Review: 2009 Jaguar XK Coupe
Cruising on Royal Poinciana Boulevard in Palm Beach, Florida, just around the corner from the classically timeless Breakers hotel, we’re acting like boulevardiers. With statuesque Royal Palm trees lining the street, we feel all is right with the world, in this, our own little slice of paradise. The pasty aging Brit in the E-type next to us (we assume he’s a Brit because of the Union Jack badge at the rear of his ride) is wearing a yellow silk ascot. I’m in a Hawaiian shirt. I am also in the 2009 Jaguar XK Coupe.
The coupe is the latest iteration of XK design from Ian Callum, formerly of Aston Martin-design fame. Penned before his latest, the critically-acclaimed XF, it is an update of the car that is a direct descendant of the coupe driven by Lord Pasty in the next lane. In fact, it is the first time I have been in the car since I unceremoniously ripped the door handle out of the concept car as displayed at the Chicago Auto Show about three years ago.
This time, it held together just fine.
What is it?
A two-seat personal sport coupe with a fairly good-sized trunk that carries more than a pair of thong bikinis in a zip-lock bag, which is the case with several other 2+2s. It is a beautifully sculpted sportscar that is as much a vehicle in which you can enjoy the ride, as it is one to show you have arrived.
What’s it up against?
Natural competitors from strictly a dollar standpoint include the BMW 6-Series coupe, Porsche 911 and Nissan GT-R, though the Jaguar is considerably more relaxed and luxurious in its motions and entrapments than the latter two.
Any breakthroughs?
Drawn first as a convertible, the coupe followed shortly thereafter. Designing the aluminum cat in this fashion allowed for chassis stiffness from the start rather than taking a coupe and cutting here and there and then adding structural pieces back into the mix to tighten things up. New to this second generation (since 1997) XK is a lighter and 30 percent stiffer aluminum chassis which incorporates new epoxy bonding techniques while at the same offering reduced NVH levels and increases in safety and improved ride characteristics, thanks to revised suspension dynamics.
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