Hi

I'm a senior in college, and instead of putting down 20k for a Mustang or something equally tacky, I'm getting a used XK8 from 97 or 98. My thinking is, this is a car I'd hold on to for a long time, and when I've got money to spend on cars, I'd use it to upgrade the Jag's appearance and performance.

Since I'm new to this, don't give me a hard time if this is completely unreasonable but---at some point, when I've got the cash, I'd like to swap out the standard AJ-V8 for the supercharged engine in the XKR. Is that feasible? Any ideas about how much that would run? Are there other changes I'd have to make to the car to support that? Aside from replacing the engine, what strategies are there (aside from nitrous, I want something consistent) to break 400 hp?

My other big plan for it---again, I'm not schooled in what this would encompass---is replacing the 5-speed automatic and custom building a manual transmission. Is that something a car customization shop would be into?

Thanks

 

So, any thoughts about boosting the HP? Would it be possible to acquire the XKR supercharger without replacing the whole engine?