Jaguar's limited-edition XKR175 is powered by the supercharged 510-horsepower 5.0-liter V8.
The heart of the XJ Supersport is a supercharged V8 that Jaguar introduced for 2010. It generates 510 horsepower and 461 foot-pounds of torque. Significantly, the new model marks a shift away from previous Jaguar nomenclature, where top-performance models were marked with the –R designation, as with the XF-R and XK-R models.
The Supersport’s 4-cam 32-valve engine is mated to a fully electronically controlled ZF 6-speed automatic transmission with paddle shifters on the steering wheel. The console-mounted shifter knob includes a Sport setting, and the console has a checkered-flag button that, when pushed, changes engine, transmission, traction control, and suspension settings for maximum performance. It also changes the entire gauge cluster from white to red.
The Supersport comes loaded to the gills with leather, wood, luxury items and special appearance items, including red center caps on its alloy wheels and a Supersport fender badge. The Supersport package includes 20-inch Mataiva wheels and high-performance tires, automatic cruise control with forward alert, adaptive dynamics, continuously variable shock absorbers, and a different emergency brake assist calibration. The Supersport, with its aluminum-intensive body construction, weighs only 4281 pounds, and the slick body measures a drag coefficient of only 0.29 in the wind tunnel.
The Jaguar XJ Supersport was one of two new cars the British automaker introduced over the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance weekend.
The standard-wheelbase XJ Supersport will be priced at $110,000, and the long-wheelbase XJL Supersport will be stickered at $113,000. For the added money a buyer will get an additional five inches of room in the rear seat area, plus separate climate control, heated and cooled seats, vanity mirrors, privacy blinds, and twin solid-wood fold-down work tables.
In either case, Jaguar will treat these cars as special-order only, with about a 90-day wait from order to delivery.
We spent a day pushing the XJ Supersport around Monterey, Carmel, on Highway 101, on the twisty back roads of the Hunter Liggett military reservation, and the narrow, serpentine Carmel Valley Road, California G16.
Tweak the transmission selector to Sport, push the Dynamic mode checkered-flag button in for a few seconds, and the posh, plush leather-bound XK turns into a sports sedan that will run with the best. It corners 20 percent flatter in this mode, the engine revs quicker, the paddle shifters are at your command, and the result is a delightful, comfortable, sweat-free driving experience.
The production run for the XKR175 will be limited to 175 cars, each one marked on the sill plate but not sequentially numbered. The anniversary XKR will be offered in coupe only, with the same 510 horsepower supercharged V8 engine shared by the XJ Supersport and the new Range Rover.
All 175 cars will be black, with red brake calipers, a special black leather and cranberry trim interior, and piano black wood accents. A set of 20-inch Kasuga alloy wheels and 20-inch high-performance tires are standard kit on the 175.
The XKR175 body carries its own special high-speed aero package, a front spoiler, side sills, a rear spoiler and a rear diffuser under the car, because the top speed has been raised from 155 to 175 mph, and the 0-60 times drops to 4.6 seconds.
The XKR175 will be priced at $104,500, an $8500 premium over a loaded XKR Supercharged, and in the car-crazy environment of the long Pebble Beach weekend, with some of the world’s top collectors readily opening wallets, came word the 175 was already going fast.