A homecoming - 2009 Jaguar XK60 (X150)
Discussion
After too many years away, having been through a FFRR TDV8 Vogue SE, a Ford Focus Titanium X and a Honda Civic FN2 Type R GT, I've returned to the marque where my first decade of working years after college led me. Back home to Jaguar.
I've been agonising over what to do since around December last year, with my works situation changing and now having use of a van, my car was finally once again able to be solely considered by "what do i want for the weekend" without the appendaged thought "can I fit all my work kit in the boot too". Add to this the irritance of uneven and barely maintained roads, barely competent people on the road in the mornings, and I'd come to find myself in a position where I just needed to be able to step back from the tightly wound spring that was my FN2. It's a fantastic car, seemingly indestructible in it's construction, and genuinely fun to hack and slice around the roads in, but too often the harsh roads were leaving me regretting the somewhat unforgiving suspension. Whilst superb at keeping the car planted on decent black stuff, on less than well constructed roads, the ripples, bumps and potholes are all telegraphed to your head via your spine, which was doing nothing for my temperament and demeanour.
Enter my better half, who in her usual and perceptive wisdom, questioned why I put myself through it just to be ratty and irritable at the other end. her poignant question was simply "if you're spending money on running a car, wouldn't it be better to be spending it on one that makes you happy?". After a long and delving conversation (i'm very lucky and she's a huge petrol head too) I arrived at a conclusion. I missed being in a Jaguar more than anything else in my motoring past. January rolled round, and the "I'm just browsing" looks on Autotrader gave way to "can I afford that one, what is my realistic budget?". I agonised over my choices, and looked for information in many places (including a thread on here) and it led to what feels now like an inevitable conclusion. My 2009 Jaguar XK60 in Liquid Silver.
The XK60 seems to be a bit of an odd duck. There's enough of them out there, but it seems almost all the people ordering them when new chose to delete the square tailpipes, the chrome wing vents and in some cases even the chrome mesh, to make this runout model (just prior to the launch of the facelift 5.0) look more like the regular car. Personally, I'm quite taken with the little differences.
Anyway, It's great to be back in a properly damped and set up cruiser. The 4.2 V8 is like silk, the gearbox is imperceptible in operation, and the miles melt under the wheels like a blowtorch through butter. Next up is getting my Crit Air sticker, as the big cat is going to be put straight to work, taking my partner and I to Le Mans this year! It feels like i'm home once more.
I've been agonising over what to do since around December last year, with my works situation changing and now having use of a van, my car was finally once again able to be solely considered by "what do i want for the weekend" without the appendaged thought "can I fit all my work kit in the boot too". Add to this the irritance of uneven and barely maintained roads, barely competent people on the road in the mornings, and I'd come to find myself in a position where I just needed to be able to step back from the tightly wound spring that was my FN2. It's a fantastic car, seemingly indestructible in it's construction, and genuinely fun to hack and slice around the roads in, but too often the harsh roads were leaving me regretting the somewhat unforgiving suspension. Whilst superb at keeping the car planted on decent black stuff, on less than well constructed roads, the ripples, bumps and potholes are all telegraphed to your head via your spine, which was doing nothing for my temperament and demeanour.
Enter my better half, who in her usual and perceptive wisdom, questioned why I put myself through it just to be ratty and irritable at the other end. her poignant question was simply "if you're spending money on running a car, wouldn't it be better to be spending it on one that makes you happy?". After a long and delving conversation (i'm very lucky and she's a huge petrol head too) I arrived at a conclusion. I missed being in a Jaguar more than anything else in my motoring past. January rolled round, and the "I'm just browsing" looks on Autotrader gave way to "can I afford that one, what is my realistic budget?". I agonised over my choices, and looked for information in many places (including a thread on here) and it led to what feels now like an inevitable conclusion. My 2009 Jaguar XK60 in Liquid Silver.
The XK60 seems to be a bit of an odd duck. There's enough of them out there, but it seems almost all the people ordering them when new chose to delete the square tailpipes, the chrome wing vents and in some cases even the chrome mesh, to make this runout model (just prior to the launch of the facelift 5.0) look more like the regular car. Personally, I'm quite taken with the little differences.
Anyway, It's great to be back in a properly damped and set up cruiser. The 4.2 V8 is like silk, the gearbox is imperceptible in operation, and the miles melt under the wheels like a blowtorch through butter. Next up is getting my Crit Air sticker, as the big cat is going to be put straight to work, taking my partner and I to Le Mans this year! It feels like i'm home once more.
Edited by Vsix and Vtec on Sunday 14th May 21:10
Phil2NL said:
Very nice! Enjoy!
I like those square tailpipes, anymore pics of those?
How is the interior?
Here you go Phil, as requested.I like those square tailpipes, anymore pics of those?
How is the interior?
A couple of the exhausts
The interior is the part I had to compromise on, I wanted wood and caramel leather, but this car has the black leather and aluminium interior.
Fortunately, the XK60 interior addons being chrome (the different gearshift knob and the J gate surround) work well with this colour scheme.
Well, what a weekend! The V5 finally arrived, and just in time for me to fit my plates and attend the first event of my ownership in it. JagFest at Halfpenny Green airfield near Wolverhampton was the venue, and by all accounts it was perfect weather for it. A Le Mans winning D Type was in attendance courtesy of the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust, which it occurred to my partner and I we'll probably see again in two weeks as part of the 100 years of winning cars display in Le Mans. She took far more pictures than I did, but here's one of the two cars together. A quick blast off with a pressure washer, and a wipe down with AutoGlym Rapid Detailer once we'd parked up, and we did our bit to add to the gathering. I have to admit, the sunlight made her XF look even more imposing than my XK, that Indigo Blue really shows its worth on bright days.
Another few months have rolled by, and my better half and I spotted an opportunity for more car based adventures. She's a member of the Jaguar Enthusiasts Club, and caught sight of the Jaguars at Gaydon meet. The headline grabbing announcement of several XJ220 (my absolute hero car, and the reason I wanted my XK to be Silver) was enough to have us reaching for the booking form. We even ended up in shot of a few videos of the day
My partners blue XF in the foreground, my Uncles Black X Type on the road in, and then me.
My car in its final parking space, next to a very nice Mark X.
All in all a good day out, and it even came with free access to the museum!
My partners blue XF in the foreground, my Uncles Black X Type on the road in, and then me.
My car in its final parking space, next to a very nice Mark X.
All in all a good day out, and it even came with free access to the museum!
Small update. The car is now approaching 63,000 miles, and is still (touch wood) fault free! I took it to a specialist to have the Gearbox filter and fluid replaced, a service (I don't necessarily trust this was done by the garage I bought it from) and given a general look over, and all seems well. I've never been totally happy with the brakes, so I booked her in to my garage to have the brakes refreshed (Full EBC Yellow Stuff pads and painted discs) , new four tyres (Michelin Pilot Sport 4 "S") and get the alloys refurbished. I also opted to have the calipers painted whilst it was in, and all in all i'm very pleased. The brakes have more feel and are definitely more competent than whatever poor quality compound the previous owner had fitted.
Example of before
And After
With all this done, I'm free to enjoy the car and know that with good tyres, and new brakes, the car is ready for the winter weather. In the spring it'll be time to look into the Air Conditioning system and see if there are any leaks, before the grand preparation for the joyous return to Le Mans in the Summer!
Example of before
And After
With all this done, I'm free to enjoy the car and know that with good tyres, and new brakes, the car is ready for the winter weather. In the spring it'll be time to look into the Air Conditioning system and see if there are any leaks, before the grand preparation for the joyous return to Le Mans in the Summer!
LanceRS said:
Looking good. I now have to get my wheels done. 2 hours ago I was leaving my local shopping centre car park and caught the near side rear on an unnecessarily large and protruding kerb that was invisible from inside the car. I’m bloody annoyed.
Oh no Lance! That's awful news chap, I must admit i've been parking EXTRA carefully since getting the car back, and can very much sympathise. I caught my nearside rear on those awful metal curbs in the Eurostar carriage back in the summer, which I was very annoyed with myself for, but you wouldn't be able to tell looking at it now. I think I may have to treat the car to some new wheel center badges too, the fresh alloys really show them as the 13 year old items they are.
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