It must have been the topic of many discussions and therefore I apologise for bringing it up again but I return to the UK later this year and fancy becoming an owner of an XK. I`m reading whatever I can and understand the policy of "the best you can afford". It would also seem that the 4.2 unit comes out in favour of the 4.0, however in all this reading there appears no clear statement of preference for either the XK8 or XKR at this 4.2 level. Hope I make myself clear but my thoughts are if its the best you can afford on average the XK8 appears generally cheaper therefore in terms of age and mileage it may be better to look for an 8 but have I missed something?

DD Really appreciate your comment and I suppose you are right but its the difference between the 8 and R that I question when they are both driven by the same engine and gearbox. Is it simply that there are more bells and whistles on the R?

....and, if it is a consideration, a bigger thirst too. Can I also suggest that, in this country's driving conditions, the performance of a standard 4.2 XK8 might well be more than enough for most folk and in most traffic situations.That considered, I feel that the geatest value of the R is in its posing potential. Cheers, apax.

Guess like all things it depends on spec. One of my friends has an XKR which was originally a former Jag Directors car and it has god knows what bells and whistles on it including allegedly a heated steering wheel. No idea how much it cost him but know his previous XKR was about £50K cash after he convinced a salesman that the car would be costing said salesman money stuck in the showroom at about 1 year old (T reg)