Jaguar XK (X100)

Start with what the Jaguar XK (X100) is: a 2-door coupé / 2-door convertible (car) / convertible with 4.0&nbsp, built from 1996 to 2005, when airbags, anti-lock brakes and Japanese build quality became the world standard. What it meant takes a little longer. The shape is credited to Fergus Pollock under Geoff Lawson (1992).

The background

The Jaguar XK8 (project code X100) is a grand tourer launched by Jaguar Cars in 1996, and was the first generation of a new XK series. The XK8 was available in two-door coupé or two-door convertible body styles with the new 4.0-litre Jaguar AJ-V8 engine. In 1998, the XKR was introduced with a supercharged version of the engine. In 2003, the engines were replaced by the new 4.2-litre AJ34 engines in both the naturally aspirated and supercharged variations. The first-generation of the XK series shares its XJS-derived platform with the Aston Martin DB7, with both cars tracing their history back to an abandoned Jaguar development study in the mid-1980s known as XJ41/XJ42, which had been mooted to be known as the F-Type.

One of the revisions is the use of the second generation of Jaguar's independent rear suspension unit, taken from the Jaguar XJ (XJ40). Development began in 1992, with design work starting earlier in late 1991. By October 1992 a design was chosen and later frozen for production in 1993. Prototypes were built from December 1993 after the X100 was given formal approval and design patents were filed in June 1994. Development concluded in 1996, with the car being unveiled in March of that year and going on sale from October 1996.

The engineering

The engine is 4.0  other versions carried different engines, listed in the specification table below. Drive goes through a 5-speed ZF 5HP24 transmission / ZF 5HP24 automatic transmission / automatic (1996–2002; naturally aspirated models) / 5-speed Mercedes-Benz 5G-Tronic transmission / Mercedes-Benz W. The layout matters: a front engine drives the rear wheels, the classic proportion — long bonnet, cabin set back — that most people picture when they picture a sports saloon or a grand tourer. The wheelbase is 101.9 in. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.

Where it sits

In the Jaguar line-up the Jaguar XK (X100) has a clear place: it replaced the Jaguar XJS; it handed the line to the Jaguar XK (X150); the factory was Coventry (Browns Lane plant), United Kingdom. The cars a buyer would have weighed it against include the Škoda Auto Škoda Octavia, the Porsche Boxster, the Alfa Romeo 156. Its Jaguar stablemates include the F-Type and the Vanden Plas.

Owning one today

Buying one now means $17,700–$36,100 for a typical example, and running it — fuel and maintenance at its age — costs about $5,591–$7,300 a year. Insurance sits around $1,860–$3,220 a year. The figures are class-level estimates from the federal record, with the formula on the methodology page; the model-year pages carry complaints, recalls and repair costs year by year.