Regular readers of this site and CAR magazine will no doubt know that our resident track tester is Deon Joubert. This multiple title holder has competed and succeeded in everything from single-seaters to touring cars to modified V8s. Apart from his usual duties of putting high performance cars through their paces at Killarney he also featured in the January performance issue of CAR.
Now we have asked him to fly the flag for CAR at the annual Knysna Speed Festival 2012. The event, of which CAR is a media partner, takes place from May 11-20 culminates with the Renault Simola Hillclimb, incorporating the King of the Hill time trial on Simola estate on Sunday May 20. Full details of the event here.
Joubert’s weapon of choice for this exercise will be the rip-snorting Jaguar XKR-S. The hottest Jag currently available pumps out 405 kW and 680 N.m of torque from its supercharged V8 engine. Jaguar claims a sprint time from standstill to 100 km/h in 4,4 seconds. Read a full driving impression here.
Joubert will require that firepower if he plans to usurp the other machinery that will be vying for King of the Hill honours. Among these are the McLaren MP4-12c, various new and classic Porsches, several Nissan GTRs of various generations, at least two Ferraris – the F360 Challenge and newer 458 – a Lamborghini Gallardo, a Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 and barrage of racecars and several hot hatches. Of course our hot shoe is no stranger to victory in Knysna as he won the Brat Pack Challenge at the very same event last year.
Specifications:
Model: Jaguar XKR-S
Engine: 5,0-litre, V8 supercharged
Power: 405 kW at 6 000 r/min
Torque: 680 N.m at 2 500 – 5 500 r/min
0 to 100 km/h: 4,4 sec
Top speed: 300 km/h
Fuel consumption: 12,3 L/100 km
CO2: 292 g/km
Price: R1 707 900
