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

I had a photoshoot here in my hometown of Charleston, WV for our city's magazine, and as fortune would have it the topic of the shoot was the high-end automobiles that can be found in local dealerships, and the high-end fashions that can be found at local shops.

Sure enough when I pulled into the the site the black XK I've been raving about was front and center before the mansion which furnished the background for the shoot. Along with the Jag there was a 996 C4 Cab, a bright red Cayman, an SL 550, the new S-Class, a few BMWs, and a special edition Land Rover.

So for the next three hours I as able to study the car from every angle, sit in it, and briefly listen to it.

Conclusion???? The XK was clearly Best in Show.

It's bloody beautiful, to borrow the Brit's saying, from every angle even the accursed front head-on view. There is no Taurus-ness about it. In fact, the only cars that resemble it are the Vanquish and DB9. It's long, wide and low, yet smooth and sculpted, beautifully proportioned, just not quite as sharp and strong as the Astons.

Photos utterly and completely distort the cars lines. Also, you cannot see the height and width of the car, the stance and presence, in photos, a similar phenomenon I've noticed with recent Ferraris. Photos simply cannot convey the total symmetry of the car, instead focusing on one bit or another, which is never the way you look at a car in the flesh.

The all-black, burled dark walnut interior was beautifully appointed, although the leather could have been more plush and soft for an $80K car. Nonetheless, when you're in the driver's seat the sensation is very sleek and sophisticated but not race-car like, as it is with Ferraris. It feels special, distinct, very urbane and solid.

And I was not alone in my feelings. There were a few other men who simply could not stop looking at it. They too couldn't believe the difference between photos and flesh.

BUT, and this is a big full-bodied BUT, the exhaust note sounds like a run of the mill American V8, which completely contrasts with the car's beauty and style. It could be mistaken for a truck or a NASCAR, I kid you not. While this note sounds great coming from a Mustang or a Vette, I do not want my Jaguar to ever be mistaken for a Mustang.

For me this is a fatal flaw, almost unforgivable, especially when you've heard the Coltrane-like Aston V12s.

I'm sure I'll be among the few in this regard, however, because otherwise the car is a true HR, as I originally stated.

F1 Ace, you will absolutely fall in love with this car. I promise you.

The hardest decision for you will be which color and whether to have a convertible, a coupe or wait for the XK-R. The dealership's owner prefers the coupe to the convertible. I haven't seen a convertible yet but generally cars are more beautifully in coupe form.

Keep us posted on your first sighting.



Forza,



Cavallini

 

I too am somewhat baffled that you and others don't see the lines in this car. No, it's not revolutionary in any way. I don't believe I ever said it was. I simply said it is very well-done, very beautiful, and for Jaguar, that's an achievement. Even the women at the photo shoot admitted it's beauty and presence. Perhaps it was the color. Black is universally flattering.

No, it's not low or wide like a Ferrari or Lambo but it's decidedly lower and wider than the previous XK, and it's very close to the Astons' dimensions.

My first ride in the Ferrari wasn't a big deal in the sense of "Wow, I'm riding in a Ferrari." It was a big deal because of the graciousness of the car's owner and what led to the ride.

I am not a Tifosi. I do not follow Ferrari's races or own paraphenalia. I applaud Ferrari for striking such a delicate artistic and dynamic balance for 50 odd years, over and over. I applaud the excellence, not the colors or the racing heritage or whatever else people do who call themselves fans. I am no fan.

As requested, my CV:

I am a 36 year old artist who has just completed his first novel, entitled "Live For Eternity," available at your local online bookstore, not yet available in stores since I self-published. The book took 8 years to complete. It is an epic on the scale of the Iliad, the Rig Veda, The Romance of the Three Kingdoms and similar texts. It covers every aspect of life and living, from love and honor, to gene expression and ancient history, from a completely new American yet ancient perspective. Stylistically, nothing has been done like it in the English language. 2000 years from now, if humans are still here and reading, this will be one of the books they will read.

I stand 6' and weigh 205, athletic build. I was at the photo shoot as a model. If you doubt me, I'll have the magazine editors send me the shot and I'll happily email you the shot or post it here. Or you may be able to view the magazine online. I'll check with the magazine staff. It's named after our city itself, "Charleston".

A graduate of Williams College c/o '93 with a BA in History, I entertained Wall Street ideas until I spent two weeks with a Williams alum on Wall Street and decided it was definitely not my style.

New York, however, was indispensable. So I settled into an entertaining position at the New York Post, where I had a pivotal experience with a F50. This story, about one of the first F50s to hit US shores, convinced me to write seriously. I discussed this in the thread about my first ride.

I abruptly left the Post and spent two years of creative catharsis at an investment bank, of all places: ING, the Dutch bank, which at the time was ING Barings, after they had purchased the defunct British bank. Some of you may recall the single trader based in Singapore or Hong Kong who sank the old Barings bank with a single trade. ING purchased Barings for $1.

After I decided to write a novel I left NYC and returned to my mountain home of Charleston, WV. Here, I secluded myself to create.

My day job is as an HR consultant for a Japanese auto assembly plant here in the valley.

I have no information listed in my profile because there's little to list of significance or permanence. My current car is a '96 Acura Integra. My home for the past 8 years is the place my grandfather built and where I grew up as a child and adolescent. All this will change drastically in the coming months and years.

My material, money-making ambitions were great but they were lesser than my creative, artistic drives. Therefore, I put them on hold to create. One cannot chase money and create, at least not to any high, extreme level. One must do one or the other. I chose to create and my creation speaks for itself, as you will see, sooner or later. But this book is only an overture.

If my drives had been otherwise, however, I would be on Wall Street at this moment, chasing money. But chasing money is very far from my style.

I speak with certainty, authority and clarity about everything because that is the way I feel and have always felt, about everything, especially myself and my likes and dislikes. For me, gentlemen, success has never been a question of 'if', only a question of when and how. I have known this from my earliest thoughts.

My plans include owning several Ferraris and a few other makes and models, possibly this Jaguar, although as I said the exhaust note is very disappointing. The superior engine not of the DB9 makes it the better value.

It is interesting, and I suppose not too surprising, that you wonder how and why I speak with such authority yet I don't own these cars. Generally people don't speak the way I speak unless they have some material proof to justify and buttress their confidence and authority.

Perhaps for you it is necessary to own something in order to form a definitive opinion about it. For me it is not. One only needs a pair of eyes or ears as the case may be. Many people thought and perhaps still think Coltrane's high period was "ugly". Anything is possible, even something as absurd as that.

One reason I've enjoyed F-Chat is because a portion of my book deals with art, specifically the degeneration of visual art in the West over the last 500 years, especially the last 100.

As a counterpoint to this overall decay, Ferrari and a few other automakers have filled the artistic void. The way cars command public attention today used to be the way visual art commanded public attention, passionate interest and commentary. As I state in my book, "We don't have art. We have Ferrari."

Thus, you understand why my posts speak of Ferrari's from an artist's perspective. As an artist I understand and applaud the effort, skill and confidence it takes to start with a blank sheet of paper and create something that is at once of the moment yet timeless. Only Ferrari and their designers have done this time and time again. Lambo have made a few cars of this caliber, and hopefully will make many more with Audi's backing. A few others have as well.

If you are not an artist, musical, literary or visual, you have no idea what this demands, in creative skill and discipline.

I trust this answers all of your and Ryalex's questions and concerns about my pedigree.



Forza,



Cavallini

 

Brim, the pleasure is all mine. I always like a man who sticks to his guns. LOL.

I also agree that the proof is in the pudding. But as an aesthete, a car's ability to move me while standing still is just as important as the feeling behind the wheel, esp. when spending this much money.

A close second to those two is the engine note. Of course, this is only a factor with $80K plus autos. That's one reason why the DB9 is so attractive. Those Cosworth (correct me if I'm wrong) V-12s are pure music.

One day, we will meet somewhere and go to a Jag dealer, if neither of us has this car, and we will examine this car because I'm just as baffled by what you don't see and you are by what I see. LOL. Seriously, we'll do this. I would enjoy it.

Also, other than the Astons, I'm curious to know which designs do you enjoy, past and present?


Forza,


Cavallini

 

Thanks, Ryan. I'll keep you posted, with pics. LOL.


Forza,


Cavallini

 

It's aluminum, my friend. Aluminum cars are always wider than steel cars. But I don't understand the PRB. Are you saying it looks like something from Asia? If so I don't see it.


Forza,



Cavallini