JAGUAR X308

JAGUAR IS FAMOUS for its rakish sports cars but it has always done a great job with saloons. Think of the Mk1 and Mk2 – legendarily the choice of stockingfaced bank robbers. Of course, that’s not really true, but stockbrokers in Surrey loved the lore. Jaguar moved upmarket with the XJ6 of 1968. The car evolved via the XJ40 and really came good again with the ‘X308’ when relaunched in 1997. What a looker! And this time they called it an XJ8.

This Jaguar evolved out of the previous X300 platform, and a good dose of vim was added thanks to the fabulous, creamy AJ-V8 engine. What, no straightsix or V12? The XJ8 retains the feline signature of the classic XJ6 with its rounded four-headlamp bonnet, low roofline, shapely backside and cat-like stance. The best (and worst) bit is the front grille – too flash and chrome-laden on the base 4.0-litre and Sovereign models but wonderfully stealthy in body colour on the Sport and XJR versions.

There are only two XJ8 iterations worth considering here. The 240bhp, 3.2-litre naturally aspirated XJ Sport (the US received a 290bhp 4.0-litre Sport from 2002) offers ample V8 performance and a well-tied-down chassis with sports seats, decent alloys and none of the Cadillac-aping body chrome nonsense. Swift, elegant and capable. But the one you really want is the brutal, supercharged, 370bhp XJR, which sprints from rest to 60mph in five seconds, the ’charger sucking air through the mesh front grille. Get one in a dark colour and you’ll make Cockney hardman actor Ray Winstone look like a cocktail waitress.