heads, dual overhead camshafts, four valves per cylinder, variable cam

phasing, 290 horsepower, 284 pound-feet of torque.

Let us stress the all-new part. This is a Jaguar engine, developed from

scratch, and at 441 pounds the lightest in its class. It shares nothing

with Ford's corporate 4.6-liter V8, although Ford will probably employ

the Jag V8 in future Lincolns.

The AJ-V8 is a beautiful piece of work--excellent thrust right from

idle, sophisticated power music from the exhaust--and it delivers enough

punch to propel these sophisticated cars to 60 mph in less than seven seconds.

It takes just over 17 seconds to reach 100 mph, and top speed is electronically

limited to 155 mph. That's pretty brisk for a car in this weight class--3673

pounds for the coupe, 3867 for the convertible--and the XK8's stopping

power is just as brisk.

Stimulating acceleration is only half the story. The XK8 also delivers

an inspired blend of ride and handling--decisive response combined with

limited body roll, excellent weight distribution and impressive grip from

its 17-inch Pirelli P-Zero tires.

Jaguar's chassis and suspension engineers have done exemplary work here.

The XK8 has the supple feel the luxury market demands, but it also has

the right-now reflexes that separate sporting machinery from ordinary cars.

The key to this, as always, is chassis rigidity, and the index of how

well the development team did its work is the convertible's handling performance.

Although the softtop version is a little heavier, the result of added structure

to compensate for the absence of a steel roof, its handling is indistinguishable

from the coupe.

In two days of touring, including a long, lonely stretch of mountain

road that's one of California's best sports car exercise arenas, we were

unable to provoke Jaguar's new cat into the slightest hint of unseemly

behavior.

We tried all sorts of unlikely capers--entering decreasing radius turns

(turns that tighten up) too fast, tramping on the brakes in mid-turn--until

the co-driver finally said enough was enough. Through it all, the XK8 never

missed a step.

If we could add one thing to the XK8's dynamic recipe, it would be a

manual transmission. Jaguar's J-gate automatic shifter allows the driver

to select specific gears, but like all automatics and semi-automatics,

it's just not the same. On the other hand, Jaguar product planners feel

there isn't enough demand in this market to justify the substantial investment

required for a new manual transmission, and they're probably right.

For all its back road competence, high-speed stability and high-tech

power, the XK8's number one appeal is its head-turning good looks, a factor

that figures high in the driving experience. Even in Santa Barbara, a community

that has a high percentage of automotive exotica, the XK8 stopped traffic

and elicited questions from passersby: "How much? When can I get one?

Can you pick me up after work?"

With its handsome proportions and smooth lines, this is a stirringly

beautiful car. If there's any fault to be found, it's in the color pallette,

which doesn't include a true red but does include a couple other metallic

hues--an electric blue and dark green olive--that seem inappropriate to

us.

Aside from that, though, the XK8 ranks as one of the best-looking cars

on the road. Amazing grace on wheels.

Naturally, the convertible got lots of attention in sunny Santa Barbara,

particularly when we raised or lowered the top with the car in motion.

The top--a power-operated affair (with a glass rear window) that latches

itself automatically--will go up or down at speeds up to 10 mph. Why this

is significant isn't clear to us, but it certainly attracts attention.