Jaguar XK8 convertible makes world debut in New York

Jaguar's XK8 convertible makes its world debut April 4, 1996, at the New York auto show. The XK8 coupe was introduced a few weeks earlier at the 1996 Geneva auto show. Billed as "a new breed of Jaguar" -- under a new owner, Ford Motor Co. -- the XK8 replaced the aging XJS, the British company's longest-running and best-selling sports car at the time.