Summer is right around the corner. You know what that means: sunshine, warm weather, and seemingly endless possibilities. The open road beckons. And what better companion for the miles and miles of American pavement than a posh, elegant grand tourer?A big engine up front, sculpted looks, and effortless class. There might be nothing better. Not enough sunshine? You can get your GT car in a drop-top variety if you choose the right model. And this budget-friendly European tourer might just be the bargain of the century. What Makes A Grand Tourer So Grand? Maserati GT. It might be one of the most overused and ill-placed initialisms in all of car culture. You can find the letters scrawled on Mustangs, EVs, svelte little Porsche 718 Caymans, and everything in between. But what does it really mean? In short, GT stands for “gran turismo.” For those of you who don’t speak the lovely language of Italian, it translates to “grand touring.” As it sounds, a GT car is a vehicle with a grand, luxe approach to crushing road journeys. Traveling in style.Aston Martin As for what makes a good grand tourer, the formula is relatively simple: a powerful engine, a usable trunk, seductive styling, a comfortable cabin, and a compliant enough ride to sail over road imperfections with minimal issue. Sounds great, right? Well, it’s been good enough for James Bond and his endless parade of Aston Martins. But, like any wild night in Las Vegas, you have to pay to play. Depreciation At Its Best Jaguar Typically, depreciation is a bad word for car buyers. The mere mention of the term should require you to put a dollar in the swear jar, at least around new car buyers. But for hunters of used luxury cars, depreciation can be of benefit.Maserati Take a Maserati GranTurismo, for example. A brand-new GranTurismo, in all of its GT-car glory, demands a starting price of $147,495. Today, however, you can snag an M145 GranTurismo for Honda money. Not too shabby. Granted, you’ll have to financially (and mentally) prepare for the inevitable costs associated with maintenance and repair. But we’re not talking about the Maserati GT car here. No, no. We’re talking about a Jaguar with looks that could kill and a supercharged heart under its bonnet. The Jaguar XKR: A Sublimely Supercharged GT Jaguar Jaguar rolled out the X150-generation XK as a 2006 model, updating its flagship coupe and convertible from the X100. Like the previous model, it was a luxurious two-door with a 4.2-liter V8 under the hood. And like the outgoing X100, the X150 was available as a supercharged XKR model. However, unlike the previous XKR, the Eaton-supercharged engine in the second-gen cat bumped power output up to 420 horsepower from the 375-horsepower rating of the previous U.S. model’s 4.0-liter V8. The refresh wasn’t exclusive to the engine bay, either. The newer XK got an all-new look, adopting an Aston Martin-esque aesthetic courtesy of legendary car designer Ian Callum.Bring A Trailer The body is an all-aluminum affair in an attempt to keep things light and taut. That said, with the big, meaty supercharged V8 up front, a 2007 Jaguar XKR tips the scales at 3,870 pounds. While it’s not quite muscle car weight, it’s also not quite as slight as the previous generation XKR. That’s not the only way the Jag distinguishes itself from a muscle car, either.Bring a Trailer Independent suspension with a double-wishbone setup is space-age compared to the live rear axle you would have found in a Ford Mustang of the time. Better yet, Jaguar kept updating the XKR over the years, including pushing displacement up to 5.0 liters for the 2010 model. The bigger engine was good for 510 horsepower in the still-supercharged R model. And, given years to depreciate, the supercharged Jag is more than affordable – it’s a full-on GT car bargain. This Cat Has Claws Bring a Trailer As you may have surmised, the pre-facelift Jaguar XKR’s aluminum body keeps things lighter than they could have been for the big cat. Paired with the 420 horsepower and 413 pound-feet of torque on tap, the 4.2-liter XKR could blast from zero to 60 in around 4.5 seconds on its way to a 13-second quarter mile.Opt for one of the newer, post-facelift XKRs, and 60 passes by in just four ticks of the stopwatch, with the quarter mile finished in 12.3 seconds. Now, you won’t find a manual transmission in the mix. Not in the Jag. Instead, shifts are handled by a smooth-shifting ZF automatic gearbox with steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters. Better yet, rev-matching downshifts do an excellent job of making you feel like a track day veteran. And you’re going to want to play with those paddles with the windows (or the entire cloth top) down so you can listen to the bark and burble of the supercharged V8. Cheaper Than A New Toyota Jaguar Here’s where depreciation can work for you, rather than against you. When it was new, a 2007 Jaguar XKR demanded an eye-watering $86,500. Later models saw an even higher price tag. By 2015, for example, the XKR Coupe had a starting price of $98,495 – near as makes no difference six figures.Today, however, a used XKR sings a very different tune. Over the last 12 months, the average sales price of a second-generation XKR was $27,374. Savvy shoppers can get one for even less than that. For example, a 37,200-mile 2012 XKR sold earlier this year for $24,878. Not too shabby for a 510-horsepower Jaguar grand tourer. Considering a base model 2026 Toyota Camry LE starts at $30,595, the XKR looks like that much more of a unique bargain. Surprisingly Usable Interior shot of a 2008 Jaguar XKR Coupe showing dash Just because the XKR benefits from the extra thrust of its Eaton supercharger doesn’t mean the GT car gives up its grandness. Within the confines of the coupe’s interior, it’s leather-wrapped everything with more than enough space for two adults. There’s a set of rear seats, too. However, with just 24 cubic feet of rear seat space, it’s better used as overflow storage. In the coupe, the liftback hatch reveals 10.6 cubic feet of storage, more than enough for a weekend on the road without depositing extra bags on the teeny-tiny back seats. The cabriolet cuts down on trunk space, dropping volume to around 7.1 cubic feet. So, Should You Buy One? Jaguar Before you list one of your kidneys for sale to buy a well-kept X150 Jaguar XKR, there are a few things you should keep in mind. For starters, even the newest models are over 10 years old. That means you’re stepping into the world of an aging luxury car. Make sure you budget for repairs and keep up with maintenance religiously. What’s more, a proper, independent pre-purchase inspection is a must before buying an older luxury car like an XKR. That said, a solid XKR could be your ticket to supercharged V8 GT car goodness.Sources: Jaguar, Classic.com, Edmunds, KBB
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