A bit of history of this saloon.

This is to enlighten those who own modern XJ Salloons, for reasons other then being a Jag enthusiast. And for those who bought the Marque to keep up with your neighbors Lexus, Benz, Beamer, Caddie, Infinity, Acura, Lincoln, or some other high priceed status hood ornament:D


The lineage of the Newest XJ-8 goes back as early as 1961 when Jag founder Sir William Lyons introduced a new Saloon Dubbed the Mark 10. It was a radical change from the previous saloons Mk 7, 8 and 9. It featured a new streamlined look which will be the foundation of all future XJ, Sedans. With trimmed chrome and hooded headlights the car was introduced with the 3.8 Liter inline 6 engine with Triple SU carbs. This is the same engine that is used in the famed E-type sprotscar that was introduced earlier in the same year. In 1964 they introduced the 4.2 Litre Engine which was also intrucuded in the E-type. Later this car was dubbed the 420 sedan. 1968 they introduced a new design. Based off of the same lines as the mark 10 but with a trimmer grille and a more streamlined rear, they brought out the the first XJ-6. Powered the same 4.2 Liter engine as in the Mk 10/420. The engine had some changes, such as the tripple SU's were replaced for more emission freindly Zeinith Straumberg Carbs, and they deleted the high polished cam covers for a more modern contemporary look. This also was the same engine that was in the Series II E-types. With fuel economy being a concern they intorduced a 2.8 litre version for the XJ-6.

In 1971 with the introduction of the Sereies 3 V-12 E-type they added an new edition to XJ line. The XJ-12. The XJ-12 was simmilar to the six except the grille had vertical slats versus horisontal ones. in 1974 they shortend the grille and raised the bumper height to comply with stricter crash guidlines. In the early 80's the Dual Zenith Carbs were replace by a new Lucas Fuel Injection. This was the current look of the XJ-6 with minor cosmetic changes until the late 80's. They deleted the twin hooded headlights for a solid square light. In 1995 they went back to twin headlights of the mark X with the exception that they are flusher than the mark 10's hooded look. This is to be the current style until 2003. It is speculated that the car will be more rounded off in the front and back make it more stream lined.


http://www.us.jaguar.com/images/ConLegXJmark9Pic.jpg

This is the Mark 9 similar to the Mk 7 ,and 8 which were the first new line of jaguar Salloons introduced after WWII in 1948. This car was powered by a 3.4 Liter XK engine which is the bases of an engine that lasted 50 years until the introduction of the V8 in 1998.



http://www.us.jaguar.com/images/ConLegXJmark10Pic.jpg

This is the MK-10. With twin headlights and streamline grille you can easily see where this car set the tone for the future XJ sallon.

http://www.us.jaguar.com/images/ConLegXJseries3Pic.jpg


This is the Series 3 XJ-6, Simmilar to the seriesII with the exception of Rubber bumpers and small changes to the trim. The main cahnge was the car was now Fuel Injected.

http://www.us.jaguar.com/images/ConLegXJsedanPic.jpg

This is the Current XJ sadan, origionaly introduced as an XJ-6/12 but Jag deleted the V-12 in 1996 and they replaced the 50 year old XK engine for the new Ford/Jag AJ-V8 and now dubbed the car XJ-8.


The interesting thing about this car is that while alot of companies are going back to there old designs like VW's New beatle the PT Cruiser and the Ford T-Bird Jaguar has a car that holds its lines as far back as 1961. William Lyons made a car that has surpassed time and has paved the way for many other automakers designs.

http://www.marcellacars.com/JagInven/02_X-Type-380.jpg

This is the new Compact X-type do to be out in Jag dealers soon, It is speculated that the 2003 XJ-8 will sport simmilar lines as this car.

Great article!

Quick question 'cause I never figured it out: Where'd the term "Saloon" come from, and what, specifically, does it mean?

Thanks.

Saloon I think it is just a British word for Sedan. For some reason Britts have a habbit of refering things with a different name. Like the call the Hood a Bonnet and the trunk a boot. They refer to convertables as Drop Head Coupes and Hardtops as Fix Head Coupes.:D

You failed to mention in your report that Ford bought Jaguar out and now they are completely produced by Ford. The design of the S-Type supports that too. All the sheet metal has a Ford stamping on it now. Parts are becoming harder to get because of bad parts managment. The XJ-8 is now discontinued. New Ford cars are replacing the old designs. Before long the only difference between a Ford and a Jaguar will be the price tag. Here are some 2000 Jaguar XJ-8 repair photos (http://www.a2zautoforums.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=472).. :)

A lto of work went into that... thank you. Very interesting.

EvilPopTarts,

The new aluminum XJ8 is all-Jaguar. The S-Type was heavily revised for the 2003 model year and tweaked for 2005. The next XK will use the new XJ's aluminum chassis and the next S-Type will likely use the new XJ's chassis. Hopefully, the X-Type will be dropped.

Check the link for the new aluminum XJ8

New aluminum XJ8 (http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=373198)