29 March 2016: Jaguar took its latest XJ to one of the world?s most spectacular modern roads – the ?Skyroad? in China – to find out how innovation in road technology and design is helping to match the improving ride of modern luxury cars.
The 240km-long road, officially named the Yaxi Expressway, cost over 20bn RMB ($3bn), took five years to build and has become a tourist attraction as it snakes through spectacular scenery in Sichuan Province.

The region – which is not only extremely mountainous but is also an active earthquake zone – required the road designers to utilise innovative thinking. Engineers solved the issue by using tunnels and viaducts to make up over half the length.
Skyroad engineer Peng Li said: ?Constructing modern roads is very challenging from a technology perspective because we have to keep pace with the development of the auto industry and there are many factors in the design of road surfaces and layouts.
?In modern luxury cars like the Jaguar XJ, the passenger expectations are high. These cars are frequently chauffeur-driven and roads need to be designed to match the smooth ride and comfort engineered into luxury vehicles.
?We incorporated a huge number of innovative technologies, materials and features to deliver this, including the world?s longest continuous slope of 51km, with an incline of 3%, and the world?s first double-spiral tunnel, which optimizes the experience for drivers.?
One of the biggest challenges in the road...