For Jaguar, it was a pivotal and exciting moment. The first production all-aluminium XK sports car rolled off the Castle Bromwich production line this week. Hundreds of Jaguar employees celebrated this event that heralds another significant era for the English luxury brand.

The first production XK sports car is a Liquid Silver 4.2-litre V8 Coupe with a Charcoal interior and aluminium facia interior. The first XK – known as Job #1 – will be handed to John Maries, Executive Director, Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust. The car will be kept in the Trust's collection alongside the first and last E-Type and many other iconic models from Jaguar's past.

The all-new Jaguar XK Coupe and XK Convertible models will be available in Australia from mid 2006.

Bibiana Boerio, Jaguar’s Managing Director said earlier this week: “Today is a very important day. The first Job#1 XK sports car rolls off the line. It is an exciting time for all our employees, customers and dealers. The launch of a new XK sports car creates momentum, excitement and a buzz that marks an historic step in Jaguar's revitalisation plans."

"There has been a tremendous response from all around the world to the new XK; we are now starting to take official customer orders for this exciting Jaguar sports car before the official on-sale date in early (northern) spring."

Production of the all-new Jaguar XK sports car takes place in a completely new state-of-the-art manufacturing centre where the aluminium bodies for the XK and the XJ range are stamped, assembled and painted, alongside the S-TYPE.

"The creation of a new Jaguar sports car with an aluminium-intensive body structure represents a significant manufacturing accomplishment. A new, dedicated aluminium assembly facility at the Castle Bromwich plant alongside some of the most advanced lean manufacturing techniques in the car industry are major aspects of the XK manufacturing story," says John Naughton Castle Bromwich Plant Director, Jaguar Cars.

A new, dedicated aluminium pressing facility and a comprehensively redeveloped body assembly facility were constructed three years ago at Castle Bromwich to produce the XJ sedan. As Jaguar's first aluminium-intensive body structure in volume production, the XJ's lightweight vehicle design represented a major step forward, not least for the intensive use of aluminium in a conventional vehicle architecture. In 2005, Jaguar further invested into its Midlands site with an ambitious consolidation of the site.

This includes the following fascinating facts:

In excess of 120 contracting companies and approximately 2,500 contractors were employed by Jaguar to transform the Castle Bromwich site for the arrival of the new XK and accommodate the XJ assembly transferred from Browns Lane.

Approximately 1,400 tonnes of new steel was erected to construct these structures, refurbish F Block for XJ sedan and introduce XK sports car into Castle Bromwich.

In total, 14,000 sq metres of roof have been replaced on F Block and A1/A2 where the XK and XJ are assembled.

A network of fire mains and valve sets was laid a metre below ground around the site from the northwest to the southeast corners, covering a length of 2,000 metres. An additional 58,000 sq metres of production building will be sprinklered as a result – equivalent to 9 football pitches.

A new 80,000-litre fuel farm was installed on the south road to support XK production.

Some 7,000 cubic metres of soil will have been excavated from the site, weighing 12,500 tonnes.

And 5,000 cubic metres of concrete will have been poured weighing 12,000 tonnes and requiring more than 500 concrete deliveries.

At a glance

• The XK was awarded the Engineering and Technology Award at the prestigious Prince Michael International Road Safety Awards. The XK was recognised for its new industry-leading pedestrian safety feature – the pedestrian deployable bonnet.
• The most technically and technologically advanced Jaguar ever, XK is the first of a new generation of Jaguar cars.
• Advanced aluminium body structure technology delivers incredibly stiff and strong lightweight vehicle architecture (lighter than predecessor and key rivals, at 1,595kg kerb weight).
• Intuitive controls and driver-focused technologies – such as keyless entry, push button start and active lighting – enhance driver enjoyment.
• The Castle Bromwich plant currently employs 2,500 hourly and salaried staff. The XJ and S-TYPE models are also produced at Castle Bromwich as well as the new XK sports car.

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