The XK8 body electronics control system

Historically, the increased feature content of cars has lead to an increase of hardware and wiring such that packaging space is now at a premium. This is particularly so in the case of Jaguar´s cars, which, being located in the luxury sector of the market, must fulfil the associated expectations. The timing of the XK8 program meant Jaguar was able to take advantage of developments within its parent company, the Ford Motor Company. In particular, a multiplex control system developed specifically for automotive applications (standard corporate protocol) and associated microprocessor-based control modules. These developments formed the basis of the XK8 body system to meet the requirements of: reduce wiring with the associated reduction in cost, weight and packaging space; refinement of feature operation and the flexibility to modify; reduced part count and associated production costs; and lower development costs