Back in the early 2000s, Jaguar tried to take the fight to the Mercedes E55 AMG and BMW M5 by making an R version of their retro-styled S-Type Sedan. The S-Type R boasted supercharged V8 power, but it was more on par with the previous generation of Germany’s finest sports sedans when it released. As a result of that and other factors, in the end it was never remembered as fondly as its competition, if at all.
Now, one of these S-Type Rs has come up for sale, but it’s no ordinary R. Rather, it’s been modified. It’s not often you see these cars to begin with, let alone ones with such low mileage as this one that’s up for sale on Cars & Bids. According to the listing, it has just 10,600 miles (17,059 km) on its odometer despite it being nearly 20 years old.
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The exterior is painted a dark grey hue called Quartz, which is offset by silver accents around the windows and headlights. A blacked-out grille, black vinyl stripes, and black and silver 19-inch Forged Performance wheels also add to the color scheme. Other visual modifications include an aftermarket body kit and a vented hood as well as tinted side markers, turn signal repeaters, and taillights. The car also sits on Tein coilovers and features aftermarket exhaust tips. Inside, everything’s stock for the most part, save for maybe the checkerboard floor mats. Nevertheless, the two-tone grey and black upholstery pairs with the similarly colored exterior.
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As mentioned before, under the hood of this Jag is a 4.2-liter supercharged V8 sending 390 hp (395 PS / 291 kW) and 408 lb-ft (553 Nm) of torque to the rear wheels via a 6-speed automatic transmission. That’s certainly a good amount of power to play with, but it just came at the wrong time. Upon this car’s release for 2003, the newly released E55 AMG and M5 of the time were making nearly 100 horsepower more, but if they had just offered the S-Type R just a few years earlier for the previous generations of those cars, they would have been competing with much more similar power figures.