This may be a strange thing to ask you all your views on, but as I steadily get my X351 right, I am beginning to be concerned this car - even in just its humble SS V6 version - is just too fast for me, or perhaps any normal roads. You see, I try and waft along and not hit any of the go berserk buttons. And it does waft with real quality and do it well, it is amazing - so many cars can not do that. The S class obviously wafts, but what the S class can not do and what the Jaguar does, is turn into a quiet insane Ferrari at the drop of a hat, well..., right toe or foot....

Many decades ago when I was young and stupid, navigating the south of France on a V4 motorbike, well... have you ever heard the phrase missiles and battleships? Yes we were the missiles and... well, that's enough for a forum... This Jaguar is like that; it is just so fast it is as if other road users are, shall we say, in a different transportation reality, altogether, like battleships. Hence, my sojournes become exhausting. I test drove a Ferrari GTC4 Lusso recently and came away with almost the same feeling, as in the car was just too fast for any possibility of usage on normal roads without incarceration risks approaching highly probable. Yet that car was so astonishingly good and exciting that I immediately transformed back decades younger to a giggling, astonished, (half) screaming teenager... the salesman was quite taken aback. "er, you clearly like it then" was all he could muster.

This Jaguar is so good it almost does that and without any discernible noise, eating and gobbling other road users up, as if it is in a different realm. Now I am old, and likely too old, but still... so I did some research and found even the V6 is tested at 0 - 60 in 5.1 seconds.
https://www.automobile-catalog.com/c...html#gsc.tab=0

I've also found that if you take the speed limiter off some of these, I presume in the V8, it tops out at 174 mph. This is astonishing for a limousine sedan, and yet in a way I'm tempted to sell it, or at least buy a SLOWER 1990's XJS or old MB to save my sanity. Some of you may think I am kidding but there are two serious points here: - The first is this is by far the most capable sports (or any) sedan I've ever driven (outside of Ferraris) as it is actually two cars in one, like a four door CL (the CL was the greatest "two cars in one" car I'd ever driven before this, but this does it with 4 doors!!!) It begs to be a manual, but even the flappy paddle down shift double de clutches for you.. in a 2013??? It is that good.... and the suspension rides almost like an S class and it is very quiet. No wonder the Brits did Concorde... Holy moly.

It is literally a phenomenal piece of engineering and so, if I have to monitor the coolant every time I get in and out by opening the hood, rebuild the supercharger (snout et al.), replace all the coolant pipes and the appallingly retarded water pump, spend months chasing a slight electrical fault etc. etc. (and will later install a proper coolant gauge) - it is certainly worth it. BUT, the second point is, is it just too fast for the road? For surely one of the enjoyable aspects of a car is to dance on, or close to the car's limit to see how she (you?) handles. For unless a simple (pointless?) blast on the highway is enough for you, are modern cars then just too fast?

So to make it even clearer, if you gave me a choice between the absolutely astonishingly quick (and at times also almost serene) Ferrari GTC4 Lusso (or its baby brother... the Jaguar X351), or the old Mondial or slow 308 (with carbs please) for my daily driver, I think I might well go with the latter because I can enjoy (manage) all of the latter...

Your views gentlemen and ladies.... ? And here is Mr. Jeremy Clarkson expressing a similar view on the Ferrari F12, when even on Scotland's best empty roads (think race track) he says it is just too fast, too quick...

Alternatively, I am moving to the Isle of Man with the Jaguar and putting wider wheels on the rear and well, spending the rest of my life in a speed limit free zone experimenting with altered states of consciousness brought about by speed and then an Oban or two afterwards... and yes that is not an idle thought.... Can we fit 315 on the rears with aftermarket wheels?

The luxury of (ridiculous) first world problems...

 

315's might be a stretch? I have seen many use 305's on the back. But even then your pushing it.
How wide are your rear rims?
My 2014 XJR is stock with 10" wide rear rims. I run the stock tire size of 285. You might need to go to a 10.5" or wider rim?

Take a look at the rim charts and they want you to have a 11.5" minimum and recommend using a 12" wide rim when running a 315 tire.
Rim Width's for Tire Sizes

If your interested I do race mine and have seen fairly high top speeds. Note my speed limiter was reset with the VAP tune to 199 mph. While I have dreams of a 200+mph Jaguar I think it's safe to say it will remain only a dream!
Jags at the Texas Mile
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Great post Clubairth1 - You crack me up - 199 mph. You must have Xalls of steel. I am trying to give all that up...

OK, what do I do???

 

QP7, not sure what you are desiring to have done. A lot of it can be simply don't with easing off on the right foot some and just enjoy the comfortable ride. But, if you feel that you need an electronic limiter, if you look on the center console, there is a button labeled "ASL" (Automatic speed limiter). YOu can simply get up to your maximum speed, push the ASL button and now, any time you go to go faster than what you have set, the car simply "de-fuels" the engine and limits you to that speed. It is going ot feel like someone turned the car off for a second as you slow down and then you will feel the engine back back as you get below. Unfortunately, this setting has to be set every time you get in the car. It will not maintain itself.

Option 2 (if I am remembering this correctly) is to put the car into valet mode. You get into the screens, you can limit how fast the car can go and even set the max RPM. From there, you hit any of the limitations you have set, it will again "de-fuel" the engine and slow you down. Then, if you get the itch, you can simply turn off the valet mode and have the full brunt of the beast.

 

Indeed, nothing needs doing other than for me to (perhaps) learn some discipline. I certainly do not want to limit it; nope. My growing addiction is leaning towards the Isle of Man. These are simply astonishing cars. As you have rightly told me I need to keep the tech (my supplier of my addiction) very happy so am off to find some Oban for him. Then, try to resist dropping more green in the tank... But thank you for your limiting ideas. Very helpful. Perhaps a 1989 420SEL would slow me down, either swap the X351 or that or tow it as a land chute...

 

There's no such thing as a car that's too fast for it's driver, a car is an inanimate machine that only does what it's told*. There is such a thing as a driver that doesn't have enough self-control for certain cars, however..

Trade it in for a Corolla?


* For now... let's circle back to this in ten years 😂

 

You had at me hello. I grew up with insane Italian cars; you think I have self control? The X351 is too good. But that single row chain -WTF...

Is there enough room to fit a double sprocket n there?? 250 Le mans and X351 - the perfect garage.

But, my point still stands - all these cars are so fast and we can't use them on our roads, self control or not; right?

 

hehe I started racing karts at about 10 years old, I also struggle a bit with self control! You're correct that we can't use them to their full potential on our roads, but that's got nothing to do with the type of car... the Corolla I jokingly suggested you trade the Jag in for will still do 200km/h+ if you want it to, although it might need a long downhill stretch and tailwind 😂

Maybe you need to start doing track days

 

Track days or get back to meditation....

 

Have to agree with dangoesfast about track days. It's a blast and I find it a VERY humbling experience too? Because no what you drive there is ALWAYS someone faster and many higher end cars than yours. Always! Looks can be very deceiving too as we had a Dodge Neon that ran 198 MPH! That was completely unexpected! Heck I got to see my first McLaren in person there.

I was lucky too as I was at the Texas Mile when the worlds fastest mile was run and the first time a legal street car from a standing start hit 300 mph in 1 mile! An amazing Ford GT40 that was twin tubo charged and was putting around 1800 HP to the wheels. Now that was a CAR! I can only imagine the cost of it all?

The few seconds I have had at 170-180 mph are very unreal. In fact you have to qualify at the Texas Mile before your allowed to exceed 150 mph. You get a bit disconnected and you get the impression that time is slowing down but it's NOT!

So there is danger at those speeds of becoming a bit hypnotized with what's going on.

They also had a portable Dyno at the race which was also a lot of fun. Plus you got 3 pulls for $75 which is dirt cheap.
Jaguar Dyno

I wish I could have driven it on the Dyno but it does take skill and I can see why the Dyno operators do it all themselves.
Man what a glorious noise that XJR made when spinning that drum. I always thought the XJR sounded great stock when driving it but had never been outside the car and had someone drive by?

He had a bit of trouble getting the right RPM's in the right gear so I think there might be more power in it. Each run he got a higher number and with the difficulty he had keeping it in 6th gear I got 5 pulls. He had never done a Jaguar before and was learning too.
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You have me beat - the fastest I have ever done is about 140 mph on 2 wheels.

Decades ago...!

PS - they built a 170 mph + car with toilet paper plastic coolant pipes and a water pump that is a sieve

 

Fill the trunk with bricks ,it will help slow it down

 

I think my 2004 V8 VW Phaeton has a higher top speed, but is a bit sluggish if not driven in sport mode with the air suspension lowered an inch.

 

100 or 500hp, the sound is glorious!
I was standing behind the car with my camera at the beginning of the pull. The operator said, "Look behind you." There was a thick sheet of plywood which looked like it had been used for target practice. "You may want to move to the side, bud."

 

I have an XJL and want lower rear skirts like on the XJ R. This car has it.

 

That is a great color for an XJR! Never seen one like that before either.
Sorry that's all I had to say!

Yes your right! 100HP or 500HP that dyno run was screaming!
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I love sedans and looked forever to find a XJR 575 in that color combo for sale. Never happened. Ugh

So I bought a 2024 F Pace SVR in 'Ultra Blue' with the black wheels and oyster colored interior.

It does 0-60 in 3.7 seconds so all good I guess

 

So that's Ultra Blue? I have seen Osmium blue which is much different. Must be a rare color too.
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I think it’s velocity blue. They did not put ultra blue on the XJ’s

 

Ultra blue is close but not quite as dark