Jaguar XJR V8 Supercharged Test Drive 500 BHP ??! What!!!

[@scottgibb6052]

such a underated car , was the fastest 0.60 4 door saloon in the world back in the 90s and can still hold its own 20 plus years later !

[@ThatsClassiccars]

It’s very much a underrated car, and what a sound ! I can see these going up in value in future 🙌

[@HJ-vs7lf]

They are not that underrated anymore, prices have more than doubled in the last 5 years.

[@StephenStrader-f2z]

@@ThatsClassiccars What was the 0-60 time for this car, given the tuning and modifications, etc? If you didn’t test that, maybe the owner mentioned? Curious as I’m looking at a similar build.

[@Alex_J44]

Fastest 0-60 4door salon in the 90’s ????? Audi RS4 4.7 Impreza WRX 4.7-4.9 EVO GSR 4.7 Lotus Carlton 5.2 E39 M5 5.3 Merc E60 AMG 5.3 E36 M3 EVO saloon 5.4 Jaguar XJR V8 5.4 Audi RS2 5.4 Audi S4 5.5 Jaguar XJR6 6.2 All 90’s 4 door saloons/estates.

[@EssexSilvering]

I have a 2001 XJR - I love it, ... Great car, lots of fun.

[@ThatsClassiccars]

Amazing! Such wonderful cars.. enjoy!

[@Nosensev57]

Brilliant! I got one myself. Every time its a joy to drive it.

[@ThatsClassiccars]

Awesome, such a cool car

[@cactusthomas914]

Just make sure those timing chain tensioners and guides are changed. They disintegrate and make no noise until it's too late. I changed them on my 01 XJR with just 57k on and they were cracked old plastic nylon.

[@ThatsClassiccars]

Wow that’s good to know, scary really when people don’t maintain their cars correctly. I’m surprised they were so bad at that mileage

[@adrianvargas9784]

They updated them to metal guiders in the 1998 and up I have a jaguar xjr 4.0 supercharged that’s having a gearbox fault issue with a p0715

[@cactusthomas914]

@@adrianvargas9784 The 2 top tensioner units used to be plastic, and yes they upgraded those in 98 to metal, but the lower guide rails which you can't see unless you remove the timing cover are still plastic. Easy to change just the top ones but that won't cure the problem.

[@QuentinHood-lt7dr]

I just bought a 1999 xjr gotta fix a few things but the engine sounds strong can't wait to get it back for some fun

[@ThatsClassiccars]

Amazing! You won’t regret it.. They are awesome cars 👌

[@kubus66622]

just bought xjr ARDEN tuning, im in love ! Crazy car :)

[@ThatsClassiccars]

Enjoy it! what great cars they are

[@gregdettling6693]

Interesting note: Our lovely British racing green as we call it actually came from a car race that was held in Ireland. The Irish gracefully allowed the race to be held in Ireland and out of respect for the Irish who are of course known for their love of green the British who took their race cars there had them all painted Irish Green. That’s where and how it all got started. A Mercedes Benz won that race!!!! As LUCK would have it. So the 1998 Jaguar XJR we see before us in your lovely video actually pays homage to Irish Green. It has a Mercedes Benz transmission. And the Eaton M112 supercharger is of Irish-American origin. I might add that the original rubber was Italian and Jaguar was own by Ford..at the time...but made by the British and the car is all purely British aside from a few little things here and there. Overall it’s an international hybrid and one of the very last original JAGS!!! :) Inspiration for the 4.0 L V8 came from Lexus/Toyota as well as in consistency with the wishes ( not demands ) but hopes and wishes of Ford who were very wisely quite freedom providing and hands off. Their purchase of Jag was also followed by a cash investment into Jag. But my understanding is that aside from that they remained rather hands off leaving it up to the good old boys and girls at Jag who had been there forever to design what they thought of as the perfect Jag sedan. And there you have it !!!! A modem classic !!!!! Big British Muscle in a Tuxedo

[@dennynisevic7848]

My dream came true, i am getting same year and same color in 2 days. 71 thausand miles, two Florida owners. New subscriber here.

[@ThatsClassiccars]

Welcome aboard! You made a great choice! Enjoy your new ride 🚗

[@MYXJRJAGX308]

Nice one. What a beast and a sleeper at that. Epic sound - no more "Mr. Nice Guy".

[@ThatsClassiccars]

Yes! Exactly 🔥🔥🔥

[@gregdettling6693]

I have a 1998 XJR in Canada. Black on Black But one huge huge difference cosmetically is that they put on enough chrome on these that you need to put on rubber boots when you drive around in a thunder/lightning storm. All the silver chrome looks great with the shiny black. And it is all factory. Even the taillights have a silver chrome outline. They thought the American marked expected a lot of silver chrome or so it seems. A bit old fashioned and classic looking. The European and UK markets look a bit more modern. Or of a slightly more 21st Century taste. These days we see less silver chrome and a lot of black don’t we ?? I’ve done a complete engine replacement in mine and I was able to find the last 308 4.0 L V8 in Canada. That’s correct COMPLETE ENGINE REPLACEMENT!!!! Do not try this at home boys and girls.

[@ThatsClassiccars]

Great colour combination that! I quite like the chrome actually, It was definitely done for the North American market.. Seems like they thought chrome was popular there. It is a bit 90's style.. Wow that must have been a hard motor to find!

[@gregdettling6693]

It was a nightmare and has been a nightmare! Unfortunately we couldn’t locate any re-built motors as they call them so we had to be satisfied with just a used motor that had been in an XJR that got totally wrecked and written off but the motor was still pretty good with low KMs and they just pulled it out of there. Only one we could find in all of Canada!! We did phone down to California and everyone just laughed at us and said good luck with that ! They had reconditioned motors for big big price dollars. Not going to find one they said that is just pulled out of a wreck and written off down there. Hahaha big laugh in our faces from down there! About Chrome. Yes back in the 90s and well into the 2000s a big luxury car was expected to have a lot of silver Chrome. This expectation had already started to change in Europe and the U.K. by the mid to late 90s I think. Black and chrome is nice but I’ve always liked a cream and yellow brown wood interior or that interior with yellow leather. Do you understand the yellow leather I’m talking about? Yellow is not quite the term for it. Black leather with really dark wood is not quite my favorite. I do like a lighter wood colour. Warm bright cheerful classic iconic timeless luxury interior. But unfortunately this 98 XJR has been an absolute nightmare so far! :(

[@gregdettling6693]

Correction : A Light Tan leather interior ? Sorry I called it yellow Greg From Canada

[@nysteelhorse]

I've also got a '98 XJR. I haven't dynoed her yet because I'm still working on it. But I've got upgraded pullies and supercharger and am working on the exhaust now. I'm working on custom headers and stuffing a 3in under there. Then I'll see what she makes!

[@ThatsClassiccars]

Oh exciting! That’s a big exhaust! Let us know how it does

[@gregdettling6693]

@ Scott Thank you for all of your encouragement and support. I’ll be getting my first oil change since taking my car back on Wednesday July 3rd. 1 year, 5 months and 2 days later. I’ve had it back for just over a month today. I’ve taken the liberty of purchasing my own oil well ahead of time. I’m going with 5w30 Castrol Edge full synthetic for this very old 98 XJR. I’m running 94 octane premium gasoline in the new motor. I don’t think anything higher is available in Canada. Do you have any idea exactly how much oil is required for a simple oil change on this type of car? Best regards, Greg Dettling Ps I still think this video with you is really cool! This is my first British car so I’m still getting to know it and understand it. So COOL the transmission is a German Mercedes Benz transmission on these supercharged cars. If Jaguar was for it I’m all for it! They definitely knew what they were doing when they opted for that. And it sold me on this car! :) I missed my old BMW transmission and this feels slightly the same. Heavy solid and smooth. My HATS OFF for Jaguar on that huge detail. My transmission is now working great! I put my black and silver chrome XJR up for sale on June 1 to see what kind of interest I could get. So far a few people taking down phone numbers. I’m off to research exactly how much oil I’m going to need. I don’t want my new shop to over fill it. My last shop had it quite a bit over the full mark. Yikes! Will be providing them with a bit less oil than it actually needs and topping it up myself. Really going to cut hairs on this one. I’ve been slowly dipping oil out off the dip stick for a month. LOL

[@253Pr0C0y]

I have the XJ8 3.2 1998, I think I missed out by not getting the SC XJRs... still love my car though!!

[@extra2743]

500 HP ? How did you figure that? I'm curious. I got a 2005 supercharged and only makes 390 hp Thanks

[@gregdettling6693]

Hello, Greg here in Toronto, Canada I’ve been meaning to talk to you again. Just did my Autumn oil change Oct 11-12 2024 on my own 1998 Black on Black XJ-R 84 hours of driving to get from Alberta Canada to Toronto in late August. No problems in a car of such ELK. :) Don’t forget also that the transmission in these is a 5 speed Mercedes Benz gear box. Nice Touch! A British Car with a German transmission. I do have a question

[@conorhanley9009]

What a machine wow that’s the last proper jag imo

[@ThatsClassiccars]

💯

[@jaynikk758]

I would say the X350 is the last proper one, still has a similar shape to X308 only slightly more modern, I love both

[@gregdettling6693]

Not only that on this one you were driving! MAY I SAY.. a nice dark .....BRITISH RACING GREEN TO BOOT!

[@ThatsClassiccars]

Yes it is a beautiful colour combination that one

[@ethanevermore3359]

What was done to the engine etc to get nearly 500hp out of it?

[@dominicjohn8954]

I've got two testicles with low mileage that I haven't used in a while. Would you consider a swap?

[@bountykilla9153]

how’d it get tuned? aftermarket ecu? if so what brand. looking to tune my jag but every forum i looked at said it’s nearly impossible

[@ThatsClassiccars]

It’s a bit of a mystery to me to be honest. The guy who had the work done was the previous owner to the guy I know who owned it. Sorry that’s not a very helpful answer 😂

[@David-lh9wh]

It's not possible to tune this ecu ​@@ThatsClassiccars

[@oliverlane4050]

That sound ❤❤❤

[@sandhaug67]

As a tuned 2000 XKR owner I can tell you that this car has closer to 397 bhp than 497. There is no way the original Eaton supercharger will deliver near 500 bhp. With a smaller supercharger pulley, or bigger crank pulley, you will get more torque but not much more horsepower. The supercharger will get too high rpm and starts to make more heat than power.

[@ThatsClassiccars]

Seemed pretty quick to me, not far off the F-type R i drove around for a while 5.0 SC. Not quite as fast more this was more manageable

[@vHindenburg]

Well as far as I can get other sources, the smaller pulley can get you about 450hp without anything else. Though the numbers fluctute a but what they are supposed to have stock with the 4,2l engine anything between 390-406. Considering thats an X308 it most likely had the lower starter number. So far as I could find there are usually two different pulleys used either 6% or 10% smaller than stock. The 10% will lose power hat higher RPM, though the Eaton Supercharger is rated for use at 16.000 rpm (about three times higher than the crankshaft ) After all I couldnt find anything on how much power one could get out of that block in total.

[@gregdettling6693]

My own Big Black Lena. ( named after Blue Lena.. Keith Richards’ 1965 Big Blue Bentley itself named by him after his favorite Americans singer ms. Lena Horne. ) I’m thinking of putting a Cold Air Intake on mine. One that comes from Mina Gallery out of California I think. Two quick questions: 1. If I do install a cold air intake with the exposed red cone air filter set up kit and the stainless steel air pipe....( just to provide a visual description here ) ....can I just do only that or are there more tunings and modifications I’ll need to do once adding that? 2. I went to extra pains to not have my oil overfilled when I had it changed...electing to top it up the rest of the way myself.....only to have accidentally overfilled it myself. How much over the full mark do you think is safe?? I’m about 3 mm over when cold in the morning before starting.

[@gregdettling6693]

Thank you for your message! I’m sorry it has been busy. I couldn’t reply. I have a quick question. On my 1998 XJR black with chrome and of course 4.0 L V8 supercharged... .....my shop has disconnected the battery twice now and replaced the battery twice. They have also performed a complete engine replacement. As soon as they were finished the Transmission went into limp mode on test drive. They tell me I have an issue with my transmission and it must have just broke while sitting at their shop. My question: Did they need to reset the computer electronics when they disconnected the battery and did the engine replacement???

[@ThatsClassiccars]

I would think the gearbox would need to be programmed to match the engine. I’d check with the owners club and see if they agree

[@gregdettling6693]

Thank you for your reply! Good news. The transmission seems to have corrected itself and is shifting very smoothly with the 4.0 L V8 and supercharger. I’m really happy with how it is shifting these last 10 days since I’ve had it back. The mechanic that was working on it told me he thought that after the transmission service it was sort of fixing itself. For a day and a half it wasn’t happy at all but I kept driving it. In the afternoon and evening of the second day I had it back it started suddenly shifting probably. So I’m about 8-9 days with it performing very well. I’m happy with it! But I’m not happy with my old mechanic shop. They lost my new winter tires. :( 1,400 dollar CND Nokians missing and we don’t know yet who took them. :( New Winter tires don’t just walk away.

[@Moparornocar74]

Those cupholders are not to be trusted, just so you know. I remember the first time I used them in my XJR, I got to take my coffee externally 😂. Oh and for all the people who think Jaguars are unreliable, my 2001 XJR was my daily driver and it has almost 200,000km on it and it has never given me any problems. Unfortunately it's been off the road for a while now because I started a business and couldn't afford to insure it

[@petyrkowalski9887]

Fabulous..and that engine note. I would be a bit scared of hidden costs for things going on underneath the car but still… a lot of car for the money.

[@ThatsClassiccars]

100% but like you say it’s a lot of car for the money

[@kpoudavoff]

What mods were applied to the car to get to almost 500bhp???

[@ThatsClassiccars]

So I believe it had a smaller pulley for the supercharger, De cat and full SS exhaust, ECU upgrade is what I was told but surely something else was done too

[@setter501]

What are the Stats? Eg is it still the 4 litre? Or upgraded to 4.2 etc, 0-60 mph? Standing quarter? Torque? It must be amazing!

[@ChicagoItalian]

500 might be pushing it. I had a 1998 XJR8 with Eurotoy goodies….under drive supercharger pulley, upper nose cone pulley and a larger Intercooler radiator and coolant pump up front. 450 with a tune is more reasonable. You also need to change the plastic tensioners on these cars and be aware of the early Nikisil linings and…the transmissions are known to go out…I had to replace mine all together…great cars.

[@mogulme6190]

@@ChicagoItalianif the car has an aftermarket ecu I’ll bet it’s closer to the 500hp the guy said

[@kbk9535]

They didn't, it's just wishful thinking.

[@pauliusvegys6979]

Not sure about statement of 497hp but it is really a nice car

[@theoutlier9053]

I so miss mine

[@adamkadlec4585]

Hi, nice video. Just wanted to ask, what kind of exhasut is this? :D like can i buy it somewhere or its just straight piped? because that sound is incredible and i need that on my x308 :D

[@ThatsClassiccars]

It’s a lovely raspy sound.. I’m afraid I don’t know but just remove some of the silencer boxes haha

[@nysteelhorse]

If you need to stay civil, you may want to do it in stages and see what you like or can stand. I first removed the resonators, then replace the big center muffler with a crossover and if you want more spund, the mufflers. If you want even more, got to larger diameter piping and aftermarket cats without the crazy 90 degree elbow! Custom is the way to go. Once she can breathe...

[@rtalbot87]

I have one. Sport mode changes the shift points, and whan that supercharger starts to whine, THINGS start to happen real quick.

[@ThatsClassiccars]

That makes a lot of sense! If I used that button, chances are, I could have been facing the wrong way down the road 😂

[@ranmacman]

Press the "Sport" button and the car will leave from a stop in 1st gear, and keep the revs higher. Otherwise it will start in 2nd from a stop for leisurely driving (Mercedes transmission)

[@ThatsClassiccars]

Amazing! Great knowledge on that! Thanks for the comment 🙏

[@thebeastman1651]

How come you have this nice sound from the exhaust, what has been done to have this sound? Is there a muffler delete? I own an XJR from 1999 and I hear absolute nothing. 😅 Greetings from the Netherlands

[@ThatsClassiccars]

Hello! It has a full custom exhaust from the headers as i remember. Yours must be still in "Gentleman mode"

[@ianplayer3329]

Lovely 🥰

[@Jaglife]

Which exhaust system do you have to make it sound like that?

[@ThatsClassiccars]

I believe it was a custom job

[@mrfrdman]

Very nice indeed :)

[@ThatsClassiccars]

🙌

[@tgronk5222]

Ok I need to know what’s done to it mechanically and how can I do it to mine

[@ThatsClassiccars]

Yes! I believe it has smaller pulleys on the supercharger and a ECU chip, Full SS exhaust and some other tuning...

[@stephensomersify]

Sports button engages 1st from stationary - rather than 2nd as normal :-) and hold gears all the way up

[@ThatsClassiccars]

Damn, lucky I didn’t know that at the time or I would have be wheel spinning everywhere lol.. (intentionally 😂)

[@ThatsClassiccars]

Thanks for info

[@pistonslapuk]

Where was this for sale please??

[@ThatsClassiccars]

www.carandclassic.com/auctions/1998-jaguar-xjr-x308-n9bZz4 1 day and a few hours left

[@ThatsClassiccars]

It ends in 30 mins! Only £5,500 currently

[@nysteelhorse]

At 0:50, he states that this car is tuned...heavily tuned.

[@jhn5483]

can you do the upper and lower pulley at the same time with a remap? or would it blow up?

[@ThatsClassiccars]

It’s a good question… 🙋‍♂️ I don’t know the answer to that..

[@pierrelindenstrand6273]

You have to mod the intercooler sysktem,it’s not designed to handle the hig boost you get with both pulleys changed.

[@boulecoq1700]

I had an xjr6 and the speed used to make me laugh. I was on the motorway and it was dark and no one else about so I thought I’d have some fun. I floored the noisy pedal and got to about 130 mph and looked at the inst fuel consumption readout. It said 1. One mile per gallon. 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 but I loved it. Had to go though coz we got a dog.

[@ThatsClassiccars]

Hahah they are very quick! 1 mpg 😂😂😂 I bet you miss it though

[@boulecoq1700]

@@ThatsClassiccars too right. They’re going for decent money now.

[@TAKU.2X]

Exhaust setup ?

[@ThatsClassiccars]

I’m afraid I don’t know.. but it sounds naughty this one

[@rtalbot87]

Its had the superchager and crank pullies changed hence the 500 horses.

[@ThatsClassiccars]

I believe so

[@timdoyle3028]

Sport mode does more than just remap the shift points like in most other cars. In these cars, first gear is locked out when driving normally (out of sport mode), sport mode will force the car to start in first. It completely changes the character of the car.

[@ThatsClassiccars]

Oh wow! Good to know! Lucky I didn’t know that on the test drive or there is a “Small” chance I would have been driving sideways a bit 😅😅😅

[@jaynikk758]

Very highly doubt it has close 500hp, without spray that is a tall order even for X350 Jags, nevermind X308's

[@DonaldRodriguez-l4v]

Hahn Mountain

[@michaelnugara1]

Brilliant car but I think the exhaust is a few octives too nasty.

[@ThatsClassiccars]

It’s a pretty aggressive sounding exhaust

[@BellamyNina-v6c]

Jeffery River

[@PhilipLucy-b3y]

Batz Lake

[@jjefferyworboys8138]

Too loud, understated is always best.

[@ThatsClassiccars]

I do agree, but the boy racer inside was enjoying the noise!

[@MariaHermann-o8q]

Braun Loop

[@Mitkawatch]

Get away car😅

[@ThatsClassiccars]

Haha totally is

[@AndyK.1]

@@ThatsClassiccarsAs long as it’s not raining 😅

[@RichardMoore-k8w]

Schmitt Parks

[@silentbutdeadly3466]

I thought they were 390 hp

[@angelomanns7777]

370hp for the 4.0 and 390 for the later 4.2

[@LuciusIngemar-b1v]

Thompson Edward Rodriguez John Thompson Frank

[@DallasMesser-d5p]

Johnson Daniel White Jennifer White Brian

[@kbk9535]

That car is nowhere near 500 bhp.

[@robbiggles3487]

Why do you say that?

[@gardenweld]

Brilliant BUT.. DRIVE IT. I already know about the XJR Drive it like you just stole it .. Thrash the fec out of it .. girls blouse.🍄 But yes.. lovely car respect to the owner. 😎

[@ThatsClassiccars]

Haha 😜 that’s the way to do it

[@Libertarian606]

Never liked the supercharged XJ. Best jag I ever had was a regular ‘98 XJ8. The sound and the ride were beautiful - smooth and gentle acceleration, and a low soft rumble from the engine. A proper classy jag. The one in this video leaves me cold. Vulgar excess IMO. Lol, what a snooty bastard I am!😋

[@Nosensev57]

If you've got nothing good to say don't say it, talk like this is just un-classy nitpicking and totally unnecessary.

[@Libertarian606]

@@Nosensev57 Are you serious? I’m not allowed to dislike a car??? Ffs, I even put a self deprecating remark in at the end to indicate I’m not taking myself too seriously. It seems that you’re offended simply because I dislike something that you like. That’s pretty insecure. Lighten up already

[@willemivo1]

You named the perfect license plate for this beauty: VULGAR. Hate it or love it! Upset the senior members at the Jaguar Owners Club fair. I love the American V8 roar on the tweed-jacket-and-pipe-car that it is. Who said pirates aren't stylish, gentlemen not pirates? rooarrrr

[@ThatsClassiccars]

Haha! Exactly! You can't please everyone all the time

[@elekkr]

I want one !