So you’ve seen the pictures of Jaguar’s 2012 model year performance line-up sitting serenely in a resort parking lot or soaking up the sun in one of the many Portuguese villages that our launch route entailed. Now its time to check out the wilder side of Jaguar’s XKR-S.
In addition to the neck-snapping 405 kW and 680 N.m of thrust served up by this model’s uprated supercharged 5,0-litre V8 powerplant, the engineers at Jaguar also tweaked the car’s adaptive dynamics system t allow drivers to “explore the outer edges of the handling envelope”… Well, that’s what the brochure says. What it meant on the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve was that the XKR-S was capable of laying down copious amounts of rather expensive Pirelli rubber in a sideways fashion.
It’s not big. It’s not smart. But it looks fantastic!
Jaguar’s chief engineer of vehicle integrity, Mike Cross, also tackled the Portimão circuit in Jaguar’s apex XK model. Despite hoofing the car around the circuit in the wet, he was able to provide a very calm commentary of both the track and this remarkable car…
