Minneapolis Street Sighting: Jaguar XKR Portfolio

I usually make exceptions for newer cars-- usually. But the Jaguar XK has always been one of my favorite coupes. Introduced in 1996, the original XK was a sudden departure from the traditional Jaguar styling that purists came to love. Reaction to the 1996 car was either love it or hate it. I think I was in the small minority of "love it", but like all mid-1990s designs, the original XK got rather dated quite quicklt. If you look at even the newest first-generation cars, there's no hiding its age.
Hot on the success of its XK, Jaguar turned the tables for car design again, in 2005 when the Ian Callum designed "X150" took stage the Frankfurt motor show. Since its arrival on the grand-tourer scene, there have been plenty of special editions, XKR and otherwise. Pictured here is the rather limited (and quite expensive) Portfolio edition.
I have always loved this body style; to me, it looks like a "budget" Aston Martin--and it is. It has a V8, it's RWD, it's British, and it makes a wonderful--and I do mean wonderful exhaust note. Sounding a like awesome mixture of a something from hell, combined the faint whiff of supercharger, this thing really do mean business. But that's not the point; while these big cats are quite fast, they look... stunning in a way no other modern GT car has-- or ever will. From the front, there's that traditional E-Type oval front grille, and as one makes his or her way down the side, the Jaguar heritage is quite obvious. More than a faithful rendition of classic E-Type proportions, the Jaguar XK is modern automotive art at its most accessible point.
While the XKR is obviously the driving--and Jaguar-- connoisseur, lesser versions can be had for almost pennies on the dollar. Well, not quite. They're still above $30,000, but not very much. A quick browse of craigslist and autotrader revealed that, yes, the base cars have come down a few notches since their introduction almost seven years ago--and unlike most cars of that age, the XKs (this generation anyway) don't date all that fast. You'll still have a gorgeous car.. but you won't have paid Aston Martin money for it. Yet.
I love these things, and I will do so for quite some time. There is no other two door out there that represents modern British GT-cars quite like this--well maybe the Aston Martin DBS, but that's another $125,000 over even a fully loaded XKR-S. I say if you want the pinnacle of modern British GT cars, do yourself a favor and buy an XK. You won't regret it. Or, I won't anyway.