Jaguar S-Type

The Jaguar S-Type sedan is a model of automobile introduced in 1999 (for the 2000 model year) by the British Jaguar luxury division of the Ford Motor Company.

The name was a revival of a previous Jaguar model, the S-Type introduced in 1964.

The S-Type remains in production at its Castle Bromwich facility in Birmingham, England. It is based on the Ford/Jaguar DEW platform which it currently shares with the Lincoln LS, but with substantial modifications. The car was styled by the late Geoff Lawson. A minor facelift in 2004 refined the car's overall appearance. It also received an aluminium bonnet.

The supercharged S-Type R joined the lineup in 2003. The "R" is powered by a supercharged V8 producing 390 hp (291 kW), and can go from 0 to 60 mph in 5.3 s (0 to 100 km/h in 5.6 s). It includes 18 in (457 mm) wheels, wire mesh grille and dramatic monochromatic paint. The R also has a sportier front fascia with fog lamps built-in, a rear spoiler, a brace located near the rear subframe, and "R" badging on the rear deck lid and both front fenders. It is the most expensive S-Type, with a base price of US$58,995.

Powertrain

Rear view of Jaguar S-Type R

The rear wheel drive S-Type is currently produced (as of model year 2003) with either a 5-speed manual transmission or a 6-speed J-Gate transmission that allows automatic gear selection or clutchless manual gear selection. From model years 2000 to 2002, the S-Type was equipped with either a 5-speed manual or 5-speed J-Gate transmission.

The vehicle is powered by a variety of petrol and diesel engines. The 2.5 L engine is not available for vehicles exported to the United States and Canada.

• 2.5 L V6 201 hp (150 kW) 2003-onwards
• 3.0 L V6 240 hp (180 kW)
• 4.0 L V8 290 hp (220 kW) 2000-2002
• 4.2 L V8 300 hp (220 kW) 2003-onwards
• 4.2 L V8 supercharged 400 hp (300 kW) 2003-onwards
• 2.7 L V6 diesel 207bhp (152kW) 2004-onwards

Trivia

• In 2003, the Finnish police division liikkuva poliisi (highway patrol) was donated an S-Type R by a car and technology magazine. In 2005, it crashed while chasing a motorcycle (reaching speeds of well over 200 km/h). The car was not badly damaged, however, and the speeder gave up after the incident. photo[1]

• The S-Type became a status symbol soon after its launch. Almost immediately the car began appearing in music videos and fashion publications, simply for its object status.

• Sting was driven around in a Jaguar S-Type in the music video for his song "Desert Rose", and because of this, the song has been used in past Jaguar commercials.

• The car is a popular seller - in 1:18 scale. Soon after the car's release, Maisto, amongst other die-cast car makers offered it, and it became one of the best-selling 1:18 die-cast cars during its time.

2008

The S-Type is expected to be updated for the 2008 model year. It was expected that the new S-Type would share the new XJ's aluminium chassis, but the company instead decided on just an aluminium skin over a conventional steel chassis.

External links

• Jaguar S-Types in Australia
• Used Jaguar S-Type information