1997 Jaguar XK8

Recently re-imported from Japan, we think this one-owner-from-new, first generation Jaguar XK8 has the perfect provenance: A UK-spec car (so you won’t have any trouble insuring or reselling it) it was exported to Japan, where it lived its life in a garage when it wasn’t being driven.

Racking up only 22,064 miles (35,510kms) in a salt-free climate has left it box-fresh and looking more like a three-year-old car than one that is well into its third decade. It really is in incredible condition; even the underneath is nigh-on perfect.

One for the enthusiast or collector, this wonderfully original, low-mileage, perfectly preserved example is sure to attract an awful lot of interest, so why not contact us to make an appointment to pop along to The Market HQ near Abingdon to see the old girl?

Recently machine polished and then ceramic coated, the Metallic Anthracite Pearl coachwork is in a fabulous condition. It is believed to be all original too, which must make it virtually unique among the first-generation XK8s that are for sale here in the UK?

Great panel gaps too and its tight, even shutlines look right, even up close. The quality of the paintwork and panels speaks volumes for how good these old Jags can be if they’re looked after properly.

Further proof of the car’s stunningly original and all but unblemished condition comes via the Perspex headlight covers, which are virtually as bright and translucent as the day they were installed. With an uber-critical eye, the only minor blemishes we have spotted so far - a slight lacquer lift on a mirror surround and a small area of faded paint on the lower half of the passenger door, which we suspect would polish out – not bad for a 22 year old car eh?

The original equipment 17-inch five-spoke alloy wheels are in lovely condition, although there are couple of areas on two of them that appear to have had a slight reaction to a cleaning product? and, just as importantly, shod with matching high-performance directional Bridgestone tyres, all of which have plenty of tread as they are almost new.

As we will never tire of explaining, our experience shows that matching high-quality tyres are an infallible sign of a caring and mechanically sympathetic owner who is prepared to spend the appropriate amount in maintaining their car properly. Their presence does not, of course, preclude the need for a thorough inspection - something the vendor would welcome, by the way – but do give you a shortcut into their attitude towards maintenance.

Factory fitted mud flaps complete the wheel and tyre package. 

The oatmeal leather interior is in wonderful condition and while many Japanese cars have clearly been owned by a smoker, this one hasn’t so it smells as good as it looks.

The leather itself is almost imperceptibly creased on the outer edge of the driver’s seat, and there certainly isn’t anything so vulgar as rips, tears and other damage to ruin what was one of the better interiors of the nineties. The back seat looks to be unused, which is hardly surprising given how little room there is back there…

The rest of the oatmeal interior is practically unblemished and looks like new. This includes the wooden veneer trim, which is one of the first and most reliable signs that a car that hasn’t been looked after properly. While many of its brethren have sun-faded and cracked wood, this carefully curated example still reeks of class and elegance.

The door cards are still fabulous, the headlining unmarked, and the carpets are as thick and luxurious as the day they were installed; it might be a bit of a cliché these days, but no-one does a wood ‘n’ leather interior like us Brits.

Factory fitted options include a leather and wood steering wheel complete with auto-electrically operated height adjustment, cruise control, heated front seats with memory function, and ice-cold air-conditioning.

And, while we haven’t verified every single item personally, the owner tells us that “everything works as it should”. Even the twin cupholders, conveniently located in the central armrest, are working and free of the sort of cracks for which they are prone.

It’s all in standard condition too and this one has even been fitted with a UK-spec Sony radio/CD player complete with DAB and Bluetooth, which brings it bang up to date. Wonderfully, the owner even went to the expense and trouble of ensuring it talks to the car’s standard electrical system, which means that the steering wheel controls for the radio still work.

Period-correct radios are all very well but we like to be able to make and receive telephone calls; streaming music is always handy too but if you prefer originality over functionality, we can’t imagine that sourcing the correct radio from eBay would be too onerous or expensive.

The boot is very clean and tidy, and lifting the carpet shows the sort of rust-free metalwork you have come to expect from a car that has lived its life in Japan. Home to the spare wheel and the battery, it also contains what looks to be a complete and unused factory toolkit.

Oh, and the speedometer has been changed back to a MPH one, too. As we keep on telling you, the vendor has done the job properly.

The underside of the car is remarkably clean for a 22-year-old car; one of the many advantages of buying a car from a country that doesn’t salt their roads is that this absence of serious rust comes alongside ridiculously clean fasteners, too. This might not sound like a big deal, but you, or your tame mechanic, will thank the Japanese every single time you need to undo a bolt, screw or fastener. Of course, you can still keep your can of WD40 for nostalgia’s sake but you won’t be needing it to free off recalcitrant components.

Speaking of which, the one you’ll all be interested in is the mighty four-litre V8 engine, which is said to be in rude good health. The owner describes the whole car as in “tip-top shape”, adding that it drives “superbly” having driven the car to us from west London. We’ve taken it for a spin around the block and can confirm that it is one of the best examples that we’ve driven, with everything we tried working as expected.

This is, in part, due to its fabulous service history and partly due to the seller’s diligence; he has just replaced the ECU with an the upgraded one (as aficionados will know, the original is prone to problems) at a cost of £700 by a local Jaguar specialist. He has also had a new water pump fitted, along with an aluminium thermostat and front anti-roll bar bushes after having had the car checked over and any remedial work carried out.

The engine bay itself is clean and neat, and the engine features a wonderful typeface bearing the legend ‘Jaguar V8’ – and a V8-powered Jaguar coupe is definitely one for the Bucket List, eh?

Having recently returned from Japan, there is no online MOT history yet as it was tested on the VIN number (as you can see from the attached MOT certificate) but the certificate expires in September 2020.

The car comes with some of its Japanese history both for the Shakken (the Japanese equivalent of the MOT) and servicing. As a 1997, UK-spec car it qualifies for the £265 a year vehicle excise duty tax class, too.

It also comes with three keys, the original owner’s handbook, various Japanese-market manuals, and a storage wallet. The personalised number plate ‘J300 JXK’ also comes with the vehicle.

Please visit the documents section of the gallery of this listing where you will find photos of this and other paperwork to support our claim that this car has been maintained to the very highest standard.

If you’d like to inspect the car prior to placing a bid – something we would encourage – then please contact us here at The Market to arrange an appointment.

The Jaguar XK8 has been something of a slow burn; while the price of the Aston Martin DB7 has long started its exorable and predictable rise, that of the XK8 still has some way to go before it is seen as a Grade A investment. It’ll happen, that’s for sure but just not right now.

Which is bad news for the vendor but great news for those of you with a shrewd eye for a future investment but aren’t prepared to compromise on your driving pleasure to get it.

Because the Jaguar XK8 drives very well indeed; it’s fast and comfortable and cossetting in the way only a grand touring Jaguar is. Reliability is much better than you might fear too, which makes this a very practical classic (semi-) supercar.

As a pampered, one-owner-from-new, ultra-low mileage example, this is one for the Jaguar enthusiast or collector. Its provenance and service history should mean that it is reliable enough for someone who wants a great one to use as it was intended; if it were ours, we’d treat it to a professional rust-proofing treatment and enjoy using it as an everyday smoker; thus protected it should be good for another three decades – and the nineties were a great time for classic car enthusiasts, offering the analogue driving experience we all crave alongside most of the safety and reliability offered by more modern, but sterile, cars.

However, given its staggeringly good condition, we can see it is just as likely to end up as the centerpiece in someone’s classic car collection. It is, after all, we think one of the best, if not THE best Jaguar XK8 or sale in the United Kingdom today.

Which makes its guide price of between £7,500 and £10,000 an absolute steal. If it had any other badge on the bonnet but this one you’d be looking at two or three times the money for no additional benefit that we can see.

Viewing is always encouraged, and this car can be seen here at The Market HQ in Abingdon; to arrange an appointment please use the ‘Contact Seller’ button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.

If needed, please remember we have a network of trusted suppliers we work with regularly and can recommend: Classic & Sportscar Finance for purchase-financing, Thames Valley Car Storage for storing your car, AnyVan for transporting it, and Footman James for classic car insurance.

BORING, but IMPORTANT: Please note that whilst we at The Market always aim to offer the most descriptive and transparent auction listings of any auction, we cannot claim they are perfect analyses of any of the vehicles we have for sale. While we use our trade experience to assess every car that comes through our hands (and between us we have bought hundreds of classic cars over the years for our personal use…) we are fallible, and our assessment of a car may contrast with that you might form yourself.

This is why we offer a far greater opportunity for bidders to view, or arrange a professional inspection on their behalf of, each vehicle prior to bidding than any traditional car auction, and we will never stop encouraging bidders to take advantage of this by coming to see it in person.

That said, we do take a good look at the vehicles delivered to our premises for sale, but this only results in our unbiased personal observations, not those of a qualified inspector or other professional, or those formed as a result of a long test drive.

Additionally, please note that most of the videos on our site have been recorded using simple cameras which often result in 'average' sound quality; in particular, engines and exhausts notes can sound a little different to how they are in reality.