Jaguar XJR X308

The story

The X308 XJR gives very little away: a body-colored grille with a mesh insert, slightly larger tailpipes and a badge on the trunk lid. Underneath, the 4.0-liter AJ-V8 is fed by an Eaton supercharger and makes 370 hp and 387 lb-ft, sent through a Mercedes-Benz 5-speed automatic. The R in the name came from Jaguar's XJR sports-prototype racers, which won Le Mans in 1988 and 1990, and the sedan did its best to deserve it. At a damp Castle Combe handling test in December 1997, it reportedly finished 9th of 20 performance cars, ahead of a Porsche Boxster and a Lotus Elise.

It has flaws, and they are honest ones. Pushed hard, the body pitches and rolls, the car needs more road to stop than its German rivals, the rear seat is tight, and early engines have known weaknesses in their timing-chain tensioners and Nikasil-lined cylinders. Car and Driver ranked it 3rd of 3 against the BMW M5 and the E55 in 2000, yet it was the cheapest of the trio and beat the Mercedes to 60 mph. It asks only that the driver be smooth, and the supercharger's whine is the reward.