The two cars that will be shown are the hotly-anticipated and already-spied XFR and the newly remade XKR (catch our review of the previous-gen car here). Both cars feature identical 5.0L supercharged V8s, producing 510hp (380kW) and 510lb-ft (690Nm) of torque. Those colossal figures are a significant upgrade from the previous 4.2L V8 unit, like the one found in the XJ Super V8 we recently reviewed. The even-hotter XKR-R will join the lightweight XKR-S (pictured), and sit slightly above it as the halo model for the XK range.
Adding more cars to the upper end of the Jaguar range is part of a larger strategic plan to move the Jaguar and Land Rover brands further up-market. Both ownership and management think there is room at the top for the Leaping Cat, and they want to prove they are capable of producing cars that can take them there. One of the next steps in that direction will be the new XJ, which is expected to borrow heavily from the current XF in terms of styling, reports MotorTrend. Not due for its update until 2011, the next XJ is expected to be an extreme take on the XF's rather reserved styling.
The more dramatic stance - lower, broader and more jaw-droppingly gorgeous are the design objectives - will make the XJ suitable for further progress up the luxury hierarchy, though the availability of a new range of engines could offer a broader range of affordable variants as well. How the two will jibe for the car's overall image, however, remains to be seen.
A direct-injection petrol engine as well as a possible 2.7L twin-turbo V6 diesel for the U.S. market are among the engines reportedly being discussed. At just 250hp (186kW) and 400lb-ft (541Nm) of torque, however, the engine doesn't seem well-suited to extreme high-end motoring. Surely the potent supercharged V8 will be offered in a variant as well, but a range that contains both extremes will have obvious difficulty competing with the Aston Martin Rapide or similar cars, though the likes of the Porsche Panamera may be more the quarry Jaguar has in mind.
Reader Comments
Wed Sep 17 2008 4:48 PM
www.mywheelsonwalls.com says
I was under the impression that the XKR-S was a 200 car run for Europe only as an 08 model year car. All of which sold out almost overnight.
I would suspect the XKR-R is the 09 full on no limted edition version of that car for the world market. That way we all get the XKR on steroids and XKR-S customers still get to feel special about owning one of two hundred cars.
Am I wrong?
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