Rumour has it that the actual outputs are nearer 540bhp and 515lb ft, hence the reason the 0-60mph time has tumbled to 4.4sec while the 0-100mph sprint now takes just 8.9sec. And the chassis? “We went to town with it really” explains Jaguar’s engineering uber-lord, Mike Cross. “We were still keen to keep the car driveable; to maintain the Jaguar feel. But what we wanted to create was a car that you could drive to the Nurburgring in, set a decent lap time (as in sub eight minutes), and still drive home feeling totally comfortable with.”
Which is why, despite the springs being 28/32 per cent stiffer front and rear, and the ride height being 15/10mm lower front/rear, the 75 still feels instantly like a Jag during those crucial first few moments on the move. Although its exhaust delivers a rousing burst of revs when you fire it up, it settles quickly to a smooth, if fairly potent idle. It’s a mood that is reflected throughout the entire driving experience.
Is it disappointing to discover that there are precisely no changes to the cabin to distinguish it beyond a regular XKR inside? In an obvious sense, yes. Then again, there’s not a whole lot wrong with the XK’s interior, particularly if you throw every available option at it as standard as Jaguar has in this instance.
On the move, it’s hard to see how the XKR 75 could be significantly bettered as an ultra-rapid 2+2 GT car, even by rivals such as the Porsche 911 and Aston Martin V8 Vantage. But then the XKR 75 is a quite incredibly well rounded car dynamically, one with which the Aston will always struggle to compete.
Take the way it steers. As ever with Jaguars, the power assistance is quite strong, which means the amount of physical effort required to turn the wheel is unusually light. But once you get used to this and realise that there is feel there, that there is a subtle resistance present, the way in which you interact with the car becomes altogether more cerebral.
Eventually (quite quickly, in fact) you become aware that you can guide the nose towards and through corners with quite extraordinarily little movement on the wheel itself. You get to a point where it really does feel as if you are thinking the car through bends, rather than physically steering it – and when you reach that level, the relationship between car, road and driver becomes uniquely intuitive.
None of which would be possible were the rest of the suspension as beautifully well sorted as it is, of course. Just as in the regular XKR there is a “dynamic drive” button plus a sport function for the paddle shift gearbox, whereby you can alter the damper response, throttle mapping and even the gearchange characteristics. Except on the 75 the parameters have been changed subtly to suit the car’s more aggressive personality, so it feels sharper when you switch the systems on and, conversely, more relaxed somehow when you turn them off.
It’s not quite the full Jekyll and Hyde transformation but the difference in response to all the major controls bar the steering is marked. Again, this level of flexibility – the ability to swap so easily between cruiser and bruiser – distinguishes the Jag above and beyond the majority of its competition.
Should I buy one?
The XKR 75 makes its world debut at next weekend’s Festival of Speed at Goodwood, and Jaguar is hoping to find buyers in the process. You suspect it won’t have too much difficulty finding 75 people to sign on the dotted line – for this is an exceptionally strong car; one that’s as rapid as it is refined, looks good and is competitively priced beside key rivals, especially when you consider how well specified it is by comparison.
If you fancy one, I’d get your order in quick. The XKR 75 might not be available for very long.
Join the debate
beachland2
Re: Jaguar XKR 75
Or for the same price you can have a year old Aston Martin DB9 coupe 6.0 V12...
Dan McNeil v2
Re: Jaguar XKR 75
[quote Autocar]The XKR 75 may be saddled with a somewhat ham-fisted name[/quote] It's saddled with ham-fisted styling as well.
Straight Six Man
Re: Jaguar XKR 75
[quote Dan McNeil v2][quote Autocar]The XKR 75 may be saddled with a somewhat ham-fisted name[/quote] It's saddled with ham-fisted styling as well.[/quote]
WHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT???????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The XKR is beautiful!
Mine's a shooting brake with a manual gearbox and heavier steering, thanks...
Straight Six Man
Re: Jaguar XKR 75
Nick Scheele will still doubtless be along soon to piss on the party, and prove with doubtful figures that Jaguar Land Rover are solely responsible for two world wars (which the Germans lost to the British, Nick!), the Cold War, global warming, teenage pregnancy and all the other evils of the world...
theonlydt
Re: Jaguar XKR 75
Mine's still an XK convertible with the 5.0V8 in NA form. Lovely looking car and having been lucky to drive the 4.2 (wait a minute, why wasn't that in my top 10?!) I can only imagine how sweet the 5.0 is. The one I drove flowed down the road, it didn't jostle and bounce from bump to bump, nor did it wallow or just drive straight on - it seemed to just move naturally with the road. A most surreal experience. Unfortunately something I'll never be able to afford, let alone the XKR 75 - which sounds pretty decent. They'll be people who don't like it, but I'm sure they'll find 75 people who would have got the XKR, want a little more and get exclusivity thrown in to the bargain too. I'd take this over an Aston though, despite the "old man" image, only without the silly stripes please.
blktoy
Re: Jaguar XKR 75
One wonders why at the bottom of the article there isn`t a note saying "this is a paid advertisement"...................................
Curmudgeon
Re: Jaguar XKR 75
Nice car, although I also am not keen on the stripes.
averageman
Re: Jaguar XKR 75
The Jag XKR is a gorgeous car and in my opinion, one of the worlds top 5 GT's. However, I am not a great fan of how this particular model looks. I think some of the detailing is a little heavy handed and as for those stripes, leave them for Ford Fiesta ST's
Jon Hardcastle
Re: Jaguar XKR 75
[quote Straight Six Man]
[quote Dan McNeil v2][quote Autocar]The XKR 75 may be saddled with a somewhat ham-fisted name[/quote] It's saddled with ham-fisted styling as well.[/quote]
WHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT???????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The XKR is beautiful!
Mine's a shooting brake with a manual gearbox and heavier steering, thanks...
[/quote]Sorry Straight Six but I'm with Dan on this one I have never seen the appeal of the XK/XKR on a styling front it's too old man for me, I thought it looked out of date when it first appeared.Peter Cavellini
Re: Jaguar XKR 75
Only a full road test will dispel any doubts, won't it?
Peter Cavellini.
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