Hot Jaguar XKR revealed

By Jack Rix

24th June 2010

Jaguar has put the cat among the pigeons with a harder and faster special edition XKR. Called the XKR 75, only 75 examples will make production in celebration of Jaguar's diamond anniversary.

A faster version of the XKR was teased at last year's Goodwood Festival of Speed, when a luminous XK slithered its way up the hill, sparking rumours that a more powerful coupe was on the cards. And as you can see, the speculation was spot on.

Power from the 5.0-litre supercharged engine has been increased from 503bhp to 523bhp, while torque has jumped from 625Nm to 655Nm. The result is a 0-62mph time slashed by 0.2 seconds to 4.4 seconds and an electronically-limited top speed of 174mph.

Stiffer suspension front and rear, retuned dampers and a reduced ride height mean the '75' is set to be the best handling XK yet, but not at the expense of comfort according to Jaguar's Chief Engineer Mike Cross: "We conceived the XKR 75 as a sports car with a duality of character that makes it perfectly suited to driving across Europe to the Nurburgring, completing some very fast laps, and then driving home again."

Other additions include an aerodynamic bodykit, a sports exhaust with larger outlets and 20-inch lightweight wheels. The Stratus Grey paint and optional graphics pack is also unique to the XKR 75.

Priced at £85,500, orders are being taken from July with first deliveries beginning in October.