Jaguar XKR-S

When the Ian Callum designed Jaguar XK went on sale back in 2006, it was considered to be the best way to get Aston Martin style for BMW money. At around $80,000 it was actually a pretty good buy. Sadly, XK buyers only got Aston Martin looks, the Jag didn't have anything like DB9 or even Vantage performance. It was a nice car to drive, just not a fast one. It only had 385 horsepower. That's just not enough by today's standards. GT cars need around 400-500 horsepower to be competitive.

Jaguar XK

To fix this problem, Jaguar released the more powerful XKR. For most people, the extra 125 or so horses more than solved the problem. The XK was now able to compete with BMW M6s and most 911s.

Jaguar XKR

Jaguar wasn't satisfied. Apparently, they wanted to get more from the XK. The result of their hard work is a snarling, 550 horsepower monster called the XKR-S.

Jaguar XKR-S

The new car will do 0-60 in 4.2 seconds. Pretty fast for a four seater. Here are two stats that put that number in perspective. The Cadillac CTS-V does 0-60 in 3.9 seconds and the BMW M6 does it in 4.6 seconds. The Jag fits right in between those, but the XKR-S is about more than power and straight line speed.The suspension has been revised and the XKR-S will also come with a new rear differential. This should make the Jag much faster and more controlable through the corners.

Jaguar XKR-S

The XKR-S will cost around $130,000 when it hits showrooms this fall. That's about $35,000 more than the XKR, but it sounds like this new Jag will be worth it. Jaguar knows how to make sports cars. It's been their thing for the past 60 years. You may think luxury sedans are what made Jaguar famous, but they started out as a racing brand. That racing heritage has translated to many of their production cars. Steve McQueen took notice and he knew a thing or two about great automobiles.

McQueen in his XKSS

Were he still alive, I think McQueen would love Jaguar's latest. Jaguar has evolved quite a lot since its early years of racing, but the XKR-S shows us that they can make more than big sedans. As good as the new Jaguar sedans are, it's nice to see they haven't forgotten how to make fantastic sports cars.