The refined and powerful Jaguar XK coupe was a nice blend of performance, comfort and luxury.
Revised for 2011, the XK featured several updates.

Both front and rear exterior styling changes were made and the interior was updated with a navigation system and a back-up camera as standard.

At the front, the updated XK featured slimmer headlamps fitted with LED running lights, a refreshed larger grille and small air scoops on the grille’s sides. The redesigned taillights were fitted with LED technology.

Well loaded in its base (XK) level, the Jaguar XK was equipped with 19-inch alloys, bi-xenon headlights, parking sensors (front and rear), keyless ignition, keyless entry, leather upholstery, heated and cooled front seats, automatic dual-zone climate control, a touchscreen display, Bluetooth connectivity, a premium Bower & Wilking sound system and a heated steering wheel.

Many stand-alone options were available, such as interior piano black wood, a heated windshield, adaptive cruise control, active headlights, a supercharged engine, bigger 19-inch alloys, more effective brakes, unique interior trims, different body colors. The XKR trim level added optional red brake callipers and included all the optional features available for the XK.

The interior offered upper-class comfort with a well-tailored cockpit and high-quality materials used throughout.

Safety wise, the standard equipment included ABS with brake assist, stability control, traction control and front-seat side airbags.

Ian Callum was one of the best designers that ever shaped the Jaguar vehicles’ lines, and the XK was a great example of what he did for the British brand.
While Ford was still owning the Jaguar, they understood that the two-decades-old Jaguar XJS had to be replaced. Ian Callum was assigned to design the new cat, which had to be a GT fast enough to compete against the finest European coupes from those times.

Callum took its inspiration from one of the most beautiful cars in the world, the E-Type. Enzo Ferrari himself made that statement about the E-Type, so blame him if I’m wrong. The oval-shaped grille of the XK resembled the glorious ’60s model from Jaguar. Its odd-looking headlights were unique on the market, and the deep holes for the fog-lights looked like they were designed for the machine-guns in a James Bond car. The all-aluminum unibody construction was continued by a very raked windshield and a short roof before the sloped, aerodynamic rear end.

Inside, the British luxury could have been at its best. Apart from some Ford Fiesta buttons and switches, everything else was luxurious. The expensive Connely leather and the wood trims completed an atmosphere of exclusivity and good taste. It was the first Jaguar that didn’t feature the traditional J pattern for the gear selector. It was more of a reversed L.

Apart from the ferocious XKR, the rest of the range was fitted with a choice of three V8 engines. All of them were paired to a 6-speed automatic gearbox and sent the power to the rear wheels.

After six years since it launched it, Jaguar decided to upgrade its gran tourer car, the XK8, and improved it all the way.
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. Two years later, in 2004, there was another slight upgrade for the front and rear bumpers, which were enlarged.

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. It grew only by five hp.

With the Jaguar XJS being around for no less than 21 full years, it was time for Jaguar to set things right and come with a new model.
Thus, in 1996, Jaguar introduced the XK-Series.

The new series had the same foundation as the XJ-S, however, the chassis had been stiffened and revised beyond recognition. The XK was available as a convertible or a coupe, with most sales generated by the convertible.

For the first time, a V8 unit was mounted on the Jaguar’s new series. The 4.0-liter DOHC unit produced no less than 290 hp and 290 pound-feet of torque. No manual transmission was available with the then-new Jaguar XK8, instead an all-new 5-speed automatic transmission was offered, featuring normal and sport modes. The sporty XK8 was limited to 250 km/h, which was lower than the car it replaced, the XJ-S.

Inside, the coupe offered seating for 4. While the front occupants enjoyed a roomy cabin, the back seats were good for luggages or small children. The classy cabin was fitted with a walnut instrument panel, a leather steering wheel and aromatic leather upholstery. The comfortable seats offered great lateral support as in any other sport-luxury vehicle.

Besides the car’s gorgeous design and its powerful engine, the XK came with lots of luxurious features at the time: adaptive cruise control, alloys wheels, self-levelling xenon headlamps and others.

The XK series, while new, it remained faithful to its roots with inspiration taken from the famous E-Type. With effortless acceleration, nimble and precise steering and a luxurious design, while expensive, the XK had great success.