Del Mar, CA - Apparently, a lot of people walk into a car dealer and say "Let me see the best one you've got" and if it's not good enough they hustle on over to another store to look for something pricier.
You can imagine how important it is for a luxury car manufacturer to service that kind of buyer, since these are the folks for whom price is indeed pretty much no object. Some of them don't mind dropping an extra $20,000 for about $5,000 worth of added equipment, if this equipment is cool, set up in an attractive way and sets them apart even farther from the madding crowd.
Jaguar knows this as well as any company, which is why they've long offered a high-performance version of their XJ sedan (the XJR) and have just added a similar high-performance version of their XK roadster/coupe (the XKR).
For the people who will consider the XKR, then, the key numbers refer to the bigger pricetag as much as the bigger power peaks.
So let's get to that sticker board right away and reveal the key prices: $102,950 for the coupe and $110,950 for the roadster. The regular old XK8 is pricey, but not as pricey as this, which -- to reiterate -- is pretty much the point of the XKR exercise.
In support of this there are the power figures, which include 370 horsepower at 6150 rpm and 387 pound-feet of torque at 3600 rpm, results achieved thanks mostly to the judicious application of a supercharger.
The result of this increased power is the fastest production Jaguar ever sold in this country. Jag says the XKR coupe takes only 5.4 seconds to get to 100 km/h and the slightly heavier convertible only .2 seconds longer.
Though the bigger power and price will probably be enough for potential XKR buyers (it's hard not to think of Dr. Freud nodding knowingly at this, is it not?), it should be stated for the record that the soon-to-appear super roadster also comes with other extra toys as well. That would include bigger wheels, better tires, a sportier suspension, a more ear-splitting stereo, and some cosmetic upgrades.
Those new tires, wheels and cosmetic upgrades actually play as big a part in the XKR as the engine, since they perform the critical function of telling the world -- or at least that part of the world that matters to someone rich enough to own this car -- that it is the best one Jaguar's got.
It's sort of surprising that the exterior touches designed to proclaim the fact that this is an XKR, not just a garden variety XK8, are on the understated side. Other companies that make expensive vehicles for the carriage trade go much farther in their efforts to announce their vehicles' presence with authority. Jaguar doesn't see this is an issue with XKR buyers, so all there is to differentiate the car is a wire-mesh radiator grille (which is becoming a visual cue for performance), functional hood louvers, a "modest" decklid spoiler and that tire-wheel combo.
Not that the car needs much cosmetic help or anything, since it looked good from the get-go and is aging real well. The XK shape is on track to become one of the great shapes in Jaguar history. It isn't surprising that the experienced hands who ran the company tried and failed to change its look for a freshening to go with the XKR but failed because everything they tried made it look worse.
A great shape would be enough in a car like this, but it's not possible to say too many good things about the general performance of the XKR. I could live quite happily with the regular old XK8's powertrain, so the extra grunt that comes out of the supercharged engine is just gravy.
Letting this 4-litre V-8 loose when the superchargers are huffing that extra performance into it is just a joy. At any time, in any situation, the torque appears exactly when requested and launches the car with a quiet and ruthless efficiency that makes the neck hairs tingle, tingle, tingle.
Any iteration of this car is sure to generate huge amounts of jealousy in your best friends, worst enemies and total strangers. This, again, is the point of the thing.
You go tooting through any part of the world in an XKR convertible and you can easily look down on folks because you're on top of it. This car is a collection of very interesting and exciting bits and pieces, but it is also one of those deals were the sum is greater than parts. In perfect conditions -- sun, great location, attractive companion, time off to savor your success -- XKR can take you to a level that everyone aspires to: Owner of one of the coolest cars in the world. What price that, I ask you?
You can imagine how important it is for a luxury car manufacturer to service that kind of buyer, since these are the folks for whom price is indeed pretty much no object. Some of them don't mind dropping an extra $20,000 for about $5,000 worth of added equipment, if this equipment is cool, set up in an attractive way and sets them apart even farther from the madding crowd.
Jaguar knows this as well as any company, which is why they've long offered a high-performance version of their XJ sedan (the XJR) and have just added a similar high-performance version of their XK roadster/coupe (the XKR).
For the people who will consider the XKR, then, the key numbers refer to the bigger pricetag as much as the bigger power peaks.
So let's get to that sticker board right away and reveal the key prices: $102,950 for the coupe and $110,950 for the roadster. The regular old XK8 is pricey, but not as pricey as this, which -- to reiterate -- is pretty much the point of the XKR exercise.
In support of this there are the power figures, which include 370 horsepower at 6150 rpm and 387 pound-feet of torque at 3600 rpm, results achieved thanks mostly to the judicious application of a supercharger.
The result of this increased power is the fastest production Jaguar ever sold in this country. Jag says the XKR coupe takes only 5.4 seconds to get to 100 km/h and the slightly heavier convertible only .2 seconds longer.
Though the bigger power and price will probably be enough for potential XKR buyers (it's hard not to think of Dr. Freud nodding knowingly at this, is it not?), it should be stated for the record that the soon-to-appear super roadster also comes with other extra toys as well. That would include bigger wheels, better tires, a sportier suspension, a more ear-splitting stereo, and some cosmetic upgrades.
Those new tires, wheels and cosmetic upgrades actually play as big a part in the XKR as the engine, since they perform the critical function of telling the world -- or at least that part of the world that matters to someone rich enough to own this car -- that it is the best one Jaguar's got.
It's sort of surprising that the exterior touches designed to proclaim the fact that this is an XKR, not just a garden variety XK8, are on the understated side. Other companies that make expensive vehicles for the carriage trade go much farther in their efforts to announce their vehicles' presence with authority. Jaguar doesn't see this is an issue with XKR buyers, so all there is to differentiate the car is a wire-mesh radiator grille (which is becoming a visual cue for performance), functional hood louvers, a "modest" decklid spoiler and that tire-wheel combo.
Not that the car needs much cosmetic help or anything, since it looked good from the get-go and is aging real well. The XK shape is on track to become one of the great shapes in Jaguar history. It isn't surprising that the experienced hands who ran the company tried and failed to change its look for a freshening to go with the XKR but failed because everything they tried made it look worse.
A great shape would be enough in a car like this, but it's not possible to say too many good things about the general performance of the XKR. I could live quite happily with the regular old XK8's powertrain, so the extra grunt that comes out of the supercharged engine is just gravy.
Letting this 4-litre V-8 loose when the superchargers are huffing that extra performance into it is just a joy. At any time, in any situation, the torque appears exactly when requested and launches the car with a quiet and ruthless efficiency that makes the neck hairs tingle, tingle, tingle.
Any iteration of this car is sure to generate huge amounts of jealousy in your best friends, worst enemies and total strangers. This, again, is the point of the thing.
You go tooting through any part of the world in an XKR convertible and you can easily look down on folks because you're on top of it. This car is a collection of very interesting and exciting bits and pieces, but it is also one of those deals were the sum is greater than parts. In perfect conditions -- sun, great location, attractive companion, time off to savor your success -- XKR can take you to a level that everyone aspires to: Owner of one of the coolest cars in the world. What price that, I ask you?