In the years immediately following WWII, Jaguar was working hard to put the company back on its feet. In 1948 Jaguar introduced the XK120 sports car and created the standard that Jaguar sports cars have been held to ever since. The XK120 established the line, and the 2009 XK upholds the proud tradition.
Today, 60-plus years later the XK in high-performance “R” livery, still has the power to excite and quicken the pulse. This cat has been prowling the road for a few calendar years, but the design is still very fresh, swoopy and fluid. The catlike rear haunches, extended hood with air extractors, and a low roofline that flows into the sloping rear window catches a great deal of eyes.
This attention-getter garnered a great deal of curious people during the test week. First, there were the three sports cars that rolled up on me in squadron formation while I was cruising down I-355. The young drivers on both sides of the XKR gave me the “let’s go” signal. I declined. Then there were the convention workers that had to get a photo of themselves next to the car on their cell phones. And lastly, several co-workers cornered me and asked if we could go for a drive. I test a lot of cars so when I get asked by numerous co-workers to go for a ride, it’s obviously got some senses stirred.
Helping to make it special is 4.2-liter supercharged/intercooled V-8 generating a stout 420 horsepower and 413 pound-feet of torque. A ZF six-speed automatic is the only transmission offered, but it’s a good one. No hesitation or harsh downshifts with the transmission and the standard paddle shifters do allow you to speed up the gear changes if you desire.
Two years ago 420 horses and paddle shifters were considered the upper-echelon in the sports car world. Today, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Dodge and Mercedes-Benz easily hand stack the cat with up to 600 horsepower and transmission options, but this cat still has some claws.
The XKR makes its home on curvy back roads and long, flat stretches of highway. The XKR is a great ride to roll the miles up in. This car is very well mannered and has plenty of grip due to its 20-inch optional Senta wheels and tires. The Computer Active Technology Suspension allows you to hit your groove by adjusting the shock valving and individually reading the car's pitch/yaw rates and intended steering input. Jaguar engineers stiffened up the suspension for the “R” version of the XK, and I liked the end result. The XKR’s stability is better at higher speeds, and the around-town ride, while a bit firm at times, is better than the softer luxury feel of the XKs I’ve previously tested.
Conversely, this car has a gentlemanly “hot rod” alter-ego that will allow you to accelerate rapidly and come to an abrupt stop as well. Jump on the XKR hard, and you’ll leave some rubber and tire squeal behind. Unofficial performance numbers had 0-60 come and go in just more than 5 seconds.
The XKR feels heavier than its 3,700 pounds, but it is light on its feet, and the speed sensitive steering really provided good feedback.
Inside the luxurious confines, one finds a cozy, finely tailored interior full of great textures and designs. There are also a few quirks.
To look at the leatherwork on the dash and seats, you would think it was one crafted from a single hide. The crisp stitching, the straight seams and soft contours invite you to climb in. The seats are the kind you sit in and not on. Great features include pneumatically adjusted side bolsters; you roll up with a twist of a knob with the rest of the seat adjustments grouped in a seat pattern ala Mercedes-Benz. As for the rear seats, they are mere decoration as the front seat backs press up against the rear seat bottoms and they are so short and deeply contoured that the only thing they’ll hold is a bag of groceries. Head room is great if your under 5 feet tall.
One outstanding feature is the suede headliner and suede pillars that magnetically pull your fingertips to them. The gloss wood trim looks real, and the aluminum trim bits provide a nice contrast.
The only real hang up with the interior is the “forced technology” as the infusion of a touch screen with its bright wiz-bang graphics and screens looks like designers surgically cut into the dash and inserted the distracting and slow electronics. I really disliked the analog clock that appears on a screen wedged in between the two gauge pods. It looks low-rent and too boring for this car.
The standard 525-watt surround sound stereo was upgraded with a Bowers & Wilkins premium option that produced outstanding sound. The rest of the XKR’s amenities were on the same level befitting a car of this stature.
Under the plunging glass of the rear hatch is a shallow carpeted cargo area with 10.6 cubic-feet of available storage.
All XKRs feature traction control, an antiskid system, ABS and front side airbags. Adaptive cruise control was an option on the test car, and it sounds a loud series of “beeps” as you get closer to any object in front, along the sides or behind you.
The 2009 XKR starts at $87,400. The test car added the 20-inch Senta wheels ($5,000), the adaptive cruise control ($2,200), the walnut trim checked in ($2,300) and the stereo upgrade ($700). Throw in $775 for destination, and you’ll pop for $98,425 to take the XKR home.
The XKR is an exclusive machine that plays in the refined neighborhood of Porsche 911s, Mercedes-Benz SL-Class, Cadillac XLR V-Series and the Corvette Z06. It will be interesting to see how Tata, the Indian automotive giant who purchased Jaguar this year, will be able to build on and improve the current generation of the XK.
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