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As the physical process of building cars is something I fi nd quite fascinating, I’ve always jumped at any opportunity that’s come my way to visit a production line to witness things fi rst hand, the most recent of these being an invitation to see the new XJ being built. Given the importance of this car for Jaguar – completing as it will the thorough overhaul of the marque’s range in little more than four years – my visit to Castle Bromwich in January had particular signifi cance, and the day didn’t disappoint. From start to fi nish, that is the press shop through to trim and fi nal, the tour provided a valuable insight as to the complexities of building an advanced contemporary luxury saloon. The technical presentation that followed also revealed more about the development of the car itself, a process that is equally complex, plus some previously undisclosed engineering nuggets. Amongst others, Andy Dobson, XJ chief programme engineer, Michelle O’Connor, vehicle integrity, Tim Clark, technical specialist driving attributes, Garry Dunne, technical specialist powertrain sound quality and Peter Davis, technical manager vehicle dynamics, related how their respective areas of expertise had been used to ‘tune’ the new XJ’s character, and how that character has been designed to provide an optimal blend of refi nement and power. Juggling those two diff erent and opposing attributes – essentially luxury vs sporting character – is clearly no simple task, but if they’ve got it right the new XJ should be more engaging to drive hard than its predecessor when conditions allow, yet more cosseting when it‘s time to cruise. As for how that will be achieved, we knew about the new XJ’s adoption of the continually variable adaptive damping system and passive springs at the front (air suspension remains at the rear), but what was also revealed is that the front subframe is now solid-mounted to the bodyshell.