Jaguar ended production of the XJ line in 2019 after five decades of producing the model. Today Good price or nothing The XJR is one of the sportiest cars in its class and is in top condition. Let’s see if that’s worth its premium price tag.
Have you ever seen professional boxer Mike Tyson without his boxing gear and dressed like a high class man? That is the image of power and splendor that Cadillac CTS-V 2005 we reviewed yesterday. At $10,900, it doesn’t have a price tag that seems either luxurious or painful. That double punch propels the hot Caddy to a solid 60 percent Nice Price win.
Another car that exudes both brute power and beauty is today’s Jaguar XJR 2005. It also uses the time-honored tradition of packing heat under the hood. In the Jag’s case, it’s a supercharged version of the AJ V8, making 395 horsepower and 399 pound-feet of torque, about the same as yesterday’s Caddy. Almost as slim, the XJ weighs just under two tons thanks to extensive use of aluminum (aluminum to the Brits) in the chassis and body panels.
Along with the 4.2-liter V8, the XJR is mated to a six-speed manual transmission sourced from ZF, which features Jag’s exotic J-shift gear selector and sends power to the rear wheels for a traditional yet premium racing feel. Brembo disc brakes provide stopping power at every turn, while the suspension is electronically controlled to be both balanced and aggressive.
But our purpose isn’t to discuss this Jag’s specs in some British living room pissing contest (don’t hit the corgi!), but rather to marvel at its low mileage and seemingly excellent overall condition.
This XJR is advertised as having done just 10,189 miles, and everything about it, from the Leaper on the bonnet to the 20-inch BBS Sepang alloys underneath, appears to be in like-new condition. As seen in the pictures, it looks incredibly well done, with the Ebony paintwork appearing to be in pristine condition and accented with a subtle amount of vintage chrome. The car’s purpose is beautifully expressed by a pair of chrome exhaust tips backed up by green and red badges on the fenders and boot.
The cabin is as close to a Jaguar as you can get, with sumptuous leather upholstery and a forest of burlwood stretching from the dashboard to the doors and across the top and bottom of the steering wheel. Like the Caddy of yesterday, the Jag is built for button-pushers and offers a wealth of comfort and convenience features, making this a very luxurious ride even when asked to stand up and dance. Plus, the whole thing looks like it just rolled off Brown’s Lane. Hell, I bet it even smells like an English manor instead of a dank warehouse, as older Jags tend to do eventually.
Mechanically, the car appears to be in very good shape, as well as cosmetically. Of course, that’s to be expected since it has so few miles on it. The engine bay is littered with plastic covers, with only the ABS pump and alloy suspension mounts to show off the car’s intended use. However, everything looks spotless, as does the rest of the car. As you might expect, it comes with clean paperwork. Not entirely unexpected, it also comes with all the factory manuals and the original Monroney sticker. Holy cow, 17 city, 24 highway!
The asking price for this piece from the recent past is $33,000.
Okay, that’s a lot of cheddar. Typically, an XJR of this generation would cost about a third of that. But those competitors are unlikely to be in as good shape or have as few miles as this one. For those who missed out on these great cars when they were new, this could be a great—albeit expensive—opportunity to right that wrong.
What do you think? Is this Jag good enough to justify paying $33,000? It’s certainly good enough to beg the question. But is it good enough to be… good enough?
You decide!
Phoenix, Arizona, Craigslistor go This if the ad disappears.
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