That is exactly the same interior I have in my Xkr-s coupe. I think jag did a very nice job with this interior - sporty and stylish. It is one of the reasons I chose this car

 

That's awesome, Octurbo. Without a doubt, putting wood in your car would be completely out of place. Even Jag knew that, which is why wood isn't even an option on the XKR-S. What color is your exterior?

On the other models, though, and especially on the XK that I'm getting, I think the wood looks good with either the ivory or caramel interiors. The whole personality of the car is different with those interior choices.

 

Has anyone replaced the center vaneers with piano black? I'm considering it on my XK. It looks like 3 pieces totaling about $700 from a Jag OEM parts distributor (Gaudin).

Also, I am thinking about replacing the remaining dark wood with aluminium. Has anyone done that swap? I have not seen the aluminium pieces in person.

 

Piano black on a convertible might have some practical issues. Not sure about the XK, but on the Miata forums where I came from several years ago, people complained that the piano black strips on the dash would cause horrible glare/reflections of the sun with the top down.

 

The problem with Piano Black that you can not differentiate it from being plastic and likely most of your passengers will think that it is plastic.

Too bad they discontinued the wood grain inlays on the center pod. I still prefer the Caramel dash with the Burl Walnut trim all around as the light colors brighten the interior as well as they look very classy.

Albert

 

I think piano black is getting so popular in high end cars that it's not mistaken for plastic. I have it in the '13 XKR on order so that it would match the center stack. If the aluminum they offered matched the metal around the A/C vents instead of being patterned, I might have gone that route. I just didn't want so many different finishes.

 

That's what I have on my 2007 XKR Coupe; with the BRG exterior it's very nice. Has a comfortable, British club feel-which I think fits perfectly with this Marque....

 

If anyone here has changed out their Burl Walnut veneer for something else, I am looking for a matching set of ashtray and shifter panel in walnut for the 2007-2009 cars. Does anyone have a set?

 

The Piano Black veneer is wood (including the centre console pieces) so perfectly finished that they look like black plastic! - they are identical in finish to the Piano Black veneer in a Bentley I was in recently. For me, it is the traditional Burl Walnut - that is Jaguar. Further, even a tiny mark on the Piano Black will show as a major flaw while it is largely disguised on the wood finished-veneers.

 

I too had caramel with Burl. While it certainly looked luxurious it wasn't in keeping with the snarling beastlike nature of my XKR. Mine is black and hunkered down on forged wheels and an open exhaust so it looks and sounds positively menacing. But then you would open the door and be greeted with a view that would make you swear you also hear violins playing in the background LOL. That is to say it felt a bit too warm and luxurious to me.

So I have experimented some. I swapped the entire center section pieces for the engine spun aluminum. Think how the Spyker aluminum interior looks. I was considering changing the piece above glovebox, speedo and doors to piano so I had all aluminum and piano. But I have kept it aluminum in the middle with burl elsewhere for the classic Jag look with a sporting twist.

Will post pics.

 

+1

 

I'm not a huge fan of burl, though I dont mind a different grain. I appreciate that burl is very jaguar and some people love it, but it just doesnt appeal to me. I had it in the first XF (which looked great with oyster and ivory) but there wasnt as much of it as there is in the XK, so it was a little more subtle. I then had piano black in the second, which I loved even though I agree it does look like plastic. When I got the XKR it had burl which I wrapped. I'm happy, it looks identical to the piano black in the XF, and it's reversible for those who want the traditional look. I did the under dash and glovebox bits in metallic black (because the aluminium colour can reflect on my dear wife) which might blend too much with the charcoal, but I dont mind it at all.