Just wanted to say hello and introduce myself. I'm new to this forum. I presently have a '01 XKR and had a XK8 a few years back and have love them both. I also have an '08 S-type I just got for my wife. I just ordered the new XKR Convertible but I'm going to have to wait 2 months for delivery.

I was wondering about the luxury seating package. I'm not sure I like the perforated leather. Is the leather perforated on the non-luxury package? What are the pro's and con's of getting the luxury package?

Any other inside tips about my order would be appreciated. Since I'm custom ordering it I hope there's not some things the dealer might have left out as far as options go. For example they weren't sure if front park assist was availble yet for the XKR. I ordered it with ALL options, carmel interior, poplar wood trim, winter gold exterior, light beige roof, senta 20" wheels.

BTW, I applogise if you see this post on other forums. I can't seem to find a single forum that has much activity. Itcwould be great if you can direct me to the best forum for a new XKR.

 

I'm interested in the '08 XKR - have been looking at the XK and XKR for the past couple of months and now waiting for the arrival of the '08's. The dealers in my area have not been very forthcoming with information about when they will arrive and/or what the difference if any there will be in price. I know that the '08 doesn't have the aerial antenna and there were some minor cosmetic changes to the interior.... assuming there may be different exterior and interior color options?

Congratulations on the new car.....I'm jealous!

 

I didn't ask about the price. My dealer doesn't seem to know much either. The contract just said "at MSRP" so we'll see. I did this one on faith and $5000 down I also read it will be around 150 pounds lighter so it will be a little faster. Under4.9 seconds. Also there will be front parking assist.The spare tire will even have pressure monitoring. I ordered winter gold exterior, carmel interior, poplar wood, and light beige roof,Senta 20' wheelsand all possible options. The waiting is the hardest part!

See http://www.zercustoms.com/photos/200...XKR-2.jpg.html

 

I too have an '08 XKR on order. - Where did you hear this rumor about the reduced weight and front park-assist?
I can (kind'a) believe the the park assist rumor... this has been a European option since the new XK's release.
But, 150lbs! That's a huge deal. Surely this would be big news.
- J

 

There is no weight change to my knowledge and I've been scouring the internet and asking every jag dealer I talk to about any changes to the '08 XK/XKR. There was one article on line that said that the 20" Senta wheels would be standard issue - I'm pretty sure this is not the case - that's a $5,000 option, why would they make it standard? I read somewhere else that the B&W stereo would be optional on XKR's - not just on the portfolio edition. A dealer I spoke with claimed that this was not the case - only on the portfolio edition would be the B&W stereo. To my knowledge about the only notable change to the 2008 is the removal of the aerial antenna. This and some other minor cosmetic changes are all that the local dealers would confirm. If you know different I'd love to know. There are a couple of '07 XKR's that I could buy in the upper $70k range - with the 20" Senta's and only a few thousand miles. That's probably a savings of 15-20,000 off of what i'll pay for a new '08 coupe. I might decide that I can live with the old school antenna for that kind of savings!

 

i've thought about that too. The 20" Senta wheels make the car look fantastic but one would think you could buy something comparable a lot cheaper than the $5,000 cost (that's 5,000 OVER and above the cost of the 19" jupiter wheels that come stock on the XKR).

 

what did you order on your 08 XKR?

 

That’s exactly the car I ordered too! - I opted for the standard wheels because, to my eyes, they’re easily the best looking.
I can handle it if the same design grows to be 20” for 2008 ( Sadly, the brakes look SOOOO tiny with 20” wheels) ... but, I hope
they didn’t change their look. Buying aftermarket wheels from the outset isn’t in my budget. - The optional factory wheels all look
either too 1980’s, or too feminine to me.

Please post any information you may be able to gather.

 

To introduce myself…my name is Rus and this is the story of me buying my first Jaguar. Just buying a car like the XK is not the norm for me but this turned into a deal that never crossed my mind.

I would say I have a strange story for the XKR Portfolio. I walked into the dealer to take my last test drive (Sept.22) in a XKR before placing an order for a XKR. A group of sales people are in the next room having their meeting and talking about how they just found out they have some of new 2008's coming in and they are on the east coast.(I'm in LA)Two of them are the portfolios that they should be getting. My sales person was not inon the meetingas he was getting the keys to the car we were going to take out. While we were out driving I asked him about the Portfolio; never dreaming that there were any available.I thought they had already all been sold. He obviously did not know because he said they did not know anything about them yet. Shortening the story...when we came back the sales people were still talking about it. I just looked at him and said I'll take the convertible but would think about it over night if that was OK. The next day I went in to talk with him and he said...unbelievably the car came in at 7:30 in the morning and three people were behind me to buy the car. He saw it roll off the truck and could not believe it. They never told them it was coming. So we went over to look at it. To tell you the truth I was not sure I was going to like the machined aluminum interior. (I was not the normal aluminum so no idea what it would look like) When we drove over to their receiving area the car was covered with the travel coating and all the protective material with three mechanics standing around looking at it. Could not really see the “celestial black” paint but could tell it had the blue tint when the sun hit the black hard. When I saw the inside…it looked amazing. They called the leather charcoal but it is pure black. The front window rail felt like suede not the normal material.

So they are getting the car ready but a bunch of questions have come up about electronics, Jaguarwatch availability in the XK/XKR/Portfolio, phone sync, Ipod connections etc. Hell…nobody knows anything about the cars. So the person that said Jaguar does not communicate with the sales people earlier is correct. I’m doing all the foot work before I except the car on Tuesday.

But the way it stands now…no ipod, Alpine receiver with the Bowers & Wilkins speakers, as of now not sure about the Jaguarwatch GPS tracking. They did not even know what it was when I asked them. For those that are interested.www.myjaguarwatch.com. Lojack in on Monday.

I know somebody is asking as I did…are they charging a premium. Funny thing was…the dealer that I got the car through was not. But wait…this is LA. The sales people could not understand because they had buyers for it. But for fun I called the others in the area and they said they were all charging but their Portfolios were already sold. One never even called me back after I talked to him.

Phone info. Blackberry has just put out a software update for Rover, Jaguar and Volvo to connect with their units. We will see next week if it works.

Heck…I guess we’ll see what the car really looks like on the 25th.

Well that’s all for now. Hope it raises some questions and sparks some answers because the more I dig the more I find out what the dealers really don’t know. As I fond out more I’ll thow it up here.

 

I've been on the phone all day working with the dealer to get the Jaguarwatch installed and make sure we have everything for the car. I was informed that somebody had paid 20k over sticker for the coup Portfolio. But this is LA. I will not have the Jaguarwatch in the car for delivery because the people at the dealership had no idea whatthe system is or how to install it. Somebody at Corporate Jag really dropped the ball on this one. But it looks like a long ride up the coast will be in order tomorrow. Hope yours gets here soon.

Rusty

 

I drove the new Portfolio yesterday, and it's a wonderful drive. Beautiful car with interior and exterior additions that should be available on the standard models as upgrades.

I do have one question for this group. With standard 20" polished wheels and oversize brakes, the vechicle comes with no spare, only the IMS (Instant Mobility System).

My experience with very low profile tires has left me wary as far as tire problems, and without a spare one could either be in jeopardy of losing one's vehicle if left or being forced
to make one's use of the vehicle within reasonably local areas. Worst case not going outside of one's megalopolis.

Tire sealant and inflator doens't always solve a problem; cell phone service isn't always available; the tires in question are not normal stock items in tire stores
off the beaten track.

Is the upgrade to these 20" units worth the potential risk, and are normal XKs with other 20" wheels also devoid of some sort of spare?