european car's long-term X-Type is the car in our fleet with the best opportunity to be improved. When I said so in the magazine, XKs Unlimited called to say it may have the solution. It didn't take us a year to get in our Jaguar and drive up the California coast to find out.
XKs Unlimited's X-Type was enhanced with products from the German Jaguar tuner Arden. A fiberglass body kit, comprising front spoiler, side skirts and rear valance, was trimmed with upper and lower stainless steel mesh grilles, similar to that used by Jaguar itself on the S-Type R. The interior received an aluminum pedal kit, including a dead pedal. Performance changes came by means of a four-tip, stainless-steel rear muffler system, lowering springs, and Arden/OZ Design III 8.5x18-in., two-piece wheels with 225/40ZR18 Pirelli P-Zero Rosso tires.
The magic touch of maximum-performance Pirellis was apparent, gluing the silver X-Type to the pavement at speeds our long-term car's driver could only imagine. The lowering springs were indeed stiffer, increasing responsiveness, reducing body roll and pitching movements, but it was clear from the slightly jiggly ride that they would be better if paired with the custom-valved Bilstein dampers that were engineered by Arden to accompany them. I'm not confident I can accurately describe the feeling, but I could tell from the driver's seat that the Arden wheels were heavy. XKs Unlimited has since relayed that they weigh a paltry 30 lb each.
Aesthetics is where Jaguars have traditionally shone most brightly, and the Arden parts capitalize on it. The exhaust allowed the 3.0L V6 to finally clear its throat and belt out a few sets of warmup scales against the hillsides--but not so loud as to upset the neighbors. In silver, with the setting sun splashing buckets of purple light all around, the car was simply beautiful.
XKs Unlimited was founded as an independent British car service center in 1973 and has grown into a leading center for Jaguar and classic car service and restoration. It can handle anything from a careful oil change to a frame-off rebuild of an irreplaceable classic, and everything in between. Show car to vintage racer preparation and support was all happening. XKs Unlimited can even construct a completely new, aluminum-bodied car around your old running gear; several sloped-fender XKs with more sophisticated chassis shared space with the concours jobs. The skills of XKs Unlimited's technicians are suited to maintaining the alloy bodies of Land Rovers, and the spares stocked also support the slow, boxy machines. The company is also a dealer for Shelby's continuation production of original-style Cobras; several were on the premises.
european car was invited to learn about a tuned X-Type. The company behind its presence in the U.S. turned out to be an even better story. There seems to be little it couldn't handle for owners of British cars.