2004 Jaguar XKR

London, the 1960s. The Beatles are on the radio, the Kray’s rule the East End and the wealthy West End elite are faced with an increasingly difficult decision. Do you splash the cash for a new Aston Martin DB5, or save some change and buy an equally beautiful but distinctly more affordable Jaguar E-Type?

Fast forward to the early 2000s, the Kray’s reign is over, the streets are cleaner, and yet those lucky enough are facing a familiar dilemma. A new V12 Aston Martin DB7, or a Supercharged, V8-powered Jaguar XKR. The smart money probably lands in a Jaguar. The XKR is a more subtle, yet raucous beast that sacrifices very little of the Aston’s luxury. Much of their styling is akin, sharing cousin-like similarities.

This car is the smart choice, a 2004 Jaguar XKR. Finished in metallic grey over a two-tone ivory and black interior. Few cars manage to look fast whilst parked. The XKR does that, thanks to its long bonnet, short rear overhang and comedically low roof-line.

The car sits on a set of refurbished 20” multi-spoke Sepang alloy wheels, produced by BBS for Jaguar. Wrapped in a set of Dunlop SP Sport Maxx tyres, they enclose a set of factory-fitted red brake callipers. Despite being a nearly 20-year-old car, it benefits from a host of typically modern luxury touches. Adaptive cruise control, automatic bi-xenon headlamps and rear parking sensors.

The interior is typical Jaguar, traditional Jag that is, not lower case ‘g’ jag. The seats are heated Recaros, but wrapped in Ivory hide. The same hide extended across the lower half of the interior, centre console and rear seats. Usable rear seats, but maybe only for those with particularly skinny legs. The rest of the interior is trimmed in black leather, accented by touches of polished trims that adorn the piano black trim.

The interior, too, has a touch of the modern. With an electrically adjustable steering column, ambient lighting, and an Alpine surround sound system with Bluetooth/iPod connectivity. It is truly a special place to be that combines the classic luxury of Jaguar and Daimler products with 21st-century tech.

As this is an XKR, you’ll find under the bonnet a 4.2-litre supercharged V8, producing around 400bhp. The engine is mated to a ZF-sourced 6-speed automatic gearbox. This combination is enough to shuffle the car up to 60 in less than 5.5 seconds.

It’s a potent heart that requires its share of maintenance, and as the value of these cars dropped, many were sadly mistreated. That is not the case for this car, the current owner purchased the car in 2017, and almost immediately sent it to The Chelsea Workshop, where it was fitted with the latest spec timing chain kit, tensioners, waterpump and thermostat at a cost of over £4,000. Additionally, the car was treated to a suspension refresh in 2020 that included a wheel refurb, totalling over £5,000.

The full records include:

01/2006 – Service – 15,501 miles – W.E. Sturgess Jaguar
11/2006 – Service – 18,352 miles – John Skeggs Jaguar
12/2007 – Service – 21,541 miles – John Skeggs Jaguar
12/2008 – Service – 25,221 miles – John Skeggs Jaguar
10/2009 – Service – 27,945 miles – W.E. Sturgess Jaguar
05/2010 – Service – 37,853 miles – W.E. Sturgess Jaguar
06/2011 – Service – 51,549 miles – Farriers Jaguar
12/2013 – Service – 66,877 miles – Heritage Motors
07/2014 – Lambda sensor – 71,371 miles – Rockfield Motor Services
08/2015 – Engine service – 78,330 miles – Rockfield Motor Services
08/2015 – Gearbox service – 78,563 miles – Rockfield Motor Services
05/2017 – Service – 86,719 miles – Kwik-Fit
10/2017 – Timing chain, waterpump and thermostat – 88,208 miles – The Chelsea Workshop
05/2018 – Differential service and supercharger service – 90,873 miles – The Chelsea Workshop
09/2020 – Rear parking sensors and washer pump – 93,525 miles – S&P Auto Services
09/2020 – Seat cable and oil cooler hose replaced – 93,907 miles – S&P Auto Services
11/2020 – Suspension refresh, wheel refurb and front brakes – 94,336 miles – S&P Auto Services
02/2024 – Full service – 97, 839 miles – S&P Auto Services
12/2024 – Replace knock sensors, and inlet gaskets – 98,843 miles – S&P Autos

Modern Classic is a term that is often awarded to ordinary oddities. Stuff that you wonder, how did that escape the scrappage scheme? A suspiciously low mileage Skoda Favorit, for example. But this XKR is a true modern classic.

Built towards the end of production, finished in a classy and desirable specification with a history file busting at its leather-bound seams. Back in the day, the smart money overlooked a DB7 and bought an XKR, and today, you could argue the same.

As with all our vehicles, an entire digital folder is available upon request and contains more images, walk-around videos, and scans of the service history.