Hello All. I am in the market for an 05 or 06 XKR and have found volumes of great info perusing these forums. I still have a few questions involving options on these cars however; maybe someone can point me in the right direction.

I have seen a car that appears to have all the badging and trim options of a Victory Edition, but the person selling it is not advertising it as such. Is there a way to tell for certain if it is a Victory Edition? Would it be listed on the trim code? (I called the seller but haven't heard back)

Yahoo autos for the 2006 XKR coupe lists a handling package as an option and cross drilled rotors as a separate option. I have read elsewhere that the handling package came with the cross drilled rotors. Can anyone shed some light on how I can determine if the vehicle has the handling package, or if that option existed?

Thanks in advance for your input.

 

This is the XK 2007+ forum, for the years you are looking at you actually want the XK8/R forum:
XK8 / XKR - Jaguar Forums - Jaguar Enthusiasts Forum

But, to at least partially answer your questions:
The Victory Edition (or -S in Europe) is really just the final year of the X100 cars. Almost everything they came as standard with was available in earlier years as an option.

Check out post #7 to see a description of the Victory Edition:
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...uestion-91484/

The most obvious indicators are the door sills and bonnet badge that have a checker flag motif.

2003+ all XKRs came with the Brembo brakes. Earlier ones were solid rotors with silver calipers, later ones were cross drilled with red calipers, but they are all the same size and interchangeable.

I handling package did exist, and was always an option, even on the Victory cars. I believe it consisted of stiffer dampers and larger sway bars. It's not outwardly obvious when a car has the handling package and the easiest way is probably to have a dealership check the VIN and see if it was installed from the factory.

 

Perhaps the previous owner does not realize it's a "Victory Edition". Here's a few things I found out that might lead you to believe it is or is not a "Victory Edition".

The special XK 'Victory' edition road cars will arrive in four exclusive, limited edition exterior colors – Black Copper Metallic, Frost Blue Metallic, Bay Blue Metallic and Satin Silver Metallic – (other standard XK colors will also be available on 'Victory' models) with four interior colors and two distinct veneer options for the dashboard to create 18 possible combinations for the buyer to choose from. ‘Victory’ editions will offer Carbon Fiber interior trim on all XKR models, as well as feature a new Elm wood veneer on the XK8 models.

The 2006 Jaguar XK 'Victory' models will benefit from several additional new features including standard Bluetooth® wireless connectivity. With Bluetooth, a compatible telephone may be wirelessly controlled via the XK's steering wheel controls, without ever leaving the driver's pocket or purse, for easy, hands-free use.

Victory Editions also received special badging and accents. The "growler" badge on the hood (bonnet) had a unique checkered-flag background, and door sill plates featured checkered-flag emblems. Production of Victory Edition models was 1,050 cars. XKR models will be fitted with 20-inch BBS wheels. Two-piece BBS Perseus 20-inch wheels have black growler center caps. Brembo brake discs are cross-drilled. Expect pricing to start at about $75,000.

Hope this helps. You should be able to tell if it's a Victory Edition by some of the emblems, wheels, brakes etc.

 

I've moved it for you Tommy.

 

Sorry about the mispost.

Interesting info regarding the brakes. I wasn't aware all the brakes were Brembo on the 05 and 06 XKR.

The car I was viewing has the carbon fiber trim, the checkered flag on the hood badge which I was aware of. I just checked the Door Sills and the Steering Column based on the provided info and it is indeed a Victory Edition. Thanks for the info.

The Handling package determination is problematic as no one ever lists that info with their advertisements...not that it is a deal breaker for me but would be nice to know without having to ask every seller.

 

I don't think there were many cars that got the handling package and the few members that have mentioned having it don't seem to notice a big difference from the standard suspension.

My car has the "normal" shocks and does a respectable job in the corners, even with 80k miles on the shocks and springs. And respectable has to be taken in context, these cars do weigh 4000lbs after all.

The biggest improvement came with installing poly bushings, which are not terribly expensive and firmed up the suspension a bit. Some complain about groaning, though, so there can be trade offs.

 

1.5 years ago I drove a 2005 XKR coupe weeks after I purchased my 2002 XKR but before it received the last set of bushing replacements ( lower front). The 2005 was twice my price ($30k) but I had to see what it was like. Here goes.

The handling was unusually good for that first generation so I strongly suspect it had the handling package. cornering was more flat. having just come off a Porsche Boxster for 5 years I was instantly in tune with that. It was more than just having 20" rims vs my 18". magazine reviews of the time in 2003 found the Brembo brakes did little but drive up costs compared to 2001-2001. That 2005 showed jag had figured out how to get the extra performance that was missing.

Drive several XKRs and eliminate any that feel floppy over imperfect pavement unless you want to replace all of the bushings until you find the problem. two jag independent places said mine were fine, dealership showed they were wrong but I settled the debate with local general mechanic who agreed with dealer and had owned an XK8.

I would have taken that $30k 2005 with 30k miles over anything else short of a 2009 Boxster , and the XKR blurs into the line of exotica.

 

The doctor that I bought my 06 XK8 convertible Victory Edition from didnt know it was a rare model. Aparently Jaguar only made 1050 Victory Editions and most of them were XKR's.

 

Here are two sites which detail the info about the handling pack, which was available starting on the 2003 XKR models (coupes only, contrary to one of the stories below). I have it installed and can say it is a completely different car than the 1997 XK8 it replaced.


Car Enthusiast NEWS - by CAINT.COM

Jaguar XKR road tests

Not sure about the Victory Edition, but beware of a lot of phony "special editions" that were really US dealer dress up packages not fitted by Jaguar. Most of these are not worth a premium and some are downright laughable - a recent one had lambo doors and chrome drug dealer wheels. Special edition indeed....

Regular XKRs with the handling pack will likely have one of two sets of five spoke 20" wheels - either the Paris or Detroit varieties; with the rears being wider than the fronts (I am not sure if regular XKRs also had offset wheels, but the rears on mine are wide - too wide for a car wash). One link above says the pack was also available with 18" wheels but I have never seen anything but 20" wheels fitted with this package. Therefore, it's worth looking a little closer at any XKR from 2003-2006 that has five spoke factory 20" wheels.

The car should also sit lower by about 10-15mm than would a standard XKR. You could probably find out the sway bar diameter and crawl underneath the prospective car and measure the thickness with a micrometer caliper, but that could seem weird to the seller absent an explanation.

I think the Brembos are far superior to the stock brakes fitted on the XK8 - they stop so quickly I really have to be careful in traffic that some semi-retarded loser in a minivan doesn't wind up in my trunk. I'm in the process of installing a Kahtec flasher for the 3rd brake light to help prevent this from happening again (the '97 XK8 met its demise from a rear-ender).

 

Thank you Burg. I do have the instruments to take measurements, but what is the normal sway bar thickness and how high off the ground would the car sit normally if it did not have the handling package?

There are two cars I am considering currently. One is a victory edition with vented brakes, but it has 19" atlas wheels. The other does not have vented brakes but has 20" Detroit wheels. Neither appears to be lower, but a 10-15 mm difference is hard to tell for certain from photos.

 

Here's another site that discusses the various models, including the special editions. Hope it helps and doesn't just add to the confusion.

XK8 Lovers - Models

 

Tommymor - bring a tape measure and your caliper and check out a couple of different cars, XK8 and XKR alike. Also, on my car there is a small rubber extension glued to the back of the rear fenders to account for the wider rear wheels. I do not think regular, non-handling pack XKRs had these fitted. I'm away from the car right now or I would post a pic.

 

Not much info here on the handling package, but what caught my eye is the info on the timing chain tensioners. Is this an issue on an 05 or 06 model year that I should be concerned about?

 

I had not seen an xkr without that rubber fender flair until I found the car I am considering in Illinois. I asked the jaguar dealer why the car didn't have it and he didn't know. Could it be that is the only outwardly tell tale sign that the car has the handling package, or does it just mean that any car without it definitely does not have the handling package?

 

Got a correction to make, maybe -

My 1997 did not have the rubber strip, but the 2003 with the handling pack does. I got curious and looked at a few for sale online and noticed a newer convertible that had it. Considering the handling pack was a coupes only option, this may mean the rubber strip was installed on models with larger rear wheels. I'm not sure when they started making the rear wheels wider on the XKR but on my older car they were the same width all around.

 

The rubber flair is a function of the 20x10" rear wheels, no relation to the handling pack.

18 and 19in wheels are 9" wide rears, so the missing rubber bit just means that the car originally had the smaller wheels with the narrower width.

 

2003+ has the 4.2L engine with the upgraded tensioners already. In fact, the fix for the older 4.0 is to install the 4.2 style, so no concerns for an 05 or 06.

 

I have the original window sticker for the 06 XKR. The only option shown was crossdrilled rotors for $500, but the Brembo brakes were standard. The staggered 20" Detroit wheels were standard, as was the active suspension. No mention of a handling package there. Interesting that the sticker price was $84,000, not counting tax. It also had fuel economy as 17 city, 24 highway.

 

Attached is original brochure on the 2006MY.

 

Hey Tommy--the one useful thing that the 2006 model presumably has is one touch down AND UP windows. If you happen to be test driving a 2006 confirm that this is the case. I had posted a thread way back about what exactly was done to enable the UP feature. Anyway I do not think there were any meaningful other differences between 2005 and 2006 but the Victory edition did have a few small cosmetic differences and some things that were previously options were included with the package.

Doug