The
Jaguar S-Type was a mid-size luxury/
executive carExecutive car is a British term that refers to a car's size and is used to describe an automobile larger than a large family car. In official use, the term is adopted by EuroNCAP, a European organisation founded to test car safety.- History :...
that debuted at the 1998 Birmingham Motor Show and went on sale in spring 1999. The name is a revival of a previous Jaguar model, the
S-TypeThe Jaguar S-Type was produced from 1963–68 as a technically more sophisticated development of the Jaguar Mark 2, offering buyers a more luxurious alternative to the Mark 2 without the size and expense of the Mark X. It sold alongside the Mark 2, as well as the Jaguar 420 following its release in...
introduced in 1963.
Overview
The S-Type was produced at Jaguar's
Castle BromwichCastle Bromwich is a suburb situated within the northern part of the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull in the English county of West Midlands. It is bordered by the rest of the borough to the south east, North Warwickshire to the east and north east; also Shard End to the south west, Castle Vale,...
facility in
BirminghamBirmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
,
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The car was styled by
Geoff LawsonGeoff Lawson was a British car designer who is best known for serving as Design Director for Jaguar between 1989 until his death. He died in June 1999 and is survived by a wife and two children. He was succeeded at Jaguar by Ian Callum.-Background:...
and is based on the Jaguar DEW platform/Ford DEW platform, shared with the
Lincoln LSThe Lincoln LS is a mid-size, rear wheel drive sedan from Lincoln. For its production run from 1999 until 2006, it was based on the Ford DEW98 platform, which was shared with the Jaguar S-Type and Ford Thunderbird...
.
The first S-Types ("X200" 1999–2002) are distinguished by a U-shaped centre console and optional touch-screen
navigation systemAn automotive navigation system is a satellite navigation system designed for use in automobiles. It typically uses a GPS navigation device to acquire position data to locate the user on a road in the unit's map database. Using the road database, the unit can give directions to other locations...
. The traditional leaping jaguar hood ornament was optional even though it is approved by the US and EU standards and breaks away in the case of an accident. Subsequent models ("X202", "X204", "X206"; the last digit denoting the model year) have the Jaguar logo incorporated within the radiator grille and a more traditional 'looped' styling for the centre console.
The
superchargedA supercharger is an air compressor used for forced induction of an internal combustion engine.The greater mass flow-rate provides more oxygen to support combustion than would be available in a naturally aspirated engine, which allows more fuel to be burned and more work to be done per cycle,...
S-Type R (Jaguar STR for short) joined the lineup in 2002, and the hope was that it would compete with BMW's M5 and the Mercedes E55 AMG. The
R was powered by the newly revised 4.2-Litre V8 with an Eaton M112 supercharger, producing 400 hp and could accelerate from 0 to 60 mi/h in 5.3 s (0 to 100 kilometre per hour in 5.6 s). It included 18-inch (457-millimeter) alloy wheels, wire-mesh grille, and monochromatic paint. The
R also has a rear apron, side-skirts, and front apron with built-in fog-lamps, a rear spoiler, a brace located near the rear subframe, and
R badging on the boot lid and both front fenders (wings). It was the most expensive S-Type, with a base price of £50,040 in the UK (US$58,995 in the United States).
Later models of the
S-Type R featured a revised pulley system for the Eaton M112 supercharger, allowing it to produce an extra 20 hp.
Also added on the 2003 model was an electronic parking-brake paddle-switch that replaced the conventional manually-operated lever for the rear brakes. For the 2003 model year, the Jaguar S-type was given a 6-speed, automatic ZF 6HP26 transmission as well as a revised 3.0-Liter V6 engine with 235 hp (US spec) versus 210 hp for the 1999 to 2002 models. The 2003 model featured a revised dash, centre console, and a grille with the Jaguar badge to give the vehicle a more Jaguar-like appearance.
A minor facelift on the 2004 model year featured redesigned front and rear aprons, a slightly modified grille, remodeled rear light clusters, an aluminium hood (bonnet), and a new 2.7-Liter V6 diesel engine with 207 hp. The windscreen washer jets were incorporated into the windscreen wiper arms, and a flip-open key was devised for the ignition. There were no changes made on the cabin interior.
Powertrain
From model years 1999 to 2002, the S-Type rear-wheel-drive was equipped with either a 5-speed manual or a 5-speed
J-Gate Ford 5R55N transmission. From 2003, the S-Type was produced with either a 5-speed
manual transmissionA manual transmission, also known as a manual gearbox or standard transmission is a type of transmission used in motor vehicle applications...
or a 6-speed
J-Gate transmission that allows
automaticAn automatic transmission is one type of motor vehicle transmission that can automatically change gear ratios as the vehicle moves, freeing the driver from having to shift gears manually...
gear selection or clutchless manual gear selection. The 2004 diesel saw the introduction of a 6-speed manual transmission; it was also available with the 6-speed
J-Gate automatic transmission.
The vehicle was powered by a variety of petrol and
diesel engineA diesel engine is an internal combustion engine that uses the heat of compression to initiate ignition to burn the fuel, which is injected into the combustion chamber...
s. The 2.5 L
V6 engineA V6 engine is a V engine with six cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of three cylinders, usually set at either a right angle or an acute angle to each other, with all six pistons driving a common crankshaft...
was not available for vehicles exported to the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and
CanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
- 2.5 L V6 201 hp 2003-2005
- 3.0 L V6 210 hp 1999-2002
- 3.0 L V6 240 hp 2003-2008
- 4.0 L V8 282 hp 1999-2002
- 4.2 L V8 300 hp 2003-2008
- 4.2 L V8 supercharged 400 hp 2003-2008
- 2.7 L V6 Twin-turbo
Twin-turbo refers to a turbocharged engine, in which two turbochargers compress the intake charge. There are two commonly used twin turbo configurations: parallel twin-turbo and sequential twin-turbo...
dieselA diesel engine is an internal combustion engine that uses the heat of compression to initiate ignition to burn the fuel, which is injected into the combustion chamber...
207 bhp 2004-2008
Replacement (2008)
The S-Type was discontinued in the spring of 2008, replaced by the
XFThe Jaguar XF The Jaguar XF The Jaguar XF (type (X250) is a mid-size luxury car / sports saloon produced by British car manufacturer Jaguar. The car, which replaced the Jaguar S-Type, was launched at the 2007 Frankfurt Motor Show following the public showing of the C-XF concept in January 2007 at...
.
Facts
The S-Type is available on special request in U.A.E (United Arab Emirates).
In his song
Hey Mama from the album
Late RegistrationLate Registration is the second studio album by American hip hop artist Kanye West, released August 30, 2005, on Roc-A-Fella Records. Recording sessions for the album took place over the course of a year at various recording studios located in New York City and Hollywood...
, American rapper
Kanye WestKanye Omari West is an American rapper, singer, and record producer. West first rose to fame as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, where he eventually achieved recognition for his work on Jay-Z's album The Blueprint, as well as hit singles for musical artists including Alicia Keys, Ludacris, and...
says "Imma get you a jag, whatever else you want; just tell me the kind of S-Type Donda West like."