Some special editions are... well, less special than others. Being one of 1,050 trim package editions makes today’s Nice Price or Crack Pipe Jag one of those. Maybe its price will improve its standing.
While considering yesterday’s 1977 Ford Granada, I was suddenly hit by the thought; has any nation offered up as many place names repurposed as auto appellations as has Spain? Think about it, in addition to the Granada, we’ve had the Versailles, Seville, Cordoba, Málaga, and Cádiz. That’s a lot of cities turned into cars.
Yesterday’s old Ford Granada may have seemed as old as its Andalusian namesake, and almost as baroque. Still, at just $2,995, a narrow 52 percent of you felt a cheap price and a V8/4-speed drivetrain overruled its age and somewhat creaky demeanor, earning the Granada a Nice Price win.
Should you happen to be in your Ford Granada in the city of Granada and want to take a trip, you might consider the 3-hour drive down the coast to Gibraltar. There, you can take in the impressive visage of the Rock. I don’t mean Dwayne Johnson, although he does seem to be turning up everywhere these days, so you never know. What I do mean is the Rock of Gibraltar, which surprisingly is not part of Spain but of Great Britain.
Located at the very tip of the Iberian Peninsula and a mere nine miles across the mouth of the Mediterranean from the African continent, Gibraltar was ceded to the British Crown by Spain in 1713 under the Treaty of Utrecht. Since then it has served as an important base of operations for the British navy owing to its strategically important location at the confluence of the Atlantic and Mediterranean.
Another important bastion of the British Empire is one of that nation’s most famous automakers, Jaguar. That marque has nothing to do with either the British Navy or Gibraltar, but I think that was a smooth segue nonetheless.
Here we have a 2006 Jaguar XKR Victory Edition. Now, for a bit of background, the XKR was the supercharged version of the E-type-aping XK8. Both editions were based on a chassis that could trace its roots back to the original XJ-S, which itself replaced the E-Type in Jag’s lineup in 1975, hence completing the circle.
The Victory Edition was a special trim package introduced for the 2006 model year to celebrate Jaguar’s four Trans-Am manufacturer’s victories. I’ll bet you didn’t know Jag had four Trans-Am series wins. Now you do.
The Victory Edition package was available on both XK8 and XKR models and was comprised of unique badging and available colors and trim. The motif was that of a chequered flag which you will find present on the doorsills and behind the famous “growler” badge on the bonnet. The interior of the R cars received carbon fiber dash trim in place of the burlwood but was otherwise left unchanged from the lessor cars.
This one comes in Satin Silver Metallic, which was one of the Victory Edition’s unique hues. That’s set off by a blue canvas soft-top and light grey leather interior. The whole thing comes across as being “veddy British.”
Under its long svelte bonnet lies Jag’s 4.2-litre DOHC V8 with roots style supercharger sitting in its valley. As equipped in the R, that mill was good for 390 horsepower and 399 lb-ft of torque. The only transmission offered in the car was a ZF-sourced six-speed automatic, operated through Jag’s funky J-gate selector. These cars came heavily optioned from the factory and so you get niceties like automatic climate control, a big screen nav unit, and lots of power accessories so you won’t build up a sweat.
This one presents in lovely shape with no apparent issues in its paint or bodywork nor in its chrome-plated factory alloys. There’s a mere 112K on the clock and the seller says the car has enjoyed regular maintenance at a local shop its entire life. Recent repairs include a new window motor and the headliner for the convertible top.
The title is clean and the seller links to a VIN report in his ad, however, I couldn’t get the PDF to display anything so I can’t comment on its influence.
I can talk about the price. That is $12,500, and for that much, I think we all can agree that you’re getting a hell of a lot of big numbers. These are smooth and quick cars that do the job much like James Bond does his, with composure and grace.
That being said, it’s still a Jag—and a pretty complicated one to boot—and so that drive off cost will not be the last bucks you spend on it. The question of the moment though, is whether someone should make that initial leap. What do you think, is this XKR worth that $12,500 asking? Or, is this a Victory that just comes at too high a cost?
You decide!
Norfolk, VA Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
H/T to Bill Taylor for the hookup!
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