I spent Saturday afternoon with the XK coupe......final conclusion??? It's gorgeous

My current issue of MotorTrend makes two interesting comparisons.

1-The Jag is 300lbs lighter than the DB9.
2-The Jag costs $75,500.00 whereas the DB9 costs $162,350.00.

And now, thanks to Writerguy we hear the Jag is actually nicer to drive in some ways. Motortrend also confirms this.

Looks like you shouldn't pick a winner solely on looks, as seems to have been done here earlier.

 

The DB 9 and the Jag share a profile... But they are not in the same class. The same way as the AMV8 and the Jag are Sport/Grand Touring the jag and Aston are GT / Ultra.. By ultra i mean it is far faster, far quieter, bla blah blah as you would expect. the db9 is better balanced (50/50) and other things too. It is like comparing a 550m to an enzo...

The DB9 is every bit the equal to the ultra touring cars out there like the SuperAmerica and 575 etc, the Jag is every bit the equal of the 6 series cab the XLR the MB CLK it is not as solid as the SL but it has more tactile class than the MB...
The germans can't equal that feel of real class, they make a better over all car but there is something about the BRG/Tan that just says Yup this is right

 

Nah, doesn't move me at all.

It is really too bad. By 1970, the Brits had the sexiest looking production cars and motorcycles in the world. (Ferrari wasn't really a production builder at that point.)

Internally, they were pieces of crap. But, wow, did they look good.

Seriously, Jaguar should dig out a real XKE and make their designers study it for a month. Maybe, just maybe, they could rediscover the magic that made Jaguar, well, a Jaguar.

Dale

 

I think the Jaguar designers know what an XKE looks like and what made it special. The difference is 45 years of regulations. Imagine if the XKE had a pyrotechnic charge that lifted its huge clam shell hood (bonnet) on impact for pedestrian safety like the new XK does. Also the XKE has a weird front view with the narrow wheels pushed in and the body extending well out board - another feature that no modern car has.

Anyways I saw two of the new coupes this weekend at Road America and thought they were good looking cars. Even the white one was nice.

 

What he said.

 

The Jag goes away today.

Last night i had that "Now this is what this car is meant for..." moment. Went out to dinner with K. We went out to one of those out of the way hole in the wall mexican joints that i have found in my travels. Well North of DFW with 2 ways to get there. The direct secondary highway to get there and a series of winding and long country 2 laned roads to get back. Warm summer night belly full of real Mexican grub, (none of this texmex i spend too much time in mexico for that stuff) a beautiful woman in the passenger seat, top down, Miles Davis "Blue Note" on the CD....

I am going to miss this one (especially because they just dropped a Kia at the office)

Jim

 

If Ford can get the GT pass the regulators, Jaguar can build a car that looks like a Jaguar and not an Aston.

Dale

 

DB9, or XK & a well sorted 355? Hmmmmmmm, that's a tough one!

 

Actually they stopped production of it because it can't. I don't know the details of the regulations it fails to meet but thats why the GT is no longer being built. Also it was a limited run car at twice the price with fewer usability constraints so I think they could make more compromises in terms of getting it to look a lot like a GT40.

 

The August issue of Car and Driver has an interesting comparison between 5 convertibles, the XK among them.
They finished in the following order:

1-MBz SL550
2-Porsche 911 Carrera
3-Jaguar XK
4-BMW 650i
5-Cadillac XLR-v

This surprised me because the roof on the convertible was seen by many here to be miles behind the competition,
yet it didn't stop it from outranking the BMW.

The BMW was criticized for:
"Anesthetic Isolation, a heavyweight, controversial styling, bland personality". (Ouch)
While the only real criticism of the Jag was the top.

The highs for the Jag were:
"Stable chassis, amazing ride-and-handling compromise, responsive transmission".
I'm not surprised about the suspension. That's what I think of when I think of Jags,
so it's nice to hear they are still strong in that area which I think is super important.

Anyway, just thought you might find that interesting.

Counting the days.........

Wes

 

I could write so much in this thread (Jag and Aston are 2 of my favourite car manuf's - I'm British afterall), however I simply don't have the time right now so I'll just highlight a few points.

For me the XK is a great design; a great car even however it is blighted by a few issues that all find their roots in Jaguar's current situation: namely the fact that any company that has soundly lost money for 30 years should no longer exist (and believe me it is with a heavy heart that I make that statement). So now Jag is in the situation that Ford has had enough of supporting it without receiving a profit for it's efforts. Therefore whilst the new XK is undoubtedly a quantum leap improvement over the outgoing model, it is evident that compromises have been made as follows:
1) Cheapness in things people can see - e.g. nasty radio aerial, cheap interior air vents, quality of leather not quite what you'd expect at this price point
2) Jaguar desperately needs a new engine range - sadly Ford can't afford to develop one for them (even though there are great economies of scale since the engine line up is shared with Land Rover/Range Rover)
3) Jaguar are struggling to find a 21st century design identity - a major reason why they are in such a bad financial state is their overly retro designs don't sell cars - people in the 90's liked retro, but it was a fad, a flash in the pan, now we are in the I-Pod age, modern design sells.
4) Yes I agree the headlight design sucks! IMHO something along the lines of the RD6 concept would have been infinitely preferable.

And despite all this, in the UK the new XK has a significant waiting list - aroun 10 to 13 months depending on where you are in the country and cars still are selling for small premiums (around £1000 over list). And this links me back to my original point that Jaguar should have been shut down a long time ago - many people are still passionate about the Jaguar name and desire ownership based on the greatness surrounding the Jaguar brand; this in turn is what makes it so hard for everyone to love the new XK - so many people wanted it to be the absolute perfect interpretation of what a 21st century E-type could be (yet no one seems to be able to coherently suggest what that would be) that it has got close, but failed in so many people's eyes.

I don't know if it makes the news so much in other parts of the world, but here there is much specualtion as to whether Jaguar is for sale and who is likely to buy it - many are suggesting that head of agreement have been drawn up between Ford and Hyundai.

Also I don't know where else they've made the news, but concept drawings of the next S-type are popping up in the UK (it's pretty much a four-door XK) - rather than hijack this thread I'll start a new one (including the pics) for their discussion here: http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?p=136000492#post136000492

 

Interesting post, thanks!

That being said, I still contend that this car will sell wildly. Period.

Imagine a well-to-do couple walking in to the dealer, having heard about the XK.
I can see the husband suggesting the car for his wife, who would willingly accept.
His motivation? He likes the car for himself as well!!!

This car hits the sweet spot. Liked by men and women alike. Let the cash roll in!

 

No F'in way. The last version (like this one) was way underpowered, built cheaply, used too many Ford parts, and depreciated like a lead weight. In the meantime, some serious contenders have emerged.

Now you have the volitility associated with Ford selling Jag. Who in their right mind would buy a car not knowing who would be servicing it in 2 years?

 

What he said.

 

Last week, after more than 15 years of continuous Jag ownership, I traded in my XJR for a BMW 550i. The BMW feels tight and resposive in comparison, but I miss the exclusivity of the Jag.
I had spent close to 6 months looking for an 04 or 05 XKR coupe, but even used, they were next to impossible to find.

Long live Jaguar!

 

Hummm when does school get back in?

 

Why, are you late for your 6th grade Civics class?

 

Apex will race a Jaguar XKR in GT3 next year.

http://www.autoblog.com/2006/09/06/jag-xkr-to-join-gt3-in-2007

I also remember reading a few years ago that Jaguar would eventually sell a GT3 type version of the XK. So basically a lightweight stripped out car for the road.

 

Here's something I came across recently.

It seems the last year of the XK8 they heavily revised the front and rear facias.
You can start to see a move towards the new XK in these steps.

Being a fan of Jaguar I was stunned...stunned I tell you, to find this out only now.

The pics posted are:

GOLD CAR: regular XK8
CHARCOAL CAR: 2005 XK8

Interesting, eh?

Wes
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