Jaguar World Magazine XK8-R owner s guide Back Issue

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.