Jaguar XKR-S

摘要

FIRST REPORT Will an XKR turned up to 11 prove too loud to live with? We have six months to find out. The brochure describes the XKR-S as Jaguar's "fastest, most powerful ever production car". But unless my memory has gone on the blink, I'd beg to differ - because although it was quite a few years ago (way back in 1993, in fact), I distinctly remember road testing a Jaguar that could do 220mph. And it was called, guess what, the XJ220. What's significant, however, is that although Jaguar's top speed claim for the XKR-S may be somewhat clouded by hyperbole (chiefly because the car has been tethered electronically to a mere 186mph), its power claim actually stands up. Because the supercharged V8 XKR-S does indeed develop exactly the same amount of power as the XJ220: 542bhp. I find that faintly astonishing, given how much more civilised the XKR-S is intended to be, even if it is 20 years the younger.