Hello All...

Can anyone tell me where to find specifically what the Vanden Plas designation adds to the 2001 XJ8? I know it adds some styling features, but what are they? And I think it automatically makes it the same longer body as the L, correct? I'd just like to know the specifics and can't seem to find it online.

Thank you!

SirJag

 

4-door long-wheelbase sedan (also available in XJ8L)

Chrome door mirrors

Chrome body side moldings

Premium Autolux Connolly leather interior with/walnut picnic trays

Inlaid burl walnut trim

Wood/leather steering wheel

Lambswool footwell rugs

Passenger front seat adjust from rear

Rear seat cigar lighter

I uploaded the spec sheets I saved from back when...
http://members.***.net/blackbeard2003/Jaguar%20Standard%20&%20Optional%20Equip.rtf

Keith S. :{)>

 

Mine doesn't have the picnic trays

 

because yours is NOT an X308 ( 1998 to 2002/2003)

 

Wasn't it an option on mine when purchased, I thought I read that somewhere ?

 

Compared to the base XJ8, beside the above list, the VDP also added:

320 watts Alpine sytem
Heated rear seats
walnut gearshift knob

The only available option on a 2001 VDP was the navigagion sytem

Obviously all of the above only apply to US specs cars

 

And heated front-windshield (aka. front screen)

Also, the book mentions headlight (aka. front lamps) washers but mine does not have them so I assume that was an option too. Personally, I think that is the most-pointless feature ever invented; adding a headlight wiper-blade (Mercedes!) just makes it more ridiculous!


PaulB, you probably have the 2004 VDP, that year had no trays and no long-wheel-base (LWB). I think they brought both back for 2005.

 

Doh, PaulB, just noticed your signature!

 

luc wrote "The only available option on a 2001 VDP was the navigagion sytem"



And one more option that mine has...

 

That's not an option, that is a different model - show off

 

I've got an '01 XJ8. I suppose many of the options that were standard on the VDP were made available on the other models. I've got plenty of chrome trim, heated front and rear seats, 10 year old leather that looks almost new, body colored side mirrors and the standard carpet. I don't know about you, but the idea of trying to keep lambswool carpets clean on a 10 year old car sounds absurd to me. I don't have the fold out trays but the kids are the only ones that ride back there so I don't have to worry about having to re-secure them every time we pull in to the house. Don't get me wrong, the VDP is a nice car and had that as an option when I was looking I'd have probably given it serious consideration, but when you boil it down, it doesn't look like there's much that you might not find on the base or L version.

 

I have always wanted the lambswool mats as my car didnt come with them.

In my biased opinion, the VDP and XJ8L are pretty similar on paper, but the quality of the leather w/piping and additional wood on the VDP seems to impress alot of people. The long wheel base on the VDP, although it looks worse than the SWB, makes the VDP interior more visible from the outside b/c of the huge rear door windows.

I have seen quite a few people walk up to my car to take a look inside while she was parked. One guy said "woooww its a VDP", some kids said "dude check out this jag! D*mnnn it has wood on the back of the seats too?!

The XJ8 and VDP differences are all superficial though.

 

Dude, ya'all bump your head!? The long rear window was the main aesthetic-attraction I had to buying a VDP! Take a car that is already very low-slung and long and then make it even longer! It is so ultra-classy!

The tray tables are an awesome touch too, albeit a bit useless, they are right out of a private jet.

 

New VDP of 2001 were about 8k dollars more then std models.

On the retail market a 2001 VDP is about 2k more than a std model.

Least that what all my research found out

 

I have a 1998 VP, it has all the options mentioned here and more. But I do not have the Nav System. Also I do not have the actual phone in the arm rest. I am looking to try and buy a Bluetooth adapter as I have the phone hook up wiring and phone in radio. But no luck so far.

 

You forgot the limo tint and the fluted grille and rear boot plinth. That's what makes them a dead giveaway from an XJ8.

 

I was thinking to retrofit the picnic desk in my XJR, but I am not sure if that will like silly.

 

One advantage to the VDP -
Someone in this forum claimed a long time ago that the headliner was a lot easier to get out of a L or a VDP than the short wheel base version!

Also, my wife finds the front seat cramped and uncomfortable, but loves to stretch out in the back (with me as chauffeur, of course). Especially on long trips. In fact, wish I could drive it from back there!

 

This thread was informative, as I didn't know all of the differences between the models. I purchased my 01 VDP in July and have been very pleased. I have always admired the sleek styling of Jaguar and enjoy the interior on the VDP. I especially like the handwritten (?) Vanden Plas gold lettering on the dash. Whatever your 308, I think they look better than the new models.

 

Vanden Plas also has wood veneer on the roof console, chrome lower grille vane, and chrome caps on the roof grab handles.
The rare supercharged model was later renamed the Super V8! A model which they continued on the 2004-2008 generation.