well that sucks. i thought that an aluminum S-Type would be a great sport saloon, but now i suppose it’ll just have to be ok.

cost cutting mistake.

Now what will separate Jag from the rest of the Volvo/Mazda/Ford bretherin on the same platform?

Cost cutting and shortcuts like this are a main reason that Ford’s PAG is failing.

Great pic, old news. I say just stick a bigger engine to compensate for the weight

If they cut enough costs they’ll end up with nothing..

wow what a surprise: Ford had a plan, then wavered, then, at the last possible moment, changed it – choosing the cheaper path, coincidentally, and probably hurting whatever change Jag had to elevate their duly-tarnished rep.

Bill Ford and his minions sure have a hard time sticking to their decisions. They need The Decider!

I think they’re just trying to play up the well-respected (somewhat) Jaguar name.

Not surprising but I think it is unfortunate. It could’ve been a really good way to differentiate that car in that segment. Not a half baked aluminum car like the 5 series or a we make a bigger aluminum car like Audi. Ohwell, Jaguar has a lot of vague problems and this doesn’t help in my opinion.

2003 XJ8: 3995 lbs.
2004 XJ8: 3766 lbs.

Not seeing an 800 pound difference here. More like 200.

And the redesigned aluminum XK is only about 100 pounds lighter than the old car.

It amazes me that companies like Ford keep making the same mistake. You absolutely know now that every single review of the coming S-Type will have first or last paragraphs like:

“It’s a very nice effort, and by several measures an excellent car, but oh what it could have been if it was 800 pounds lighter…”

Michael, the new XK convertible is 100 lbs lighter than the old XK COUPE and is stiffer than the outgoing coupe. The new COUPE is far lighter.

its only 200lbs lighter cos there are feature such as safety features that add a lot of weight over the last genaration to the car but are needed to meet legal restrictions

The censors won’t let them put the other three letters behind ‘S’.

j i m

Audi and BMW can breathe a collective sigh of relief as Jaguar yet again relegates itself to the status of “also-ran” in the European sedan market….Some things never change.

Jaguar’s woes nowadays mainly due to the fact that new Jaguar sedans fail to look like brand new. It is retro going way overboard especially the biggest sellers- the Jaguar sedans. The new XK series is a big improvement but Jaguar needs this new S type to look well….all new, unlike the ugly XJ sedan. Considering that the its fellow PAG members are enjoying brisk growth, it is time for Jaguar to pick up the pace because it is underachieving.

how will they make the new model worth buying now?
like all new cars, it is bound to get bigger, and thus heavier. the 4.0L is tapped out for power, 300 hp stock v8, 400 supercharged, we’re all familiar with the drivetrain… the new car will have to be radically different in other places to garner much attention. The s-type shape is a weird one, one that later buyers looked past, not enjoyed. The x-type has tapped out the XJ details, so where in the world can the s-type go? If they try to make a middle-ground XJ they’ll find a lot of s-types on the sales floor. I don’t really see much of the r-d6 getting to production in a way that makes a non-jag buyer see the s-type as something other than just a reheated previous s-type, especially with the drivetrain fully baked and already familiar in current models and not really all that different from the previous model. The next S-type should have been an R-coupe inspired rehash of the XJ/K. roughly same room, not quite as convenient dimensions, different perception. Like E/CLS/S mercedes.

not only does this remove sales point, it also leaves them with diddly to work with. the X-type is somewhat tied to the mondeo, and the upper models are aluminum. Is there a phaeton-job (as in from the a8) to be done from the XJ to create an S-type?

Hey, there’s an angle. Create a similarly sized car with less exotic materials for less! And use R-coupe styling. Now get to it. This one better not have a dumpy ass though.