The Miami Herald's view

Mike Dale, head of Jaguar’s U.S. sales division, is honest: “In the 1980s and into the early 1990s, we did a really awful job, and our sales reflected it. It’s astounding to me sometimes that we had as many customers as we did stick by us.”

Dale says all of this with a laugh — a rueful laugh, perhaps, but a laugh nonetheless.

In the dark days of the early 1990s, when U.S. sales plummeted to fewer than 10,000 units because of recurring problems with vehicle quality, humor was probably in short supply at Jaguar.

But last week, on a sunny, breezy morning at Homestead Motorsports Complex, Dale and a cadre of Jaguar people were all smiles and chuckles. The car that they hope will once again put a patina of style, performance and quality back on the leaping cat automotive emblem has finally arrived.

Spiritual successor

Called the XK8, Jaguar’s new sports car is the spiritual successor to the famed XKE, which went out of production more than 22 years ago. Sleek and fast in ways that Jaguar fans haven’t seen in decades, the XK8 is more than just another car.

It is the litmus test of whether a small, specialty car builder with a rich history can retain its identity as a division within the global reaches of Ford. It also is a test of whether there are people in Britain — birthplace of the sports car — who can still build an exciting vehicle and meet the rigorous demands of buyers who expect cars that cost more than $60,000 to be flawless.

Does it pass?

A half-day spent flogging a fleet of XK8s around Homestead’s road course indicates that the new sports car has the potential to be an A-plus piece of work.

There are three keys to the XK8’s stellar first impression: styling, performance and workmanship.

Coupe or convertible

Available as a four-passenger coupe or convertible, the new Jaguar is one of the best-looking cars of the last two decades. It has simple, curved lines that make it look smaller than it is, as well as a number of traditional Jaguar styling themes, such as an oval grille reminiscent of the XKE.

Although based on the XJS — it uses a modified chassis from that defunct model — the XK8 looks entirely different. The coupe has a sexy flow to the back end that has an almost Italian flavor. The convertible has the same classy aura as the Mercedes-Benz SL models.

The convertible has a one-touch electric roof with a heated glass rear window. A neat feature is that it’s possible to raise or lower the top — including the side windows — by turning the key in the driver door lock and holding it.

Inside the cockpit are the British luxury car trademarks: wool carpeting, perfectly matched leather seats and enough wood trim to panel a pub.

Engine’s a new one

Under the hood is a Jaguar first: a V-8 engine. The four-cam, four-liter aluminum V-8 makes 290 horsepower and is exclusive to Jaguar. A legitimate concern for Jaguar purists was that when Ford took over in the late 1980s, cost-cutting measures would blur the lines between Ford and Jaguar engineering.

It would have been easy to slip a version of the Lincoln Mark VIII 4.6-liter V-8 — a great engine, too — into the Jaguar. But wiser heads in Dearborn and Coventry prevailed, and the XK8’s engine is all Jaguar — meaning it is among the smoothest free-revving power plants on the market. It also is only the fourth engine ever offered in a production car in Jaguar’s 74-year history.

The engine is light — about 450 pounds, less than half the mass of the Jaguar V-12 — and has a broad torque curve. That helps it work with the ZF five-speed automatic gearbox (the only transmission available) and contributes to the 3,600-pound car’s perfect 50-50 weight distribution.

Performance is very good, though not awesome. The run up to 60 mph takes about 6.2 seconds in the coupe, two-tenths of a second longer in the heavier convertible. Top speed is 56 mph.

Handling is tops

It’s in the handling department that the XK8 shines. On the race track, the Jaguar is neutral and forgiving. Taking turns fast is a confidence-inspiring exercise that can make even a mediocre driver look good.

Is the XK8 a perfect luxury sports car? After just a half hour or so behind the wheel, it’s tempting to say yes. There are some nits: The boot that covers the convertible top when it’s down doesn’t fit snugly and looks a little cheap. The foot wells are still somewhat narrow. The J-shaped transmission shift gate is not as good as the Mercedes gated shifter. The brakes have a soft feel, though they haul the car down from high speeds with aplomb.

Here’s the reality: The XK8 is a stunningly good car, and for the first year or more Jaguar will be able to sell all of the nearly 7,000 cars it plans to bring to the United States. Whether it will be a car for the ages — or just another pretty Jaguar face that lets you down when it comes to reliability — will depend on whether the XK8 is put together as well as it appears.

SPECS
List price: Coupe, $64,900; convertible, $69,900.
Horsepower: 290.
Engine: 4.0-liter aluminum V-8.
Transmission: Four-speed automatic.
Expected annual U.S. sales: 1,700 coupes, 5,300 convertibles.
Competition: Mercedes SL, BMW 840i, Lexus SC400.