Ford has decided to ditch its plan to build the next S-Type using the same all-aluminum construction as the
company’s XJ flagship. Instead the next S-Type will feature aluminum body panels and a steel floor plan, be inspired by
the 2003 RD-6 concept (shown) and sport the oh-so-popular four-door coupe body style being worn by the Mercedes-Benz
CLS and the upcoming Porsche Panamera. Ford’s plans for Jaguar include repositioning the brand to compete with Porsche
more than BMW and thus reducing its volume from 200,000 to 100,000 units per year. This suggests that Jaguar will be
more exclusive and even exotic than its current image projects, which makes us wonder why it’s dropping the
all-aluminum philosophy in favor of a more mundane steel platform. The answer is cost, of course, but Jaguar has always
been held back by its bean counters. They’re the guys who decided to sell us a Mondeo-sourced X-Type. That worked out
well, eh?
All-aluminum S-Type cancelled due to cost
Ford has decided to ditch its plan to build the next S-Type using the same all-aluminum construction as the company’s XJ flagship. Instead the next S-Type will feature aluminum body panels and a steel floor plan, be inspired by the 2003 RD-6 concept (shown) and sport the oh-so-popular four-door coupe body style being worn by the Mercedes-Benz CLS and the upcoming Porsche Panamera. Ford’s plans for Jaguar include repositioning the brand to compete with Porsche more than BMW and thus reducing its volume from 200,000 to 100,000 units per year. This suggests that Jaguar will be more exclusive and even exotic than its current image projects, which makes us wonder why it’s dropping the all-aluminum philosophy in favor of a more mundane steel platform. The answer is cost, of course, but Jaguar has always been held back by its bean counters. They’re the guys who decided to sell us a Mondeo-sourced X-Type. That worked out well, eh?