5k: Cheap Cat: 2003 Jaguar S-Type R
Just 11 years ago, the car you’re looking at sold for ten times the
price it’s selling for today. Someone with a slide rule can measure the
depreciation curve of this Jag, which had a base price of $63,000 in
2003. The rest of us can just look at this 2003 Jaguar S-Type R for $6,900 in Pompano Beach, FL and call it a good deal. Words by DT contributor slowcarSLOW-MPGlol.
This generation of S-type could be had with an engine shared with the
Ford Taurus, or one shared (loosely) with the Aston Martin V8 Vantage.
Keep that factoid in your back pocket for future Six Degrees of
Automotive Separation games. The one powering this cat is a supercharged
version of the 4.2L V8, good for 390 horsepower and 399 lb-ft of torque
at a low 3,500 RPM.
Depreciated European super sedans are tricky. You may not notice the
11-year-old touch-screen navigation (new for 2003) when you’re hitting
60 in the mid 5s. But you probably will notice any advertisement for
brake pads, as this brake-based differential eats pads like an
Wisconsinite eats cheese curds.
It’s fortunate to have so many pictures, because the rest of the ad could fit in a tweet. Ample pictures of this car show a well-kept black leather interior complete with blonde wood veneer. Really, the “tarted-up Ford” interior and art deco fascia may be enough to bring prices of these performance Jags down so low, even for one with just 70,000 miles. But the torque curve is flat, the soundtrack of the supercharged and twin-intercooled 90° 4.2l (up from the 2002’s 4.0) is addictive, and the slushbox is at least a ZF six-speed. Do you really want to pass up a 400 hp Jaguar, hood ornament and all, for less than the price of a used Caliber SRT-4?
See a blown Jag for less? Email us at tips@dailyturismo.com
slowcarSLOW-MPGlol knows how many licks it takes to reach the center
of a Tootsie Pop, and he’s not telling. As someone with a B+ blood type,
he considers himself an optimist. Unless it has structural rust.
I haven't driven one of these but I have driven the X308 XJR with the 370 hp 4.0 (which can also be had for nearly nothing). They're bonkers fast despite the 42 million pounds of car you're hauling around. A near perfect freeway cruiser that car.
Engine aside these appeal to me because it's smaller than an aircraft carrier and they come with the nice calipers where as they're a rare option on the XJR's. I can't get over the ford interior though, its just awful.
I remember a road & track magazine a couple years ago that had the Saleen as cover story. Just for fun I calculated that for the price of the Saleen you could buy ALL the other cars featured in the magazine: a comparison of this jaguar, the m5, a audi, the AMG MB; a Subaru WRX and a Mitsubishi EVO; and the sporty Neon…
Assuming this beast doesn't have a horrible history, and despite the likelihood that it would be a maintenance nightmare, I could actually envision buying this. Sure, the S Type was a bit controversial in the design department, and the interior isn't quite up to what a Jag should be, but for 400HP and $6900, I think I can get over all that.