Jaguar refreshed its gran-tourer, the XK8, for the first time in 2002.
The car was enhanced in most of the areas, including under the hood.

Ian Callum did a great job when it drew the lines of the Jaguar XK8. It successfully resembled the E-Type front grille and followed the curved lines of the D-Type into one vehicle that turned the attention toward Jaguar coupes once again. Unfortunately, the car lacked some of the German reliability factors, and its performances didn’t match the look. But it was a show-stopper, and Ford’s management agreed to improve the vehicle. In 2002, Jaguar introduced the first facelift for the beautiful XK8.

It was quite challenging to improve the XK8’s look and not damage it from the aesthetical point of view. The designers took a careful approach and changed the headlights with clear lenses and slightly improved the grille. Its redesigned bumper featured flush fog-lights instead of the older, ones which were “buried” in individual scoops. With the top down, there was nothing between the A-pillar and the trunk. The soft top could have been completely retracted behind the rear seats.

Inside, there was a slight upgrade - the models fitted with a navigation system that replaced the three dials from the center stack. Jaguar dismissed the older air-vents and installed a new set with a rounded design.

The most important upgrades were found under the hood. Jaguar improved its 4.0-liter V8 engine and increased its displacement up to 4.2-liter. Strangely though, the power increase was not that noticeable.