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Though rumours of the X-TYPE’s demise have long been circulated, the recent announcement that production would cease at the end of this year was still something of a surprise. The X-TYPE range was, of course, subject to a ‘refresh’ early in 2008, a process that included the engineering of a new six-speed automatic gearbox installation for the 2.2-litre diesel (previously only available with a six-speed manual), and a signifi cantly revised interior for all models. So the process was no mere ‘nose job’; engineering those changes would have taken time and no small amount of money. When on the launch in April 2008 I spoke to Kevin Stride, X-TYPE (and XF) chief programme manager, and asked him how long the refreshed model would be around, he confi rmed just that. “Clearly we’re not going to comment precisely,” Kevin told me, “but we’re not going to invest the amount of eff ort and money – because it’s not just money, it is the sheer amount of eff ort it requires when you’ve got all these other great things that we’re doing – we’re not going to make that investment for nothing.” Though far from cast iron, the indication was that while Jaguar was busy working on new XJ and the run up to the launch of its Gen III range of engines, it still intended the X-TYPE to be around for some time and so thought the upgrades well worthwhile.