Have to completely disagree with that one. The XK8 has marvellous flowing, curved lines and if you look through any Jag history book, it really owes it's looks to the E-Type (got to iflip the pages back and forth).

As long as I pondered a nice, shiny, aluminum XK, I really couldn't be happy with a car that has the front end of a Vantage and the a$$ end of a Mustang.

I have also been accosted at gas stations by Diane Lane lookalikes who gush about "how pretty it looks". Unfortunately, they have all been accompanied by their teenage children......

Cheers,
Hamish
MY 2001 XK8 - 77k Miles

 

Makes me want to move to Waukesha. My wife knows I (and most other guys I know) have a crush on Diane Lane.

Doug

 

I would not imagine in this thread we could talk about girls

Hmmmmmm...... You better meet Anna

 

".............I have a crush on Diane Lane." Doug

Hey, Back off, she's mine!

 

Nothing to worry about there....no room in the rear "seat"!

 

Yes they are. Someone posted the built amounts Verts vrs Coupes. I looked for it but can't find it, there's so much information on this forum. Anyway, there are less Coupes than Verts.

 

By a very sizeble margin, 3 to 1 I think, but don't quote me on that. It's one of the reasons I ended up with a convertible XK8 rather than a coupe XKR.

 

I think it was more like 10 to 1 for sales in the US.

 

How exotic they are depends on where you are. Here in Dallas, TX not as much. While in Deep East Texas very exotic.

 

Here in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles, sometimes days can go by without seeing another XK8/XKR (I do see more of the new aluminum ones). When I do see one, they are almost always a convertible, which makes sense for southern California. Ironically, the single other XK8 here in the 12-story office building where I work happens to be a beautiful 2003 black XK8 coupe with chrome wheels. I have to admit that I think the coupes look sharper but I still love my convertible.

Doug

 

I get more comments on my "Jag'-u-wa" than my Rolls Royce. I'm in Atlanta and I see more Farrari's, Lambo's and Maserati's than I do XK8's and KXR's.

 

found this on another forum
e:
the numbers of XKs produced up to and including December 2004.

The figures are:

XK8 Coupe - 19147 (22.1%)
XK8 Convertible - 45324 (52.3%)
XKR Coupe - 9078 (10.5%)
XKR Convertible - 13061 (15.1%)

Total - 86610

 

XKR is an exotic indeed. I have only seen 2 coupes since 7 months of ownership.

 

I'm inclined to follow the exotic=impractical line of thinking. That said- insurance companies seem to have no qualms about designating them exotics.

Actually, should be exotic=intoxicating, then my XKR works for me!

 

exotic of not I would love to come home and find a xk8 coupe in the garage.

 

I like to think of these cars as "relatively rare"...I was out today with the car ('99 XK8 convertible) for 4 hours, 200 miles, and did not see another one, coupe or convertible. Although the looks you get are priceless

Strangest thing though, I almost always get a wave from the Harley riders.

 

When I was buying the Jag it was a choice between that or the Aston. The reason I rejected the Aston was that it was far too exotic and impractical for an only car.

At the time price was not an issue. Delivery schedule was. My Saab 9000 Turbo had become chronically unreliable (200K miles on the clock). A new Aston would take a year and require building a garage.

If you can drive a car every day as your main car, it is not an exotic.

Now some of my friends who (unlike me) joined Netscape when it started went out and bought Ferraris. Those are true exotics. And many of them spent more days in the shop than on the road.

I bought the XK8 because it is pretty much at the top of the quality curve. You can spend a lot more on a car, get a lot more power, speed etc. But Once you go 'above' an XK8 there is a severe downside in reliability, range and repairability.

If Jaguar came out with an F-type I would really hope that it was positioned to be an MGB/Miata and not a sunday drive. I know the XK180 prototype was convertible only, but I don't think thats what they would have made for production.

 

Exotic is not a specific description. Exotics can be common, popular and relatively cheap. There are exotic brands, luxury brands, exotic cars and one offs.

Brands such as Audi, BMW and Mercedes have deep histories in racing, super cars, ultra luxury and have garnered a reputation as highly desireable. Most of their vehicles can certainly be considered exotics as they start with a high price point, come standard with many features lacking on domestic and Asian cars in similar classes and almost always turn heads. A BMW 3 series still turns heads. These brands have a certain "aura" or je ne sais quois to them. In Europe I'm sure they are more often driven by common folk, but here, kids with new jobs, mature adults just losing their children to the world and people desperate to show off their success are quite often the owners of brand new or slightly loved entry level exotics (BMW 3 Series, Mercedes SLK, Chevrolet Corvette). The wealthy often buys things like BMW's Z4, 5/6/7 series and M versions, Mercedes SL Class, SLR and SLS.

Many people wouldn't consider Hondas, Dodges and Fords but the NSX is amazing, even to people who have no clue what is. I'm sure everyone has had an encounter with a friend who knows nothing about cars and is totally floored when you tell them they just eye raped a "mere" Honda. The Viper is just gorgeous. The Shelby GT 500 is just pure raw muscle. Again, the brands aren't "exotic" or "ultra exclusive" by their top of the line cars are. They aren't common, they represent a pinacle of the company's line up.

All of these cars have that certain je ne sais quois that requires you to turn your head and just be impressed as they drive by and even more so if you know what you're looking at. There is no way to define it past je ne sais quois. If it turns your head, represents attitude, wealth, super performance, exclusivity or just pure sex appeal (VW Bug does not count hehe), then it can be considered an exotic.

One offs or extremely limited production (Aston Martin One-77, Jaguar XKR 75) are not exotics, they are ultra exclusive due to severely limited production runs/special edition status.

 

I must disagree. A BMW 3 series cannot be exotic. As I drive through my daughter's high school parking lot I'll see at least 12 or 15 BMW 3's of various years. In fact, when we were looking for a car for her, she specifically told me that she didn't want one because they are so common and the snobby kids at school drive them. I wouldn't even consider a Z3 or a Z4 any more exotic than a Miata. I could go drive around town for an hour, and I guarantee you that I could see at least 20 BMW 3's and a handful of Miata's in that time period.

The best dictionary definition for "exotic" I could find was "strikingly unusual or strange in effect or appearance". By no means could a BMW 3 be considered exotic. Something that is as common as dirt does not meet the definition of "unusual". So, strictly speaking and using the dictionary as a reference, an XK8/R would be exotic. However I still don't really consider it so. I see them frequently enough that I don't consider them "unusual".

 

I have to strongly agree with Sam--BMWs of all types are about as rare as Hondas in my neck of the woods. Consequently, there is nothing eye catching about any of them, save for the rarer models (6-series?). No one looks at a 325i and says "Wow! What was that?!?"