2004 Jaguar XJR - Gastrogod!

I don't have time to explain, but I had to share this.

How can you drop this here and not explain?

Subbed for awesome name 

I have the jealousies, even before taking it to the challenge. Assuming the lack of time has to do with the logistics of acquisition...

Tony Sestito said:

How can you drop this here and not explain?

 

 

I may or may not know something  about (and perhaps even enabled the purchase of)  this Jaaaag ....

In reply to Indy-Guy :

Just read through all of that.

WOW.

What a freakin' deal!!!!

Yes, we are all pretty jealous, that was a great deal!

Sounds like we're in a for a good old fashioned JAG OFF this October!

I request a huge smokey burn-out!  I saw Brian do it in his so now its up to you!

In reply to wawazat :

Awesome!   Thanks for the evidence!

Ok, time for an explanation of the Gastrogod. 

Indy-Guy linked the relevant thread. He found the car, shared it, and provided encouragement. I went to see the car, was blown away by it and bought it at my first opportunity. Even before it was technically mine, plans for gastropod glory were afoot. Since I picked the car up, they have only solidified. 

So, what is the car? It is a 2004 Jaguar XJR. It is the first year of the X350 generation. It had a supercharged V8 and looked much like the previous generation (not a bad thing), but they switched to an all aluminum body and chassis. Jaguar asked $83k 2004 dollars for this car, and I have to say it seems like it would be entirely worth that money. 

I've had almost a week to get acquainted with the car and it is pure insanity. Everything is beautiful and tastefully done. Separate seat heater controls and cigarette lighters for the REAR passengers! Radar cruise control that WORKS, in a car from TWO THOUSAND FOUR!!!

But, the THING, the single killer feature of this car.... 

Torque. And how much of it you get in the first tiny bit of throttle travel. This car feels like a total beast as soon as you set off from a stoplight. In short, I think this car has the potential to be a GastroGOD! I absolutely adore it and I am supremely happy about my purchase.

Oh, yeah, the purchase. $1000 for the wheels and tires (fair market price), and $1000 for the rest of the car (probably the best money I have ever spent). The car wasn't represented as being perfect and isn't, but the issues seem incredibly minor so far. There's a vibration at highway speeds, a non-functioning coolant level sensor and a dented fender. All of these things seem fixable within a challenge budget.

Oh, yeah, the challenge! I will be entering this car in the gastropod class for sure. I need to find wheels and tires, I may acquire a spare diff to weld up. Otherwise, I think I'm going to leave it alone and go with a Payne Stewart meets Shooter McGavin theme. Country club sticker in the window, "I'd rather be golfing" license plate frame, and a couple golf bags in the trunk. Plus knickers for me. How often do I have an excuse to wear those?

Now, for you guys. Firstly, while I am likely going to be entering as a single man team, I already couldn't have done this without you. So far, Indy-Guy found the car, cmcgregor let me change the oil in his driveway, George gave me a phenomenal deal on a car he took extremely good care of and lots of you have cheered me on. Thanks!

 I definitely got a great deal and congratulations are welcome, but I would love some more help. Do you know of any 5x108 wheels that would do a good job of replacing the current wheels for cheap? Do you have any other ideas to raise my concours score without ruining what is ultimately a very nice street car? Would a welded diff help or hurt my autocross time? Are Kumho Ecsta PS91's the way to go for a gastropod entry you actually plan on using?

Fun fact: The car leveled itself while I was changing the oil. This thing is so far above my pay grade in so many ways!

The brakes look huge, what is the smallest diameter wheel that will clear? I have a set of badly curbed FoST 18's (5x108) that need TLC and tires. Shipping to TX may be cost prohibitive.

In reply to gumby :

The brakes are definitely huge. I believe 18's were available from the factory, but I don't know if I can go smaller than that. I did know that FoST/FoRS wheels are 5x108, but I think I want to look for wheels that are a bit wider. More like other Jaguar's, big Volvo's and new Lincoln's.

Also, I live in Tampa, FL. I've updated my profile to reflect that.

Aside from the Fords and Volvos, the only other potential wheel candidate showing up is the Porsche Boxster. I didn't see a hub bore diameter though.

There were some mustang cobra replicas with that hole pattern that fit the lincoln and T-birds.  Cheap cuz they don't fit a mustang.  Will 17 x 9 fit over those brakes?

From a concourse standppint, you need a couple of things. 

1. Clean. And I mean cleeeeeeeean. Underhood, everything. 

2. Something that will make the story interesting from a magazine standpoint. "I bought well" isn't interesting. Think big and present it well. Practice your presentation. Speak clearly. Use props. 

3. You're going to have E36 M3 stuck all over the car just from the required decal package, so you might as well come up with a race livery to make it photograph well. Remember, you don't have much (if any) chance to score well on things like innovation, so you have to do the best you can in other areas. 

Looks like a great buy and a fun toy.

A possible lead on wheels - hopefully the link will work. NMNA

Looks like a suburb of Cleveland. Maybe a Cleveland local could grab them and bring them to the Challenge

Golf bags in the trunk, to hide the nitrous bottles.  Smart....

white_fly said:

Fun fact: The car leveled itself while I was changing the oil. This thing is so far above my pay grade in so many ways!

That's Berkeleying hilarious!!! 

Boxster wheels wouldn't work. They're 5x130.

Those wheels on Facebook would actually be perfect. Anybody coming to the challenge from Ohio?

In reply to mazdeuce - Seth :

So, what I hear you saying is I actually do need to do a plastidip racing livery. Group 44 or Silk Cut?

I vote silk cut. 

I also got to take this thing for a quick spin and am now really regretting not buying it myself. 

I vote silk cut (and you could do that with a few pieces of vinyl). 

In case others don't know the performance specs of the XJR, here is from Car and Driver on their long term 2004 XJR:

We took delivery of the XJR in October 2003, and within two weeks, we had it out at the test track, ripping off a 0-to-60 run of 4.8 seconds and a quarter-mile time of 13.4 at 105 mph. The big cat could stop as well as it could go, needing only 162 feet to rein in a 70-mph head of steam. On the skidpad, the Jag's 255/40R-19 Pirellis clawed for 0.85 g of grip, and that performance improved to 0.86 g 10 months later when the XJR had 40,000 miles on the odometer. Back at the track, the XJR had matured into a friskier cat. The sprint to 60 now took just 4.7 seconds and the quarter-mile 13.2 at 107. More impressive were the Jag's numbers from 0 to 100 and 0 to 130. New, the XJR reached the century mark in 12.2 seconds and 130 mph in 23.6 seconds; after 40,000 miles, the times were 11.3 ticks and 20.7, respectively. The only area where the XJR's performance had diminished was in braking: After 40,000 miles, it now took, at 168 feet, an extra six feet to stop from 70 mph.

That's 0-60 in 4.7, 1/4 in 13.2. 0.86 G on the skidpad and 162 ft to stop from 70. 

For reference, 2004 base corvette (I found some stats from a 2001):

0-60 in 4.8, 1/4 in 13.2. 0.93 on the skidpad 160 ft to stop from 70.