It is hard to write about the XK8/R without contextualising the period in which this project was born. In 1990 Ford acquired Jaguar, instilling doubt in Great Britain about the “Yankee” future of the marque, but also providing plenty of money to manage increasingly ambitious projects without necessarily interfering with the Coventry company’s philosophy. Regardless of the diffident diehard fans and under the leadership of Nick Scheele (from 1992 to 1999), the XK8 was introduced with project code X100 at the 1996 Geneva Motor Show. The name alone made it clear that the traditional English six cylinders were about to be replaced, which also caused scandalised reactions. The design, influenced by some of Keith Helfet’s prototypes, was made by Fergus Pollock (under the supervision of Design Director Geoff Lawson). The new XK8 carried the legacy of the illustrious E-Type and the Hypercar XJ220, and was extraordinarily balanced between elegance and sportiness.
Conspicuous but not loud, bold without being tasteless, the new coupé immediately won the heart of aficionados, who acknowledged it as the worthy heir of a dynasty started fifty years before with the XK120.

In 1997 the convertible was presented and, a year later, the XKR in both body type variants. This latest model was the top of the range, and was equipped with a 4 L supercharged and intercooled V8 for a maximum power output of 363 hp. A few classy aesthetic details distinguished it from the naturally aspirated version, such as the mesh grille, the exclusive rims, the two characteristic air inlets in the bonnet, and the emblem with red background and the “Supercharged” lettering.
In Italy, the Jaguar XKR Convertible appeared in Quattroruote in 1998, priced at 174,400,000 liras. After one restyling in 2002, the X100 ended its career in 2006 with about 13,800 R convertibles produced.