plateau overlooking Castle Bromwich.
Can’t wait!
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