The X350, so-called after its project code number, was introduced to the public at the Motor Shows in the autumn of 2002, and was the seventh generation of the Jaguar XJ saloon. It was the latest member of a family of cars that began in 1968, and as the largest and most prestigious of three Jaguar saloons, the new XJ was an up-to-date version of a classic Jaguar theme, and the company’s flagship.

The new car included many advanced features, notably the all-aluminium unitary construction body shell keeping the weight down, a six-speed automatic transmission, and an air suspension system. The X350 offered considerably more interior room and boot space than any previous XJ saloon, mainly achieved by building the car taller.

The XJ8 featured the well-known Jaguar V8 engine, now with capacities increased to 3.5 litres and 4.2 litres, and fitted with a supercharger in the top-of-the-line XJR version. The X350 cars were at first built in Jaguar’s traditional factory at Browns Lane in Coventry, with body shells supplied from Castle Bromwich and engines from Bridgend in Wales.