It's fair to say that Jaguar's 5.0-litre V8 has seen plenty of action since it succeeded the old 4.2-litre lump in 2009. In recent years it's gone into practically everything hot in the JLR family. Yet despite its familiarity, the unit is still commonly linked to the old 5.0-litre V8 of JLR's Ford days. But truth is, the eight-cylinder wasn't a rehash of some Blue Oval block but rather an all-new, in-house developed engine. Out of the blocks it used direct injection and provided the XK V8 with the rather healthy normally aspirated total of 385hp.
It didn't take long for Jag to turn the wick up with the deployment of a supercharger. In the XKR it first drove, the powerplant was good for 510hp - meaning this brute was only 60hp short of exotica like the flat-plane-cranked 458 Italia. The Brit was a whole lot podgier at 1,753kg than the Ferrari and its ilk, true, but with such excess provided to those real wheels - not to mention a truly distinctive Jag V8 soundtrack - it made for quite the package.
Then came the XKR-S. With a new, less restrictive (and therefore louder) exhaust system and ECU software, the 'charged engine pumped out 550hp. Remarkably, no mechanical changes were made to the block or its internals, emphasising the strength of Jag's unit and giving the suitably aggressive-looking XKR-S performance to worry cars costing considerably more than its six-figure price tag.
Well, it did in a straight line. Throw in some corners and while the Jag's balance and nicely judged controls would court commitment, there was no getting around the physical constraints of its mass. The XKR-S has therefore never quite lived up to its athletic image, and while that's easily forgiven, it's arguably left the XKR looking like the slightly more rounded offering. One that still has a sub-five second 0-62mph time and can, with its factory limiter removed, hit 174mph.
Couple that to an XKR finished in British Racing Green with a cream leather interior, and things couldn't be much more, well, British. And let's not beat around the bush, that's always been the appeal of the big ol' Jag. When German rivals offered more performance in a higher-tech package, the XKR's charm managed to win it plenty of fans. Today, the F-Type finds itself in a near identical position of offering character over kit (even with an fresh update for 2020), but that car costs more than fifty grand and you're only given four-cylinder cylinders. Today's Spotted is less than half that and you get one of the most exciting, vocal V8s known to man, wrapped in a two-door model that has aged rather well.
SPECIFICATION - JAGUAR XKR
Engine: 5,000cc, V8, supercharged
Transmission: 6-speed auto, rear-wheel drive
Power (hp): 510@6,000-6,500rpm
Torque (lb ft): 461lb ft@2,500-5,500rpm
MPG: 23
CO2: 292g/km
First registered: 2010
Recorded mileage: 42,000
Price new: £72,400
Yours for: £23,990
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