A History of Aluminum-Intensive Cars
Though the new XJ is a series production first for Jaguar, the company has a history of creating specialized aluminum-intensive vehicles, from the original XK 120 sports car of 1948, through the C-Type and lightweight E-Type of the 1950s and 1960s, to the XJ 220 supercar of the early 1990s. Additionally, aluminum components have been incorporated in a number of recent production Jaguar cars, primarily for powertrain and suspension applications.
“For Alcan, the new XJ represents the culmination of two decades of automotive research and development, much of it in partnership with Jaguar.”
—Alcan President and CEO Travis Engen
Sales of two of Jaguar's more recent entries—the S-type and X-type—point to the success of the automaker's product-led approach. Since 1998, Jaguar's worldwide sales have doubled, topping 100,000 for the first time in 2001. Jaguar sales have increased an additional 63 percent through the first eight months of 2002 and, together with Land Rover, has been the fastest-growing brand in the U.S. this year.
As the flagship, the new XJ will be counted on to continue Jaguar's impressive sales performance when it comes onto the market in 2003. A favorable response from U.S. customers, who comprise about 60 percent of the XJ market, will be critical to the model's success.
And behind it all, a keen observer will be Jaguar's parent company—the Ford Motor Company—which, if all goes well with the XJ, just might think a bit harder about working aluminum more aggressively into its other production cars.
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