Modern Classic Masterpiece: Jaguar XKR

Words: John-Joe Vollans
Photography: Jaguar & Newspressuk.com

Is the original Jaguar XKR the perfect modern classic? It has all the right ingredients…

For those thinking lightning can’t strike twice, especially when it comes to automotive hits, might we refer you to the Jaguar XK8…

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As spiritual as successors go, the original XK8 (X100) generation from 1996 to 2005 captured the motoring public and enthusiast attention alike. In fact, it gained admirers at a similar rate to a certain other famous former XK… The XKE – or E-type as it was known on our shores – was rightly heralded as an almost ideal sports car. It did almost everything right, at the perfect moment in time. Sixties Britain was rife with cool and influential culture from the Beatles to Led Zeppelin and from the Mini Cooper to Lotus Elan, the sexy new Jaguar that arrived in 1961, merely put a cherry on top of a cool Britannia cake.

Fast forward three decades and pop culture in Britain was ripe for a 1960s revival. The aforementioned Mini revamp was on the cards – thanks to BMW – and a near deafening clamour could be heard for a new Jaguar sports car. Much more akin to a late E-type, the ancient (by the mid-1990s) XJS was far more GT than sports car, with many a press-on motorist bemoaning its lack of nimbleness. Not that the XJS didn’t sell, it certainly did, but shifting the balance back in a more sporting direction was what many were asking for and Jaguar, to its credit, was listening.

It hadn’t been for lack of trying though, as far back as the mid-1980s plans had been laid for a reinterpretation of the E-type. The familiar British makers’ tale of financial uncertainty frequently put paid to what would become the XK8, but by the early 1990s – with Ford firmly in charge – things got serious. Costs were nevertheless still carefully managed, which lead to engineering and packaging decisions like developing the XK8 on a modified XJS floorpan and utilising the rear suspension from the X300 XJ; not that there was anything fundamentally wrong with either of those choices.

In 1996, the collective held breath of sporting Jaguar fans worldwide was left out in a sigh of relief as the covers were pulled from the first XK8 at the Geneva Motor Show (incidentally the same venue as the E-type’s famous first outing). Two years later, an even more exciting model was made manifest with the arrival of the XKR. Strapping a 1.8-litre Eaton rotor-type supercharger – allegedly shared with the Ford SVT Lightning pickup – granted the already excellent all-new Jaguar aluminium V8 with a smidge under 400bhp (a figure it reached proper in the later 4.2-litre XKR).

Surely one of the best ageing modern classics out there, the XK8/R’s lines – penned by a team lead by Geoff Lawson – seem to remain just as ‘right’ now as they were nearly three decades ago. In addition to its gorgeous looks, the XKR in particular – although still present in the ‘lesser’ XK8 – grants near gratuitous levels of performance, neat adaptive damping and sumptuous levels of comfort in a package that would have seemed all-but impossible (or utterly unaffordable) during the E-type era.

The good news keeps coming when you get stuck in behind the wheel. While handling is good rather than excellent in the XK8 – corners dispensed with in a stately GT fashion – things are much sharper in the XKR, thanks to its clever adaptive damping and enhanced further with a few factory and aftermarket options. Whichever version, however, there’s no disguising this large two-door’s weight (nearly 1700kg/3737lbs), it’s a GT first and foremost and sports coupe second. If you’re after a nimble B-road brawler, there are better options out there, but few will digest an A-road as briskly, or leave you as fresh at the end of a long stint quite like the original Jaguar XKR.

If you’re more likely to cruise the coast than clip an apex, or simply want to indulge in the audio magnificence of that V8 engine (we get it), there’s also an ever so easy on the eye convertible version.

As the newest of these Jaguars are now over 20 years old, time has revealed a few issues, though these really don’t appear to be the ownership minefield of some older Coventry products. Corrosion is common to anything old and made from steel but pay particular attention to the sills, floorpans, front chassis legs and wheelarches. Timing chain tensioners on early cars are a known failure point, though many have been upgraded now. The same is also true of the engine’s Nikasil liners, incidentally nowhere near as much of an issue as with contemporary BMWs. Other than a few more trifling servicing things like sealed for life auto ‘boxes that are anything but, and expensive to replace tired CATS (Computer Active Technology Suspension) dampers, these have proven to be largely reliable machines – just one more reason to buy.

If you’re still to be sold on the X100 series, fear not, the best is yet to come… This millennial modern classic is almost criminally undervalued. You can (and should) bag an early 4.0-litre XKR Coupe for well under £10k, with change left over for a spare set of premium tyres and a long weekend where the way ahead is winding.

Something of a victim of its own success, with 91,406 made, there’s certainly no shortage of XK8s/XKRs to choose from. As ever with old cars, these figures are dwindling, making great surviving examples only likely to appreciate further. That means now’s definitely the time to own one of these Jaguar success stories, before you’re either priced out or the rest of the market wakes up. Shh, we won’t tell them if you don’t… Oh wait, whoops, we already have. Better be quick.

Do you consider the Jaguar XKR a masterpiece or does another model deserve the title? Drop your suggestions below.

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