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I WAS UNWILLING to concede summer’s end. It had been a mostly delightful season, marked by one moment of solemnity — my ailing father’s demise.

But even that passage was joyous. The man died the way he lived, with grace, dignity and a sense of accomplishment.

And though I could no better hold onto summer than I could to my father, I made the effort — with the help, of course, of a fine automobile. Other people have their talismans. Cars are mine.

And this one, the 1997 Jaguar XK8 convertible, was particularly beautiful. It was as sleek and muscular as its animal namesake ? and as sensuous, too. It was forest green with an interior of tan Connolly leather and burl walnut wood. It had a padded, tan canvas top, which would raise and lower itself at the push of a button.

I enjoyed every moment in the XK8, just as I enjoyed the summer and the many people, places and events who helped it shine brighter. But time goes, and I must go with it into other seasons, cars and beginning next week, to other pages in The Washington Post.

Background: Jaguar is essential in the way that art is essential. It is of limited utilitarian value. That is, there are numerous other cars that can do what it does on the road at substantially lower prices.

But the world would be poorer for Jaguar’s absence, just as it would be impoverished by the absence of paintings, sculpture, music, theater, dance and literature. Food and water sustain the body. These things sustain the soul.

That is Jaguar’s excuse for being: It is car as art — high art — and as long as it remains true to that mission, it always will have a place in the market.

Certainly that is the case with the new XK8, which replaces the Jaguar XJS. Available as a hardtop or the tested convertible, the XK8 is Jaguar’s first all-new sports car in 21 years.

That’s “new” in terms of technology, such as the much more reliable multiplex electronics system that eliminates the cumbersome and often faultily connected wiring harnesses of bygone Jaguars. But it’s not “new” in terms of spirit.

If anything, the XK8 confirms Jaguar’s return to the stylistic path from which it strayed in its 1980s pursuit of yuppiedom. This car — unlike those ill-begotten, square-butt, square-faced models of the past decade — is a classic beauty. It is romantic. It makes the heart leap. It bespeaks poetry as eloquently as it does wealth.

Of course, it helps that Jaguar, under the auspices of its current owner, Ford Motor Co., has greatly improved product quality.

For example, buyers of the XK8 will note that it is lighter, tighter and far more nimble than its XJS predecessor. And with the top up on the convertible, they will note that the XK8 is much quieter than the XJS. Nary a squeak, rattle or shimmy in the new one.

That extra rigidity and lightness was achieved through the use of more high-strength steel and lightweight metals, such as aluminum; and by manufacturing techniques such as adding cross-bracing under the engine bay and stiffening members in the door sills and windshield frame.

There are other changes, perhaps the most notable of which is the XK8’s AJ (All Jaguar) V-8 engine, Jaguar’s first V-8. It is an all-aluminum, 4-liter, 32-valve, double overhead-cam engine rated 290 horsepower at 6,100 rpm with torque rated 280-pound-feet at 4,200 rpm. It’s a whizzer!

An electronically controlled, five-speed automatic transmission is standard on the XK8 convertible and coupe. Standard brakes include vacuum-assisted four-wheel anti-lock discs, vented front and rear. The XK8 runs on 17-inch Pirelli P-Zero radials.

Both the convertible and the coupe are front-engine, rear-wheel-drive cars that purport to seat four people — albeit only two of them (the front occupants) comfortably.

1997 Jaguar XK8

Complaints: The usual on sports cars of this type — totally useless rear “seats.”

Praise: A simply beautiful, well-engineered car.

Head-turning quotient: The XK8 is Princess Di and Tina Turner rolled into an automobile. Stunning beauty and sensuality.

Ride, acceleration and handling: Oh, it does all of those things quite competently, especially in handling and acceleration (0-to-60 mph in 6.7 seconds). But anyone focusing on that misses the point of the XK8. It’s a parade piece, a stuff-struttin’ flirtmobile. It’s essential Picasso — a total renunciation of anything that smacks of celibacy. And it brakes well.

Mileage: About 21 to the gallon (19.9-gallon tank, estimated 407-mile range on usable volume of required premium unleaded), combined city-highway, running with one to two occupants and light cargo in a trunk (11.1 cubic feet) that could carry only light cargo.

Sound system: Harman Kardon with trunk-mounted CD changer. Superb.

Price: Base price on the XK8 convertible is $69,900. Estimated dealer invoice on base model is $58,900. Price as tested is $76,280 including $5,800 in options (all-weather package, premium sound system with trunk-mounted CD changer, chrome wheels and special paint job), and a $580 transportation charge.

Purse-strings note: An estimated 12,000 XK8 models will be sold worldwide for model-year 1997. The likelihood is that most dealers aren’t going to be willing to deal on this high-demand luxcar.