The XK-S/XKR-S Final Editions…..and the importance of chassis numbers.

Over the last few years or so I’ve bought and sold many of the fine automobile that is the Jaguar XK8 and it’s supercharged sibling. As you can see from the cars sold and now wanted many of those were the XK-S and XKR-S Final Edition.

The specification of these cars is well known due to their well documented hard cover brochure, a copy of which I have, and the last car built, not just the last ‘S’ but the last ever X100 model XK, is in the Jaguar Daimler museum at Gaydon.

What doesn’t seem to be as well known is the amount of these cars built. According to the Jaguar Daimler Trust website the XK8 Final Edition started at chassis number A45289. With the last car being chassis number A48684 that makes 3395 cars built.

But….I have a basic build sheet print out for more than one car within that chassis number range which are definately not XK-S or XKR-S cars. This maybe the reason for cars appearing on the Autotrader website advertised as XK8 Final Editions when they’re very obviously not. Autotrader automatically designates the car as a ‘S’.

Why the importance of chassis numbers? Values are related to special editions and always have been. Many of the editions i.e. the XKR Silverstone, XKR 100, XKR 400 and XKR Carbon had a definate build number which was mentioned at launch and in relevant brochures at the time.

No specific numbers were mentioned in relation to the XK8 Final Edition. Fortunately for us enthusiasts there would seem to be more XK8 Final Editions than, maybe, we think were built.

Of course this has all happened before. Espcially when it comes to very special E-Types!