2004 Jaguar XK8 Coupe

Automotive Industries, Dec, 2003 by John Peter

Do you remember the movie "10" where Dudley Moore's character falls madly in lust-at-first-sight with Bo Derek? Well, one day he finds himself alone with her in a hotel room and she's willing to make all of his dreams come true. But he finds that once he got past that drop-dead gorgeous exterior there wasn't much to get excited about.

You might say that that's how I feel about the XK8.

I love Jags. I still think that the E type (the car that surely inspired the XK8) is the most beautiful car ever made. So you can imagine my excitement as I was handed the keys to a long, sleek, silver coupe to cruise around in for a week.

I hit the key fob and it chirped and let me in. I slid behind the steering wheel and gazed at all the leather and dark buried wood trim, cranked up the 294 hp V-8 and turned up the 320-watt Alpine stereo, but something wasn't right. A car that cruises the freeways like this should be a lot more comfortable to drive.

Now, I'm not a big guy, but as many different times as I tried to adjust the power seats, I couldn't keep the side bolsters from poking me in the shoulder blades. The seats were just plain uncomfortable. My wife, who could care less about Jaguars got the same treatment, so it wasn't just something I had conjured up.

As much as we wanted to take a nice long drive in this cruising coupe neither one of us were looking forward to the back ache we would have after spending that much time behind the wheel.

I still think the XK8 is a sculptural work of art. Now, ff it was only as pleasant to sit in as it is to look at.