Jaguar’s new XK supercar looks stunning, destined to turn heads wherever it goes. It has the beauty and elegance of some of the vintage Jaguars of the 1960s. However, like those masterpieces, the real story of the new XK and what sets it apart from its competitors is what lies beneath the paintwork.
No, this time it’s not about a sensational engine, as happened with the XK120, but about the fact that the body is made of aluminum, like the new Jaguar XJ.
The idea of using aluminum – Honda started the trend 15 years ago with the NSX, and Audi quickly followed with the A8 – is to reduce weight. Honda cut weight a lot with the NSX sports car: the body was 40 percent lighter than if it had been made of steel.
Aluminum bodies last longer than steel ones because the metal doesn’t corrode like steel and they also absorb the impact of crashes well, so they are safe. Now a number of car companies use aluminum for some body parts, but Jaguar is a world leader in making cars from aluminum sheets and extrusions.
There is no doubt that the new car is light. After all, it’s 300lbs lighter than the previous model, and it’s actually a bit bigger. I’m not sure why the new car is bigger than the old one, it’s a pretty big car. Here are the figures:
jaguar x k 3,513 pounds (1,595 kg)
current xk 3,820 pounds (1,734 kg)
BMW 650i 3,778 pounds (1,715 kg)
Mercedes-Benz SL500 4,064 pounds (1,845 kg)
Compared to these competing supercars, the new XK fares very well. It’s 250lbs lighter than the BMW and makes the Mercedes look so fat with overweight.
Yes, the new XK is a lightweight, but not in the way that the Lotus Europa S or Elise compete with their rivals. Sure, it’s a lot lighter than the fat old design from the 1990s, but unfortunately Jaguar bosses wanted the car to have all the bells and whistles of a luxury sports car instead of the light weight of a supercar. All of these add weight. And they decided to make the car a little bigger.
Still, as a lightweight luxury sports car or supercar, the new Jaguar will do just fine. Why? Because it looks amazing, a real show-stealer, performs well thanks to that reduced weight, and drives like a much smaller car.
The engine guys have done a pretty good job of improving the response of the V-8 so that the 300-bhp engine provides much better performance than the current model. Once they put the supercharged engine in, the car is sure to be a real cracker. And when you park it and look back, you’ll be convinced of the Jaguar XK supercar every day of the year!