The Lengths of Luxury: Jaguar's XJ Long Wheelbase & Super V8 Portfolio

摘要

As this is the seventh-generation XJ, they've had a considerable amount oFtime to determine what, exactly, they needed to do to improve the product. Arguably, the present generation is one that is a considerable departure from many of its predecessors-as well as from most vehicles that are available today-in that the vehicle, which was originally launched in June 2003 as a '04 model, has an aluminum monocoque. According to David Mitchell, chief program engineer for the XJ, this use of aluminum not only makes the vehicle distinctive vs. other cars in the large premium category (the car is considered, says CJ O'Donnell, executive vp, Sales & Marketing, jaguar North America, in the context of the Mercedes 5-Class, the BMW 7 Series, and the Audi A8; the last-named is also an aluminum-intensive vehicle, albeit one with a different approach to the processing of the material. In the case of the Jag, there is an extensive use of self-piercing rivets and adhesives for putting the panels together into the monocoque; Audi uses extrusions For more of a frame-like structure,), a distinctiveness that ought to aid in sales, but it provides customer benefits, as well. Mitchell claims, for example, that because of the deployment of the lightweight material in the vehicle (the long-wheelbase versions of the vehicle, which we're talking about here, are five inches longer than the short-wheelbase models, yet weigh a mere 53 lb. more), advantages include improved performance, reduced emissions and improved fuel economy. These advantages are directly predicated on the Fact that the engine-the XJ8L, Vanden Plas, Super V8, and Super V8 Portfolio all use the same base 4.2-liter V8 (DOHC; Four valves per cylinder), but while the horsepower rating for the first two is 294 1 6,000 rpm, the latter two also feature an Eaton 112 Roots-type supercharger which boosts the engines to 390 hp @ 6,100 rpm-powers a comparatively light vehicle (that is, for a vehicle that has an overall length oF 205,3 in. and a wheelbase of 124.4 in), The Super V8, for example, weighs 4,059 lb. A vehicle that O'Donnell cites in comparison, the BMW 760Li, weighs 4,552 lb.