A Sleek, Muscular Jaguar That’s Born to Be Wild
There’s a milestone among us, an elegant, exuberant thing that museums will one day enshrine and cameras will always love, honor and indulge.
That the 1997 Jaguar XK8 is really just a motorcar somehow seems irrelevant.
On the other hand, remember that Jaguar’s concern has always been with sculpting chunks of its traditions; creating sporting vehicles where history of the breed, and a feral soul matching the jungle aura of the name, seem to be primary considerations.
With such romantic presence, with lines and looks capable of seducing young lads before puberty, Jaguars are an addiction. Even during those dark days of the ‘60s and ‘70s, when large portions were falling off and various engine parts became shrapnel on Sunday saunters to Brighton. No matter how expensive--or how frequent--these experiences, inveterates would queue up to buy another leaky Jaguar the moment showrooms opened on Monday. Opium addicts will recognize the lust.
First of these strumpets was the canvas-topped, one-couple 1935 SS 100, all hood louvers and one-piece, roller coaster fenders and running boards that overlapped the ends of the car. Then the 1953 Jaguar XK120 with curves that were classics at birth, and on the dashboard, an engraved plate noting this very car had bettered 100 mph. And the 1965 E-Type, an aeropod two-seater that was almost too contemporary, almost too elegant, but capable of snarling and romping almost to 150 mph.
Now comes this Jaguar XK8 that as a coupe or convertible, is every bit the monument those earlier Jaguars have become.
It is daring, delightful, with a shape plucked, but not pillaged, from a direct ancestor. Based on a modified chassis from the XJS it replaces, the XK8 is stretched and slim with an elliptical grille for gulping air. Headlights peer from beneath long, flush, doe-eyed lenses. A power bulge runs the length of the hood. All are pure design traces of the E-type, but not to the point of this being a neo-E.
That the interior is a stateroom lined with real, magnificent walnut and moccasin leather goes without saying. But we’ll mention it anyway as another example of how Jaguar, despite its all-American mating with Ford Motor Co., refuses to plasticize olde worlde luxuries expected by its buyers.
Jaguars have this knack, this ability to effect a spiritual transfer of distinction and good breeding to their drivers. With top down or wearing a steel lid, creeping around the mall or gobbling up an interstate, the XK8 creates friendship with the first drive.
There is full familiarity with its systems, switches, buttons and knobs because in such vital areas, Jaguar prefers familiarity to purposeless innovation. Raising and lowering the top is a one-button, one-fingertip operation--and can be completed while the car is rolling, albeit at trolling speeds of 10 mph.
And, in this era of aerodynamic blobs and three variations of grille and trim--even among the aristocracy of luxury cars--the XK8’s styling breaks ground, stands bold. You’ll never lose it in a Target parking lot.
Beneath the hood is a shocker.
Gone are the long aluminum camshaft covers of Jaguar’s legendary in-line six, a collectible that has been with us since the end of World War II. In the engine bay is a 4.0-liter, 32-valve V-8 that is not only Jaguar’s first Vee, but only the fourth engine the company has produced in the past half-century.
Yet do not presume this is a transplant from Ford, which was making V-8s long before Jaguar first mewed. No. This is an all-Coventry, all-Jaguar engine that cost $300 million to develop and shares only one fragment with Ford: a crankshaft locking key.
All-aluminum, with four cams, it produces a very capable 290 horsepower made beefier by electronic engine management. Hence the availability of 80% of torque between 1,400 to 6,400 rpm, which covers just about every phase of a day’s driving.
Jaguar likes to call the XK8 a sports car, and we will argue into the night over a bottle of Pouilly-Fuisse, or three, that it is not. At 3,673 pounds, it is too heavy; at more than 15 feet, it is too long; and a five-speed automatic transmission--even one borrowed from BMW with a J-gate allowing token manual shifting--only confirms its position as a high-speed, grandly touring 2+2 roadster or coupe.
One more bottle of Burgundy, and we’d query its 2+2 seating. Those are really leather-lined luggage ledges back there. Nor did we admire a steering wheel that hasn’t decided if it wants to be all-leather or all-wood.
We spent considerable time getting physical with the coupe and the convertible, relishing a mechanical thoroughness and tautness of assembly. There seems to be no doubt that these cars, continuing progress started six years ago when Ford took the tiller, have finally clobbered the dragon of uneven performance and mechanical failure.
There is perfectly tuned, speed-sensitive steering and disc brakes the size of dinner plates that will stop you faster than home cooking. A double wishbone front suspension and a fully independent rear setup gives a ride to accommodate all moods and modes.
There are anti-lock brakes, a stability system that reduces power when things get out of hand, traction control to tame skids, and hugely capable Pirelli tires designed just for this car.
Add this to a focused chassis and you have the best handling Jaguar there has ever been. Period. And don’t forget that new engine eager to respond, stronger than most demands for power, and the finest power plant in Jaguar history.
That the XK8 will be an enormous sales success is pretty much a given. The vehicle is a finalist in at least three Car of the Year contests. Even pricing--$65,000 for the coupe, $70,000 for the convertible--seems reasonable for a luxury cruiser of this caliber.
Yet no product is stronger than its producer.
When Ford purchased Jaguar at a price that should have included Scotland and Wales, there were fears that one day we would wince at a British racing green Thunderbird wearing Jaguar badges.
But Ford chose to coach and guide Jaguar, not oppress and dictate. Methods were modernized, not Americanized. Heritage was embraced and enhanced, not reduced to photographs on a boardroom wall in Detroit.
And that’s precisely how companies stay in the milestone business.
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1997 Jaguar XK8
The Good: Looks good enough for a Pirelli calendar model and mechanical reliability to match anything in the class. All the British grace, comfortable space and enormous pace that is the Jaguar heritage. A European car built with Yankee know-how.
The Bad: Rear seats that will turn a saint into a whiner.
The Ugly: A fat wood-and-leather steering wheel.
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1997 Jaguar XK8
Cost
* Base: Coupe, $65,000; convertible, $70,000. (Includes five-speed automatic transmission, Connolly leather power seats, walnut dashboard and cabin trim, anti-lock brakes and traction controls, two air bags, automatic climate control, premium sound system with CD player, alloy wheels, and full power equipment. Convertible has one-button power top with automatic latching.)
Engine
* 4.0-liter, 32-valve, V-8 developing 290 horsepower.
Type
* Front-engine, rear-drive, 2+2 luxury touring coupe or convertible.
Performance
* 0-60 mph as tested, with five-speed automatic, 6.8 seconds.
* Top speed, manufacturer’s measurement, 156 mph for coupe, 154 mph for convertible.
* Fuel consumption, EPA rating, city and highway, 17 and 25 mpg, so no gas guzzler tax.
Curb Weight
* Coupe, 3,673 pounds; convertible, 3,867 pounds.
