It's amazing how this stuff sticks. Not even so much with Jaguars specifically but British cars in general. There is a lingering reputation from the days when I was a kid that with a British car you had to make sure you were always driving around with a decent tool kit in the trunk since these needed constant tinkering. Even these days when people see my car, after commenting on how great and classic it looks the next comments are usually things like "is it always in the shop" or "well it's a Ford", etc.

Doug

 

That perception is a double edged sword, as I firmly believe that that same perception is the reason that one of these cars can be bought for so much less than other comparable cars.

 

Exactly. That's one reason why I gladly use the depreciation factor to purchase these cars for "Honda money"....

 

Keep the market ignorance going. It makes the best cars affordable for those of us who aren't scared to touch a wrench occasionally. Then we can laugh and scoff at their misled misery in leased Hyundais. Coworkers are amazed at what I drive. I'm amazed how stupid they are, beholden to their warranties and clean fingernails.

I also share most of everyone's sentiments here- I also saw the writing on the wall when the F-Type debuted and went gangbusters. Good for Jaguar, but the F-Type isn't a pure GT like the XK is. I'm a pretty young guy, and while I can appreciate taut handling and a great exhaust note, nowadays even I would rather a bigger car with more space. The F-Type never did it for me, even after sitting in one. The XK does though. I dream more of touring at speed with my wife to the hill country and hauling back cases of wine than trying to get attention at a valet stand or hot rodding the tollways with my BMW friends.

I'll look forward to seeing what this does to XK (including our dear XK100) values, as they start approaching classic status in the next several years. Style, design, supply and demand always count for something. I really love what Jaguar did with the facias redesign of the XK lately and finally fell in love with it. If my XK100 blows up someday, I'm kinda stuck on these GTs now and would probably go for one of the last XKRs. I'm even nearly off my 911 obsession.

"Who said old man car? It's called taste!"

 

Ditto here. I had loved the look of the XK8 when it first came out but knew the stickers on these things were in the $70K range--way way beyond my budget. Fast forward to 2008 when I was shopping around for something to replace my Corvette. I was looking at new BMW 3-series and just-released Infiniti G37 coupe--both in the $50K sticker range. A used XK8 was not even in my radar since I just figured these must be sky high. But I accidentally spied a used one (forget the actual model year) on a local resale lot and was blown away with the price. It still looked like a million bucks but was selling for chickenfeed. So I ended up with my 2005 XKR (with only 16,000 miles at the time) for much less than the new cars I was considering--these first generation XK8/XKR are really a steal.

Not quite so much for the second gen XK--I haven't noticed those depreciating nearly as much as the first gen.

Doug

 

I truly wanted the newer x150 when I was looking but it was still in the upper 20's. I finally gave the X100 a try and found I could do with one. Since I tend to modify every car I own, this was a fun challenge.
I'd like to eventually own a X150 with my XK8 and have a matched set! But I don't think I can transform a newer XK nearly as much as my xk8. I constantly get asked if its new!

 

As far as I can see, the only official news from Jaguar is that the XK will be discontinued. The alleged 2017 replacement is only a rumor from one of the magazines.

It makes sense since as far as I know, even with Tata's backing, Jaguar does not have the resources to have a thousand models and variations of those models like BMW or MB....and also it seems like the F type and the XK would be competing against each other.

The reality is that the F type is a GT....a 2 seater GT. This whole sports car myth is just a marketing scheme by Jaguar just like when Dodge uses the name "HEMI" on their cars, and by the way a marketing ploy several years late, since it seems aimed at people longing for an E type vehicle and except for those of us that have been given E types by our grandfathers, or otherwise appreciate the car, people 35 and under don't know/remember/long for that experience..

 

Except this guy (33).

 

And this guy. (20)

 

And this guy, 21.

Also, the replacement of the XK in 2017 is more than a rumor. It's been confirmed by Ian Callum in an interview with Autocar.

"No final decision has yet been taken, but Callum said there was an opportunity to “allow the car [XK replacement] to become a bit more special than a GT”. “It could grow into the luxury market, and grow in size,” he said. “Whether it stays the same as a two-plus-two or becomes a two-plus-more-than-two has not been committed to yet.”

So, we don't know exactly what the replacement will be, but there definitely will be a successor.

 

What I was trying to convey in my earlier post is that most people 35 and under would not be able to appreciate a true, true sports car like a series 1 E type...you won't find back up cameras, retracting vents and heated steering wheels in there.

I am 31 and love the GT feel myself. My 74 series 3 E type is very much a GT (with comfortable seats, a/c, a smooth V12 ,power steering and deeper floor pans than the original series 1), and so is my 95 XJS. ....I have test driven a F type and it's pure GT to me, but that may be because I know what driving a XK120 is like!

As for the XK replacement, I totally missed that quote by Callum.

 

I agree with you. I can't tell you how many of my friends tell me I drive an "old man's" car. Its annoying, but really so long as I enjoy it, that's what matters, right?

This is going off on a bit of a tangent, but this is along the lines of your thoughts Mark... I think my generation has lost the ability to appricaite the automobile. Its becoming more about getting from A to B and putting in the least effort as possible to do so. Its becoming an appliance, and that's so disheartening to me. I can't think of too many things I enjoy more than tinkering with and driving my XK. None of my peers understand...

And someday soon I'm hoping to get my hands on an XJS and eventually an E-Type.. Series III is all I could afford I'm sure. But I also prefer the GT feel.

And with the Callum quote, that wasn't in the article I posted originally.. so that's probably why you missed it. I should have posted the link to the original interview probably.

 

That's right. Not just the younger guys though. Just jump over to the the F type forum where they are a little older, and they are complaining about not having that god awful rotary switch gear selector abomination!!they actually want it! I loathe things like push button start too. I like to be part of the driving experience and not driven by my car, all while retaining the GT feel.

 

Continuing the tangent, that quote by Callum “It could grow into the luxury market, and grow in size" is curious. How is a car that is priced in the $80K range not already considered in the luxury market?

To my mind none of the so-called "sports cars" of today are really sports cars. They are basically high priced testosterone machines and the buyers of them believe the more outrageous and over-the-top the better.

I can remember as a kid when my dad got hold of a 1957 MG roadster (must have been around 1965 or so). The car was very basic with a stick, plastic side windows, etc. but there was nothing quite as exciting for me than to be with him while buzzing along through Topanga Canyon from the Valley to PCH. Cars like that were true sports cars.

Doug

 

People like the gear shift knob thing? Interesting... I don't get it really. I want to feel connected to the car I drive.

I'm embarrassed to admit that I don't know how to drive stick, but its not for lack of trying. I don't know anyone who has a car I can borrow to learn in. So, short of going out and buying one myself to learn, I'm kind of stuck

But the purer the driving experience, the better for me.

And that is an interesting point, SeismicGuy. I can only imagine him thinking along the lines of Aston Martin- the ultra lux market? Not sure... But considering a BMW 3-series can broach $70k (and I'm talking 335.. not even M3), $80k isn't all that "luxurious" anymore I suppose

 

I just read the MT article. I translated it to mean that Jaguar might introduce a new car with a larger back seat and trunk to be a "true" GT.

I have driven GTs since my first Triumph GT6 in 1975 and two Datsun 280ZX 2+2s. Since it's inception the X100 coupe has epitomized my idea of a GT (and the Aston Martin, of course). A fast, comfortable long distance fun ride for two people and with enough room for plenty of stuff in the cockpit (munchies?) and a trunk for a few big duffles. This is the reason I've bypassed 911s all these years.

The Jag proposed in the MT article sounds more like my 85 BMW 635. And while I did love that car, I never considered it to be a GT. It was too big. It was just an absolutely wonderful sports coupe.

Looking back, it's kinda funny I've landed in an XKR Coupe - The Triumph GT6 was long considered a poor man's Jag. So nice to come home again