When the XK8 was revealed, most buyers (and journalists)
were of the view that anything which knocked the XJ-S into touch was
automatically a good thing. But the XK8 was no apologist sports car; it was a
great in its own right. Just maybe not that great…
True to form, Car magazine got to the heart of the matter
the first time it got behind the wheel of the XK8 coupé, in 1996. “Let’s clear
one thing up straight away this car is not the ground breaker that the E type
was in 1961. It does not look utterly extraordinary, it is not absurdly cheap
for what it is and it does not perform way beyond its price. But let’s clear
something else up too. The XK8 is a very good car, a desirable car and a major
step ahead for Jaguar. This car stands comparison with any of its few rivals,
and it manages to move the game on”.
Jaguar XK8 interior
a great place to while away the miles
To prove that latter point, in the same issue, the XK8 was
pitched against the Aston Martin DB7 and BMW 840Ci which it blew into the
weeds. “The XK8 wins, clearly. It wins because it looks, goes, handles and
rides the best (it raises the game here), and costs the least by a substantial
margin. Here is a proper sporting Jaguar, which we haven’t seen for so long
that people have forgotten what some Jaguars once were”.
While the XK8 was fast and exciting, those wanting serious
thrills could buy the supercharged XKR by the summer of 1998. Once again, Car
magazine didn’t spare the big cat when it arrived, pitching it against six of the
most talented rivals around the Aston Martin DB7, BMW 840Ci, Honda NSX,
Mercedes SL60 AMG, Porsche 911 and Nissan Skyline GT-R.
In such esteemed company the Jag could easily have come away
with egg all over its face but of course it didn’t. The Aston was dismissed as
already being outdated; the same accusation was leveled at the BMW as well as
the Mercedes. Indeed, all of those rivals were dismissed one by one for various
reasons, the Jaguar taking glory for its magnificent automatic gearbox,
blistering pace, amazing soundtrack and its utter civility at all times. At the
time you’d have had to pay a relatively hefty $82,855.56 for your XKR coupé,
but it was towards the bottom end of the table in that group test, making it
something of a bargain.
Nowadays, you can get all that talent for less than a fifth
of the original list price, which we’d say makes it one of the biggest classic
bargains going.
Jaguar XK8 Rear
View
Make no mistake, a good, well serviced and sorted XK8 (and
many cheapies won’t be-ed) is a fine performance car and much better than the
XJ-S it's based upon. Rapid when it needs to be (scorching in XKR and 4.2 litre
forms), refined the rest of the time, its easy to see why an increasing number
of buyers are skipping a generation and leaving that odd styled 1970’s car
behind.
Prices
Sussex based Arun Cars specialises in Jaguars, and
especially the XK8. The company’s Will Gooda says: “For the past decade the XK8
and XKR have consistently been our most popular models, and it’s easy to see
why. Buyers like their usability, style and value, and if you buy one of the
later cars you’re unlikely to have significant problems if you look after it”.
Rear suspension always needs attention at all stages of
tunes
Gooda refers to the fact that the earlier cars with the 4.0
litre engine weren’t as well developed as the later 4.2 litre models, and it’s
for this reason that Arun tends to focus on these newer models. Will Gooda
continues: “While values of earlier cars are still going down, nice examples
with the 4.2 litre engine are starting to appreciate a little. However, there’s
a buyer for every car, as those on a budget will buy something with the smaller
V8, while those with more cash to spend will go for the 4.2. It’s also not
skewed either way in terms of demand for XK8 versus XKR or coupés and cabrios
all derivatives have their following”.
