2008 JAGUAR XKR PORTFOLIO

• New special edition XKR Portfolio offers even greater technology and luxury to customers seeking the ultimate sports coupe or convertible.

• Unique exterior styling revisions include 20-inch polished Cremona five-spoke alloy wheels, polished aluminium side power vents and Celestial Black paint.

• Advanced aluminium construction, 420bhp supercharged 4.2-litre V8 engine and six-speed Jaguar sequential shift transmission with paddleshift for superb dynamic performance.

• New high-performance braking system with 400mm front discs and 350mm rear discs – the largest ever fitted to a production Jaguar.

• Choice of new interior veneer - Engine-Spun Alloy – or elegant Satin American Walnut.

• First production Jaguar to use new Bowers & Wilkins speaker system exclusively crafted for XKR Premium Sound system.

Jaguar Cars is adding even more appeal to the 'must have' XKR with the unveiling of the all-new special edition Portfolio model. The 4.2-litre supercharged sports car will be sold worldwide and each one will feature notable additions to the already strong specification of the XKR, which is capable of hitting an electronically controlled top speed of 155mph and can accelerate to 60mph in just 4.9 seconds (5.0 seconds for the convertible).

The XKR's already powerful sporting styling cues – an enhanced front bumper, bonnet louvres and aluminium-finish grilles and side power vents – will remain and exclusive Celestial Black exterior paint and 20-inch polished Cremona five-spoke alloy wheels add to the overall presence.

The XKR's interior represents a truly sophisticated yet driver-focussed environment thanks to class-leading ergonomics, user-friendly in-car technology and simple, clear information displays in the instrument panel and main dashboard area.

The XKR Portfolio will combine this acclaimed design and performance with Jaguar's engineering and craftsmanship skills to take the XKR to an even higher level. Every XKR benefits from its class-leading, advanced aluminium construction, which ensures that its power is matched by a dynamic, lightweight chassis that handles supremely, rides exceptionally well and stops with surefooted reassurance time after time.

Now, to offer even greater braking ability, Jaguar's Special Vehicles team has worked alongside leading brake manufacturer Alcon to create the largest, most powerful brakes a production Jaguar has ever carried. After extensive testing by experts at Jaguar's specialist engineering centre (which is based next to the legendary Nürburgring race circuit in Germany), the new XKR Portfolio braking system was conceived.

400mm front brake discs – an increase of 45mm over the standard XKR – are retarded by powerful six-piston callipers, while at the rear four-piston calipers operate on 350mm discs. Innovative race-developed crescent-shaped grooves cut into the surface of the discs prevent a build-up of deposits on the brake pads and improve braking performance under extreme use.

By allowing the heat created within the system to dissipate quickly and efficiently the XKR Portfolio's brakes produce fade-free performance whilst maintaining Jaguar renowned blend of refinement and stopping power. Unique 'R' branding on the front brake calipers reveals the six-piston set-up beneath.

Surrounding the XKR Portfolio's brakes are polished 20-inch five-spoke Cremona wheels, while behind the front wheels sit all-new Power Vents which are hewn from polished aluminium and incorporate the indicator side repeater and Jaguar signature 'ingot'. An exclusive Celestial Black exterior paint will also serve to differentiate the XKR Portfolio edition. (UK and Switzerland have a Liquid Silver paint option as well.)

A host of new additions to the interior further the luxurious look and feel of the XKR Portfolio. A unique, and quite beautiful, Engine-Spun aluminium veneer is standard on the Portfolio, while customers will also have the option of an elegant Satin American Walnut veneer. A new alloy and leather gearshift selector, soft-grab door handles, contrast stitching throughout the cabin, leather-edged mats with a Jaguar logo and distinctive Portfolio treadplates on the doorsills complete the effect.

The XKR Portfolio also marks another first for Jaguar: the first production example of its new partnership with renowned audio entertainment specialists Bowers & Wilkins. This world-leading loudspeaker manufacturer worked alongside Jaguar to create a stunning speaker system for the recent C-XF concept car, but the XKR Portfolio is the first production Jaguar to benefit from the relationship.

Taking Jaguar's 525W Premium Audio system with Dolby Pro Logic II surround sound as a starting point, Bowers & Wilkins have crafted a signature speaker system specifically for the XKR's cabin. High-output, low-distortion Kevlar mid-range speakers and specially designed aluminium-dome tweeters deliver superb mid-range and extended high-frequency responses.

The new Jaguar XKR Portfolio special edition is available to order from the end of March 2007.

by Jaguar

By the early 2000s, cars were evolving at an unprecedented pace. Every year manufacturers seemed to be eking out more power, more efficiency, and more performance, all backed up by more computers and more electronic driving aids. Emerging technologies were bundled into the automotive package, creating cars that could double as cell phones and MP3 players.

Yet at the dawn of this technological revolution, Jaguar was out on a tea break. That proud jungle cat, the producer of some of the world's finest and most advanced sports cars in the 1950s and 1960s, had grown lazy and set in its ways under foreign (read: Ford) control.

Ford was by no means incapable of running Jaguar well, and the American giant at least helped improve Jag's reputation for unreliability and poor quality control. The approach to running Jaguar was conservative, though, and aimed to keep a few traditionalists happy at the cost of potential new buyers. The advanced performance and styling that had once defined Jaguar had grown stale, leading to quaint caricatures of the brand's past legends. The XJ-series looked like the XJ-series always had—since 1968. The XK-series followed the controversially-styled XJS with a design that borrowed heavily from the original E-Type—of 1961. Jaguar had successfully established a model lineup that effectively looked 30 years behind the times.

That's not to say that Jaguar's cars weren't still beautiful—they were. But the design language had grown far too stale to attract new buyers, and, with dangerously low sales, change was needed to save the company from financial ruin.

Enter the 2005 Jaguar Advanced Lightweight Coupe concept, Ian Callum's ingenious interpretation of what a modern Jaguar should be. This concept, with refreshingly few changes, formed the basis for the Jaguar XK that would be released in 2006 for the 2007 model year.

Though it retained enough design DNA to remain unmistakably Jag, the 2007 XK was a thoroughly modern car. Its design was many years ahead of the outgoing model's, styled by Callum with respect for Jaguar's past but eyes towards the brand's future. The Advanced Lightweight Coupe concept's name was well-founded, and its advanced and lightweight use of aluminum made it into the production XK. The production car was built on a remarkably rigid platform that used aluminum extrusions extensively to reduce weight and increase rigidity. The XK was designed from the beginning as a convertible (Ian Callum considered it easier to make a coupe of a convertible than the other way around), and that fact meant that the XK convertible not only looked as good as the coupe but was also impressively stiff.

The XK debuted with a 4.2L, 32-valve V8 that made 300hp and was coupled with a 6-speed automatic transmission. The supercharged XKR version made 420hp. This was ample power for both cars, but, in an effort to keep up with the competition and avoid the problems witnessed at the outset of the millennium, Jaguar gave the XK and XKR brand new engines for 2010. With displacement increased to 5.0L, the new V8s now produce 385hp in naturally aspirated form and 510hp in supercharged guise.

The XK, now complemented by the impressive XF and brand-new XJ, helped to revitalize Jaguar's ageing image. It represents the sporty car in Jag's small, cohesive lineup, and is a thoroughly modern piece that has earned the right to call itself by those two famous letters that first established Jaguar as a builder of benchmark sports cars in 1948.

Sources:

'2010 Jaguar XK / XKR Coupe and Convertible - Auto Shows.' Car and Driver Jan 2009: n. pag. Web. 15 Jul 2010. http://www.caranddriver.com/news/car/09q1/2010_jaguar_xk_xkr_coupe_and_convertible-auto_shows.

MacKenzie, Angus. 'First Look: 200 Jaguar XK.' Motor Trend Oct 2005: n. pag. Web. 15 Jul 2010. http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/coupes/112_0510_2007_jaguar_xk/index.html.

by Evan Acuña