Old Top Gear new 1996 Jaguar XK8 road test Jeremy Clarkson

[MrDenniski]

I think the convertible looks horrible compared to the coupé ! I think the XK8 coupé is one of the nicest looking cars to date.

[TartanArmi04]

Mr Hudson

[aic53]

Whatever you do never take this off please!

[ketchup5344]

Cant go wrong!!

[levlevi]

I think of getting XK8 coupe. It looks fantastic

[childericking]

This car looks so much better than the newer jaguar. I don't know what all the fuzz about the XKR is about, to me it looks like an average car, like a luxury nissan or something

[RichardEllisxyz]

@lewis72 Why an 'American' engine?? "There's no replacement for displacement"..And that was a European maker who quoted that!! Not an American. It always seems Europeans are hopelessly 'stuck' on tiny weak engines. They will go to extreme lengths & costs to extract power from small engines, when truly large engines are a simple solution. It is almost as if they have an allergic reaction to large engines, avoiding it like the plague.

[RichardEllisxyz]

@LondonItalian I suppose myths are made to be broken huh? Upon our return to the States in a year or two, I will be buying a trio of "replacement" cars...setting up a new life, back in the States. My wife wound up doing the "buying" of cars past, impulsively...no thought. We took a pasting with poor resale value. She does love the Jags, & so do I. I'm a semi-retired 20+ YR 'Mechanic' I have seen first-hand the results of poor servicing. So now I have to learn as much about the Jag as possible.

[RichardEllisxyz]

@LondonItalian Glad to hear your XJ8 is working OK ....so far. Just how many miles/Kilometers do you have on her? I would guess less than 100K kilometers.Every manufacturer comes up with an excuse for Nikasil failures.....if it wasn't that much of a problem, why didn't Jaguar, BMW, Porsche stick with it? I'm talking "weaknesses" in design, not a true flaw in design. Another is the choice of single-row timing chain for the XK8.......great for frictional losses, but a failure can wreck the motor.

[LondonItalian]

@RichardEllisxyz Mines hit 188000km to date. They left it because the public's opinion was tarnished, but it IS a superior bore coating, developed in motorsport. Any surviving Nikasil cars WILL be fine & subject to less wear (& a tad more power) than their steel lined counterparts.

Many cars, even American ones, have single chains that are good for 200,000m+, the plastic tensioners were the problem, its made worse by dirty oil, making them brittle, but mines been`over serviced` & is still fine.

[LondonItalian]

@RichardEllisxyz Your entitled to your opinions, as I`ve said, I`ve had a selection of Jaguars over many years & contrary to popular myth, have had great reliability while enjoying a wonderful driving experience, in beautiful cars. I also have peace of mind, of knowing I`m carrying my family in one of the safest cars ever made.

I cant recommend them highly enough, I`m proud that British craftsmen designed & built them!

I recently had a £300,000 Rolls for a week, & much prefer driving my XJR!

[RichardEllisxyz]

Too bad Jaguar STILL can't make a decent engine....the 4.0Litre Nikasil (Chrome plated bores) engine suffered from intense reliability issues,.... many issues. Still, the rest of the car is superb...& those lines, pure sex. As before, these Jags would benefit immensely with an American engine & drivetrain, more power, better reliability. An altogether better car. And who cares what powers it anyway?

[LondonItalian]

@RichardEllisxyz I have to disagree, Nikasil is a superior coating as far as wear & friction is concerned,the problem occured because of petrol companies raising the ratio of sulphur in fuels in some countries, which degrades Nikasil, especially when the car does short journeys & never warms up fully. Porsche & BMW were also caught out too. Sulphur was reduced around 2000, many Nikasil cars are still going strong, including my own 99` XJR (thats still on its original timing tensioners too).

[LondonItalian]

@RichardEllisxyz I forgot, my XJR is also still on its original water pump as well, another suposed `problem` part...

American engines dont generally have the power or smoothness required for Jaguars unfortunately.

[LondonItalian]

@RichardEllisxyz Feel free to take a quick look at my 2 acceleration clips too Richard, you`ll see it still hits 60 in 5.2 seconds, & 90mph not long after! Whats not to love! (other than the 15mpg on super unleaded!)

I appreciate your comments, its nice to have a calm, intelligent conversion on here for a change.

[lewis72]

@RichardEllisxyz

I do, because I work for Jaguar Powertrain. An American engine in a Jaguar? Wash your mouth out. Nikasil was dropped in 2000. Besides, who wants an iron pushrod single cam lump under the bonnet of a Jag? The V8 here is an all alloy, quad cam 32 valve unit designed in the UK.

American drivetrain? You mean a GM or Ford 'box? Never. This has the German ZF 5HP20 box in it. The Ford 'box was dropped from the S Type.

[Phivi21]

The song, yes it's called missed you in a heart beat. I'm sure it is on a Def Leppard CD I had years ago but I found it in itunes by a band called the law. Strange because the guitar is identical from what i remember from the Def Leppard CD but clearly differnet vocals. Anyway it's a great song and it's this clip that made me look for it again.

.

[jacknickprobe]

could someone please tell me what song that is when clarkson drives off in the convertible?

[LondonItalian]

@kunaalbhasin I`ve had a number of Jaguar XJ`s (& 2 S-types) in the last 15+ years, including my current 99 XJR which shares is runing gear with the XKR.

ALL have behaved well, NONE have EVER broken down & other than servicing, running costs/repairs have been minimal.

I`ve owned several E30`s & E36`s too, and had issues with ALL of them..

As cholland100 says, Jags are a different league to common BMW`s, but if your happy in a BM, then good for you. it is personal preference after all.

[lewis72]

@LondonItalian

I have a BMW E60 (530i) which recently replaced my E39 (528i). I hate both of them. The E60 is like a '90s Fiesta on the inside. The steering feel is dead and the iDrive was clearly designed by someone who doesn't drive. I've had it 3 months but will be PX-ing it soon for one of these... oh, and a Mondeo Mk3.

[cholland100]

Dear god. No to an awful Chav 3 series! XK8 is ins different league. So much better!

[Phivi21]

I love my xk8 convertible. It is stunning. Who wants a BMW or a Merc.

[kunaalbhasin]

@Phivi21 Wait till it starts acting up.. rmember it is a jag.. had one for 3 years before moving to a 3 series.. couldn't be happier..

[Carnut91]

LMAO, jeremy decides to sleep in a tent at the jaguar factory like its black friday.

[vpole]

Many Ford Sierras in the background, good times

[28hardboi]

beutifull jaguar...classic...love 1 still now rather than the new shape,well smarter...the front espically the front

[MrPudster]

@28hardboi

I agree the older XK8 shape is a classic, a beautiful car. I was lucky enough to buy a 1997 model in mint condition recently and its a real head turner and fantastic to drive. I just love its classic shape- you don't see many about. I hope that one day it will be truly viewed as a classic car assimilar to the E type. These are such great cars and I'm so glad that they were made!

[topmop2]

thanks for uploading

[JZZ31]

Thanks for uploading

[JagsAreAwesome]

thanks so much for posting this hard to find classic Clarkson!

[yonutfilip]

i love this model from jag....