Three years after Jaguar launched a performance-tuned XKR-S model at the Geneva Motor Show, the automaker revealed it will be bringing an all-new, more powerful XKR-S to this year's Geneva extravaganza. Deja vu? Perhaps, but the latest XKR-S promises to be a much more intimidating cat than the last.
If nothing else, the new XKR-S certainly looks the part. Designers have added a number of bespoke touches from head to toe, including an aggressive front fascia with a large lower air intake, sweeping air scoops on the front corners, and small, slender air ducts just beneath the hood's lower edge. XKR-S models eschew the XK's vertical fender vent in favor of a horizontal port. Flared side sills are much smoother than those used on both the XKR Speed Pack and the previous XKR-S. A flared rear valence, similar to that used on the Speed Pack, provides room for four exhaust tips, while a wild wing spoiler rests atop the decklid.
Unlike the previous XKR-S, however, the new model receives some additional go along with all this show. The supercharged, direct-injection 5.0-liter V-8 is boosted to roughly 542 horsepower and 501 pound-feet of torque, a gain of 32 horsepower and 40 pound-feet of torque. Jaguar says the power allows the new XKR-S to sprint from 0-60 in a blistering 4.2 seconds, run from 0-100 mph in 8.6 seconds, and hit a top speed of 186 mph. That's plenty quick, but the automaker says the XKR-S is the "fastest Jaguar ever" -- perhaps, unless you consider the XJ220...
Jaguar is keeping a number of the other XKR-S details under wraps until the car's official unveiling next week, but does note the car will receive unique suspension modifications at both ends, and a recalibrated stability system, which potentially allows drivers to push the envelope a little further.
