The coupe was unveiled last month at the Geneva Show. Both cars will go on sale in the UK next October. The XK8 marks the beginning of a new era in Jaguar sports car history and the end of the line for the XJS. The XJS, Jaguar's best-selling sports car ever, (about 112,000 will have been sold) and its longest in production (21 years), ceases production this month.

The XK8 will be powered by an all-new V8 engine designed and produced in-house. The engine is coupled to Jaguar's first five speed automatic transmission. The new soft-top features one-button operation, automatic latching and a heated glass rear window. Jaguar projects world-wide sales of 12,000 XK8s next year with 60% going to America.