By Daryl Lee

JAGUAR YESTERDAY ANNOUNCED the launch of its all-new flagship saloon, the XJ in London.

The XJ will round out the Jaguar family at the head as its largest member with it being a large executive saloon comparable to a BMW 7-series long wheelbase.

This adds on to the current Jaguar lineup of the mid-sized executive saloon XF and the XK coupe.
Visually, it follows Jaguar’s new design language from the XF its design director Ian Callum describing the new XJ as thoroughly modern yet taking inspiration from the past such as the original XJ of the 60s.

The new XJ won’t be just a pretty face and will be constructed of Aluminium, magnesium and composite alloys, achieving reduced weight and increased stiffness.

In a nod to environmental consciousness, Jaguar reports the new XJ’s body will be made from 50 percent recycled aluminium with plans to increase this to 75 percent.

Vehicle dynamics were also at the forefront of the new XJ’s development and features adaptive suspension and a quick ratio steering rack promising the Jaguar hallmarks of refinement along with handling agility.

The new XJ is a significant milestone for Jaguar with it being the first all-new XJ since 1994, which up until now has just received facelifts and tweaks.

A 5.0-litre petrol V8 in various guises will power the new XJ with the range-topping supercharged variant delivering 510bhp and reaches 100km/h in just 4.9 seconds. There is also a diesel variant which will probably not be available here.

In comparison, the old top-of-the-line XJR was equipped with a 4.2-litre supercharged V8 with 395bhp and sprinted to 100km/h in 5.3 seconds.

Local distributor Malayan Motors declined to comment on exact local availability but put an estimated date of some time in 2010.

Pricing for the new XJ is unavailable at press time but Malayan Motors is accepting pre-launch booking for interested buyers.