July 201 9\JaguarWorld|3 5DAIMLER CORSICA
TheCorsicawasaone-offconcepttomarkDaimler’s100th
anniversary,in1996.ItwasdesignedandbuiltbyJaguar’sSpecial
VehicleOperations,whichproducedJaguar’slow-volumeand
conceptcars.BasedontheX300generationofXJsaloon,sixinches
wereremovedfromthechassisandextrastrengtheningwasadded
tothesills.Thedoorsandrearwingswerelengthenedbycuttingand
joiningtwopanels.Embarrassingly,althoughitwasonlyaconcept,
therooffoldedunderahardtonneaucovertocreateasmooth,clean
line–unliketheX100thatarrivedaroundthesametime.
Initiallyenginelessduetoworriesoverthestrengthofthecar’s
structure,abrandnew4.0straight-sixwaslaterfittedin 200 7.Itisa
veryhandsomecar(youcanseeforyourselfattheJaguarDaimler
HeritageTrustcollectionatGaydon),andremainsoneofJaguar’s
greatest‘whatifs’ofthepast30years.ONETHATGOTAWAY
X100’sotherwisecleanlines,makingit
appearolderthanitis.
Asdoestheamountofveneeronthe
dashboard.Stretchingfromonesideof
thefasciatotheother,it’sathrowback
toJaguar’spastandwasalreadydated
comparedtoGermancarsofthesame
time.Yet,thereasonJaguarcontinued
tofavourthematerialwassimple.When
woodwasaddedtotheXJ-S’owninterior
intheearlyEighties,therebyreplacingthe
unpopularblackplasticandvinylofthe
earlymodels,salesoftheunpopularcar
pickedup,andJaguardidn’tseetheneed
tochangetherecipeforitsreplacement.
ItgivestheXKRaconservativeambience
that’satoddswithitsaggressiveexterior.
Thesupercharged4.0offersameaty
growlonignitionandalthoughit’squiet
comparedtothelater5.0-litreJaguars,
you’realwaysawareit’sthere.Acceleration
isinstantand,astheMercedes-Benz-
sourcedfive-speed’box(chosensince
theXK8’sZFunitcouldn’thandletheR’s
37 0bhp)changesdown,theV8deliversits
powerinonethumpingdollop.
WhileXKRswerefittedwithCATS
(computeractivetechnologysuspension)as
standard,it’snotassharpasa9 11 ,although
itislighterandedgierthantheXJS4.0.
Addstiffenedsuspensionandquicker,more
precise,steeringandtheXKRwillcutthrough
cornersmoresharplythanitspredecessor,
andwithlessbodyroll.Thereissomechassis
flex,althoughit’slargelywell-controlledand
won’truinthedrivingexperience.
Issues?Rustremainsthebiggestkiller
ofthesecars,socheckthesills,floor,
wheelarches,frontchassislegsandfront
subframe.Theplasticthermostathousing
oftheearly4.0V8swaspronetoleakingbeforebreaking,butabiggerissueis
theNikasil-linedcylinderbores,which
reactedwiththeamountofsulpherused
inunleadedpetrolduringtheNineties.
Jaguarreplacedenginesthatfailed,soany
thatweren’tareprobablyokay.The4.0was
alsoequippedwithplasticchaintensioners
thatcanfractureandfail.Withfourtiming
chains,fourtensionersandfourguides,
itisrecommendedtochangetheentire
assemblywithamodifiedversionfromthe
4.2,whichhasaluminiumguides.
Theinnerbushesforthefrontupper
wishbonesareknowntowear,resulting
inpoorridequalityanduneventyrewear.
Thehoodcanbecomeslowtooperateas
aresultofthehydraulicfluidbecoming
thickandcongealed.Thiscanbesimply
rectified,though,bychangingthefluid.If
thefluidneedstoppingupitcouldbedue
toleakinghoses.
TheXKR4.0isn’tthefastestopenJaguar
here,butitisstilloneoftheprettiest
and,consideringitslooks,heritageand
performance,isoneofthebestvalue,too.Thanksto:JuliaKirtonatNeneJag
Specialists(www.nenejags.co.uk)and
RayCoates