Ladies and Gents-- thought I'd let you know. If I had money to toss around, I'd just "buy it now" and you wouldn't see this post. I know some dislike it, but that interior, IMO, is the finest I've ever laid eyes on. That wood, that headliner, oh my. At under $30K, I think it's priced fairly. It looks to be in near perfect condition.
Jaguar : Other Super V8 Portfolio

 

Beautiful, except for that awful wood trim !

 

I have to agree, Fraser. That wood may be satinwood (?), but in the photos it looks like plain old pine. Surely that would have had to have been a special order...I can't imagine Jaguar equipping a Portfolio with that wood by default... I wonder if the first owner's previous car was a Lexus and he wanted to mimic its light-colored wood in his new Jaguar?

 

At least the trim could be stained to whatever color you want without looking cheesy. I kind of like it but then I have vertical grain fir floors in my house which are almost exactly the same color. Maybe I am just used to it.

 

That's the factory wood trim with the 06 Super V8 Portfolio

Satin Black American Walnut, it's not black obviously, that's the name of the tree; Juglans Nigra

Was standard on the 06 Super V8 Portfolio and could be special ordered on other models.

 

Owner must have been into bling.

I'm surprised it doesn't have a few of those cheesy stick-on fake Buick portholes on each side of the hood.

 

Well actually that car appears to be completely unmolested, as it left the factory.

For those who don't know these models, have a look here https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...2005-a-139921/

 

Bling?! For your education: this 2006 Super V8 Portfolio is factory correct with no aftermarket pieces, at least from the photos. No, it is not mine, but I do have one just like it and they are fabulous cars. I realize people have different tastes and that is a good thing but understand this is all original. - Cambo beat me to it.

 

That's weird! One of my other hobbies is woodworking, so I'm quite familiar with American Black Walnut. Neither the color nor grain of the wood in those Portfolios looks anything like black walnut to me - am I looking at the wrong photos?

The photo at the link below is very representative of the black walnut commonly known in America (of course when quartersawn the grain is straight):

http://www.florkowskys.com/wood-types/black-walnut/

 

Can't speak about the grain, but for sure the colours of the wood veneers are stained and don't look much like the natural wood.

Here's another image of Black Walnut Black Walnut | The Wood Database - Lumber Identification (Hardwoods)

I believe that the thin cutting and steaming of making the veneers bleaches some of the colour out. So the veneers are always stained, and that's why they don't look the normal colour.

 

Black walnut varies from light brown to dark purple brown - in my experience it is never golden yellow in its natural state. To achieve that color I would think they would either have to bleach and then stain the wood, or use an opaque coloring agent. Could the wood have faded that much from the sun?

Butternut is a wood that is very similar to walnut but light golden in color - the wood in those Portfolios could be butternut, but I don't see how it could be black walnut unless the photos misrepresent its true color.

The wood in the Portfolio below looks like flat-sawn walnut but on the lighter side. I like this one, for a cleaner, more contemporary look in a Jaguar:




And I guess this one could be black walnut also, but this is very light for black walnut (it looks more like butternut):




For comparison, here's a photo of the wood in the car in SuperTrav's link. Compared to the above examples it looks more like what we call in the U.S. "Colonial Pine." I wonder if this car has optional wood? Do you know if a purchaser could choose other wood options on a Portfolio?




Here's a link to colonial maple-pine stain:

http://jeffswoodshop.com/StainColors.html


You've got me curious now. I'm going to have to find a Portfolio to inspect in person!

Cheers,

Don

 

It's probably got a lot to do with the quality of the camera being use to take photos.

Just to give you one example, the interior of my car looks pink in a lot of photo's, especially in bright sunlight or with flash being used. But to your eyes it's not pink at all. I suspect the same sort of thing happens with this wood veneer when being photographed.

The 1st picture you posted is not a photo, it's a CG graphic.

The 2nd picture is how the trim normally looks.

The 3rd picture looks over-exposed or someone took a dark photo and played with the brightness/contrast/midtones in MS Photo Editor, especially since it's a little grainy/blurred.

At the time of the LWB Super V8 Portfolio being built, the Satin Black Walnut was an exclusive to the model, had never been used before, so it was part of the unique options of the car.

 

Ah ....OK, I stand corrected.
So it was molested by the factory.
Gotcha ....!

 

I shouldn't complain. I'm not complaining. I'm still madly in love with my XJR. IF I were a rich man, I'd buy that Portfolio.

 

I have looked at this car in Denver. It has high miles, but appears to be in very good cosmetic condition. It was bought at Manheim auction who rated it's condition a 2.5 out of 5.

I actually had an appointment to take it to a local mechanic to have it looked at when I found a much better deal on a low mileage Super V8 that I purchased. I almost bought this car - it is a true beauty, but the high miles and the auto auction condition rating had me a bit concerned.

The dealer told me he would "deal". If you call them, ask for Paul, he seems like a real upfront guy.

 

It's interesting that the discussion was mostly about the wood. I have a 2009 Portfolio, and one of the few things that I don't like about it is the wood - I have no idea what it is, but it seems to be an oak. Previous XJs I have owned have had much more luxurious burl walnut.

But I still have to stop myself from drooling every time I drive it!

Kevin

 

I must confess that the first time I saw (on photos) the wood trim of the Portfolio, I thought it looked like cheap wood, compared to the richly contrasted burr walnut of my XJ8 2004. I was indeed lucky to have one with a very nice walnut.

However, when you can see in reality that special and unique wood trim, it actually looks very nice and gives a much more modern, albeit luxurious, look to the Portfolio, very nicely fitting with the dark leather.
And yes, the photos don't reflect the exact colour of the wood which is a bit darker actually.
Now I wouldn't go back on the combo!

 

I love the wood on this car, my wife greatly prefers the burled walnut.

Guess who wins? :-)

The only wood in my car is the 4x4 I keep on hand to stop it from accidentally rolling down hills.

 

Good one ....!

 

I like the black walnut, and I definitely don't like the "colonial pine" - but I like the burl walnut that's in my "low-end" 2004 XJR best of all.