leaper is a must have on the 300 and 308,on an XK8 it does that hood no justice.for those who wish it not stolen,what i did was with leaper and base plate removed there is a place for two short scews to afix it solid to the base plate,now if someone wants to steal it they will destroy it getting it off.sad,but its not a perfect world...steve

 

If it hasn't been mentioned already, the euro spec XJR 100's have no leaper. Mine was ripped off/stolen at a New England dragway street night and I i've been "leaper naked" ever since. Shaved that among other things during the first respray. The 100's also have no side moldings which i ditched as well (no need for them as my car is not a grocery getter and need no protection from shopping carts/Grandmas 1987 Dodge Omni) I like my black cat naked, sometimes less is more depending on personal taste

 

XJ without a leaper is not a Jaguar. It would be a ford. That's what makes these cars stand out. Nothing like looking down the hood at that Cat leading the way...

 

I agree, it's a must have. My only problem is that my friends now know that the leaper moves, ( to prevent injury is what I've heard ) and everyday I go to drive back home, I always find the leaper facing a different way then it had been earlier in the morning.

 

Would I want a leaper on an E type or XK8/R? Oh...absolutely not;
but an X308 without one is like a Rolls without a Flying Lady IMHO.

 

An XJ without a leaper is out of the question. I thought the same for the xk's when they arrived until I seen one on an early model xk that somebody had put on. It looked horrible.

 

Here in New England there are jaguar ads on TV all the time. They always end with the Leaper logo which is strange because none of the newer Jaguars have a leaper . Without a doubt, the leaper has been established as the iconic emblem of the jaguar brand

People now see the now legendary XJs with the leaper and immediately know its a Jaguar thanks to the advertising on TV. In the past the comment would usually be, "What a beautiful car. I wonder what make it is ? "

I agree with those on this thread that say that the leaper doesn't look "right" with many jaguar models including all the newer ones. I also agree with those here that say the XJ series of luxury saloons doesn't look "right " without the leaper.

 

A leaper story: (I may have told this before)

Years ago (2002 - 2007) I lived in the Kings Grant neighborhood of Virginia Beach, near a very large duck pond and about one mile from the local Checkered Flag Jaguar dealer.

One afternoon, in 2004, before I traded by first X308, I was walking the dog along the duck pond and I notice there are 26 shiny leapers sitting on the rail alongside the lake and this kid is wading barefoot along the shore -- every now and then pulling up another leaper he found with his toes. I think he topped off at about 34!!!

The kid, about 13, didn't know what he found: I told him and suggested he take them over to the Jaguar dealer and see if they would be interested. A month later, when I got the consistent "Boot Open" warning, I visit the service department (the cat was still under warranty): the SA told me that they bought the leapers back -- apparently in the early 70s there was a rash of teenage vandalisms where the kids would jerk the leapers off the cars in the lot -- new, used, left for service. Apparently one of the reasons they changed over to a different design for holding them on the hood: made them harder to break off while limiting the paint damage.