This Jaguar S-Type R auction result made me stop and think.
Normally, a 2005 saloon isn’t necessarily the sort of car I’d rush over to film at a classic auction.
But this isn’t an ordinary S-Type.
This is the R.
A supercharged 4.2-litre V8 performance saloon with 400bhp, rear-wheel drive and enough pace to embarrass some genuinely serious machinery.
So perhaps the better question isn’t whether the S-Type R is a future classic.
Maybe it’s whether we’re already there.
I actually say that at the start of the reel.
The S-Type R sits in a funny age bracket.
It’s old enough to feel from another era, but still modern enough that plenty of people simply see it as a used Jaguar.
That makes cars like this interesting.
There’s always a point where an old performance car stops being merely depreciated transport and starts becoming something enthusiasts deliberately seek out.
Has the S-Type R reached that point?
I think it is getting very close.
Jaguar launched the modern S-Type in 1999.
The styling deliberately referenced the original S-Type of the 1960s, particularly around the rounded headlights, grille and general proportions.
Some people loved that retro influence.
Others thought Jaguar had looked backwards when it should have been moving forwards.
More than 25 years later, the styling makes much more sense to me.
It is unmistakably Jaguar.
There is no danger of confusing it with anything else.
And the R version added enough aggression to make the shape work particularly well.
The S-Type R arrived as the high-performance flagship of the range.
Jaguar’s 4.2-litre AJ-V8 gained an Eaton supercharger, lifting output to around 400bhp with huge torque available low down.
That power went through a six-speed ZF automatic gearbox to the rear wheels.
Jaguar quoted 0-60mph in around 5.3 seconds, with top speed electronically limited to 155mph.
Those are still serious figures.
Back in the early 2000s, they were properly quick.
Jaguar did more than simply bolt a supercharger onto an S-Type and add an R badge.
The S-Type R also received uprated suspension, larger brakes and distinctive styling details.
Jaguar’s CATS adaptive suspension system helped balance ride comfort with body control.
Large Brembo brakes dealt with the performance.
The R also gained its own 18-inch wheels, mesh grille and more purposeful exterior treatment.
The result was a car designed to compete with high-performance executive saloons rather than simply provide traditional Jaguar luxury.
There is something appealing about the way the S-Type R delivers its performance.
It isn’t a stripped-out sports saloon.
It still has leather.
Wood.
Heated seats.
Cruise control.
Proper refinement.
Then you press the throttle and the character changes completely.
That combination has always been a Jaguar strength.
Quiet and civilised when you want it.
Very fast when you don’t.
The example at Anglia Car Auctions had 86,615 miles on the odometer.
Its service book recorded nine services up to 72,000 miles in 2016.
It had also recently been recommissioned after spending a few years off the road.
The vendor told ACA that it drove very well and sounded great.
And judging by the specification, the soundtrack was probably one of the main attractions.
There had also been a useful amount of recent expenditure.
According to Anglia Car Auctions, work included:
That matters on a car like this.
Buying a cheap performance Jaguar is one thing.
Keeping one properly maintained is another.
Recent work doesn’t remove all risk, but it certainly makes the proposition more appealing.
The car came with an MoT running until 22 July 2027.
That gave the new owner a decent amount of immediate usability.
ACA also noted that the car fell into the lower tax bracket despite being a facelift model.
It was equipped with a performance exhaust, parking sensors and original 18-inch alloys.
Inside were black leather seats with heating and memory functions, along with cruise control and an aftermarket Arden gearknob.
The air conditioning reportedly worked, although it was blowing cool rather than ice cold.
This is the bit that fascinates me.
Look at what you’re getting.
A 400bhp supercharged V8 Jaguar.
Rear-wheel drive.
Six-speed automatic.
Brembo brakes.
Leather interior.
Serious performance.
And yet S-Type Rs can still be bought for money that barely gets you into some much slower 1980s and 1990s classics.
Part of that is age.
Part of it is running costs.
Part of it is fear.
Big Jaguars have always had a reputation for becoming expensive when maintenance has been neglected.
But that is exactly why good ones may eventually separate themselves from tired ones.
Performance cars often pass through a dangerous phase.
They start expensive.
Then depreciation takes hold.
Eventually they become cheap enough for people to buy who can afford the purchase price but not necessarily the maintenance.
That is when cars start disappearing.
Servicing gets deferred.
Cheap tyres go on.
Warning lights get ignored.
And good examples become harder to find.
The S-Type R has spent years in that territory.
That may be precisely why clean, maintained cars are starting to feel more interesting now.
When the S-Type R was new, it sat in a very serious part of the market.
BMW had the M5.
Mercedes-Benz had increasingly powerful AMG saloons.
Audi had fast quattro models.
Jaguar needed something that could compete with that sort of machinery while still feeling unmistakably British.
The S-Type R was its answer.
It may not have acquired the same cult status as an M5, but that does not make the engineering any less impressive.
And the relative lack of hype may actually be part of the attraction today.
This is where opinions get interesting.
Some people still think of a classic car as something with chrome bumpers, carburettors and no computers.
Others are perfectly happy calling 1990s and early-2000s performance cars classics.
Personally, I think age alone is the wrong test.
A car becomes interesting because of what it represents.
Because of the engineering.
Because of the way it drives.
Because of scarcity.
Because people start deliberately preserving good examples rather than simply using them up.
By those measures, the S-Type R has a pretty strong case.
Anglia Car Auctions estimated this example at:
£5,000 to £7,000.
That sounded like a lot of car for the money.
But there is always a difference between looking attractive on paper and actually finding bidders willing to put money down.
Then the auction started.
This is exactly why I decided to film it.
I wanted to know whether bidders now see the S-Type R differently.
Is it still just an old Jaguar?
Or are people starting to recognise what these actually are?
Watch the auction below and decide for yourself:
The hammer eventually fell at:
£6,000.
With Anglia Car Auctions’ buyer’s premium added, the final total was:
£6,480.
Right in the middle of the £5,000 to £7,000 guide.
So no bidding frenzy.
No wild result.
Just a 400bhp supercharged Jaguar changing hands for less than £6,500 all in.
That still feels slightly ridiculous.
Strip away the badge and the age for a moment.
Imagine somebody offered you:
For £6,480.
You would probably ask what was wrong with it.
That is why the S-Type R is so interesting right now.
The performance is already classic-car interesting.
The price still isn’t.
This needs saying.
A £6,000 S-Type R is not a £6,000 Fiesta.
The purchase price may be accessible.
The running costs are still those of a powerful luxury performance car.
Fuel.
Tyres.
Brakes.
Suspension.
Cooling systems.
Supercharger-related components.
General age-related maintenance.
All of that matters.
Anyone buying one purely because it looks cheap could get a rude awakening.
But buy a good one with proper history and maintain it correctly?
That is a different proposition.
I think this is where the debate gets interesting.
The S-Type R is now more than 20 years old.
It represents an era of Jaguar when big supercharged V8s were central to the brand’s performance identity.
Cars like this are not coming back.
Manufacturers are heading in a very different direction now.
That alone makes the R increasingly interesting.
And as good examples disappear, the survivors become more important.
That is probably my biggest takeaway.
At the start of the reel, I say this isn’t usually the sort of car I’d film.
Maybe that’s been a mistake.
Classic-car interest does not suddenly begin when a car turns 40.
Sometimes you can see the transition happening.
The cars people dismissed as ordinary used machinery start attracting enthusiasts.
The best examples stop getting broken.
Prices stabilise.
People begin hunting for specific colours and specifications.
And suddenly everybody realises the cheap ones have gone.
The S-Type R feels like it could be somewhere on that journey now.
£6,000 hammer.
£6,480 including premium.
For a 2005 Jaguar S-Type R with a 400bhp supercharged V8.
Would you call that good value?
And more importantly:
Would you call the S-Type R a classic yet?
Future classic?
Modern classic?
Or already properly there?
I suspect the answer depends partly on how old you are.
But I also suspect we’re going to be talking about cars like this a lot more over the next few years.
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