The green 'Stang yours, too?
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Long story short, the normally aspirated XK8 is just as well all around then the XKR(and I have owned both at same time)
Aside from the look of the Louvers, I don’t find a discerning difference when driving both day to day. Some may tell you it’s not true; but they likely didn’t daily drive both. Take it from me, get early generation xk8 and you will be over the moon happy.
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Thanks for your guidance. As for your car, I am really impressed! For the right price, I’d part with my vanity tag: GUD KITY … or at least license it to use in whatever state you live in.
And please give your cat a scratch behind the ears for me. I had to quit keeping cats a few years back when I developed horrid allergies. I miss them mightily.
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Don’t know if it is the same radio as the one you mention, but the 2009 XF SC we used to own had a 6 cd capability but all loaded through the one slot in the radio head. There was no changer in the boot such as on the VDP we had or our XJS
Try for one of the collector edition XKR 100’s or Portfillio’s or special editions, they will hold their value longer and have been babied more… look in around Naples FLA good selection down ther, Siverstone edition is also a good one but not an xkr. XKR’s are more expensive but worth it
Thanks, sir. I’ve seen a few of them during my search and will pay more attention.
I’m not a writer; I’ve never published anything, but I have been fantasizing about recreating the famous Bentley race against the Blue Train in North America and publishing the account in a car mag. Use a classic car and race one of the name trains still running. I believe Amtrack still runs trains such as The Twentieth Century Limited and the California Zephyr, while Via Rail still runs the Canadian. Google research indicates the Canadian takes 19 hrs. to go from Vancouver to Jasper, while you can drive it in 9.
Need a co-pilot??? 
Now that would be extremely cool … and against Amtrak extremely easy! There’s a train out of DC that goes to New Orleans, the Southern Crescent I think it is, one to Atlanta or Miami I think, one to Chicago and I know there’s one from DC up to Montreal through Burlington, VT. I suspect it would be pointless to race the auto-train as it’s pretty much green-lighted, so to speak, to make an overnight run into central Florida. But, I think you could make a pretty good article out of a great a train race piece. I’d love to see one, so get started.
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If you’re referring to flying, I was starting to regain currency as the virus stuff hit. I plan to wait to resume dual until our restrictions are fully lifted here in northern Virginia. I’m also scrambling to get all my medical stuff lined up because I’m about 9 months into a year of a Special Issuance medical certificate and have to get all my tests redone in early August to stand any chance of the AME getting my pa paperwork in to Oaklahoma City in time to make the renewal deadline. So, yeah, once I’m current, but you have to buy the fuel to get me out to Colorado! Not sure you want to eat that bill. Of course, I could rent one of the diesel DA-20s or DA-40s. 3-4 gallons an hour of Jet-A isn’t a bad fuel flow!
First, need to win the lottery; next acquire a MK 2; next a blonde, then I can find another couple. The fantasy, as it now stands, has us attending the All British Field Meet in Vancouver, then the guys putting the girls on the train and racing it to Jasper. To be fair, I would take the Trans Canada Highway to Kamloops (it more closely follows the railroad) rather than taking highway 5. The only problem is time for sleep on the way. The train leaves at 5 in the afternoon, to be fair, we would too; so driving into Jasper in the small hours of the night is to be avoided. We could get 8 hours sleep in a town along the way and still beat them.
A night in Jasper, a round of golf in the morning and drive back to Calgary through Jasper and Banff National Parks. Dinner in Banff would cap it off.
I did the medical and wrote the PSTAR, so my license is current. Just have to get the dual hours in so that someone will rent to me.
I wuz thinkin’ more along the lines of flying right seat in the car…
It’s been 30 years since I was current. I went out back on my birthday and shot 6 landings, didn’t break anything. But, I need practice with these Garmin GPS/radio things to be comfortable. And, I am in the special airspace around Washington, D.C., which requires its own sign off (which I have) but has its own special procedures as well. I need a bit of solo practice at entering and exiting the airspace and talking with Potomac Departure and Approach. The place I use is right under the routes into IAD, which means you have to stay low and keep your eyes peeled.
Grahame/Paul: I totally misunderstood the co-pilot reference. Mea Culpa. I was thinking, Grahame, that you should bring two additional drivers so you could just drive straight through like the Cannonball Baker runs across the US. Sleep? We don’t need no stinkin’ sleep!
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Paul, that just dawned on me (I’m a little slow), and I posted a mea culpa.
It’s OK: I know you trained with these guys…
I don’t need to arrive at 02:00 in Jasper and sleep in the Jasper station parking lot (did that in Victoria once when I arrived on a long weekend without a booking). The little ladies (in my fantasy) will be dining in the dining car, sleeping in their compartments and watching the mountains roll by in the dome car. It’s not necessary to give them all the luxury. There is enough time in the raw numbers for 8 hours of shut eye and breakfast and still beat them. The race is in dealing with the unexpected challenges and delays. It’s a dream for now.
So Eliot, has there been any progress on the acquisition front? When I had my XK8, I enjoyed the convertible top and got a lot of use out of it. That said, I really like the look of the coupe and would actively consider one, if I was shopping for another XK8. When I had my XJ40, X300 and now my X Type, the back seat was almost never used. Did have two sets of golf clubs in the trunks many times.