2008 JAGUAR XK

Eight days. Seven countries. 2,100 miles. This is the advert for a car that has just earned its sale.

In June 2026 I took this XK on the trip of a lifetime — the 20th anniversary of my first pilgrimage to the Nürburgring. Out through Calais and south: the haunting old Grand Prix grandstands at Reims-Gueux, down through Burgundy and Liechtenstein, over the Stelvio Pass and its 48 hairpins, then the Grossglockner High Alpine Road with a glacier over one shoulder. The Porsche Museum in Stuttgart, BMW Welt in Munich. And finally Adenau, and laps of the Nordschleife — the Green Hell — exactly twenty years on.

2,100 miles of the greatest driving roads in Europe in a single week, and the car never missed a beat. It whispered along the autoroutes, devoured the passes, and came home as tight as it left. There is no service stamp on earth that proves a GT's health like that does. You are not buying my word for the condition — you are buying the proof of a trip most people only ever dream about.

And that is the car itself: the last of the naturally-aspirated XKs, the sweet spot of the range. No supercharger to fettle, no whine — just Ian Callum's most beautiful shape, a silky 4.2 AJ34 V8 and the lazy, long-legged ZF six-speed. The car the DB9 lent its design language to, at a fraction of the money, still turning heads on a forecourt eighteen years on.

The car:

2008, Lunar Grey over immaculate black leather

127,000 miles — averaging just over 7,000 a year across 18 years

MOT to 13 February 2027, with no advisories at any of the last seven tests

One long-term previous keeper (5+ years, weekend use by an older gentleman)

4.2 V8, 296 bhp, ZF 6-speed auto with paddle shift, RWD

Private registration V9JXK included (cost over £600 to assign — a fitting plate for a Jaguar XK)

Two original keys included

History and what's been done:

Full service history, fully stamped book, plus almost £5,000 of invoiced servicing and mechanical work in the months before the tour (March–June 2026) — the bulk carried out by SLR Automotive in Haslemere, my local, well-regarded Jaguar/Land Rover specialists, with a full folder of itemised invoices (plus parts receipts from British Parts and Larkspeed) included. Between them they address virtually every known weak point on these cars:

Cooling system essentially renewed — new radiator, new water pump, new thermostat and housing, new auxiliary drive belt and fresh antifreeze. Exactly what you want before a 2,100-mile run over Alpine passes — and why it didn't skip a beat doing it.

ZF 6-speed gearbox serviced — new fluid and filter. The service that decides whether one of these boxes lasts, and the one most owners skip.

EGR valve, transducer, vacuum hose and inlet gaskets replaced — an EML light was investigated and fully resolved, retested with no leaks and no fault codes.

Air-conditioning overhauled — new condenser (correct Nissens unit) and regas; blows ice cold.

Full service — Shell Helix Ultra 5W30, oil filter, a K&N performance air filter, and a new cabin/carbon filter.

Rear parking sensor replaced and colour-matched, new key battery, side-light bulbs, screenwash.

The notorious plenum drain "duckbill" valve blockage — a well-known cause of water ingress into the cabin and electrics on these cars — was sorted at the same time as the A/C work, so that's one less thing for the next owner to ever worry about.

The timing system was inspected during the recent major service and confirmed to be in good order.

Specialist upgrades:

Apple CarPlay and Android Auto added (Mr 12 Volt, £550 installed) — drags the one genuinely dated part of these cars, the infotainment, fully up to date, while keeping the original factory touchscreen so it still looks completely standard. Honestly the best single upgrade on the car.

Bespoke stainless cat-back exhaust (£1,536) — hand-fabricated by Forward Creations (a Powerflow specialist) near Billingshurst: H-pipe and twin silencers, tuned to give a proper naturally-aspirated V8 rumble with no motorway drone.

EBC brakes, front and rear — drilled and grooved discs with EBC Yellowstuff performance pads, freshly fitted.

New set of Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S all round — effectively brand new, with only the European tour on them.

Included in the sale: a brand-new, unfitted set of Adamesh lowering springs (£350) — there for the next owner who fancies dropping the ride height a touch. The car is currently on standard suspension.

All in, that's comfortably over £7,500 of recent work, parts and upgrades — every major worry on one of these already solved, and the receipts to prove it.

Condition, honestly:

A few small stone chips on the bonnet from honest road use — otherwise very well presented.

All-aluminium body, so no structural rust to worry about, unlike most cars of this age.

Inside it's genuinely tidy: immaculate black leather, headlining and trim all taut with no sag, and tight on the road — no creaks or rattles, even after 2,100 hard miles.

Why I'm selling: I bought this XK specifically to do my 20th-anniversary European tour in the car it deserved to be done in. Mission accomplished — and rather than let it sit, I'd rather pass it to someone who'll keep using it exactly as it's meant to be used.

Price: £11,995. A strong figure for the mileage, yes — but you're buying a comprehensively recommissioned, heavily-upgraded car with over £7,500 of recent receipts, premium tyres, a bespoke exhaust, CarPlay and a private plate included. Priced as the sorted, finished car it is, not a project. Sale only, no part-exchange. Serious enquiries from people who know these cars are very welcome.

Viewing: Haslemere area, West Sussex. The car is on a private estate, so viewings are strictly by appointment, two people maximum — no groups. Happy to accommodate an AA/RAC inspection or for you to bring one knowledgeable friend.