How rare is an X300 4.0 Sport manual?
Discussion
Can't help with number built, but very low I'd imagine. I bought my X300 4 litre Sport manual last summer after looking out for one for several years. I wasn't disappointed, the manual gearbox transforms the car. The only hitch I've found is that the clutch master & slave cylinders (and seal kits), seem to be exclusive to the X300 model and not easy to get hold of either new or s/h.
Go on take the plunge, they are superb cars.
Go on take the plunge, they are superb cars.
I would suspect that there were more 3.2L manual Sports built. But even there manuals were very rare. I bought my X300 in May 96 when the X300 was still very much a current car. Back then I only saw one second hand manual, a 3.2. It was very significantly cheaper than the autos and the salesman didn't hold out much chance of selling it. They strongly recommended customers against buying them new.
I have an X300 3.2 sport manual, and it is a total hoot to drive. A previous owner has popped a stainless straight through exhaust on it (it still looks standard mind you) and sounds epic. And it makes my X308 seam ever so civilised.
I would agree with the above that they would not sell well to the typical Jag owner back in the day but hunt one out they are proper good fun. I hear talk about less than 2% of the X300 were made in manual spec and I understand only 20 XJR’s were built as manual’s.
No17 your 4.0L one should be superb.
Shame you cant get a X308 with a manual box.
I would agree with the above that they would not sell well to the typical Jag owner back in the day but hunt one out they are proper good fun. I hear talk about less than 2% of the X300 were made in manual spec and I understand only 20 XJR’s were built as manual’s.
No17 your 4.0L one should be superb.
Shame you cant get a X308 with a manual box.
MDT said:
I would agree with the above that they would not sell well to the typical Jag owner back in the day but hunt one out they are proper good fun. I hear talk about less than 2% of the X300 were made in manual spec and I understand only 20 XJRs were built as manuals.
268, of which 103 were RHD and about 44 are UK registered.http://xjr6.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=19.0
MDT said:
No17 your 4.0L one should be superb.
'tis a 4.0 I was looking at. Seemed almost as fast as an XJ12 but much less thirsty and with fewer toys to break.Edited by thejpster on Monday 14th February 08:10
Edited by thejpster on Monday 14th February 08:11
MDT said:
I have an X300 3.2 sport manual, and it is a total hoot to drive. A previous owner has popped a stainless straight through exhaust on it (it still looks standard mind you) and sounds epic. And it makes my X308 seam ever so civilised.
I would agree with the above that they would not sell well to the typical Jag owner back in the day but hunt one out they are proper good fun. I hear talk about less than 2% of the X300 were made in manual spec and I understand only 20 XJR’s were built as manual’s.
No17 your 4.0L one should be superb.
Shame you cant get a X308 with a manual box.
What about the gearknob, though I would agree with the above that they would not sell well to the typical Jag owner back in the day but hunt one out they are proper good fun. I hear talk about less than 2% of the X300 were made in manual spec and I understand only 20 XJR’s were built as manual’s.
No17 your 4.0L one should be superb.
Shame you cant get a X308 with a manual box.
The manual gearbox takes the X300 onto another dimension, allowing greater engine flexibility when exploiting the creamy power delivery of the lovely AJ16 engine. Autos are great for relaxed driving and wafting, but for a more involved driving experience the manual 4.0 will excel.
The low build numbers of manual Jaguars by the mid nineties was probably influenced by the factory marketing men wanting to shift away from the sporty 'cad' type driver attached to Jaguar ownership and concentrate more on the 'luxury' image known by PHers today as 'smoker barges' or the 'pipe and slippers brigade'.
On the technical side, I suspect supplies of the old 4 speed gearbox had dried up, plus by the eighties overdrives were seen as old hat as most car manufacturers were introducing 5 speed gearboxes. Some detractors will say that the Getrag gearbox is notchy and has no place on a luxury car, even so it is no worse that the manual offerings found om Mercs and BMWs.
The low build numbers of manual Jaguars by the mid nineties was probably influenced by the factory marketing men wanting to shift away from the sporty 'cad' type driver attached to Jaguar ownership and concentrate more on the 'luxury' image known by PHers today as 'smoker barges' or the 'pipe and slippers brigade'.
On the technical side, I suspect supplies of the old 4 speed gearbox had dried up, plus by the eighties overdrives were seen as old hat as most car manufacturers were introducing 5 speed gearboxes. Some detractors will say that the Getrag gearbox is notchy and has no place on a luxury car, even so it is no worse that the manual offerings found om Mercs and BMWs.
Straight6DOHC said:
I wonder if one reason Jaguar didn't sing the praises of the manual gearbox as they already had the J gate on the auto and thought that would suffice?
Ah the J gate, if I had a pound for every advert that I've seen over the years that state 'manual' in the blurb and the photo shows wait for it...........a J gate. Nope, the J gate has nothing to do with manual. They are autos and IMHO all the better for it. So the torque converter may sap a little power, but the easy kick down when you want to accelerate more than makes up for it. You find the car drops gears where you'd just never be arsed to in a manual. As a consequence I often find I'm pulling away comfortably from cars which should be much quicker, coz I'm in the right gear and they ain't, as they haven't bothered to change and neither would I most of the time if I had to too.
To me the manual option made about as much sense as a auto would in my XK150. Now if you are buying the car purely as a toy, then fine, I understand that. I have a toy too which doesn't make any sense as a mode of transport but is a great thing to play with.
I often used to drive my bosses manual 2.9 Scorpio, and that never made sense to me either.
The move away from selling manuals has nothing to do with pipe and slippers. I was in my early 30s when I bought mine, it was a replacement for a GT4. The reason the move away from manuals to autos is because new cars are bought by people who want to use them day in day out and a big heavy luxury car with an manual gearbox is just too much like hard work. Would you want to do away with the power steering too? I bloody well wouldn't want it on my XK, it takes away all the steering feel (and the XJ is infinity better here than the MB or IMHO the BM). 15years down the line the people buying them used are a very different group of people who are buying them for very different reasons.
My X300 is still my main car. I have a toy too. I've kept the XJ because I am yet to find a better car that I would want to use and live with all the time and I've tried everything upto V8 Astons, real ones made in Newport Pagnall. But for what I want the car for the Auto is the better bet.
You alone can judge why you want the car and how you are going to use it in your life and therefore whether an Auto or a Manual would be the better fit.
To me the manual option made about as much sense as a auto would in my XK150. Now if you are buying the car purely as a toy, then fine, I understand that. I have a toy too which doesn't make any sense as a mode of transport but is a great thing to play with.
I often used to drive my bosses manual 2.9 Scorpio, and that never made sense to me either.
The move away from selling manuals has nothing to do with pipe and slippers. I was in my early 30s when I bought mine, it was a replacement for a GT4. The reason the move away from manuals to autos is because new cars are bought by people who want to use them day in day out and a big heavy luxury car with an manual gearbox is just too much like hard work. Would you want to do away with the power steering too? I bloody well wouldn't want it on my XK, it takes away all the steering feel (and the XJ is infinity better here than the MB or IMHO the BM). 15years down the line the people buying them used are a very different group of people who are buying them for very different reasons.
My X300 is still my main car. I have a toy too. I've kept the XJ because I am yet to find a better car that I would want to use and live with all the time and I've tried everything upto V8 Astons, real ones made in Newport Pagnall. But for what I want the car for the Auto is the better bet.
You alone can judge why you want the car and how you are going to use it in your life and therefore whether an Auto or a Manual would be the better fit.
I've owned manual and auto X300s.
It's as if they are totally different cars.
The manual was an absolute hoot, and a real joy to drive. The gearbox was great, and suited the engine superbly. It sounded awesome too - although mine was aided in that department by a sports exhaust.
If you haven't tried one do it - you won't be dissappointed.
It's as if they are totally different cars.
The manual was an absolute hoot, and a real joy to drive. The gearbox was great, and suited the engine superbly. It sounded awesome too - although mine was aided in that department by a sports exhaust.
If you haven't tried one do it - you won't be dissappointed.
We never got manual XJs in the states, closest we got were a handful of 93-94 4.0L XJSs.
Oddly enough a couple of people over here have done manual conversions on XJR6s and I have heard of one US-Spec XJ6 (Think 4.0L Sovereign) that's been converted.
I am on the lookout for a clean XJ40 for nostalgic reasons but I did own a couple of X300s and they are such wonderful cars that if I ever saw one with a bad gearbox for sale I would be very very tempted.
Oddly enough a couple of people over here have done manual conversions on XJR6s and I have heard of one US-Spec XJ6 (Think 4.0L Sovereign) that's been converted.
I am on the lookout for a clean XJ40 for nostalgic reasons but I did own a couple of X300s and they are such wonderful cars that if I ever saw one with a bad gearbox for sale I would be very very tempted.
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