Lingenfelter LS3 Swapped Jaguar XJ Is Flat-Out Awesome

There is something about Jaguar cars that make them stand out in the crowd. From the SS models of the 1930s to the Mark II and to the bewitching E-Type, most classic Jags are alluring by nature.
Other than the forgettable X-Type, Jags made from the 1990s onwards are damn fine in their own right too, including the F-Pace luxury crossover and the dearly missed X308 generation of the XJ sedan.

Compared to the X300, the biggest change brought by the X308 was the AJ-V8 V8, the engine that replaced the AJ6 straight-6 and the thumping great Jaguar V12. Believe it or not, the AJ-V8 is still alive and kicking in the XJ, XJR, and the Aston Martin V8 Vantage. The thing is, some Jaguar owners don’t run with the pack. A case in point is Karl, the owner of this ludicrously fast X308.

Instead of restoring his car to its former glory, Karl made the unthinkable. And somehow, the unthinkable works just fine on this occasion. The first thing you need to know about this XJ8L is that the AJ-V8 has been swapped for an LS3 small-block V8.

As if the added grunt weren’t enough, the engine has been modified by the mad engineers at Lingenfelter to churn out 575 horsepower. With 488 horsepower at the wheels, sent to the Yokohama Advan rubber shoes via a gated Borg-Warner T56 manual transmission.

I’m not so sure if Karl made the right decision by swapping some interior trim with bits and bobs sourced from an Audi S4 (B5), but one thing is certain about this Jag. It’s one hell of a custom build, an utterly fascinating half-British, half-American hot rod. Based on the smiles and chuckles exhibited by Matt Farah in the driver’s seat, this multi-ethnic Jaguar sure looks fun to play with.