2001 Jaguar XKR: An Owner’s Perspective
Style. Performance. Comfort. Those are the 3 things that Jaguar as a company stands for. From their exquisite exteriors to the elegant interiors, Jaguars will never disappoint. In between both of those is what makes it move. Even the entry model Jaguars are more than capable of freeing those butterflies in your stomach.
Admittedly, the Jaguar in question does not belong to me; it belongs to my father. Through the love, and overwhelming trust of this man i have had access to the keys of a 390hp beast (it has probably lost a few of those horses by now though) since 2013. Our Jaguar happens to be a convertible which only turns up the level of excitement every time I get in it, especially during the summer months. Being able to have the roof down, hair flying in the wind and lets not forget being able to hear the unrestricted rumble of the beast under your right foot puts a huge smile on my face whenever I get in it.
The X100 series Jaguar XKs were in production from 1996 to 2006, putting our car right in the middle of the production time. The XKRs were given a supercharged AJ26S engine producing 390hp (although this figure is disputed, some say it only had 370hp) and 387 ft/lb of torque mated to a Mercedes-Benz 5 speed automatic transmission. This allows you to accelerate to 100 km/h (62/mph) in 5.5 seconds in the coupe and 5.6 seconds in the convertible. The car tops out at 250 km/h due to the fact that Jaguar has limited the top speed. Lets be honest though, when are you going to get a chance to push the car to the max? Yeah you can take it to a track but even then you probably won’t need to go any faster than 250 km/h anyways; you’ll be more focused on not hitting anything than you will be on how fast you can get it to go.
We have never tracked the car, mostly because of insurance or the lack there of when on track, but this isn’t a track car anyways. This is a car that you take to get groceries or go on long drives. It’s not about how fast it can go around corners or in a straight line (believe me it can do that just as well as any other high-end sports car), it’s about enjoying the experience. The car has enough power that if you want to plant your right foot and push it you can, but the car is also civilized enough that if you want to go on a sunday drive and enjoy the open air (because the roof down is always a must in nice weather) you can do that too.
In my opinion this is one of the most beautiful cars ever made. The sleek lines pull your eyes all around the car allowing you to see the beauty that is before you. Both the coupe and convertible versions are magnificent but there is something about a convertible that just screams drive me! When you look at it you feel important, it evokes a sense of occasion. Even though the car is 16 years old now it still turns heads when driving down the street. Keep in mind this was a $100,000+ car when it was new, but now you can pick the car up for under $30,000.
Over all the 2001 Jaguar XKR convertible is a beautiful car to drive. It is elegant and civilized when you want it to be but as soon as push the accelerator pedal all hell brakes loose. The suspension isn’t too firm, the seats are comfortable and there is the power of a supercharged V8 under your right foot; what more could you ask for!
