1998 Jaguar XKR Coupe

First registered on 28 April 1998, this Jaguar XKR Coupé is powered by the 4.0-litre (3996cc) Supercharged V8 with a 5-speed auto box and was supplied by Woodford Jaguar to Richard Hill, Managing Director of nearby Hills Automobiles.

Given that Jaguar didn’t launch the XKR to the public until 6 May 1998, this must have been one of the very first XKRs sold in the UK, if not the world. There is a verbal recollection - from an employee of the owner - that this was the first, and that he saw a photo of Richard Hill collecting it in person from John Egan at the Jaguar factory. Sadly we have no proof of this claim but it may be worth a new owner following it up.

The V5C records that the car has had a total of four registered keepers, but it came direct to our vendor from the Hill family (along with 5 other cars following Richard’s passing) and they stated that he switched ownership between his company, family members and himself, but he was really the car’s only driver. It has covered fewer than 27,000 miles despite being nearly 23 years old.

The exterior of the car is finished in an eye-catchingly fluid-looking Phoenix red, which looks very strong with few discernible flaws or blemishes. Even the nose-cone, so often peppered with stone chips, is looking unsullied. All we could find was the tiniest of chips in the paint on top of the front wing.

All trims and fittings around the car appear in equally fantastic condition, right down to the wheel centre caps.

The car sits on its original equipment 18-inch “Double Five” alloy wheels which are in very good condition and are fitted with matching Pirelli PZero tyres.

Our regular readers will know that we see good quality matching tyres as a sure-fire indicator of a mechanically sympathetic owner who doesn’t cut corners on maintenance. Of course we don’t rely on such things but it rarely lets us down.

The Ivory leather interior upholstery is pretty fabulous too with just a few tiny cracks in the driver’s seat bolster and there are a few areas of trim which may just need a bit more of a clean. The steering wheel, doors and dash top are also clad in this sumptuous hide.

Up ahead is a broad swathe of matched burr walnut veneer, stained and polished to give a real honey-coloured glow across the dash. It is also matched in with the wood on the steering wheel, gear knob, centre console and door window controls.

The original Jaguar Radio Cassette player (with CD changer in the boot) is present in the centre console and it is working but needs a code entered, there’s one hand-written on the user manual but we haven’t tried it.

Installed on top of the dash is a Road Angel device which notifies the driver of upcoming accident blackspots and speed camera positions as well as giving a GPS-accurate speed reading.

The heater works well, as does the air conditioning but it may benefit from a regas for it to be as cold as possible. All other electrics are working as far as we’ve been able to test. The trim panel giving access to the fuse box won’t stay attached, possibly due to a damaged lug.

The brown carpet underfoot is quite lush and is clean and intact throughout. On top are branded protective fabric overmats - also in brown - which are in good order too.

Under the front-hinged bonnet, everything looks very clean with just little bits of paint flaking off the supercharger intake housings to detract from what otherwise would be a very tidy and well-maintained engine bay.

The undersides appear pretty clean and undamaged too, save for a tiny bit of scraping on the front and rear undertrays and there are no signs of rust on the underbody or any structural components. There is a good underseal coating and the exhaust system appears intact and in good order.

Inside the boot, the carpets and linings appear fairly clean but in good order and set into one side is the CD changer unit for the stereo. Under the carpet is a temporary-use spare wheel, warning triangle and the jack and wheel brace in their original moulded polystyrene bed. The boot lid itself holds up well and has its sound-deadening lining intact.

The car has a current MOT, valid until October 2021, which it passed with just an advisory on the front tyres - both of which will be replaced prior to sale after one collapsed during photography.

Prior to that, this XKR had a full set of clean first-time passes back to 2006, since when it has covered fewer than 7k miles. Paper MOT reports date back to its first in April 2001 and the combined history validates the extremely low total mileage of 26,750 miles.

The car comes with two keys and retains its original tan leather document wallet containing the driver’s handbook and all other manuals. It is also fitted with a Tracker system - subject to subscription.  The service booklet is stamped up to 2008 with regular annual stamped services.

There are several invoices with the car including the original bill of sale from Woodford Jaguar of South Woodford to Hills Automobiles of Woodford Green.

Others relate to servicing and repairs including:

Jan 2012 - Stratstone Jaguar

Apr 2017 - Woodford Jaguar

Given its current aesthetic condition, low mileage and ownership by a vehicle dealership group boss, it is fairly safe to assume it has been well looked after mechanically too.

We include an online HPI report run at the auction start which shows no finance outstanding and no insurance markers for theft or damage.

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

Which is good news for those of you with a canny eye for a future investment but aren’t prepared to compromise your driving pleasure to get it. The supercharged XKR is fantastic, being ultra-quick and comfortable in the way that only a grand touring Jaguar is. Reliability is also much better than you might fear too, which makes this a very practical modern classic performance car.

This is an absolutely cracking example of the first XKR, with low mileage and a pretty solid background story. So we think it will fetch between £14,500 and £18,500. Just know that if it had any other badge on the bonnet, you’d be looking at two or maybe even three times the money for no additional benefit.

Viewing is always encouraged, within Govt. guidelines of course, and this particular car is located with us at The Market HQ near 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’.