I'd noticed this 2002 Jaguar XJ8 Sport looking forlorn outside a garage for over two years, and recent trips past it only fuelled my curiosity to take a closer look. Jaguars have been around the family for many years in various forms (dad currently has an X350 XJ6), and a few years ago I ran the supercharged XJR version of the V8-engined car we're talking about here. I've always liked the look of these low-slung, old-school, Jaguar XJs.
The car in question is the Jaguar XJ8 Sport, baby of the range in some ways with the un-supercharged 3.2 litre V8 engine, and in Sport form with the overall look of the XJR but without the same level of grunt.
The V8-engined XJ8, or X308 to give it the manufacturer's official code name, was an evolution of the previous X300 which typically employed Jaguar's 3.2 or 4.0 straight six engines (there was also a V12 version but very few were built). Daimler variants were also offered.
2002 was the final year of X308 production before being replaced by the aluminium-bodied, and very much updated, X350 series. This XJ8 Sport hails from that year, the earlier registration number is a personalised replacement fitted by its first - and only - owner.
Buying an old Jaguar can be something of a minefield. In this video we give it a good looking over, both on top and underneath thanks to the use of a four post lift in the garage. I was fully expecting to find quite a lot of rust underneath and/or evidence of shonky repair work, something that afflicts many Jaguar XJs of this era. What did we find? Given that it had seen very little use in recent years, and none in the last 2-3 years, I wasn't expecting a great deal to be honest.
Should I buy this modern classic Jaguar XJ8?
Having owned various XJs over the years, and the aforementioned V8 XJR a few years back, I had a fair idea of what to look for, including under the bonnet. How would this dormant Jaguar stack up?
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