The XKR Silverstone Edition is a very rare car with just 50 special cars produced to recognise Jaguar’s audacious and short lived entry to Formula 1. The story of Eddie Irvine (F1 driver) being in the top earners at Ford came as a ‘surprise’ to the senior executives at Ford. ‘Who’s this Eddmund Irvine’ being the realisation that Ford wasn’t quite on top of marketing expenditure which is something of an understatement I would think! 

The Silverstone Edition cars were platinum silver with black interior and had several unique touches including smoked wood dash and Jaguar Racing gear knob.  

I bought this car some 2 years ago with 36k miles warranted. It now has a very low 46k miles with 3 further services undertaken at my hand. Do not confuse this car with the usual scruffy tired XK8 for sale. Some of these cars are £5k and less for a reason. Service, care and attention being the key differentiator between a tired old XK and a well kept and serviced limited edition car.

Furthermore this car lived in Spain for several years prior to my acquisition and as such has led a very cossetted life without the ravages of the UK winter to contend with. So no corrosion on this car aligned to excellent service history and regular use are the characteristics of this special XKR 

The XKR has clear lineage back through XJS, E Type to XK and when you have driven all derivatives it is clear to see where that heritage line has derived from. Every bit a Jaguar the XKR in convertible guise is pretty much the perfect classic car for today’s motoring. Catch it whilst you can as Jaguar loses its identity with its debatably ill considered move away from its Heritage to irrelevance of what is muted to be coming around the corner!

What is the Silverstone like to drive? Climb aboard and surround yourself in leather and wood. The sporty smoked wood dash paying homage to Jaguar Racing in F1 at this time. The dashboard is a mass of purposeful gauges and classy switches with every need represented with a button close at hand. It is easy to find the perfect seating position with an adjustable steering column and electric seats which are heated for additional comfort. 

Turn the ignition key and the supercharged 4-Litre V8 bursts into life with a throaty yowl from the stainless steel sports exhaust. That throaty rasp is with you throughout your journey and really heightens your senses as you depress the throttle to engage warp drive. The supercharger spools up and lift off is achieved with ease as the R accelerates to 60mph in just over 5 seconds and keeps on going to 155mph apparently. I say apparently because the car is happiest sprinting around and staying within sensible confines of modern motoring. Yes, it will ‘pull your face off’ but you rarely feel the need to do that because ‘normal’ driving is so satisfying. Cruise control, air conditioning, trip computers etc etc. “It’s fully loaded” as they say. 

Outside, the bodywork is pretty much perfect. The 20” Paris alloys wheels have the odd mark on them which I can/will fix. The car is shod with excellent rear Pirelli tyres and 2 new front tyres and a fresh MOT will come with an agreed  sale. As mentioned this car has led a cossetted life with 3 previous owners the last enthusiast purchasing the car in 2015 and improving it with invoices on file for uprated suspension and exhaust upgrades as part of a comprehensive service history. 4 years have been spent in the warm climate of southern Spain and the 2022 Spanish tax disc is on the windscreen. Service in Spain is also on file. Looking at the perfect condition of the soft top I would suggest it has hardly been raised at all with the car used for pleasure in the sunny climate Spain is. The history file is complete with original purchase invoice and subsequent purchases all on file. The dealer book pack and documents dealer services and specialists are all here. Various other services and MOT’s from Spain and the UK hint at this cossetted life the car has enjoyed.  

When you climb aboard and begin a journey in the XKR you feel like you are driving a £115k sports car not a £15k one. This car is a modern classic and because of its Limited Edition status if you keep the miles sensible the car will be an appreciating classic in my view. On my journeys in the car it is already the source of admiration and respect from other road users and members of the public. 

All in all a really superb example and an appreciating classic surely.

£14995