BUYING AFFORDABLECONVERTIBLES
40 |JaguarWorld/July 2019
XK 180
AnotherKeithHelfet-designed,SVO-
builtconcept,thisoneistocelebrate
the50thanniversaryoftheXKengine
in1998.BasedonanX100chassisthat
hadbeenshortenedbyteninches,
underitsbonnetwasa450bhpversion
ofJaguar’s4.0superchargedV8.The
car’sstylingisclearlyinfluencedbythe
D-type,onlyminusthecar’sfamous
finbecauseHelfetthoughtitwould
betoomuchofacliché.However,the
wraparoundscreen,ovalgrilleand
enclosedheadlightsallpointtowards
theLeMans-winningracingcar.
Unusuallyforaprototype,this
onewasarunner.Jaguar’schief
testdriver,MikeCross,droveitwith
greatgustoatJabbekein1 99 9to
markthe50thanniversaryofanXK
120 reaching132.6mphonaBelgian
motorway,aswellasattheGoodwood
FestivalofSpeedlaterthesameyear.
Sosuccessfulwasthedesignthata
second,almostidentical,carwasbuilt
forJaguarNorthAmerica,butits
currentwhereaboutsareunknown.
Theoriginalsurvivesandremains
partoftheJaguarDaimlerHeritage
Trustcollection.ONETHATGOTAWAY
Theoriginalsurvivesandremains
partoftheJaguarDaimlerHeritage
Trustcollection.EmpireStateBuilding.YetitlackstheXJS’
character,eventhoughthefasciaofthis
earlyRadianceRedexamplefrom 2006 is
coveredinalmostasmuchveneerasthe
X1 00 (pianoblackandaluminiumwerealso
available);theemphasisisoncost-cutting
plasticratherthanold-schoolcharm.
Problemareastolookforincludeexterior
blemishes,usuallyfoundatthebottom
ofthedoorsandlowerareasoftherear
quarterpanelsasaresultofstonechips
allowingthealuminiumstructuretoreact
withtheenvironment,formingunsightly
‘scabs’alongthebottomofthedoors.The
4.2V8isgenerallyreliable,butcansuffer
fromperishedvacuumhosesandthermostat
failure.Thecatalyticconverteronearly
modelscanalsobecomewornandfail,
oftenraisingafaultcodedescribingthecat’s
efficiencyasbeingbelowthethreshold.
BecausetheXKisaluminium,electrical
problemswerecommononearlyX150s.
Forexample,thewiringfortheradiator coolingfancanbreakdown,causingittorun
permanently,whileanearthpointbehind
theoffsidefrontwheelarchcancorrode
andbreakoff,causingtheheadlightsand
indicatorstooperateerratically.Thesolution
istoeitherhavetheearthpointweldedback
onorfindanewlocationforit.
LookpastallofthatandtheX1 50 isas
fabulousnowaswhenitwasnewalmost 15
yearsago,whichmeansitoffersremarkably
goodvalue:a4.2convertibleliketheone
featuredhereisworthbetween£10,000
(lesswithstellarmileage)and£20,000.
The420bhp4.2XKRthatarrivedin 2007
isworth£2kto£3kmore,whileeventhe
385bhp,normallyaspirated5.0V8model
(whichreplacedthe4.2in 2010 )isonly
£25k.However,withthe4.2’sfabulous
looksandconfidentperformance,why
spendmorethanyouhaveto?Thanksto:owner,SimonFordham