Powerful, suave and stylish - that's the
Jaguar XKR. Here's a supercar designed to be at home in the country club or the open road. The XK series has been around for quite some time now, but is it the car that they early Jags were? Well, the latest model, with the revised styling certainly looks the part, and as I found in a brief test, the car is certainly very quick, agile, and fun to drive. But now eclipsed by the new
all-aluminum XKR, which weighs 300 lb less.
The Jaguar XKR retains the flowing lines of earlier Jaguars - despite the fact that the shape of the coupe is so like the Aston Martin DB7 it's uncanny. Thanks to the recent facelift - actually a facedrop because the mouth has been lowered, and the bumpers revised. Also, there is now a mesh grille, so the changes, although small, make a big difference to the look of the car. It is now altogether more sporty.
This XKR is a big car, though, with the accent on luxury and smoothness rather than taut all-out performance. But it is still extremely quick and handles well.
Big - but very powerful
Some would say it's too big and soft to be a supercar, but the performance of the superb supercharged V-8 of the XKR pushes it right up there in the supercar league. Still, the car is big - as big as the BMW 645 coupe, and it weighs about 250 lb more. Boy does it need a diet - and no doubt its successor will do so.
Despite its size, the XKR is no overweight weakling. The new supercharged engine sees to that. This supercar can reach 60 mph in 5.2 seconds - almost half a second less than the new BMW 645Ci. What about the top speed? Well, like the BM, it is politically correct and is limited to a gentlemanly 155 mph. The old E-Type wasn't much slower.
Supercharged V-8 gives plenty of power
This excellent and very powerful engine is combined with a six-speed automatic and the Big Cat's proverbially refined suspension. Let's start with the engine. To give a bit more torque, it has been enlarged from 4.0 to 4.2 liters, and the XKR unit is supercharged - not turbocharged, but supercharged with a mechanically driven 'charger.
Why? Like Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar learned years ago that supercharging works well with a high-performance gasoline engine because it boosts power low down. By contrast, turbochargers work best at higher speeds, and have a narrow range in which they are efficient. Mind you some of the latest turbochargers do overcome this problem with new technology.
400 bhp and masses of torque
Jaguar's new generation all-aluminum V-8 now develops 400 bhp at 6,100 rpm in supercharged form, against the 300 bhp of the normal engine. Torque is increased by about 30% as well, and is produced at 3,500 rpm, against 4,100 rpm for the standard engine.
So not only do you get neck-jerking power, but you also get masses of oomph at lower speeds. To boost output, the valve timing is varied according to the engine speed, improving mid-range performance. On the Jag, the timing is varied by advancing or retarding the opening of the valves.
Six-speed automatic as standard
You're not likely to get caught out with a lack of power in this beaut, particularly as the engine drives through a six-speed automatic - this replaces the earlier five-speed job.
Like Jags for many years, the XK series has advanced double wishbone suspension front and rear, with each drive-shaft acting as one link at the rear. Also following a Jaguar tradition - copied by many others - the suspension arms are mounted on sub-frames which are insulated from the body - and this is one reason why Jaguars are so quiet even over rough surfaces. To cope with the greater power, large Brembo brakes with aluminum calipers are fitted.
Adaptive damping for the superb wishbone suspension
Although the XKR may not bristle with electronics as much as some of its rivals, it does have a number of systems designed to make driving safer and more fun. Of course, there's ABS, but more important are the adaptive suspension which adjusts the damping continuously to suit the conditions, and dynamic stability control which helps the driver remain in control if he gets into a corner too fast.
Not to be left behind, Jaguar now offers adaptive cruise control on the XKR - at high speeds this keeps a constant distance behind the car in front, by slowing or accelerating as needed; all on auto-pilot. New is an automatic speed control, which the driver can set to what he considers a safe speed - pretty useful with the way that the car shoots up to illegal speeds in most countries.
Driving impressions
When you slip behind the wheel of the new XKR it looks and feels just right - as you'd expect in a car from a manufacturer that has been producing sports cars for over 50 years. The smallish steering wheel is in the right place, you can see the instruments clearly through the wheel, and the seat feels as if it will hold you in place - and it does.
As I eased the car out of the drive toward the road, there was no indication that this was a quick car, it was so quiet and smooth, the automatic transmission taking up the drive like silk, and the light power assisted steering responding precisely.
Quiet - but wait for the whine of the supercharger
Out on the open road it is a different matter, even though the car remains svelte and smooth. At cruising speeds this is a very quiet car, but you can floor the throttle at any speed in automatic and just take off. After a moment's lag, you hear the supercharger start to whine and - whoosh you're being pushed back into the seat by the rush of acceleration. By the time you glance at the speedo, the car has shot forward from 50 to 80 mph in what seems like a flash.
Transmission works best in D
With this much power available you have to be really hustling to need to use all the revs, and most owners will leave the gear lever in D. When you do decide to get sporty, the gearbox is a bit disappointing, despite the fact that you can hold it in 2nd, 3rd, 4th or 5th gear. The neat little lever sits in a U-shape gate on the tunnel, with P, R, N and D on one side, and 2, 3, 4, and 5 on the other. When you want to row the car along, you push the lever across the bottom of the U from D and then move it forward to shift down.
But it doesn't shift immediately, because it doesn't think you should do so unless you are going slowly. So, most of the time, whem you push forward into third or second as you approach a corner nothing happens. The control acts more as a pre-selector, changing into your selected gear when the speed gets low enough. This feels like an extension of the normal 'hold' on automatics most of the time, but might come into its own on slower, twisty roads.
Even so, as I had already found, to make the car travel quickly you don't really need to use any more shifting than the automatic provides, as it is very responsive, especially in sport mode. Every time you press the pedal, you hurtle forward, accompanies by the delightful whine of the supercharger.
Despite its size, once you come to a corner, the Big Cat seems to shrink, and go round on rails with plenty of room all round. The steering is nicely weighted, and responsive, and with those wide fenders to guide you it is an easy matter to place the car where you want. There's plenty of cornering power with those big tires, and the brakes are very powerful, but require quite a lot of pedal pressure.
This is a car that's hard to fault on a short test drive. With the sports suspension, the ride is firm, and upset a bit on very irregular minor roads, but better than on most cars with this amount of performance. Generally, it works very well. Also, you are very well insulated from road noise.
Of course, there are quite a few options to improve performance, including bigger wheels and tires, sports suspension and special brakes should the standard spec not be good enough for you. If you're after fabulous performance, comfort and refinement, then the XKR takes a lot of beating.
