Ford's tenure at the helm of Jaguar may have been unpopular with the purists (and it's easy to bemoan the introduction of front-wheel drive and the prerequisite sharing of Mondeo parts) but the period did have its good side.
First and foremost, it saved an endangered British marque from the brink of extinction, and left it in a suitable state for Tata to take the plunge - paving the way for some of the excellent cars it produces today. Secondly, it sanctioned the XJ220, an absolutely fantastic thing -despite its lack of a V12. And thirdly, it presided over creation of the XK8, a much-needed replacement for the 21-year old XJS.
It has, by happy coincidence, now been 21 years since the XK8 itself was introduced. In the right spec, though, it has aged just as gracefully as its DB7 sibling, the sleek styling paying homage to the E-Type whilst maintaining a shark-like aggression. A fact never truer than in XK R guise.
With its purposeful stance and racy bonnet slats, it looked every bit the performance flagship it was. As a post-2002 car, today's Spotted benefits not only from an enlarged 4.2-litre supercharged V8, and the additional 30hp accompanying it, but also from a lack of Nikasil lined cylinders, meaning damage to said motor is far less likely.
Performance from that standard car was hardly sluggish - with 0-60 taking just 5.1 seconds - but nonetheless, a series of special editions was still brought to the table. The new millennium saw the Pirelli P Zero-equipped 'Silverstone'; 2001 brought us the '100 Special' with its Brembo brakes and Recaro seats, and then came this, the XKR 400.
Limited to just five cars per dealer, a total of 60 coupe and 40 convertible examples were created. Speed and power were hardly issues that needed addressing, so here the focus was elsewhere. Revised adaptive damper settings and uprated springs refined the ride quality, while a lowered ride height and re-tuned steering improved handling. Red Brembo brake callipers, 20-inch BBS wheels and cross-drilled discs completed the package.
A leather R Performance wheel, Momo gear knob and aluminium pedals provided the interior with a suitable aesthetic to match the athletic performance, as did the three available colour options, Midnight, Slate and Platinum.
This particular example looks to be in excellent all-round condition for its 80,000 miles. Of course, you'll want to inspect it for rust in all the usual places, but given the benefits of its later production date and special edition status, a £16k price tag doesn't seem unreasonable. Not for a beautiful, 400hp V8 coupe - and especially not for one which helped put Jaguar back on the path to success.
SPECIFICATION - JAGUAR XKR 400
Engine: 4,196cc, V8, supercharged
Transmission: 6-speed auto, rear-wheel drive
Power (hp): 400
Torque (lb ft): 408
MPG: 22
CO2: 304g/km
First registered: 1998
Recorded mileage: 79,000
Price new: £59,950
Yours for: £15,995
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