Jaguar Cars wants to base all its products on the same vehicle architecture,
says its top engineering executive.
“Having three different architectures, with three body shops - two aluminum
and one steel - is not ideal,” Al Kammerer, product development director for
Jaguar and Land Rover said here last week at the auto show.
“The ultimate design would be a single architecture. But that requires up-front
investment to make it happen.”
That goal will not be achieved with the upcoming XF sedan, which replaces the
S-Type in early 2008. The XF will use a redesigned version of the existing
S-Type platform, which was shared with the Lincoln LS sedan.
Using aluminum for the body and chassis of the XJ sedan and XK coupe is more
expensive than using steel. But aluminum’s lower weight allows for smaller
engines that deliver power more efficiently, Kammerer said.
Jaguar seriously considered using aluminum for the XF. But Kammerer said the
XF will make considerable use of high-strength steel, which has come close to
achieving aluminum’s weight benefits at less cost.
Aluminum is also more difficult metal to stamp. The production engineering
required would have delayed the XF by an additional 18 months, Kammerer said.
Still, Jaguar executives have said they want the next XJ and XK to stay with
aluminum, rather than move to high-strength steel.
The XJ is due to be redesigned in 2009 or 2010. A new XK will come later.
Jaguar’s first priority was to consolidate manufacturing at its Castle Bromwich
plant in England and close its Browns Lane factory.
“Now that all the cars are (being built) there, let’s make cars we can sell,”
Kammerer said.
“Then, we can get consolidation of architectures.”
(Reproduced from Autoweek - www.autoweek.com)
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