2005 Jaguar XJ8 Vanden Plas



 2005 Jaguar XJ8 Vanden Plas
by John LeBlanc / Auto123.com
In her autobiography, Kay Summersby wrote that she was not only the chauffeur of then Commander of the European Theatre and future President of the United States, Dwight David Eisenhower, but also the General's "wartime mistress". Maybe ol' Ike wasn't the image of 1950's conservatism that was ladled to the American public, and those close to the conservatively portrayed Eisenhower at the time strictly deny the "affair", stating it was strictly a fantasy on Summersby's part.

2005 Jaguar XJ8 Vanden Plas (photo: John Cooke - www.straight-six.com)
A similar contradiction in image was brought forth when Jaguar launched the seventh generation of the XJ sedans in 2004. Its traditional looks were disparaged by automotive critics as being the "same old" Jaguar "same old". Ironically, hiding under the unadventurous sheet metal was a technologically advanced aluminum platform that both potboiler novelist-writing chauffeurs and present-day drivers alike could equally appreciate.

Literally an extension of the XJ line, Jaguar has launched two long wheelbase XJs for 2005. The Super 8 ($125,650) has the 390 horsepower, 399 pound-feet of torque supercharged 4.2-litre vee-eight found in the short wheelbase XJR Q-ship ($105,000), and sits at the top of the Jaguar lineup.

The other stretched model is my test car, the XJ8 Vanden Plas, ringing in at a relatively more affordable $96,000. It shares with the standard XJ8 ($87,500) the non-supercharged version of the same vee-eight, but with 294 horsepower and 303 pound-feet of torque. All Jaguar XJs come with a six-speed ZF automatic transmission.

2005 Jaguar XJ8 Vanden Plas (photo: John Cooke - www.straight-six.com)
Unlike the previous generation XJs, the LWB models were in Jaguar's plans from the beginning. The additional 127 millimetres have been subtly styled in from the outset so the Vanden Plas doesn't look like some kind of prom night limo. If you've forgotten your tape measure during a test drive, there's a new grille and larger diameter wheels to help distinguish the extended model as well.

Jaguar boasts that the aluminum shell of all XJs are 40 percent lighter but 60 percent stiffer than the steel bodies of the last generation. The result: This long wheelbase aluminum cat not only weighs a slight 24 kilograms more than a regular length XJ, but also weighs 181 kilograms less than a Mercedes-Benz S430 4MATIC L ($111,250), and 272 kilograms less than a BMW 750Li ($105,200), or the similarly aluminum-structured Audi A8L ($98,900).

Although down on power compared to its competitors (A8L 335-hp; 750Li 360-hp; S430 4MATIC L 295-hp), as noted, the Jaguar's mill has less weight to haul around. The LWB XJ's relative svelte allows Jaguar to claim they are just as fast and fuel-efficient as the standard models. Accelerating to 100 kilometres an hour will take a little over six seconds and Jaguar claims best-in-class fuel consumption numbers of 13 L/100 kms in the city and 9 L/100 kms on the highway. And c'mon, when was the last time an automotive writer complained about having a vee-eight under the hood?

Aligned with the longer wheelbase, the XJ8 Vanden Plas comes standard with air suspension that includes active damping. This translates to a very refined, smooth ride, especially when chauffeuring Queen  Automotive Journalist and the two princesses to Toronto from Ottawa for an Easter long weekend.

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