The XJ Super V8 Portfolio: The Best Jaguar You've Never Heard Of

Hello everyone, it's always a good day when you get to drive a Jag and this one is certainly no exception. In fact, I think what we have here could be one of the most special Jaguars ever made. This is a 2005 generation Jaguar XJ Super V8 x 350 long wheelbase

portfolio

and there's a good chance it's the

best

Jaguar you've

never

heard

of, but why? Well, all this and more in today's exciting episode of JM about foreign cars, so what exactly do we have here? Let's break it down first. outside of the Jaguar, I think everyone knows that, so let's move on to the next part X 350.

This is the fourth generation of the venerable Flagship Its new owners were able to build the car on a completely new aluminum platform with a series of joints and rivets that make it stronger and lighter than the car it replaced, even though it grew quite a bit in size, although at a quick glance . This car looks very similar to the one that replaced the x308 car, which could have its roots in the xj40 of the mid-1980s. In fact, it is very, very different, in particular, this car is quite a bit taller and therefore loses that incredibly low ceiling.

The line that older Jaguars had the advantage is that they gained a useful amount of interior space, although in terms of short wheelbase for a five meter long car still not particularly generous for those behind, there was also Much debate in the Both inside and outside of Jaguar, they long questioned whether Ford had made the right decision in maintaining such classic styling with its flagship vehicle. They were worried, and I think rightly so, that not only might a lot of people not realize that this was actually a new model. car, but it would also almost certainly

never

attract new buyers to the brand because for those who felt that the old one was already a grandfather's car, this wasn't really going to fix anything, nor was the S-Type. which had come out a few years earlier and this may have been particularly annoying to some of Jaguar's engineers because, although it looked very traditional and conservative, it was actually below the most radical car they had built since the foreign XJ220.

It's certainly worth noting that even today there aren't as many cars that use as much aluminum in their construction as there were 20 years ago, so its only real rival would have been the Audi S8, which was built with similar materials but in a different way. and the then-new Mercedes-Benz S-Class, which also featured quite a bit of aluminum and weighed similarly, around 1.8 tonnes, the BMW 7 Series, meanwhile, may have been a technological tour de force, but in terms of its construction was much more common and ordinary. The result weighed considerably more, as did for me, the only true rival of this car, the fifth generation Maserati Quattroporte, the car for which I have a great affection for having previously owned one and I must say that it is a wonderful thing, but there's no denying the fact that, apart from the glorious V8 and glamorous looks, it weighs a pretty meager two tonnes; in other words, around 200 kilos more than the normal short wheelbase XJ.

With the new platform came a variety of engines, most of which were familiar in some way. shape or form, so at the bottom of the range you had a three-liter four-derived V6, albeit with a Jaguar-specific tune that gave you 240 horsepower, and at the top of the range for the XJR you get an upgraded 4.2-liter from the old four-liter

super

charged V8. generating 400 horsepower and around 400 pound-feet of torque, that is 540 newton meters, all of these cars came with a new six-speed automatic gearbox controlled by the traditional J-gate, down here you have a button in sport and wet weather mode, but in manual terms. control, there really isn't much, you also get a completely new multi-link suspension, complete with air suspension controlled by a system known as jacks, there's no sport button here because it does what it thinks is right at all times. and to be honest, overall it does a pretty good job.

I'm sure you've all

heard

of the XJR if for no other reason, so that's usually the one people think of when you mention very good, which is the range above 4.2. one-litre

super

charged V8 model that was the sportiest of the range and, as far as most were concerned, the

best

XJ you could get, not many people had heard of its brother, the Super V8, which came out at the same time and it was the only model in the range more expensive than the R. It features exactly the same engine that produces exactly the same power and torque.

It probably didn't help that from the outside you'd have a hard time telling the two apart and inside it was a very, very similar story. In essence, the Super V8 was basically a bit more refined and luxurious. XJR's reports conflict with this, but I think the main mechanical difference was the fact that the Super V8 had a slightly more comfort-oriented suspension setup, however what we drive today is not like that. the Super V8 as it was first launched, however, there are a couple of key differences about this particular car, the first of which is the fact that this is a long-wheelbase model.

Jaguar introduced the long wheelbase option to the line in 2004 and as soon as they did. became the default option for the Super V8 and the short wheelbase remained as a special order option to create the long wheelbase car. Jaguar essentially added five inches behind the driver, addressing one of the most common criticisms; In other words, there just wasn't that much. space in the rear for a car that was already quite large and here in long wheelbase it is 5.2 meters long, so not small, but still noticeably shorter than, say, the long wheelbase 7 Series of the day or a Ford Crown Vic, the big problem.

However, the thing is that this is a

portfolio

model apparently inspired by the Concept 8 that was shown at the New York Auto Show in 2003. It was a very limited edition car, with between 250 and 258 units , depending on who requested it, and manufactured exclusively for export. Market, as far as I can tell, about 145 of them went to the United States, only five to Canada, those Canadians and about 50 went to Japan, I think eight went to Australia and the remaining cars were shipped elsewhere, but supposedly never heard I can't say exactly why it was like that, but I can tell you that the portfolio is a very, very special foreign car.

The first thing you'll probably notice is the fact that it has some side vents that became standard on the later version. Of this car, the x358 was introduced in 2007, but it did not exist in the regular x350, with the only exception of these. It's also worth noting that they have a completely different design to those seen on later cars and have some sort of hand, I guess. Finished look about them, they are still a production made item, they are not as Rough and Ready but there is something a bit Skunk Works about them, they are also functional and I must say I love them, the cars were also available.

I believe in just one of the two shades, the most popular being this cherry black, a stunning shade, a very very deep element, but with a real hint of red, done on a nice stormy and cloudy British day like today. I'm really not going to be able to do it. I appreciate that you also get 20-inch Callisto wheels which, unlike those fitted to other models that look the same, are forged to be even lighter. You also get a larger exhaust tip at the rear which I think the rest of the system is pretty standard with. On the front you have a mesh grille and another, I think a specific item in the portfolio are these rear view mirrors that are chrome plated to match the wheels and gills, maybe that's one of the reasons they never sold them here.

Not the chrome and polished things. survives the British climate quite well, this particular car, in case you were wondering, is a Japanese import and arrived about three years ago brought over by a guy called IAM who actually bought a couple, one to keep and one to sell , and the other to sell. Now it's gone and you haven't decided what you plan to do with it now if you want to sell it. I'm tempted in terms of options, this car doesn't really have any because the whole point of the portfolio was that they gave you everything. of them so you have multi-zone climate control, you also have controls in the rear on the armrest for the stereo and also to move the passenger seat forward and back to give you even more space.

I also just realized that for an extra JDM fan brownie points, the car still has its original shine on the road, the car also has the infotainment system, never quite innovative and now terribly dated, which I think has all these xjs that give you controls of your weather, your audio, your browser. kind of thing naturally the windows are electric everywhere they are also double glazed but sadly not with soft linen there is also a sunroof and viewers of the channel will know I am a big fan of them but the USP of the portfolio it was the materials on offer because you had Connolly leather in a shade called Conker when I originally read the spec sheet and it said the car has conquistador leather.

I must admit, he was a little confused. I wondered how you managed to hide from a conqueror. I thought it might be all pointy, but no, it's the Conker color on camera, it can look subtly gray, because it's subtly gray with a brown tint. I like it a lot. You also have these high pile lambswool rugs and this American black walnut burr that I love. I have to say that I really like keeping those in the back busy. You also have fully independent entertainment systems consisting of a screen in each of the front seats which can be controlled via inputs in the middle of the rear and when they want to have a It's a bit complicated, the seats will even recline too .

The boots are slightly oddly shaped and not as generous as others, but I think they are more than adequate for most uses when you're out and about driving normally like I do now. It's a completely nice car. the engine is just a distant roar, its presence is barely noticeable, the gearbox is doing its job admirably, the car has just been through the workshop and swallows the racing and has had several things done to it, including a small lowering of the suspension, so it just looks a little better, although I have to say that the car has a long wheelbase, it actually has slightly better proportions than normal to my eyes anyway, it also had a general update of all the components that needed it and the obligatory smaller and improved supercharger pulley. air intake, which means that once you've dropped the kids off at school and need to get back to the office quickly, it should still be able to do that other Jaguar thing, so can we put the Box in sport mode and find out? ? foreign, it's such a worthy way to be in a hurry, it really is, I love it, the steering is a little light, the extended wheelbase makes the car very stable, but also a little less eager to turn and say that the normal car.

To be fair, I would. Let's say that of all the sports sedans, the XJR was always the one that felt closest to the normal car, it felt like an the sportiest, while let's say your normal 730d never had much interest in cornering, this is good, as you can probably tell the moment I got into this car, it started raining, so the roads are slightly greasy, one of the problems with these The cars have lots of power, lots of torque and an automatic gearbox and no limited slip differential, so they can be a little lively at the rear at times.

That being said, I haven't had any problems so far and was expecting some. Also it is a very good size for these roads, visibility is generally quite good, in a straight line it is decent, as is here, although its b pickup is a little further forward than I would like, but it makes up for it with the fact That because of the long wheelbase and extra-long door, you're left three-quarters on the left, three-quarters on the passenger side, visibility is excellent. It's annoying that this is a car with a J-shaped door which isn't really a way to tell it what equipment you want, all you can do is restrict exactly how high up the range it can go, so let's just say it can't. go more than a second and, yes, yes, it's in gear for quite a while.

I think the problem is that I don't know if he's actually in second either. third quarter or soWhatever the case, another gearbox is a slight frustration, the engine is not, it is a masterpiece despite the upgraded air filter, unlike other Jags I have driven with this engine, supercharger noise It's not that prominent, you can hear it. and I quite like it, but uh, it's certainly far from intrusive and even when you have your foot absolutely welded it's not that eye-catching at all, let me show you, oh wow, although it really does, it doesn't grab you. Seat back performance, but what it has is just endless, effortless power, it responds very well and goes all the way to the fairly low redline of 6,000 RPM.

It has what I would say is just the right amount of power for a A car like this never feels hard to drive, it never feels like there is too much engine for the chassis, everything is in balance. If anything, I'd say the spoolie down here is the steering, which is a little woolier than on other Jaguars, however the suspension when you're at speed still does a pretty decent job despite the low profile tires. Relatively low the low and sporty suspension is not uncomfortable in the city, it has problems the air suspension in this era of cars never seemed quite right but here it is probably as correct as ever, if that makes sense.

Decent brakes, two nice and responsive, but not too swivel with servo in circle or in specialty, the long wheelbase doesn't help, it adds little more than a foot and to be honest, other than that. being KMS and this unusual Gadget here that I can't identify, is this a toll tag? What is this? It beeped and spoke to me in Japanese, but I don't understand it, so if anyone knows what it is, can they please tell me, but other than that, you wouldn't really know? that this was an import and I have to say that I understand why you would want to bring one of these because it is magnificent, surely for this money you could get an x358 XJR facelift or if you wanted you could also get the latest of the line , the x351, the more elegantly shaped XJ, the fifth generation, this model also has an interesting place in history because it is an example of the Super V8 portfolio that was the last vehicle to come out of the line of old Browns.

Lane Factory before production moved to the new plant in Castle Bromwich, where they had already been making cars for quite some time, but Browns Lane was the historic home of Jaguar and had them for some time, so it was a momentous occasion , this means that if you ever want to see exactly what one of these looks like for yourself, you can easily do so because that exact car is currently in the British Motor Museum along with a whole host of other really interesting things, so if you enter your British cars or Otherwise, I suggest you take a look.

I had a good look around there when the Alex car had a shed Fest and uh, it's a fantastic day. I must say that I am also very in love with this car, it is not overloaded. with the technology here, in fact, compared to an S-Class or a 7 Series of the time, it's really quite basic. I can't really think of many tricks to tell you that will make you say wow, but I think it shows. Great, these have taken on their look for me. I didn't like them when they came out. I told my dad not to buy one.

Instead, he bought a Nest-type one. I have never left it aside. However, they are so cool. This is good. a little more ostentatious than most, but then again, people generally wouldn't know it was anything other than your run-of-the-mill Jaguar. I think most might mistake it for an You know what they are, they're a pretty good value. I'm told that on the continent one of these could easily cost over £25,000, but here for some reason you can get one for around £15-20, so for me the Jaguar XJ Super V8 wallet gets a real thumbs up. I like this.

I have to say that researching this car was a bit of a mission because not only is the Portfolio a very rare car, but even the Super V8 is hard to get data on and when you do find it, it often contradicts the others you've already found. One thing that was of particular interest is that after this car was produced, so I think from 2006 onwards they abandoned the Super V8 name and instead used the vandemlar worldwide, which in the United States apparently it has been the finish used for Posh Jags decades after we stopped making them.

It was later replaced by the Daimler Super 8 which we also do not use here. We had abandoned the Daimler brand in Britain several years ago, so it's a bit strange, I guess if you like. really from this era, the best driving Super Saloon has to be the Quattroporte, if you want the most luxurious, that will be the S-Class and if you want the one with all the technology, that's the 7 Series, but in terms of balance, the XJ is quite difficult to beat abroad