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I have a late 2002 XJR with the 4.0l V8 supercharged. It’s an American version so fully loaded.
a good friend of mine is looking at a 1998 Daimler with the same engine. About 300k kilometers, which is less that I have on mine!
apart from the LWB which I think every Daimler is and some more luxurious finish are there any fundamental difference between these two cars. I believe the Daimler has the same active suspension as well.
daimler sv8 comes in swb and lwb. us vdp sc/sv8 is lwb only. most if not all sv8 have black comfort adaptive shocks instead of green adaptive or fixed shocks on an xjr, lwbs have no rear anti roll bar
some daimlers are 4 seaters, us jags all have rear bench seats
The Daimler cars have full leather upholstery whereas the majority of Jaguar cars had leather faced upholstery. So on the Jaguars it was just the seat faces that your body touches that are leather, everything else is vinyl or imitation leather. Whereas on the Daimlers every piece is leather including the door grab handles, roof grab handles, centre consoles and arm rests.
Some Jaguar cars were lucky to get these full leather interiors, but there weren’t many.
I know this because I’ve dismantled a few of these cars and once had to disassemble a Daimler interior to send abroad which is how I discovered the differences and did some research.
daimler sv8 comes in swb and lwb. us vdp sc/sv8 is lwb only. most if not all sv8 have black comfort adaptive shocks instead of green adaptive or fixed shocks on an xjr, lwbs have no rear anti roll bar
Thanks. What the difference between black and green shocks? Both are adaptive as far as I can tell. Surprised to hear no antiroll bar on the LWB. But I guess the adaptive shocks should help.
Comfort adaptive suspension and springs on the Daimler Super V8. XJR also has adaptive but my research indicates that the sport springs aret stiffer as are the adaptive shocks. My understanding (borne out when I had to order new shocks for my Daimler) is that it's the presence of a rear anti-roll bar which indicated whether you have sport of comfort suspension on your X308. I'd be interested if anyone knows differently.
By coincidence the X308 model coordinator for the JEC took some pictures of his 1998 XJR and my Super V8 recently. We're going to do a driving comparison then publish an article in the JEC magazine later this year. Here's some of the photos he took - don't you just love that chrome?
The adaptive or CATS suspension as Jaguar called it was not a standard item on all XJRs. I have seen many without them.
Some Daimlers came with Nivomat self levelling suspension as did some XJ8 Sovereign models in LWB format.
The black shock absorbers are comfort and green ones are sport and these colours apply irrespective of it the suspension is adaptive or not.
The one to really have a close look at is the MOD (Ministry Of Defence) cars which were used for Royal and government duties. They looked exactly like a normal Daimler but their features had been cleverly and tastefully disguised by Jaguar. They had Bullet proof glass, blast proof floors, onboard oxygen system, emergency and convoy lights to name a few examples.
The adaptive or CATS suspension as Jaguar called it was not a standard item on all XJRs. I have seen many without them.
Some Daimlers came with Nivomat self levelling suspension as did some XJ8 Sovereign models in LWB format.
The black shock absorbers are comfort and green ones are sport and these colours apply irrespective of it the suspension is adaptive or not.
The one to really have a close look at is the MOD (Ministry Of Defence) cars which were used for Royal and government duties. They looked exactly like a normal Daimler but their features had been cleverly and tastefully disguised by Jaguar. They had Bullet proof glass, blast proof floors, onboard oxygen system, emergency and convoy lights to name a few examples.
Here is an example of the bomb proof cars.
Incidentally, one of these cars went to Afghanistan - 02' in black, it was Jack Straw's vehicle (at the time Home Secretary) It was returned to the UK into Hereford via C130, where it was dropped off by the Regiment to a local Breakers yard to be stripped of all possible parts, then collected by the Regiment 24 hours later for them to destroy the bodyshell (they didn't want it released into the wild for terrorists to locate weak points) it had 9,000 miles on it. I purchased the axles which turned out to be very special - Alcon brake system for doing J turns! The only Daimlers without sunroof - MOD cars.
I guess one never knows when one might need bullet proof glass.
Seriously, no terror organization is going to waste any effort trying
to find weak points in a model year 2002 car.
I guess one never knows when one might need bullet proof glass.
Seriously, no terror organization is going to waste any effort trying
to find weak points in a model year 2002 car.
Well it was broken up in 06' - a few were still deployed, Her Majesty had one. It shows foresight, if you know the current state of the UK's border!
Comfort adaptive suspension and springs on the Daimler Super V8. XJR also has adaptive but my research indicates that the sport springs aret stiffer as are the adaptive shocks. My understanding (borne out when I had to order new shocks for my Daimler) is that it's the presence of a rear anti-roll bar which indicated whether you have sport of comfort suspension on your X308. I'd be interested if anyone knows differently.
By coincidence the X308 model coordinator for the JEC took some pictures of his 1998 XJR and my Super V8 recently. We're going to do a driving comparison then publish an article in the JEC magazine later this year. Here's some of the photos he took - don't you just love that chrome?
@markdpeter Thanks again for the tag. Figured out the first three are you initials. Haven't figure out the "4X". Really big guy? Fourth Jag/Daimler? Star of movies not to be viewed by anyone under 18?
@markdpeter Thanks again for the tag. Figured out the first three are you initials. Haven't figure out the "4X". Really big guy? Fourth Jag/Daimler? Star of movies not to be viewed by anyone under 18?
All good guesses but nothing so interesting, I'm afraid, although I'm quite big, and the Daimler is my 4th Jag but you wouldn't want to watch me in an adult movie. I acquired the number plate off a guy who I just happened to park next to in a pub back in 1989. I was known as "MDP" (yes, my initials) by friends and colleagues so I thought it would be a bit of fun to buy it. When I asked him how much he wanted, he told me that he couldn't transfer the registration because his car wasn't taxed. I offered to tax the car for him if he'd transfer it - £45 later for six months of tax and it was mine. It's probably worth about £500 maximum now but it's staying with me.
So, the 4X just happened to be the two digits after my initials. The X signifies a plate first issued in 81/82 and the 4 is just the order in which the plates were issued. The car I transfered it onto was a 1988 Peugeot 309GTi.
My mates decided that it was because Castlemaine 4X - an aussie lager - had a major advertising campaign at the time but I'm not a lager drinker so that's fake news....
Last edited by markdpeter; Aug 22, 2025 at 11:30 AM.
Reason: Typo
Difference XJR versus Daimler
