AS THE decades wore on and the XJ-S itself aged to the point where even the extensive re-engineering which saw it become the XJS couldn’t stave off the inevitable, and replacement was looming.
As the first all-new model to be released under Ford ownership, the original X100-generation XK8 was an impressive statement of intent fired across the bows of all the industry pundits who had forecast an immediate downturn in product in the pursuit of volume.
Its success was reflected in a near decade-long lifespan, although as the years passed the age of the underlying design began to show – notably the hefty kerb weight which came as an unavoidable penalty of inheriting the XJ-S platform.
Its replacement couldn’t have been more different and illustrated Ford’s confidence in its Coventry subsidiary.
