PERFORMANCE, THE JAGUAR WAY

Since we unveiled our new 550‑horsepower Jaguar XKR‑S at the Geneva Motor Show in March, we’ve been spending a lot of time showing‑off its talents on the track, writes Mike Cross, Chief Engineer, Vehicle Integrity at Jaguar.

You might have seen the video of me at the new Portimao race track in Portugal where we did our global media event, or Jay Leno putting in some hot laps at the Nurburgring.

While the XKR‑S is the most track‑focused car we’ve ever built, for me it can be even more involving to drive it on a fast, demanding, two‑lane country road.

In developing this new Jaguar XKR‑S, what we made sure we never lost was the duality we try to build into every Jaguar, whether sports car or sedan.

This is the ability to combine huge levels of performance with real refinement. With the XKR‑S, we’ve extended its track capability, without throwing away its everyday drivability or legendary Jaguar ride comfort.

Here is a car that can transport a driver in relaxed comfort and quiet, from the UK to the legendary Nürburgring, go out and lap the fabled 13‑mile Nordschleife in less than eight minutes, then cruise home.

Everyone knows about the Nordschleife, the fabled northern loop of the ’Ring that Jackie Stewart once dubbed ‘The Green Hell.’ In the media especially, it’s become the new performance yardstick. To drive it fast is a real test for any car or driver.

But while Jaguar has its own test center right at the Nürburgring track, you’ll find that most of our development work is done on the challenging, usually rain‑soaked, driving roads in the nearby Eifel countryside, or the mountains of North Wales.

Of course, the beauty of the XKR‑S is the way it lays down its power. While everyone focuses on the 550‑horsepower it offers, arguably much more relevant is the 502 lb‑ft of torque delivered by its supercharged 5.0‑liter AJ‑V8.

It means you don’t need to extend the revs to cover ground extremely quickly. You can short‑shift using the paddle shifters and still go very fast. If the roads are wet, it allows you to take a higher gear and not break traction.

Try not to focus too hard on that 0‑to‑60mph time of 4.2 seconds. More impressive, and a clearer measure of the car’s sensational performance, is that 0‑to‑100mph time of 8.9 seconds.

Yes, it would have been easy to have increased the car’s track focus and turned it into a more hard‑edged sports car, but that’s not what a Jaguar is about.

So while our new Jaguar XKR‑S feels right at home fast‑lapping a racetrack, I think you’ll be even more impressed with the way it gets you from point A to point B.