New Jag uses 75 percent aluminium
September 8 marks the premiere of the Jaguar XE, the world’s first midsize premium car to use more than 75 percent aluminium in the monocoque body structure, and designed around Jaguar’s modular vehicle architecture.
This milestone in body engineering, a product of Jaguar’s world-leading expertise in high-volume production of aluminium vehicles, ensures that the Jaguar XE combines outstanding design with benchmark levels of ride and handling – Jaguar says it will be true driver’s car.
The Jaguar XJ, XK and F-Type have all been developed using exceptionally stiff bonded and riveted aluminium structures: now the XE becomes the latest model to use this aerospaceinspired technology.
The weight reduction realised ensures that the XE is the most fuelefficient Jaguar yet, with projected fuel consumption and CO2 emissions on the NEDC combined cycle of better than 3.7L/100km and less than 100g/ km respectively.
“The Jaguar XE body uses over 75 percent aluminium content, which far exceeds any other car in its class. This gives us a body structure with unrivalled low weight: it’s light but also immensely strong with extremely high levels of torsional stiffness.
“We’ve made sure our aluminiumintensive body structure exceeds all global safety standards without compromising on vehicle design or refinement,” says Dr Mark White, Jaguar’s Chief Technical Specialist; Body Complete.
The Jaguar XE’s aluminium-intensive body is beautiful to look at, but the structure also delivers exceptional torsional stiffness. The light but strong architecture incorporates highly advanced suspension systems delivering unparalleled levels of ride quality, handling and steering.
The Jaguar XE is also the first car in the world to make use of a new grade of high strength aluminium called RC 5754, which has been developed specifically for the XE. This new alloy features a high level of recycled material, and makes a significant contribution to Jaguar’s goal of using 75 percent recycled material by 2020.
Power will be provided by engines with a wide range of capacities and output, all delivering excellent performance, and offering latest innovations in fuel-efficient technologies without sacrificing drivability.
Utilising the most flexible engine architecture ever produced by Jaguar Land Rover, with an advanced design configured to suit in-line and transverse installations for rear-wheel drive and all-wheel drive configurations, the new engines will be both efficient and powerful – including top speeds of more than 300km/h and emissions lower than 100g of CO2 per km.
At the same time, the XE combines thrilling performance, agile handling and precise, responsive steering, with outstanding levels of refinement.
Says Mike Cross, chief engineer of vehicle integrity: “Jaguars have always been renowned for a balance of precise handling and a high-quality ride. The XE is the culmination of everything the company has learned over the years. The Integral Link rear suspension provides a combination of supple ride and crisp handling that is unmatched in this segment. We are on target to deliver a vehicle that dynamically outperforms our rivals.”
Unique to this segment, the Integral Link suspension delivers major benefits over conventional multi-link designs. By providing lateral and longitudinal stiffness, the integral link delivers sharp response and handling while retaining a refined, luxurious ride.
Many components of the Integral Link suspension have been forged or hollow-cast in aluminium. These are the optimum production techniques to produce a strong, lightweight solution.
Mounted to a sub-frame with cast aluminium suspension towers, the XE’s double wishbone front suspension delivers the highest levels of handling and road holding.
The advanced design is based on Jaguar’s flagship F-Type sports car and includes some key components designed to deliver Jaguar XFRlevels of stiffness. These ensure the XE enjoys a similar level of agility and “connected” steering feel. Like the rear suspension, many components are made from cast and forged aluminium and some are produced using a patented process.
Jaguar is renowned for its steering feel and this will now move to the next level as the XE becomes the first Jaguar to be equipped with the latest generation electric power assisted steering.
Jaguar says its latest software algorithms now allow much greater scope for tuning than hydraulic-based systems, and deliver better quality steering feel.
Other benefits include variable steering damping, ease of low-speed manoeuvring and the ability to adapt to Jaguar Drive Control settings. EPAS also enables a range of active safety and driver aid features.
Even with the best traction control, rear-wheel drive cars can struggle to pull away from rest on very slippery surfaces. For that reason, Jaguar has developed All Surface Progress Control, a completely new feature in its class.
Developed with the input of decades of Jaguar Land Rover experience in off-road traction systems, ASPC can electronically gain traction with far less drama than a human driver can achieve. The system works like a low-speed cruise control to deliver optimum traction in the most slippery conditions without skidding and without the driver using the pedals.
Designed and engineered in the UK, the XE will be the first Jaguar to be manufactured at a new purpose-built production facility at the company’s Solihull plant in the West Midlands in the UK.