Jaguar takes a singular approach

Jaguar will unveil what is being hailed as its most advanced sports car ever at next week’s Frankfurt motor show.

The XK Coupé has a rigid, lightweight aluminium monocoque structure developed using techniques based on aerospace engineering. This makes its bodyshell 31 per cent stiffer than previous XK models and also offers a 10 per cent improvement in power-to-weight ratio.

It features aluminium castings and extrusions, plus pressed aluminium panels, and is formed using new jointing techniques developed by Jaguar and its suppliers.

Coupled with a powerful 300bhp V8 engine, the weight savings from the design allow the XK Coupé to reach 60mph from standstill in 5.9 seconds. It can also complete a quarter-mile sprint in 14.4 seconds, which is less than half a second off the pace of the outgoing 400bhp supercharged model.

As well as including keyless entry and push-button start, the model features an advanced high-resolution colour cockpit display based on thin film transistor technology.

The bumpers and bonnet have been designed with pedestrian safety in mind. Its pedestrian deployable bonnet moves upwards away from its rear edge in milliseconds in the event of an impact, creating a safety zone between the bonnet, the engine and hard underbonnet areas, reducing the potential for injury.

Improved visibility during high-speed cornering is provided by a headlight system that swivels the dipped beam lens depending on road speed and the angle in which the steering wheel is turned.

Improvements to the engine, including a new fuel-injection system, have reduced CO2 emissions by six per cent compared to the previous model, according to the manufacturer.

The XK, which is being built at Jaguar’s Castle Bromwich plant in the West Midlands, will go on sale in the UK in the spring.