I own a 2000 XK8, a 2006 X-Type Estate and a 2005 X-Type Sport with manual transmission. The latter is my favorite car to drive, mainly because of the 5-speed manual gearbox. Along those lines, I have a two questions:

Was a manual gearbox available on all S-Models or only with the 3.0 liter engine?
How scarce are they; I/ve had no luck finding any listed anywhere?

Thanks for any information anyone can provide.

 

Manual for 3.0 & 2.5 (& 2.7D) but the auto is so good why would you want to struggle?

At big cost a 3rd party would do a V8 manual...

 

+++1 . . . but I'll go even further. On all the modern Jaguars in our Cattery, but especially the later S-Type, X-Type and XK8, no manual gearbox for normal road use can beat the J-gate's speed and dexterity. Yes, both of ZF's 5HP24 and 6HP26 have longer term reliability issues but only in the hands of owners who regard correct maintenance as an 'optional extra'.

Just my 2c but I would go auto every time.
Funny thing is . . . . so do 99.9% of other owners.

Cheers

 

We're soon going electric.... they're auto

 

Hahaha . . .
Yes John, and I saw a new jigger yesterday that has no gearbox at all just belts and conical drive. Made such a huge impression, I fail to recall even the manufacturer. But the owner's priority was how cheap it was . . . .looked it too!

Cheers,

 

Thanks for all of the replies and the prevailing opinion on auto vs. manual gearboxes which I'm pretty much in agreement with( having to commute into Philadlelphis on a regular basis is only barely tolerable in my daily driver SUV with an automatic transmission. A manual would make me suicidal!)). That said, I miss the recreational connection I have driving with a manual transmission, as well as the uniqueness of cars like that.. Not so much that I would consider a conversion, but would be interested if a purchase option for an S-Type with manual gearbox presented itself.

 

You can just use the J-gate, but I bet you'll find you hardly ever do.

 

I actually do use the J-gate in my XK8 and it works well. I have a J-gate in my X-Type Estate that's attached to the JATCO automatic trans and that doesn't work nearly as well. Not easy being an 80 year-old throwback to an earlier time.

 

In trying to answer the original questions, to my knowledge, manual transmission for the S-type was only offered in model year 2003 with the 3 liter V6 engine (in the United States).
I found this pic online:

2003 Jaguar S-Type 3.0 5 Speed Manual Transmission Photo #62557234 | GTCarLot.com

 

Thanks for that information. Still interested in finding one in decent shape, but it looks its a rare cat.