Selling sizzle

"Jaguar designers have evolved the 2005 XK’s shape into something so lean and taut it seems but a muscle reflex away from pouncing on its prey. Drive the newly redesigned XK and you will feel not only its race-bred power, but also its profound refinement. The 2005 XK. Born with the heart of a champion. Lives to satisfy the soul."

Sigh. If I could write like that, I’d be nailing down the big bucks on Madison Avenue. But the copywriters deserve the money they make, because the 2005 Jaguar XK8 coupe starts at $70,495, and that’s without the $2,300 adaptive cruise control or the $1,200 19-inch Atlas wheels.

Let’s face it, selling luxury cars is selling sizzle. Here’s what it says on the company Web site about the Bentley Continental GT ($149,000): "This is the fastest four-seat coupe in the world. A revolutionary Grand Tourer that will take you to a different place. A time for pure pleasure. Every mile and every minute a moment of intense exhilaration."

Who doesn’t want to be taken to a different place, or experience "a moment of intense exhilaration?" Sounds sort of like sex, doesn’t it?

I can’t resist one more of these — an ad for the Aston Martin V12 Vanquish ($234,260) that focuses on the tradition that began in 1914: "Sports cars should have a distinctive and individual character [said founders Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford], be built to the highest standards and be exhilarating to drive and own. The integrity of those values remains true today. From meticulous records and archives to personal attention from experts at the factory whenever desired or required, it is a bond unrivalled in the automotive industry."

There’s that word — "exhilarating" — again. This time it’s exhilarating to own, not just drive. And the ecstasy is augmented with the obsequious experts meeting your every whim. "Certainly, sir, in the unlikely event that your Aston Martin should require servicing, we’ll send our personal Lear Jet to airlift it to the factory at Newport Pagnell."

By offering instant cachet without the out-of-reach exclusivity of cars like the Aston Martin, Jaguar has been able to sell 33,000 XKs in the U.S. since the model debuted in 1996. Like the Bentley and Aston, it can trade on a long and glorious history that includes victories at LeMans and heroic men in string-backed gloves.

The more direct lineage is to the E-Type, which the XK8 (particularly the coupe) obviously evokes. The gorgeous, race-winning XK-120 was the first of the breed, and it was one of the first postwar sports cars commonly seen on American roads. As I waited for the bus on freezing winter mornings, a hardy soul in a tweed cap drove by daily in his XK-120 roadster (top down, of course). He sometimes tipped the cap.

The XK8 coupe is a more civilized vehicle. My friend Jeff says it’s considerably more rigid over the rough stuff than his XK ragtop. The E-Type came in a stretched "2+2" version that offered more interior space, but the XK8 coupe is a challenge for rear-seat passengers (who lack all legroom when tall drivers are at the helm).

Still, the view over that long hood is suitably imposing, and the 294-horsepower V-8 (390 horsepower in supercharged form) is good for 155 mph. I haven’t driven it that fast, but Jeff says his stays planted on the pavement at 115.

Another friend, Alfa-Romeo enthusiast Greg, complains that the XK8 feels big and heavy, more grand tourer than sports car. But a grand tourer is exactly what Jag buyers (double-income couples whose kids have fled the nest) are after. They want high-end luxury cruising, with big leather sofas, a wafting V-8 and a snick-snick six-speed gearbox. And this car delivers.