Jaguar XKR-SKevan Richardson, programme manager at Jaguar Cars, says the new XKR-S is a duality, it has dual identity disorder.
Might I suggest multiple identity disorder? Jaguar is boasting about this car being the most powerful model it's ever made. I know, crazy, right? Power doesn't a Jag make.
Not since the XJ220 has a Jag cost so much (although the XKR-S still isn't nearly as costly as the $500,000 (Dh1.83 million) Nineties sensation), and not since ever has a Jag made 542bhp, and not since Le Mans 1990 has a Jag been so fast. Yet at the same time, the XKR-S is so… Jagly. Jaguatarian.
Remember the Blower Bentleys? Carroll Shelby? Mickey Thompson? Which makes this Jaguar XKR-S the true modern muscle car. Jag's clientele smokes pipes and owns slippers for the occasion. The new 542bhp XKR-S scares this traditional old clientele witless. This is not the same antique Jaguar. For years, while the buyers grew older, Jaguar went the other way, reinvigorating its youth. Speed. SS100, XK120, XK150, E-Type... Jaguar slumped into its rocking chair, and waited for the medicine to run out. Even the XJ220 happened generations and generations ago.
Every model is still unmistakeably Jag. It does road, track, and that thing old Jag devotees like so much, which can be best summarised in one word: boring. Jaguar has accomplished this blend, or rather this wide polarity, starting right at the beginning. The Jaguar XKR-S wears a British bulldog's mug. See? Yes, that's how adventurous Jaguar's been here. Like the car itself, the XKR-S' 5.0-litre V8 engine is aluminium, nestling a twin vortex supercharger within the banks of its cylinders.
The impressive bit, though, is the linearity of the power and its response on your right foot's demands. Jaguar's teamed the limited slip differential with the car's electronics and stability systems, so that the diff reacts electronically rather than clunking you into line mechanically. The car is stiff and rigid, yes, but there's no juddering or any unwanted play in the steering wheel. If the XF saloon and groundbreakingXJ weren't already proof enough, here's case-breaking evidence that Jaguar can do more than just a Jaguar.
Specs & ratings
Model Jaguar XKR-S
Engine 5.0-litre V8 supercharged
Transmission Six-speed auto, RWD
Max power 542bhp @ 6,000rpm
Max torque 680Nm @ 2,500rpm
Top speed 300kph
0-100kph 4.2sec
Price Dh580,000
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