2000 Jaguar XKR Silverstone

All ‘Phase One’ Silverstone cars were manufactured in calendar year 2000. This one is number 89 and is one of only 50 XKR Silverstone convertibles manufactured.

It comes with two big, thick, heavy books unique to the Silverstone edition. One is all about the car and Jaguar’s return to F1. It is signed by Eddie Irvine. The other celebrates Silverstone’s anniversary as a Grand Prix circuit.

We could start by telling you everything that’s wrong with this car. But that would make for a very short and uneventful read.

This extremely rare vehicle had led a remarkably cossetted existence. It has done fewer than 500 miles in each of its 20 years of life. It has yet to break through the 10,000 mile barrier. It has always lived in a dry, warm garage. It has always been serviced by Jaguar main dealers.

It probably wouldn’t recognize a motorway if it was shown one in this year’s edition of the ‘What Sort Of Road Is This?’ pop-up picture book.

It is, as far as we can tell, in very fine condition indeed. An impression confirmed by taking it for a spin and letting the supercharged engine breathe deeply for a while. Taut, tight, poised, fast, well behaved – these were the words that sprang to our driver’s mind.

In 2000, this car cost over £71,000. The vendor waited for 6 months for the car to be built and delivered to him at a presentation at Silverstone. He has used it sparingly, and its most familiar route is to and from local golf clubs.

The vendor is selling because he doesn’t have time to drive the car. He spends 6 months of each year at his second home in Thailand and he and his wife are about to move to the Isle of Wight. Given that there’s only about a mile and a half of road on the Isle of Wight where an XKR could hope to get out of second gear, it probably makes sense to find a new owner who can make fuller use of this potent vehicle.

The private plate currently on the vehicle is also included.

Broadly speaking, the (unique to the Silverstone edition) ‘platinum’ silver paintwork is unblemished and in excellent nick. There are no dents, bumps, wrinkles, buckles, scratches, creases, nicks, chips or smudges to speak of and all panels and shut lines are crisp, clean and even.

The fabric roof is in fine order, both aesthetically and functionally, as is the rather petite tonneau designed to cover the furled down hood.

The enormous 20” BBS silver alloy wheels are generally good, but there are a couple of kerbing scuffs evident on both n/s wheels. The Pirelli P-Zero tyres (directional at the front, asymmetric at the back) have plenty of tread on them but they are the original items and are, therefore, 20 years old.

You really wouldn’t know it but the car has had the bonnet and the n/s door resprayed. This wasn’t as a result of some terrible crash. Far from it. It was brought about by stuff falling from a shelf in the garage.

The bonnet ‘growler’ is a special Silverstone edition and, to our mind, is the cherry on a very good looking cake.  

Jeremy Clarkson, during a Top Gear test-drive, likened the interior of the original XK8 to sitting inside Blenheim Palace.

It obviously wasn’t this one. Not unless Blenheim Palace has had some sort of radical makeover of which we’re unaware.

Nobody does the wood and leather combo quite like Jaguar and the interior of this XKR is a fine testament to what can be achieved with a few yards of black cowhide, some red piping, thick carpets and some top quality veneers. This being a celebration of Jaguar’s entry to F1 and the fact that their F1 cars were green, the wood veneers in this car are also green.

It’s all in very good condition, from the upholstery to the headlining, carpets, door cards, centre console, roof lining and dashboard. The only visible exception to all the good news is a small scratch on the leather of the driver’s seat.

Everything electric works and the AC is cold. The roof goes up and down precisely as it should.

It may be 20 years old but this pretty much feels like a car that’s done fewer than 10,000 miles. Which it has.

The boot is very big, very tidy and there is no rust visible anywhere under the carpets.

Nothing to see here. Move on.

There is nothing to report other than a few spots of surface rust on pipes and heat shields. Everything seems to be in order and in its right and proper place.

The engine bay is in equally fine fettle, with everything clean, dry ordered and tidy. You have to keep reminding yourself that this is a 20 year old car.

The engine looks as if it’s yet to celebrate its first birthday.

The driving experience is fine, although we did notice a hint of shudder under heavy braking.

The car has an MOT (with no advisories) until 24.9.21 and comes with two sets of keys. It also comes with the full set of handbooks and manuals. We can’t find any evidence that the car has ever failed an MOT – not entirely surprising when you consider that it’s been lovingly (and expensively) cared for by Jaguar main dealers throughout its life.

The service book has got Guy Salmon and Dutton Forshaw stamped all over it. Amazingly, when the car had its scheduled 100,000 mile service in 2010, it had covered 8,038 miles.

In 2019, the owner paid around £1700 to have the hydraulic hood mechanism repaired. This involved new pipes and trim.

The car was last serviced just a few weeks ago. In addition to the service, the car had a new battery fitted, and new coils and plugs.

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 a very good standard.

If you’d like to inspect the car prior to placing a bid – something we would encourage – then please use the Contact Seller button to arrange an appointment.

We think this is a very good example of a very unusual car. Everything works and there are very few faults. It has the look, feel (and documentation) of a well cared for vehicle.

It drives, looks and handles like a car that’s done 10,000 miles, not one that’s 20 years old.

We’re confident that its next owner (who will be only the second owner), will get a great deal of pleasure from this properly sorted, fast, comfortable grand tourer.

And it’s more than a bit special because it’s so rare. The odds of parking it next to another Silverstone edition XKR in the car park at Waitrose are slightly longer than those of being hit by a meteorite. Ridden by a marsh gibbon. Called Alan.

We’re happy to offer this vehicle for auction with an estimate in the range of £21,000 - £30,000.

Viewing is always encouraged, 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’.