New Jaguar XJ by Arden – the AJ22

The Arden AJ22 - a customised 2010 Jaguar XJ

The new Jaguar XJ was launched in July and we covered it in detail. We did an XJ Review covering every bit of detail we had. All that’s left is the drive, but with the first customer cars not arriving until January – and press cars there or there abouts – we figured we’d covered the bases.

What we hadn’t reckoned on is an after-market customiser turning out a modified XJ before the car even hits the road. But that’s what’s happened with the release by German tuner and customiser Arden, who have released details of their modifications for the 2010 XJ.

To be fair to Arden they’ve been pretty restrained. Their press release talks about “…taking up the challenge of further perfecting an almost perfect car” and notes that “British cars have always stood out from the rest on account of their elegance, discreet sportiness and understatement“. Which augers well for the changes they’ve made to the elegant and well-proportioned XJ (although that’s a subjective call for many on the backend – but wait ’til you see it in the flesh before passing judgement).

And actually, they’ve done a pretty good job. They’ve been here before, of course, with the Arden XJ Convertible and the XFR by Arden (AJ21). Both are sympathetic custom jobs with great regard for the subtleties of Jaguar’s creations. And it’s much the same with the new XJ.

Arden has added a nice set of 21″ alloys, added a front an rear apron, rear spoiler and side sills. There’s a four-pipe stainless steel exhaust and high-performance Cats which are responsible for more power (Arden don’t say how much) and a more sonorous exhaust note. Oh, and they’ve also ‘Sportified’ the suspension.

The Arden XJ AJ22 is not an abomination by any means. It looks purposeful and aggressive without losing much of the subtlety of the original. It’s a good effort.

But I think we’d plump for the original.

By Cars UK