2005 Jaguar XK
November 29th, 2006
The styling of the 2005 XK8 luxury coupe and convertible was clearly inspired by Jaguar’s famous old XK-E (E-Type) sports car of the 1960s. Unveiled for 1997, the rear-drive sport Jaguars replaced the XJS design that had been around for 21 years. In fact, the new models also bore some kinship to the XJS, using part of its rear-drive platform and the same basic suspension, and riding a nearly identical wheelbase.
Jaguar claimed a 25 percent increase in body stiffness over the XJS. Jaguar’s first V8 engine went under the hood, a 4.0-liter aluminum unit with twin overhead camshafts and four valves per cylinder.