Lessons Learned on 2004 XJ and 2007 XK

Comments (0)

Dearborn, MI: Jan. 19, 2006-When Jaguar designed its 2004 XJ and 2007 XK it set out to impress, not only with its mastery of advanced aluminum architectures and elegant style, but also with its commitment to reducing the cost of repairs for the sedan and sport coupe.
The latest versions of both vehicles trade traditional steel for aluminum. The manufacturing cost is substantially higher for aluminum, but the strong lightweight metal offers safety advantages and significant savings in fuel economy and other environmental considerations. Moreover, the XJ and XK's designs aim to reduce collision repair cost and complexity through innovative component packaging to minimize insurance rates for vehicle owners.
"We want to give the lowest cost of ownership so that the car appeals to the maximum number of people," said Brian Kemp, Body Technologies Engineer, Jaguar Land Rover Central Service Operations Strategy & Support.
Although the two Jaguar vehicles were designed and developed separately, the engineering team at Jaguar took advantage of lessons learned on the XJ's development to refine the XK's design. Likewise, lessons learned on the XK will be applied to the XJ.
"The XJ was the proving ground for the XK," explained Mark White, Chief Technical Specialist, Jaguar Land Rover.
What Jaguar learned from the XJ regarding the performance properties of aluminum, the adhesives and the rivets has been applied to the XK. And Jaguar validated its virtual tests for the XK against real world data collected from the XJ. When the XK team looked at the real world collision data from the XJ, it incorporated that data into its XJ repair strategy and into its design for the XK.
"We realized the importance of designing for repair considerations," White said.
Using real world data collected from the XJ, the team set out to reduce the cost and complexity of vehicle repairs on the XK by designing bolt-on/bolt-off bumpers, bumper beams, crush cans and cross members, which absorb much of the impact in collisions of 5 to 15 miles per hour. These features not only reduce the risk of major structural damage, but are relatively simple to remove and replace, reducing the number of man hours at the repair shop, saving the vehicle owner time and money. Also, the distance between these parts and other components like the radiator is greater to better absorb the impact and minimize damage to interior components.
Moreover, the team designed a bolt-on/bolt-off main chassis rail for the XK, which is believed to be an industry first for a production vehicle. In impacts exceeding medium to high speed, the main chassis rail is often severally damaged, requiring much time in the repair shop. The bolt-in/bolt-off variety significantly reduces repair cost and complexity.
"For a production car to have a chassis rail that can be bolted in and out I think that's a unique feature," White said. "That's a significant advantage."
Both vehicles' monocoque architectures also enable the replacement of damaged rear quarter panels and rocker panels without the necessity of replacing entire side panels.
White added that the XK team has already sent back improvements to the XJ from its XK development work.
In addition, the new XK boasts an engineering first for Jaguar as well as an industry first for chassis design on a production car.
White said the XJ's insurance rates on the aluminum version are lower than on the outgoing steel version, and the rates on the new XK are either the same or lower than the outgoing steel version, because we've cut down the repair time almost by half.
"We appreciate the importance of having a repair strategy influence car design," Kemp said.
The XK team also used customized Computer Aided Engineering assessment methods to design repair efficiencies into the XK, achieving a first for Jaguar.
"The XK is truly designed in the virtual world," White said. "I know that lots of companies say such things, but we completed all of our production releases and hard tooling before we crashed our first car."
From a performance point of view the XK team did all of its tests in the CAE virtual world including low-speed and high-speed tests. When they eventually conducted a prototype crash test it only confirmed that they'd met their target. They didn't have to do any modifications to the body structure at all.
"That's a first for us," White said.
By doing most of the XK's design and development in the virtual world-thanks in part to data collected from real world XJ tests-the Jaguar team was able to save time and money. And by factoring repairability into the XK's design and into modifications for the XJ, consumers stand to benefit as well.
"We've become myth-busters of the preconception that all repairs for the XJ and XK would be difficult and expensive due to the materials used," Kemp said. "When it comes to repairs, these cars may be different but they won't be difficult. And in the long run, the consumer benefits."

0 Responses to "Lessons Learned on 2004 XJ and 2007 XK"

Home Auto News Car Reviews Concept Cars Classic Cars Car Tires Car Wheels Motorcycles

Forum

Automotive News > Lessons Learned on 2004 XJ and 2007 XK

Leave a Reply

Name

HTML Comments are not allowed