Spy Shots: Jaguar XF and 500HP XKR

Posted Wed May 30 2007 11:37 PM by Siddharth Raja

Jaguar’s engineers have been very busy with the development of the new XF, renting an entire house and garage behind a fuel station in Austria to work on the new car in privacy. Or so they thought. This latest barrage of spy images reveal several Jag prototypes, including two new XF saloons, an older S-Type test-mule and a production version of the Apex Motorsport prepped XKR GT3.

When questioned, one of the drivers revealed that not only were they testing the new XF, but development work for a high-performance version of the XK was also underway. The gaping holes in the test car’s bonnet are said to send cold air to a newly developed supercharged engine that develop upwards of 500hp. Racing buckets and a complete roll cage meant that this coupe was something special - a genuine rival to the M6.

The images, courtesy of our friends at here.

Reader Comments

Thu May 31 2007 1:22 AM
Cognoscente says

I can't to see the impact the new XF will have on Jaguar's business. They desperately need some good news, and so far the XF looks like it will deliver.
Thu May 31 2007 1:29 AM
Gus says

I think the XKR is one of the best looking cars on the road, ever.
Sat Jun 23 2007 12:11 AM
Marciano says

Customers no longer want to just have a car that is "acceptable" to drive around for transportation. EVERYONE wants to have the "I've made it", "I am better then you", "my car is faster, sexier and MORE foreign then yours", ETC.

K-cars, Dodge Shadows, Ford Escorts, Mazda ProtÃ©gÃ©, Hyundai Accents, Geo Metros and all these types of vehicles are not acceptable for anyone to look cool in. So compact cars are/must be pimped, tuned, and made fast. Thus a corporation executive does not want to drive in a 200 HP Jaguar while a 200 HP Civic beats him/her.

Thus there is a HUGE market for this 500 HP+ Jaguar. The "I've made it, I'm successful, my car is classier, I have more money, I am richer then you" market niche. Turning your Ford Probe into a 300 HP Porsche eater will only make high end car companies put the screws to lower end cars even more and want to be the high end "IT" brand!

How many cars have been re-designed with a smaller engine, less HP/TRQ, less performance, and a decrease in price? None! New cars are designed to replace the "old" models. Civics are bigger then old Accords and the Fit is the new Civic! While the accord is now a huge boat bigger then Impalas!

There is a VERY large market for 500 HP Jaguars equiped with good quality jaguar strut. Everyone wants to be the King of the Hill, and no one wants to just respect their market position.

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