2002 Jaguar XK8 Convertible Photos, engines & full specs

While the XK8 Coupe was praised for its elegance and beauty, the convertible added more flavor to the British GT, and despite its higher price, it sold in way higher numbers than its fixed-roof sibling.

Usually, convertibles were more difficult to sell than their coupe siblings, but in the XK8’s situation, it was the exact opposite. The XK8 Convertible sold in twice the numbers of its fixed-roof sibling. That happened because people had bought it for driving pleasure, not thrashing the car around corners. But that didn’t mean that the open-top version couldn’t perform well on the street. After all, it had a new, improved V8 under its hood, a better gearbox, and upgraded suspension settings. The car was revealed in 2002 alongside its coupe sibling.

Ian Callum was still leading Jaguar’s styling department. He was also the man who penned the original version and couldn’t do too much to make it look better. Or, to be more precise, didn’t have to. Still, at the front, there was a slightly different styling for the lower bumper, which featured the same oval-shaped grille crossed by a chromed horizontal trim and a pair of flatter vertical ones. Jaguar also installed new, clear-lenses headlights, which drastically modernized the XK8’s look.

From its profile, the grand tourer boasted a cleaner design. It featured new side sills with flatter outer areas instead of the rounded ones used for the 1996 model year. Furthermore, Jaguar offered new options for the wheels, with up to 18 inches in diameter, and beefier rear tires. The body-colored door mirrors and handles made the car’s design look streamlined. Unlike other automakers who preferred to provide their convertibles with contrasting colors for the A-pillars, Jaguar painted them in the same shade as the rest of the bodywork. Out back, the new, clear taillights incorporated the fog lamps, which Jaguar removed from the lower part of the bumper. Instead, the car manufacturer installed parking lights on the outer corners.

Inside, the recessed dials on the wooden-covered dashboard were emphasized by silver encirclements. While the coupe featured seats with adjustable headrests, the convertible still sported a pair of seats with tall seatbacks. The automaker had chosen this solution so the customers could have their necks protected against the draft. Between the occupants, the XK8 Convertible featured a wide center console that housed the armrest with a storage area underneath it and the J-shaped gear selector of the automatic transmission. In the back, the bench seat profiled for two still didn’t provide too much legroom, while behind it was the storage area for the power-operated retractable canvas top.

Under the hood, Jaguar installed a newly developed 4.2-liter powerplant that sent its power to the rear wheels via a six-speed automatic instead of a five-speed one like the non-facelifted version of the XK8.