The safety assurance of the AJV8 electronic throttle

The electronic throttle is a major innovation of the AJV8 engine in the Jaguar XK8 vehicle. Although essentially transparent to the driver, it moves Jaguar into new territory, and has often been referred to in the past as “drive-by-wire”. Jaguar, in partnership with the Dense Corporation, has developed a system that while still offering a simple mechanical solution to assuring overall safety, also recognises the importance of the increased criticality placed on computer controls. This paper discusses both the system safety concepts, and describes the state-of-the-art methods that have been used throughout the development of the XK8