The Short Version: Jaguar’s S-Type is getting some much-deserved attention from British tuner Swallows Racing, turning it from a grandpa-spec cruiser into a track-ready bruiser. With a manual transmission and a supercharged 4.2-liter V8 that makes a noise like Zeus clearing his throat, this S-Type R is something new entirely.
Jaguars are cool. Historically, they’ve been known as bank robbers’ cars, world-beating race cars, Enzo Ferrari’s most beautiful car, and just about everything in between. Of course, those are in reference to classic Jags like MkII saloons, E-Types, and Le Mans prototypes.
Where, then, does the Jaguar S-Type (built from 1999 to 2007) fit into that legend? It doesn’t. Or, rather, it didn’t until recently when Dale Masterman from the UK arm of detailing brand Meguiar’s decided to give the lowly S-Type the teeth it always deserved with the help of Swallows Racing.
Dale’s car started life as a 2007 S-Type R, which means it came with a supercharged 4.2-liter Jaguar AJ V8 that produced a claimed 389 horsepower and 399 pound-feet of torque. Like all S-Type R models, it also came with a six-speed ZF automatic transmission, which drove the rear wheels.
Reviews from when the S-Type R debuted back in 2003 often compared it to another V8-powered super sedan: the mighty BMW E39 M5. While on paper, the two cars aren’t miles apart – both sedans with around 400 horsepower, both rear-wheel drive – the Jaguar was often criticized for being softer, saner, and generally less exciting.
Of course, most things are less exciting than an E39 M5 (as Madonna will attest), but even though journalists had plenty of nice things to say about the S-Type, it quickly became a classic example of being damned by faint praise. Car and Driver’s Frank Markus, for example, referred to it as “a gentle, sensitive, obsequious brute.” Not ideal for a super sedan.
Enter Dale and Swallows Racing. Dale has a penchant for unloved, oddball cars and a love of seeing classic Jags powerslide around Goodwood, so, lacking the funds for a vintage MkII saloon, he did the next best thing for a bloke on a budget: He bought an S-Type R. The first order of business upon bringing it to Swallows was to ditch the six-speed auto for a six-speed manual from a S-Type diesel.
Swallows Racing is known for its manual conversions, and because it’s largely working with factory Jaguar parts, the end result is a car that provides engagement without compromising much of the civility that the folks in Browns Lane worked to put into the vehicle initially.
Three pedals were sorted and sporting credentials secured; the next move was to boost the power output. By replacing the stock intake and exhaust with custom units, adding larger fuel injectors, and remapping the ECU, Swallows gave the Jag approximately 500 hp and an unbelievably mean sound.
The R’s suspension comes courtesy of Bilstein, which provided two-way adjustable coilovers for all four corners to help dial the ride in and set the stance to just right. The S-Type R’s factory brakes are very good, so Dale didn’t seek to reinvent the wheel. The aluminum monobloc calipers remain stock (and it’s a shame they’re hidden behind the wheels), and the brake rotors come from Tarox.
Other changes to the car were less about function and more about form. The British Racing Green paint and the wheels (which are an homage to the classic Dunlop racing wheels of the 1950s and 60s) are absolutely pitch-perfect. Ditto the painted numbers in the S-Type R’s wire mesh front grille, the meatballs on the front doors, and the shaved rear door handles. An interesting tidbit is that to fit those meaty Dunlops, the car had front wheel flares from another S-Type R fitted to the rear wheel arches. This not only looks great but adds room for tires.
Inside, a half-roll-cage was added along with racing bucket seats. Sure, it makes the back seats unusable, but that’s just an excuse to remove a bunch of the interior from the headliner to the carpets. Weight savings are always good, though we’d have liked the interior to stick around and make the car usable as a daily driver.
So, ultimately, while this looks like a crazy build on the outside, the number of major modifications isn’t that wild. And most of them could be done by an average mechanic, which is bad because it’s giving me and the rest of the CARiD staff all kinds of horrible Tiger King “I’m never gonna financially recover from this” ideas.
Would you consider an S-Type as a project car? What kinds of mods would you make to it? Let us know!
