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2002 Jaguar XJ8 Polished Saloon

2002 Jaguar XJ8 Polished Saloon

Fully polished car to show off its all-aluminium construction

This car is an early pre-production X350 (V8 engine XU), which was specially finished in polished

aluminium to show off the new body material. Together with a similarty finished, supercharged,

XJR car, it was used for the launch presentation and motor show displays, before it was presented to

the collection of the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust for preservation. The X350 went on general sale

in April 2003. The observant among you may notice the slight difference in metallic colour between

the body panels and some of the trim items. The body is all polished aluminium whereas some of

the trim is chrome plated plastic.

The X350, so-called after its project code number, was introduced to the public at the motor shows

in the autumn of 2002 and was the seventh generation of the Jaguar XJ saloon. It was the latest

member of a family of cars that began in 1968 and by the time the X350 was introduced, had

reached a total production of over 800,000 cars. As the largest and most prestigious of the three

Jaguar saloon ranges, the new XJ was an up-to-date version of the classic Jaguar theme, and

remained the company's flagship.

The new car included many advanced features, notably the all-aluminium unitary construction

bodyshell, a six-speed automatic transmission and an air suspension system with double wishbones

front and rear. Styling and proportions were clearty inspired by its forebears. Despite this, the

X350 offered considerably more interior room and boot space than any previous XU saloon, mainly

achieved by building the car taller, while the aluminium construction helped to keep weight down.

After an absence of a six cylinder XJ model for some years, the new range again included an XJ6,

fitted with the 3 litre V6 engine also used in the S-TYPE and X-TYPE. The XJ8 featured the well-

known Jaguar V8 engine, now with capacities increased to 3.5 litres and 4.2 lítres, and fitted with a

supercharger in the top-of-the-line XJR version. The X350 cars were built in Jaguar's traditional

home factory at Browns Lane in Coventry, with bodyshells supplied from Castle Bromwich and

engines from Bridgend in Wales.

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Uploaded on April 12, 2022
Taken on April 6, 2022